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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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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 Protection Success Stories
''Success Stories from our Cities and Counties'' is a project of the Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network Climate Protection Task Force. Formed in May 2007, the Joint Venture Public Sector Climate Task Force includes representatives from every city and county in Silicon Valley, plus several special districts and representatives from Pacific Gas and Electric and SunPower.
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.
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.
Creating the Sustainable Workplace
Originally presented at the American Institute of Architects National Convention in Chicago, IL, June 2004, Creating the Sustainable Workplace describes factors that shape workplace design, how to create long-term value with a sustainable workplace, sustainable planning, design, and construction, and more.
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.
Elder Friendly Communities Program
The Elder Friendly Communities Program supports seniors to connect with each other, contribute to their neighbourhoods, and effectively voice their concerns through senior-led initiatives. The Calgary, Alberta program promotes the use of promising practices for collaborative community development work with seniors as identified through research.
Energy Efficient Mortgages
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) offer an Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) webpage. An EEM is a mortgage that credits a home's energy efficiency in the mortgage itself. EEMs give borrowers the opportunity to finance cost-effective, energy-saving measures as part of a single mortgage and stretch debt-to-income qualifying ratios on loans thereby allowing borrowers to qualify for a larger loan amount and a better, more energy-efficient home.
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.
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.
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 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 Building Glossary
The National Association of Realtors' (NAR's) Green REsource Council website offers a Green Building Glossary of terms specific to environmentally sustainable buildings, construction, and development.
Green Communities 2008 Action Plan
The Iowa Department of Economic Development has published its Green Communities 2008 Action Plan, a set of services and initiatives that encourage community sustainability.
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.
Housing Choice Voucher Program
Local Initiatives Support Corporation offers an Excel spreadsheet that assists practitioners in calculating affordability for individual clients being considered for HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Housing Connections
Housing Connections is a web-based community service in the Portland, OR, area that is intended to better connect providers of housing and housing services to renters looking for housing opportunities. Its goal is to provide access to up-to-date housing information with user-friendly tools that are customized for each user group: renters, landlords and property managers, and housing agency staff that help people find and keep housing. This program can serve as a model to other cities as they harness information technology to address complex social and economic issues related to assuring affordable housing.
Housing Innovations -- Boston Indicators Project
The Boston Indicators Project offers the Hub of Innovation, a collection of some of the most forward-looking local, regional, national and international work in the ten sectors tracked by the Boston Indicators Project. The Housing Innovations section highlights projects that further the goals of making housing more affordable and designed to better serve communities.
HUD, DOT Create Sustainable Communities Partnership
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood announced a new partnership to help families gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs.
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.
Iowa's Green Streets Building Criteria
The Iowa Green Streets Criteria, published by Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED), promote public health, energy efficiency, water conservation, smart locations, operational savings and sustainable building practices.
Kansas Energy Efficiency Incentives
Efficiency Kansas is loan program from the State Energy Office at the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) that provides a sustainable source of financing for cost-effective, energy-efficiency improvements in existing homes and small businesses throughout Kansas.
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
The U.S. Green Building Council, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council -- three organizations that represent that nation's leaders among progressive design professionals, builders, planners, developers, and the environmental community -- have come together to develop LEED for Neighborhood Development, a rating system that will integrate the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into the first national standard for neighborhood design.
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.
Lifetime Homes; Lifetime Neighborhoods
The United Kingdom government has published Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods: A National Strategy for Housing In An Ageing Society, a major new housing strategy giving older people greater choice and addressing the challenges of an ageing population.
Livable Delaware Agenda
Livable Delaware is a positive, proactive strategy that seeks to curb sprawl and direct growth to areas where the state, counties and local governments are most prepared for it in terms of infrastructure investment and thoughtful planning.
Location Efficient Mortgages
The Location Efficient Mortgage (LEM) is a mortgage that helps people become homeowners in location efficient communities. These are convenient neighborhoods in which residents can walk from their homes to stores, schools, recreation, and public transportation. People who live in location efficient communities have less need to drive, which allows them to save money and improves the environment for everyone.
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.
Maryland Tool Box
Governor's Office of Smart Growth. This one-stop resource for individuals, communities, builders and environmentalists contains the many programs offered by Maryland State agencies in support of Smart Growth principles and the Maryland Smart Growth Program.
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.
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.
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.
Neighborhood Survey Pro
Neighborhood Survey Pro is a tool to make neighborhood surveys easier to complete. Data can be recorded on a handheld computer and then downloaded to a master database. Paper survey forms and data entry can be skipped, as information is entered directly into the program.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
San Francisco Green Communities
The Mayor's Office of Housing (MOH), the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA) and Enterprise have joined forces to invest at least $100 million worth of incentives to build 600 new homes in San Francisco that promote health, conserve energy and natural resources, and provide easy access to jobs, schools and services.
Savings by Design Program
Savings by Design is a program to encourage high-performance nonresidential building design and construction in California. Sponsored by four of the state's largest utilities under the auspices of the Public Utilities Commission, Savings By Design offers building owners and their design team a wide range of services.
Smart Commute Initiative -- Delaware
The Smart Commute Initiative gives prospective home buyers
throughout the state of Delaware the opportunity to qualify for a mortgage with the help of savings realized
from utilizing public transportation.
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 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 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.
The Preservation Compact: Affordable Housing Action Plan
The Preservation Compact is rental housing action plan created by Chicago area leaders to stem the loss of affordable housing in Cook County by committing to preserve at least 75,000 affordable rental units in the county by 2020.
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.
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.
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.
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