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A Better Future from Farms
American Farmland Trust is launching two new initiatives to harness the potential of our nation's farms and ranches at this pivotal time in history: the Agriculture & Environment campaign and the Growing Local campaign.
A New Hampshire Model Community
Over the past several months the AIA150 team and Durham officials, residents, and stakeholders have been working together to articulate a vision for a redeveloped Mill Plaza property in Durham, New Hampshire. Work has now begun to translate this vision from words to sketches.
Age Friendly Manitoba Initiative
The Canadian Province of Manitoba has launched an Age Friendly Initiative with numerous partners to address the challenges facing the growing population of seniors.
Aging in Place Initiative
The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) and Partners for Livable Communities (PLC) have launched a joint initiative to work with cities and counties over an 18-month period to facilitate a community dialogue on ''aging in place,'' and to assist community leaders in developing an action plan to ensure programs and services are in place so that communities are good places to grow old.
AIA Sustainable Design Assessment Team RFP -- 2009
The American Institute of Architects Center for Communities by Design announces the 2009 Sustainable Design Assessment Team Program Request for Proposals.
America 2050 Planning Initiative
America 2050 is a national initiative to meet the infrastructure, economic development and environmental challenges of the nation as we prepare to add about 130 million additional Americans by the year 2050.
American Citizen Planner
American Citizen Planner Consortium is partnering with affiliates at educational institutions around the United States to form the nation's leading land use education consortium.
Ann Arbor Greenbelt Map
In November 2003, the residents of Ann Arbor overwhelmingly passed the Open Space and Parkland Preservation Millage, also known as the Ann Arbor Greenbelt and Parkland Program. The purpose of the Greenbelt Program is to protect both working farmland and natural areas, as well as identifying and conserving those lands that are integral to the protection of the City of Ann Arbor's source groundwater and the Huron River -- a portion of which is designated a state scenic river.
Atlanta's Fifty Forward Initiative
The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) has launched an ambitious initiative, called ''Fifty Forward: Metro Atlanta Futures Forum,'' to explore possible future scenarios for metro Atlanta and forge an action plan to ensure future livability, prosperity and sustainability.
BGreen 2020
The City of Bridgeport and Bridgeport Regional Business Council have released BGreen 2020, a Sustainability Plan that outlines the policies and actions to be implemented in the next decade to improve the quality of life, social equity, and economic competitiveness of the city while reducing carbon emissions and increasing the community's resilience to the effects of climate change and increasing energy costs. The program management team, led by Regional Plan Association, convened the efforts of more than a hundred stakeholders in a Community Advisory Committee and working groups to develop strategies to address brownfields and land use, pedestrian and transit access, renewable energy production, and environmental protection while supporting the growth of green jobs in the region.
BGreen 2020 is the result of a public-private partnership between the City of Bridgeport and the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, a consortium of local business groups. By building on Bridgeport's existing strengths, BGreen will modernize the city's infrastructure, create wealth, intensify urban amenities, enhance environmental quality, enable revitalization without gentrification, and retain Bridgeport's historic character. Early priorities are the creation of an Energy Improvement District to support energy efficiency and production, adopting a ''Transit First'' policy, developing a plan for open space use and maintenance, expanding recycling, and protecting the region's waterways through enhanced stormwater management. A Green Collar Institute will train workers and act as an incubator for developing green industries.
More information, and a download link, can be found at the link below.
(Reprinted with permission from Regional Plan Association)
Big & Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century, January 17-June 22, 2003
Big & Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century explores five categories of issues that design and building professionals are addressing in order to reduce the deleterious environmental impact of skyscrapers and other megastructures: Energy; Light and Air; Greenery, Water and Waste; Construction; and Urbanism.
Blueprint for American Prosperity
The Blueprint for American Prosperity is a multi-year initiative from Brookings to promote an economic agenda for the nation that builds on the assets -- and centrality -- of America's metropolitan areas.
Blueprint for Oregon's Future
From 2005-2007, 1000 Friends of Oregon, the Bus Project, and more than 50 other organizations hosted a series of town hall forums in 16 locations across the state. Called ''Envision Oregon,'' these forums challenged more than 2,200 participants from over 140 towns and places in Oregon to describe their vision for Oregon's future, and to help create strategies for making that vision a reality. They also formed the foundation for Blueprint for Oregon's Future.
Brownfields Research Consortium
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee Brownfields Research Consortium is a new partnership among UWM faculty, government agencies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations involved in the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield properties.
