Action

What could we do with an extra 4,570 square miles?

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In Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Railyards project turned an abandoned rail depot into a shopping, dining and event space destination.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Mayo Hotel turned a deteriorating building into luxury accommodations and loft apartments in the heart of downtown.

These are just some of the ways cities have redeveloped brownfield sites — contaminated land which takes up an estimated 4,570 square miles in the United States.

Earlier this month four senators introduced a bill that would give communities crucial tools to clean up and reuse this land. Now we need your help to see this bill through.

Voice your support for the BUILD Act: send a message to your senators now.

The Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2013 would help towns and cities across the country clean up brownfield sites and put them back into productive use.

Brownfields redevelopment creates great places on land that was once unusable, and the BUILD Act would give communities a crucial tool to reinvest in their neighborhoods.

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Have you asked Congress to rethink real estate?

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Most Americans don’t know that the government spends $450 billion each year on real estate. And few – if any – know the full impact of these expenditures.

Join the call to examine this spending. Sign our petition calling on Congress to take action.

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What type of development does $450 billion a year support? Ask Congress to investigate.
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Stop the House assault on walkable neighborhoods

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Safe sidewalks and bikeable streets are both key parts of creating a great, walkable neighborhood, and towns across the country have used these tools to create places people want to live and visit.

Over the past month, members of Congress have been negotiating details of the federal transportation bill. Now, members of the House of Representatives have proposed allowing states to opt out of a program that would let communities make it safer to walk to public transportation, revitalize a Main Street or create bike trails for families.

Stand up for walkable streets: click here to send a letter to your members of Congress.

The House proposal would eliminate the small amount of money going directly to metropolitan areas, and would let state-level leaders decide whether communities ever see a dime of this funding. The move is slap in the face of city councils, mayors, and county leaders from across the country on both sides of the aisle who are creating the great neighborhoods so many Americans already know and love.

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The House and Senate are debating transportation today. What will they decide?

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Right now, a small group of House and Senate leaders are negotiating their proposed transportation bills, and plan to bring a final bill before Congress in the coming weeks. Their decisions today have the potential to shape our communities for decades to come.

Can you take a moment to call your Senators and Representative? Let them know you want the conference committee to preserve the strong, bipartisan provisions contained in the Senate’s transportation bill MAP-21.

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Ask your Senators to support the Partnership for Sustainable Communities in FY 2013

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Last November, when Congress passed the appropriations bill to fund the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for FY 2012 it did not include funding for another round of the vital Regional Planning and Community Challenge grants run by HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. This cut hurts communities across the country as they work to address their housing, transportation, and economic needs.

President Obama’s FY 2013 budget proposal would restore $100 million in funding to for these local grants, and we need your help to see that funding through.

Ask your Senators TODAY to support the President’s Budget request for the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities: click here to send a letter to your Senators.

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Speak out for Main Streets in the Senate transportation bill

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Last week, the House of Representatives introduced their surface transportation reauthorization bill. Their proposal, H.R. 7, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, threatens to derail federal funding for public transportation, and we’re still fighting to change their proposed bill. If you were one of the many supporters who spoke out against H.R. 7, thank you.

This week, the Senate has begun working on its version of the bill and we need your help to make it as strong as possible.

A bipartisan amendment to the Senate bill sponsored by Senator Cardin of Maryland and Senator Cochran of Mississippi would give local governments a larger say over a share of state transportation dollars. This change to the current bill would give local leaders a greater voice and more direct access to money for projects like main street revitalization.

Will you speak out for Main Streets in the Senate transportation bill? Click here to send a letter to your Senators.

As it’s currently written, the Senate bill would take the limited funds once dedicated to improving safety and conditions for people on foot and bike, and transfer them to state departments of transportation for expensive highway construction instead.

The Senate vote could happen as soon as this week, and this amendment is one of the most important that we’ll see. By setting money aside, the Cardin-Cochran amendment would ensure local communities can get the money they need for the projects they want.

Take one minute to send a message to your Senators: Ask them to support the Cardin-Cochran amendment today.

If you think our transportation bill should give communities the resources they need to build Main Streets that are attractive to businesses, pedestrian friendly and safer for everyone using them, tell your Senator to sponsor this amendment.

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Call your Representatives to oppose a House transportation bill so "uniquely bad" it "defies belief"

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Today, thousands of people from across the country are calling their representatives in the House to urge them to vote “NO” vote on HR 7, the House transportation bill. The House bill would eliminate dedicated funding for public transportation – a crucial component of smart growth development – and negatively impact business expansion and job creation when America needs them most. The bill would also eliminate the tiny amount of funding that helps make dangerous streets and roads safer for pedestrians, cyclsts and drivers alike. The bill fails to go far enough to fix the country’s bridges and roads, and also fails to create more options for getting around.

America needs an updated federal transportation bill, but this proposal is not it. Join the fight to improve this bill by calling your Representative today.

Today, Smart Growth America and Transportation for America are part of a massive national call-in day rallying opposition to this bill from an unbelievably broad set of groups. Environmental activists, business leaders, labor union members, transit riders and transit workers, elected officials – the list keeps growing, and we all agree that the House bill makes two steps backward for every step forward.

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Smart Growth America stands with Transportation for America in opposition to House energy and transportation bill

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Last week, the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, along with a companion measure eliminating dedicated funding for public transportation. James Corless, Director of Transportation for America, released the following statement:

“For more than three years, our coalition has worked hard for an updated federal transportation program that meets our needs in the 21st century; that creates jobs and lays the foundation for a rejuvenated economy; that balances the need to keep our highway system strong while augmenting it with other options. We still remain urgently committed to that goal.

“It is with deep disappointment, therefore, that we in the Transportation for America coalition find ourselves compelled to oppose the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act as advanced by House leadership. While we commend Chairman Mica (R-FL) for doing what he can to move a long-term transportation bill forward, the full legislation that is now heading to the floor of the House has significant fatal flaws.

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Contact your Representative TODAY to protect federal transit funding

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Dedicated funding for public transit is in a fight for its life.

Late last night, the House of Representative’s Ways and Means Committee released their proposal for a federal surface transportation bill. The bill would eliminate dedicated funding for public transit and jeopardize these funds for years to come.

Speak out for transit: Send a messge to your Representative today.

Removing the guarantee on funding would mean that transit would have to compete each year for general fund revenues. As Congress looks for ways to slash federal funding, this change puts transit funding in danger of deep cuts in coming years.

Help fight this proposed bill: send a message to your Representative today.

Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have supported dedicated transit funding as a way to relieve congestion and help workers reach jobs quickly, efficiently and affordably. As the American economy slowly recovers, demand for transit has been rising across the country – and now is not the time to jeopardize federal support for these programs.

Contacting your members of Congress is simple and only takes a few minutes. Help defend dedicated funding for transit: Click here to send a letter to your Representative.

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