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Know a project that's creating great neighborhoods? Nominate it for the 2013 National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement

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Buffalo, NY’s Larkin District won an honorable mention for the Main Street or Corridor Revitalization category in 2013. Photo courtesy of U.S. EPA.

Do you know of an organization or project that’s using better development strategies to make your community a great place to live? If you do, consider nominating it for the 2013 National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

These prestigious annual awards honor projects and policies that use smart growth strategies to improve communities environmentally, socially, and economically. Past winners include some of the most innovative development projects in the country, and a project in your community could be next.

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Smart Growth Stories: Mayor Marilyn Strickland on development in Tacoma, WA

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Tacoma, WA Mayor Marilyn Strickland considers her city “the best kept secret in Washington State,” and smart growth strategies are helping make the city an even better place to live and work.

“Tacoma kind of got bypassed during the whole urban renewal phase of the late 60s and 70s, so as a result a lot of historic property did not get razed,” Strickland says. “So we have this beautiful stock of old warehouses and historic property.”

Local Leaders Council

Taking a close look at the federal government’s spending on real estate

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The following post was crossposted on the U.S. Green Building Council’s blog.

The biggest real estate investor in the United States isn’t Donald Trump, and it’s not a private equity firm.

Spending or committing roughly $450 billion a year, the federal government is by far and away the largest investor in real estate in the country. This spending spans 50 federal programs at half a dozen agencies, and includes everything from loans and loan guarantees to tax credits to low-income housing grants. If you include the quasi-governmental enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the amount of money the government spends each year on real estate is even larger.

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Rethink Real Estate: The Housing Credit

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Trumbull Park Homes, a low-income housing development in Chicago, Illinois. Photo by Robert R. Gigliotti via Flickr.

In January, Smart Growth America released Federal Involvement in Real Estate, a survey of over 50 federal programs that influence real estate in some way. This post is the second in a series taking a closer look at some of the programs included in that survey.

Congress began the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program in 1986 to incentivize the private sector to develop more affordable rental units for low-income households. Since its creation, the credit has created or preserved nearly two million affordable rental units across the country.

The program offsets investors’ federal income tax liabilities, but the responsibility for administering the program is delegated to the states. States designate housing credit agencies to distribute a pool of tax credits from the U.S. Department of Treasury based on their population. In 2010, the amount of credits agencies received was equal to the greater of $2.10 per capita or $2,430,000. For example, the population of Oklahoma in 2010 was about 3.6 million people, so the state received about $7.7 million in tax credits, or 3.6 million multiplied by $2.10.

LOCUS

Complete Streets news: February 2013

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Policy Adoption

On February 5, 2013, the Oakland, California City Council unanimously approved a Complete Streets policy. The new document includes specific actions to implement Complete Streets, including a review of existing plans, defining a stakeholder consultation process, and establishing and collecting data related to Complete Streets performance measures. Read more >>

Rancho Cucamonga, California, a suburban community in the greater Los Angeles region, boasts the state’s newest Complete Streets ordinance. Approved unanimously in December, the ordinance includes a robust list of performance metrics and implementation steps. Read more >>

The City of Philadelphia has finalized its Complete Streets Handbook! The new guide provides design guidance to planners, engineers and architects and helps residents understand the city’s tools for creating Complete Streets. The Handbook release follows the signing of the city’s Complete Streets Bill in December 2012 and Mayor Nutter’s 2009 Executive Order. Under the Handbook, all City projects will be subject to Complete Streets processes. Read more >>

Complete Streets Local Leaders Council

Partnership in the News: EPA grant for Brattleboro, VT looks to incorporate smart growth

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The town of Brattleboro, Vermont has received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Building Blocks Sustainable Communities grant to aid in incorporating smart growth principles into local codes. Brattleboro is among 43 communities nationwide to receive a grant, and one of nine grants to focus on Sustainable Strategies for Small Cities and Rural Areas.

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Coalition Updates – 2/20/13

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In this issue: Please register for the Coalition and Lobby Day Meetings (March 20-21st) and please book your hotel room for the Coalition and Lobby Day ASAP – Deadline is Feb. 25th SGA Coalition Member Survey Call for proposals – EPA’s Smart Growth Implementation Assistance – due March 1 Transportation for America is hosting a … Continued

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Local Leaders Council talks smart growth implementation at 2013 New Partners for Smart Growth conference

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Members of the Local Leaders Council and Smart Growth America staff. Top row, from left: Bill Fulton, Mayor Madeline Rogero, Mayor John Engen, Mayor Ken Moore, County Board Member Chris Zimmerman, Vice-Mayor Anu Natarajan and Jessica Holmberg. Bottom row, from left: Neha Bhatt, Councilmember Dave Richins, Mayor Rick Danner, and Mayor Scott Avedesian.

Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council was in Kansas City last week to collaborate, learn, and present solutions at the 12th annual New Partners for Smart Growth conference.

Over 1,100 people convened in Kansas City for the conference, including city planners, elected officials, bloggers, community leaders, health experts, and business people. Attendees traded ideas and stories, presented questions and solutions, and found new allies.

Local Leaders Council
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