Building Sustainable Communities
Building Sustainable Communities is the Local Initiatives Support Corporation's (LISC's) plan to help community residents transform distressed neighborhoods into healthy and sustainable communities of choice and opportunity -- good places to work, do business and raise children.
California Smart Growth Initiative
The California Smart Growth Initiative, initiated in September 2000 by the Urban Land Institute, is designed to examine growth and development trends in California, determine the barriers to smart growth, and identify specific local, regional, and state solutions that advance a collaborative smart growth agenda.
Call for Pilot Projects: LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Rating System
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is soliciting projects to be part of the pilot program for its LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System. Up to 120 pilot projects will be selected to participate in the pilot program.
Call for Smart Growth Model Courses
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has received requests from communities and universities for help in developing model courses that incorporate smart growth into hands-on, applied course offerings.
Chicago Climate Action Plan
The Chicago Climate Action Plan describes the major effects climate change could have on the city and suggests how all city residents can work together to address those challenges.
Chicago's Eat Local Live Healthy Campaign
''Chicago: Eat Local, Live Healthy'' is a City of Chicago strategy to coordinate aspects of the local and regional food industry in ways that enhance public health and create food-related business opportunities.
CITYGreen Environmental Education
American Forests' environmental education program provides students with a real world learning experience while providing teachers an innovative yet well organized program for teaching science, math and Geographic Information Systems.
Clarksville, Tennessee, Smart Growth Plan 2030
The Clarksville Smart Growth Plan 2030 was initiated in January 2010 by Clarksville Mayor John E. Piper and the Clarksville City Council. The mayor established a Comprehensive Master Plan Committee with the responsibility of creating a strategic plan to guide the future growth, development and quality of life initiatives for the community. The first phase of the plan was published to a new website on July 30.
Smart Growth Plan 2030 is subtitled ''a Blueprint for Progress & Quality . . . as we grow to 250,000 residents.'' Combining the work of a multi-disciplinary planning team plus the input of 200 citizen volunteers, the plan presents a vision for the city of Clarksville, including artistic renderings, potential projects, economic considerations and implementation steps to achieve major priorities.
Climate@CNU
Climate@CNU is the Congress for the New Urbanism's (CNU's) Low-Carbon Urbanism Campaign, which emphasizes low-carbon neighborhoods and high-quality living.
Collaborative of High Performance Schools Project List
The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) facilitates the design, construction and operation of high performance schools: environments that are not only energy and resource efficient, but also healthy, comfortable, well lit, and containing the amenities for a quality education. The CHPS Project List provides an at-a-glance view of school districts from across the country that are building high performance schools using the CHPS Criteria.
Community Growth Options -- Minnesota
Community Growth Options, a 1000 Friends of Minnesota program, is designed to deliver to small, fast-growing communities financial and other assistance for community planning, ordinance development and implementation.
CommunityViz Planning Software
The Orton Family Foundation announces that it is making its CommunityViz® planning software available to communities at a new, reduced cost of $185, removing a significant barrier to access to communities across the country in need of effective planning tools and methods.
Connected and Sustainable Mobility
The Connected Bus is a landmark innovation and a key element of the Connected Urban Development program's Urban Transportation Technology framework. Begun in summer 2007, the pilot project is a collaborative effort involving Cisco IBSG -- the global strategic consulting arm of Cisco -- and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). They are jointly designing, developing, and delivering The Connected Bus pilot for the City and County of San Francisco.
Connecting Green Trail Packages
Portland, Oregon park providers, local cities and citizens have worked for decades to establish a network of trails linking parks to local communities and other area attractions. In April 2008 the Metro Council appointed a Blue Ribbon Committee for Trails to take the work the community has developed, evaluate where regional trails fit in the region's priorities and recommend potential strategies for expanding the region's trail network.
Creating Great Places
Creating Great Places is an initiative of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) that helps governors design and implement state growth and physical development strategies that promote healthy, economically competitive and sustainable communities.
Draft Vermont Pedestrian and Bicycle Policy Plan
The State of Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) has developed a draft Vermont Pedestrian and Bicycle Policy Plan to promote bicycling and walking as an integral part of the overall transportation network in Vermont.
EcoDensity -- Vancouver
EcoDensity is a concept being discussed with the Vancouver community. In brief, EcoDensity is an acknowledgement that high quality and strategically located density can make Vancouver more sustainable, livable and affordable.
Evaluation of Smart Growth on the Ground
''Smart Growth on the Ground'' is an innovative program to change the way that development is done in British Columbia by creating real, built examples of smart growth. This unique program helps BC communities to prepare more sustainable neighborhood plans -- including land use, transportation, urban design, and building design plans. Extensive follow-up ensures that the plans become reality.
Fall 2007 Walking School Bus Program -- Columbia, Missouri
The Columbia, Missouri, PedNet Coalition is hosting a Walking School Bus Program at seven area public elementary schools during the Fall 2007 semester.
Focusing Our Vision: Planning for Sustainability in the San Francisco Region
The Vision was created in 2002 by individuals and organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area who believe that the region's population growth can be accommodated in a sustainable way. The Vision calls for the Bay Area to develop as a ''network of neighborhoods,'' where future growth is concentrated near transit and in the existing communities that surround the San Francisco Bay. Focusing Our Vision is the most recent effort to realize the Vision. Referred to as FOCUS, the program's nickname is fitting because it requires a FOCUS of efforts, resources and housing development in areas that will promote the long-term sustainability of the region.
Forum on Children and Nature
The National Forum on Children and Nature is a diverse group of public and private leaders dedicated to reconnecting kids with nature. Hosted by The Conservation Fund hosts and comprised of four governors, three mayors, corporate CEOs, parks officials and others, the Forum's goal is to improve children's health and overall well-being, while encouraging them to rediscover America's landscape.
Great Cities Initiative
The work of Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is grounded in on-site analysis and offers a unique community-based approach to revitalization. PPS's Great Cities Initiative assembles these services into a step-by-step program that any town, city, or region can systematically apply to improve its neighborhoods place by place.
Greater Lansing Go Green Initiative
The Greater Lansing Go Green! Initiative is working to promote environmental and economic health for all those who live, work, and play in Greater Lansing.
Greater Washington 2050
Greater Washington 2050 is a new regional initiative to improve the quality of life for Washington area residents in the next 50 years by fostering stronger regional awareness, leadership and action today and in the next few years.
Green Government Initiative
Launched in 2007, the NACo Green Government Initiative provides comprehensive resources for local governments on all things green, including energy, air quality, transportation, water quality, land use, purchasing and recycling.
Green Health Care
Hospitals in the Premier healthcare alliance are taking the lead in helping healthcare organizations advance environmental sustainability to lower costs, promote quality and preserve the communities they serve. These efforts have been recognized for since 2004 by Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E), now known as Practice Greenhealth.
GREEN reModel Initiative
As part of the Earth Day Network's Green Schools Campaign, the GREEN reModel Initiative will carefully select five public low-income, urban schools and transform them into national models of high performing and sustainable schools over the next five years.
Green Schools Fact Sheet
Earth Day Network's Green Schools Campaign, in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and The Clinton Foundation, aims to green all of America's K-12 schools within a generation. This Green Schools Fact Sheet provides information on why green schools make sense.
Healthy and Sustainable Food Policy for San Francisco
On July 9, 2009, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Issued an Executive Directive 09-03: ''Healthy and Sustainable Food for San Francisco.'' In this directive the city ''declares its commitment to increasing the amount of healthy and sustainable food.''
Healthy Communities and Environmental Justice
The Conservation Law Foundation's (CLF's) Healthy Communities and Environmental Justice Program works to ensure that New England's communities are vibrant and healthy places for people of all ages, regardless of race, ethnicity, or economic status, today and in future generations.
Healthy Streets Campaign
The goal of the Healthy Streets Campaign is to make physically active transportation safe, convenient and fun. The Campaign is working to redesign streets around the needs of people rather than motor vehicles alone. The Healthy Streets Campaign aims to effect a balanced transportation environment that more wisely allocates resources and space to encourage walking, bicycling and public transit -- and re-creates streets to better serve all aspects of community life.
ICMA to Host Urban Forestry Webcast; Free to First 100 Registrants
On May 18, 2004, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) will host a webcast, Seeing Green with Trees The Economic and Environmental Benefits of Urban Forests, to provide an overview of how trees have been used by local governments to meet their regulatory requirements, save money, and improve community quality of life.
Imagine Calgary
imagineCALGARY is a City-led, community-owned initiative to create a 100-year-vision and plan for a sustainable Calgary in order to ensure a prosperous economy, clean environment and high quality of life for the people living in the city for decades to come.
imagineCALGARY plan
What are your hopes and dreams for Calgary's future? By answering these four simple questions, Calgarians began the process of shaping their city's future. Launched in January 2005 with the goal of producing a 100-year vision for Calgary based on what today's Calgarians want their city to look like, more than 18,000 Calgarians have added their voices to imagineCALGARY, making this the largest community visioning process of its kind anywhere in the world.
Index of Smart Growth Scorecards
The Growth Management Leadership Alliance has prepared a resource listing numerous scorecards development by states and cities throughout the U.S. to help determine if a project meets principles of smart growth.
Infill Philadelphia: Food Access
It is estimated that low-income neighborhoods have 30% fewer grocery stores per capita than higher income neighborhoods. Living in one of our nation's ''food deserts'' can mean an unreliable and limited diet, high food prices, soaring diabetes rates, and childhood obesity. Infill Philadelphia: Food Access looks at how innovative design can improve access to fresh, healthy food in urban neighborhoods.
Kansas City's Metro Green: 1,144 Miles of Public and Private Trails, Open Spaces
MetroGreen is a proposed 1,144-mile interconnected system of public and private open spaces, greenways and trails designed to link seven counties in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
KidsWalk-to-School
To support the national goal of better health through physical activity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Nutrition and Physical Activity Program has developed KidsWalk-to-School. This is a community-based program that aims to increase opportunities for daily physical activity by encouraging children to walk to and from school in groups accompanied by adults.
Learning for Sustainability
Learning for Sustainability is the first New South Wales three-year environmental education plan. It aims to build the capacity of the whole community to be engaged in making environmental improvements and living sustainably.
LEED for Neighborhood Development -- Public Comment Period
The LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism and green building into the first national system for neighborhood design. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a development's location and design meet accepted high levels of environmentally responsible, sustainable development. LEED for Neighborhood Development is a collaboration among U.S. Green Building Council, the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
LEED for Neighborhood Development 2009 -- 1st Public Comment
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) invites the public to participate in the first public comment period for the proposed draft of the LEED for Neighborhood Development 2009 Rating System.
LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot List
LEED for Neighborhood Development -- the pilot rating system launched jointly by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) is off to a promising start. A total of 238 developments have signed up to participate in the pilot program, which will be the first national certification system for sustainable neighborhood design and development.
LEED for Neighborhood Developments -- Draft for Comment
A preliminary pilot draft of the LEED-ND Rating System under development by the LEED for Neighborhood Developments Core Committee is being made available for comments. The comments made during this period will aid the LEED-ND Core Committee in revising the preliminary pilot draft and producing a draft which will be the LEED-ND Pilot Rating System.
Local Farms, Healthy Kids
Local Farms -- Healthy Kids is legislation passed by Washington State (HB 2798/SB 6483) that establishes it as a national leader in promoting local food policy. Governor Gregoire signed Local Farms -- Healthy Kids into law on March 27, 2008.
Locally Grown Food London
Mayor of London, England Boris Johnson and Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food, have launched an innovative scheme to turn 2,012 pieces of land into thriving green spaces to grow food by 2012.
Location Efficient Mortgages Brochure
This brochure provides an overview of Location Efficient Mortgages® (LEM), a program that increases the amount of money homebuyers in urban areas are able to borrow by taking into account the money they save by living in neighborhoods where they can shop at nearby stores and use public transit, rather than driving to work and to the mall.
Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan
Louisiana Speaks is the long-term community planning initiative of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. The Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan document lays out a clear plan based on Louisianians' aspirations for the future, and it provides specific actions to get there.
Maryland Smart Growth Listening Session Online
The State of Maryland has created an online ''listening session'' where residents can provide their views and opinions on the future of growth and development in the state. The online survey takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete.
Maryland Sustainable Communities Funds
The Maryland Sustainable Communities Initiative -- a collaboration of agencies in the Governor's Smart Growth Sub-Cabinet -- will provide access to new resources for updating local comprehensive plans. For State Fiscal Year 2009, up to $500,000 will be awarded through the Sustainable Communities Initiative. Funds may be used for revisions to existing plans or for specific elements of plans that are new or need to be updated.
MetroFuture: Updating Boston's Regional Roadmap
MetroFuture is the Boston Metropolitan Area Planning Council's (MAPC) recent initiative to update MetroPlan, the agency's 1990 regional roadmap. This large-scale participatory initiative will develop a vision for the Metro Boston region’s future and a strategy to get there.
Michigan Prosperity Initiative
Michiganians have a unique opportunity to take stock of their communities and plan for prosperity through an ambitious and fast-moving initiative backed by Michigan State University.
The Michigan Prosperity Initiative in April 2010 will begin to enlist Michigan citizens to join regional projects focused on inventorying community assets and seizing opportunities to leverage those for local and statewide economic development.
''The Michigan Prosperity Initiative will infuse cutting-edge knowledge into our state planning regions, which serve all our communities,'' said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. ''MSU offers expertise on the 'new economy' and has a well-deserved reputation as an effective, trusted local partner. We intend to help facilitate these regional projects to better position Michigan to tap sources of funding and investment by promoting awareness of the wealth of assets our state has to offer.''
The MSU Land Policy Institute and MSU Extension will lead the research and outreach component of the initiative, which is supported by a broad coalition of partners including the governor's office, the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth and the Michigan Economic Development Corp.; the Michigan Townships Association; the Michigan Municipal League; the Michigan Association of Planning; and the 14 State Planning and Development Regions. The LPI and MSU Extension already operate the successful Michigan Citizen Planner program, training community planners and policymakers.
''The Michigan Prosperity Initiative is a roadmap to strengthen Michigan's regional economies and one that aligns perfectly with the Obama Administration's efforts to foster regional collaborations,'' Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm said. ''Washington is prioritizing the funding of places that are developing economic plans based on their regional advantages. This is a strategic effort to leverage our own incredible assets into transformative opportunities for Michigan communities.''
''Michigan's regions can become more competitive,'' LPI Director Soji Adelaja said, ''like those successful U.S. communities that have developed comprehensive strategies for diversified manufacturing, vibrant cities, green energy, new agricultural markets and growing populations of knowledge workers.''
The initiative gets off to a fast start with 100 free training programs across the state between April 19 and June 16. The first set will be an introduction to the new economy and is open to all, and MSU Extension will deploy new Internet social networking channels to further help gather community input. The following two sets of sessions will allow local officials to create regional strategic growth plans, with technical assistance from MSU.
A key tool for the Michigan Prosperity Initiative was released March 23 by the LPI: Michigan’s Critical Assets: An Atlas for Regional Partnerships and Placemaking for Prosperity in the Global New Economy. The atlas maps statewide assets categorized as new economy; green infrastructure; quality of life; renewable energy; and knowledge.
''Every place doesn't have everything,'' Adelaja said. ''But virtually every place in our state has something that can appeal to segments of the population and industry in the creation of new prosperity. This atlas provides the visual evidence of how asset-rich Michigan is. The atlas can help communities understand what they have available to build their economic futures.''
(source: Michigan Land Policy Institute)
More information is available at the link below.
Million Trees Initiative -- Los Angeles
Million Trees LA is a cooperative effort between the City of Los Angeles, community groups, businesses, and individuals working together to plant and provide long-term stewardship of one million trees planted where they're needed most. Special attention will be given to schools, under-served communities, and those areas along the Los Angeles River.
Minnesota Green Communities
Minnesota Green Communities is an initiative designed to foster the creation of affordable, healthier, and more energy-efficient homes throughout Minnesota. Through pilot funding of Minnesota Green Communities by the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, the Family Housing Fund, and Enterprise, four demonstration projects will be built in Minnesota (2005-2007) totaling 180 homes, including rental, homeownership and supportive affordable green housing.
Minnesota Healthy Sustainable Schools
Minnesota Healthy Sustainable Schools is the state's first interagency, cross-sector collaboration helping schools on a variety of issues, such as health, performance, and sustainability.
National Farm to School Online
Farm to School brings healthy food from local farms to school children nationwide. The program teaches students about the path from farm to fork, and instills healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. At the same time, use of local produce in school meals and educational activities provides a new direct market for farmers in the area and mitigates environmental impacts of transporting food long distances.
National Vacant Properties Campaign
Vacant properties and abandoned buildings present communities with complex challenges. Crime, arson and reduced property values are just a few of the problems that vacant properties bring to neighborhoods, and solving these problems is surprisingly difficult.
Nature in Neighborhood Grants -- Oregon
In 2006, the Portland, Oregon Metro Council approved a two-year, $1 million grant program to restore or enhance nature in the urban area. Funds for the program were provided by Metro excise taxes collected on solid waste disposal during the last several years.
New Jersey Clean Energy Program
The New Jersey Clean Energy Program is a tool to build and deliver reliable energy capacity through efficiency and renewable technologies. The Program has already saved millions of kilowatt-hours of electricity and cubic feet of natural gas annually.
New Markets Tax Credit Program to Benefit Urban Commercial Districts
The New Markets Tax Credit is a federal program that offers investors such as local banks a 39 percent tax credit over seven years for loans and equity investments in businesses that serve low- and moderate-income residents.
New Tool for Community Stewardship Available for Download
The Economic Profile System (EPS) is a tool for community stewardship. This term describes locally driven initiatives that strive to protect the ecological and cultural values of an area, while meeting a community’s economic and social needs.
Open Space Seattle 2100
Citizens from civic, environmental, business, neighborhood and community groups have joined with the University of Washington to create a 100-year plan for Seattle's open spaces. This collaborative vision reaches from the city limits to the downtown core, creating a comprehensive network of parks, civic spaces, streets, trails, shorelines, and urban forests that will bind neighborhoods to one another, create ecological conduits from the city's ridgelines to its shorelines, and ensure a wealth of green spaces for all citizens to enjoy.
Orange County California Community Indicators Report 2009
The Orange County (California) Community Indicators Project annually measures the overall quality of life of the Orange County community by tracking key indicators of economic, social and environmental well being. Modeled after successful programs in the state and nation, the Community Indicators Project serves as an ongoing and dynamic measurement tool which can support a variety of local and regional initiatives concerned with the well-being of the county.
Our Town: Education Curriculum for Brownfields
''Our Town'' is a U.S. EPA-sponsored program affiliate of Purdue University's Department of Engineering Education. This interdisciplinary K-12 education program is designed engage students in the science, economics, and social impacts of brownfields redevelopment in their community.
Philadelphia Green City Strategy
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Green City Strategy calls for significant improvements to the city's open spaces as a means to attract new residents and investment. It also addresses the problem of vacant land and promotes a citywide vacant land greening and management system.
Picture Michigan Tomorrow
The Michigan State University (MSU) Land Policy Program, with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's People and Land program, has launched a new initiative, Picture Michigan Tomorrow. The heart of this new initiative is developing new models of Michigan's land use future to raise understanding of what the state will look like in the future.
Planning Audioconferences
The American Planning Association and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy offer a series of audio conference programs for training public officials and professionals on planning and development issues. These programs provide a general overview to the topic, provide short case studies of tools and techniques, and offer insight into current trends.
Portfields: Charting a Course for Port Revitalization
Portfields is a federal interagency partnership addressing brownfields in and around port communities, with an emphasis on the development of environmentally-sound port facilities. Portfields is led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and EPA, with support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Economic Development Administration (EDA), and other federal agencies.
Portland and the 21st Century School
AIA/Portland and Portland Public Schools are collaborating on a two-part effort that combines an intense two- to three-day Summit on the 21st Century School in Portland, with a follow-up implementation effort to create a Plan for the Future. It is fitting that an educational model that is a century and a half old is being challenged and transformed in 2007, the same year that the AIA celebrates its own 150th anniversary.
Portland Brownfield Program
The Portland, Oregon, Brownfield Program helps transform brownfields into vibrant working space for the City of Portland. This program provides technical and financial support to property owners, developers, and community members.
Pro Bono Community Planning Team Charrette
In April 2004, the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) sponsored its fourth annual Community Assistance Program community planning charrette in Washington, D.C., the host city for this year's National Planning Conference.
Qualities of a Great Street
The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) has identified ten qualities that contribute to the success of great streets. Streets account for as much as a third of the land in a city, and historically, they served as public spaces for social and economic exchanges. Great streets incorporate the elements described in the list below.
RE:Vision -- Changing the World One Block at a Time
How would you rebuild a city block? Where would you start? Where would you end? The Re:Vision Community is here to learn, discuss, share, expound and, ultimately, create a sustainable street that can be the blueprint for cities everywhere.
Redevelopment Ready Communities
The Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC) program helps older metro Detroit communities streamline administrative local government processes by removing redevelopment barriers through a set of best practices and a certification system.
Regional Conservation Priorities
The Washington Smart Growth Alliance has published Regional Conservation Priorities 2008: A Call to Action, a juried list of programs and projects in the Washington, D.C. are that offer the most promise or of the highest urgency in promoting sustainability in the National Capital Region.
Regional Equity Atlas Project
The Regional Equity Atlas, from Portland, Oregon's Coalition for a Livable Future, is an important step toward addressing the challenge of building a more just and equitable society. The information from this online tool will be shared with policy makers, planners, businesses, and the general public, and used by community-based organizations to advocate for changing public policies and redirecting public and private investments to make regional development more equitable.
Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships
The Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships work to sustain Minnesota's natural resource-based communities and industries by addressing community-identified agriculture, natural resources, and tourism issues. The Program is a cooperative venture between the University of Minnesota and citizen leaders around the state.
Restoring Prosperity Initiative
The Restoring Prosperity Initiative is a joint effort of groups in six states and at the national level to develop and advance an agenda for revitalizing America's older industrial cities.
Revitalizing Older Cities Initiative
Some urban and metropolitan areas throughout the Northeast and Midwest have enjoyed stable population growth and rich economic prosperity throughout recent history. However, many of the region's historic cities - former centers of industry, transportation, and American ingenuity - have suffered, and continue to suffer, the pains of population loss, lack of traditional employment opportunities, and diminished economic investment.
Recognizing that a high number of our nation’s most economically challenged older industrial cities are concentrated in our region, the Northeast-Midwest Institute has embraced a new Revitalizing Older Cities Initiative. This initiative pulls from many of the long-standing policy issues associated with the Institute, including brownfields, urban food issues, energy, manufacturing, and environmental restoration policy.
Corresponding with the Institute’s older cities work, the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition established the Revitalizing Older Cities (ROC) Congressional Task Force. Members of Congress sharing an interest in restoring prosperity to America’s great historic manufacturing and transportation centers of the Northeast and Midwest now have a structured group to exchange legislative ideas, create effective policy, and utilize the research capabilities of the Northeast-Midwest Institute. The ROC Congressional Task Force is co-chaired by Representatives Brian Higgins (D-NY) and Mike Turner (R-OH) and currently maintains 22 committed members. To support the ROC Congressional Task Force, the Northeast-Midwest Institute is in the process of convening working group teams. The advisory teams will focus on policy analysis and enhancement recommendations in six areas germane to older cities revitalization: transportation and infrastructure, housing, energy and environment, brownfields, economic and workforce development, and healthy livable communities.
Rural People, Rural Policy Initiative
Rural People, Rural Policy (RPRP) is a multi-year national initiative by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that energizes and equips rural organizations and networks to shape policy that will improve the lives of rural people and the vitality of rural communities.
Sample Safe Routes to School Programs
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership (SRTSNP) highlights stories from Safe Routes to School programs nationwide. Innovative programs that involve community members are continuing to set new standards and develop best practices.
Smart Growth Leadership Institute
The Smart Growth Leadership Institute, the University of Southern California, and the University of Colorado, funded by a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, have selected nine communities to provide implementation assistance.
Smart Growth Leadership Institute -- Community Profiles
The Smart Growth Leadership Institute (SGLI) offers profiles of nine communities that participated in its Implementation Assistance Program in 2004. These communities -- stretching from Florida to Alaska -- were selected in 2004 to work with the SGLI team in implementing smart growth policies.
Smart Growth on the Ground
Smart Growth on the Ground is an innovative program to change the way that development is done in British Columbia, by creating real, built examples of smart growth. This unique program helps BC communities to prepare more sustainable neighbourhood plans -- including land use, transportation, urban design, and building design plans.
Smart Growth Scorecards
Various organizations and a number of municipalities have developed scorecards that help communities assess their policies and proposed development projects. In an effort to help share the available resources with citizens, municipal officials, and communities, the Development, Community, and Environment Division at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has collected and organized this set of sample scorecards.
Smart Growth Strategies for New England
This web site outlines the EPA's Smart Growth Action Plan for New England, as created after the 1999 Smart Growth Strategies for New England conference. The site outlines the key elements of the action plan, and includes a list of accomplishments to date.
Smart Housing Zones
The Smart Housing for Economic Prosperity task force convened by New Jersey Future has crafted ''Smart Housing Zones,'' a voluntary state program designed to overcome a key obstacle: local opposition to residential zoning.
Sustainability Initiative-- National Trust for Historic Preservation
Through its Sustainability Initiative, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is focusing the nation's attention on the importance of reusing existing buildings and reinvesting in older and historic communities as critical elements in combating climate change.
Sustainability Leaders Program
The Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) is the United Kingdom's sustainability champion for universities and colleges, working in the sector, for the sector. With its long history of working on environmental and social issues, the EAUC will enable your institution to become a leading sustainable one.
Sustainability Leadership Academy
The University of Oregon's Sustainability Leadership Academy offers professional development seminars on sustainability practices. Each seminar is designed to give practitioners a theoretical foundation and practical tools to move an organization toward sustainable development.
Sustainability through Healthy Community Design
HealthScape is King County, Washington's program to promote improved public health and air quality through wise land use and transportation choices. ''Sustainability through Healthy Community Design'' is the title of their brochure that describes the links between neighborhood design and improved community health.
Sustainable Cleveland
The Connecting Cleveland 2020 Citywide Plan includes a plan narrative that outlines policies and strategies surrounding topics of citywide and neighborhood significance such as housing, retail, economic development, education, recreation, arts & culture, and safety. It gives a general overview of each topic then further explains the assets, trends, challenges, and opportunities in Cleveland related to each.
Sustainable Huron
Huron County, Ontario, is undergoing a five-year review of the County's Official Plan, a land-use planning document that is a statement of where and how development should take place. The Plan includes the vision, goals and policy directions for development of the County, as established by the community in 1998 and 1999.
The Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support Center
The Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support Center (BTSC, formerly called the Brownfields Technology Support Center) responds to requests from U.S. EPA regions, states, localities, and tribes to provide support for brownfields sites. Recently, the BTSC has extended its support services to Superfund sites.
The Maturing of America
Five national organizations have joined forces in The Maturing of America -- Getting Communities on Track for an Aging Population, a project to help cities and counties better meet the needs of their aging population, and to harness the experience and talent of their older citizens.
Turning Green into Gold Seminars
If you are an architect, designer, facility manager, or real estate developer these seminars are for you. Green building, environmentally friendly or whatever you may call it might sound like a tree-hugging frill -- in reality it makes a lot of financial sense.
U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Initiative
Many cities, in this country and abroad, already have strong local policies and programs in place to reduce global warming pollution, but more action is needed at the local, state, and federal levels to meet the challenge. On February 16, 2005 the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement to address climate disruption, became law for the 141 countries that have ratified it to date. On that day, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels launched this initiative to advance the goals of the Kyoto Protocol through leadership and action by at least 141 American cities.
ULI's UrbanPlan
UrbanPlan is an exciting educational initiative of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), developed in partnership with the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley and a team of high school economics and government teachers.
Urban Coasts: Resources for Planning and Conservation
Sea Grant, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA's) primary university-based program in support of coastal resource use and conservation, has created an Urban Coasts theme on its website to identify the most pressing research needs related to urban coasts along U.S. marine and Great Lakes waters, and to develop a research and outreach agenda that prioritizes and addresses these needs.
Urban Farming Food Chain Project
The Urban Farming Food Chain Project uses a vertical farming system to bring fresh produce directly to Los Angeles residents and students, who learn gardening on an innovative wall panel system that also greens the walls to help lower the heat index and beautify the city.
Urban Rivers Pilots Announced
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced four new Urban Rivers Initiative pilots at the Brownfields Showcase Community Research Summit in Washington, DC last week.
Vacant Land Stabilization Program
As population continues to shift from cities to outlying areas, many aging industrial cities are burdened with acres of abandoned, trash-strewn land. Philadelphia Green®, a program of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, works hand-in-hand with community-based organizations and the city's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI) to transform this vacant land into an asset for the community. By making the land more attractive, communities are better able to retain existing residents and businesses while attracting new ones.
Vibrant Communities
Green Map System sponsors Vibrant Communities -- Green Maps of New York & the World, an exhibit of Green Maps from around the world. The free exhibit appears at Urban Center Gallery in New York City September 22 to November 30, 2004.
Washington Smart Growth Alliance Recognition Program -- 2007
Developers in Washington, DC region recognize that there is a major challenge in gaining the necessary approvals for projects that are consistent with smart growth principles. The purpose of the SGA's Smart Growth Recognition Program is to help those projects get approved by informing regulators, public officials, citizen groups, developers, and others of the merits these projects would bring to a community and the region.
Washington Smart Growth Alliance Recognition Program -- 2008
Developers in Washington, DC region recognize that there is a major challenge in gaining the necessary approvals for projects that are consistent with smart growth principles. The purpose of the SGA's Smart Growth Recognition Program is to help those projects get approved by informing regulators, public officials, citizen groups, developers, and others of the merits these projects would bring to a community and the region.
What if we built our cities around Places?
Project for Public Spaces (PPS) offers a discussion on its website, What if we built our cities around Places? as part of its Great Cities Initiative. This citizen-empowering article encourages improvements to begin with small steps at the local level.
Your Town Workshops
Your Town: The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design is a leadership initiative funded by the National Endowment for the Arts that responds to the design needs of small towns and rural areas. The program addresses a range of critical problems that rural communities face.
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