f°r Sustainable
Communities
A YEAR OF PROGRESS FOR
AMERICAN COMMUNITIES
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When it comes to housing, environmental,
and transportation policy, the federal
government must speak with one voice.
—Secretary Shaun Donovan
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Livability means being able to take your kids to
school, go to work, see a doctor, drop by the grocery
or post office, go out to dinner and a movie, and
play with your kids at the park, all without having
to get into your car. Livability means building the
communities that help Americans live the lives
they want to live—whether those communities are
urban centers, small towns, or rural areas.
—Secretary Ray LaHood
U.S. Department of Transportation
Well-conceived, effectively implemented
environmental protection is good for
economic growth— A clean, green, healthy
community is a better place to buy a home
and raise a family; it's more competitive in
the race to attract new businesses; and it has
the foundations it needs for prosperity.
—Administrator Lisa P. Jackson
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 08 Progress for American Communities
Sustainable Communities:
A Response to Today's Challenges
One of our country's most pressing goals is
to build an economy that provides good jobs
now—and that creates a strong foundation
for enduring prosperity. To accelerate job
growth for this and future generations, that
foundation must be built with expanded
housing and transportation choices, greater
energy independence, and better protection
for our clean air and water. These issues are
closely related and should not be tackled as
separate challenges. We can achieve our eco-
nomic, social, and environmental goals most
effectively when we work on them together.
Sustainable communities are places that
balance their economic and natural assets
so that the diverse needs of local residents
can be met now and in the future. Typically,
these communities have lower costs for con-
sumers and more value for taxpayers because
they are more connected and efficient.
Sustainable communities provide economic
momentum and help America compete
more effectively for jobs. Regions all around
the country recognize this and are enthusi-
astically planning for them based on their
own local resources, landscape, culture, and
ingenuity. The Partnership for Sustainable
Communities, one of the Obama Adminis-
tration's signature urban policy initatives, is
enabling these regions to accelerate those
plans and to jump-start private investment
and implementation.
Ultimately, this approach will make com-
munities more prosperous by making them
more attractive places for businesses to locate
and for young people to remain or move to.
Sustainable communities allow people to live
closer to jobs and save money on personal
transportation, usually the second largest
household expense and sometimes the largest
for low-income Americans. Neighborhoods
that make it easy to walk or bike to work,
school, stores, parks, and other destinations
help people stay healthy by incorporating
regular exercise into their daily routines.
Sustainable communities also reduce air and
water pollution and protect treasured land-
scapes and prime agricultural land.
People want to live in these types of places—
in fact, right now, the demand for these
neighborhoods far outstrips the supply. And
that demand is expected to grow—the United
States is in the midst of a demographic shift
that is changing the nation's housing prefer-
ences and development patterns. The two
largest demographic segments—millennials,
who are entering the workforce, and baby
boomers, who are leaving it—are most inter-
ested in walkable neighborhoods that offer
a variety of housing choices, convenient
transportation options, shopping, restau-
rants, parks, and cultural amenities.
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Progress for American Communities «5 PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
A New Federal Approach
On June 16, 2009, U.S. Secretary of Transporta-
tion Ray Lariood, U.S. Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, and
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Admin-
istrator Lisa P. Jackson announced that they
were forming the interagency Partnership for
Sustainable Communities. This action marked a
fundamental shift in the way the federal govern-
ment structures its transportation, housing, and
environmental spending, policies, and programs.
The three agencies agreed to collaborate to
help communities become economically strong
and environmentally sustainable. Rebuilding
national prosperity today and for the long run
starts with individual communities where—now
and generations from now—all Americans can
find good jobs, good homes, and a good life.
Through the Partnership and guided by six Liv-
ability Principles (see below), the Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),
the Department of Transportation (DOT), and
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
are coordinating investments and aligning poli-
cies to support communities that want to give
HUD-DOT-EPA PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
GUIDING LIVABILITY PRINCIPLES
Provide more transportation choices. Develop safe, reliable, and economical transporta-
tion choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation's dependence
on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote public
health.
Promote equitable, affordable housing. Expand location- and energy-efficient housing
choices for people of all ages, incomes, races, and ethnicities to increase mobility and
lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.
Enhance economic competitiveness. Improve economic competitiveness through reli-
able and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and
other basic needs by workers, as well as expanded business access to markets.
Support existing communities. Target federal funding toward existing communities-
through strategies like transit-oriented, mixed-use development and land recycling—to
increase community revitalization and the efficiency of public works investments and
safeguard rural landscapes.
Coordinate and leverage federal policies and investment. Align federal policies and
funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding, and increase the account-
ability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including
making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy
Value communities and neighborhoods. Enhance the unique characteristics of all communi-
ties by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban, or suburban.
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PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 08 Progress for American Communities
By working together, [HUD, DOT, and EPA] can make sure that / /
when it comes to development — housing, transportation, energy
efficiency — these things aren't mutually exclusive; they go hand in
hand. And that means making sure that affordable housing exists in
close proximity to jobs and transportation. That means encouraging
shorter travel times and lower travel costs. It means safer, greener,
more livable communities.
-President Barack Obama
Americans more housing choices, make trans-
portation systems more efficient and reliable,
reinforce existing investments, and support
vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that attract
businesses. Each agency is working to incorpo-
rate the principles into its funding programs,
policies, and future legislative proposals.
The Partnership breaks down the traditional
silos of housing, transportation, and environ-
mental policy to consider these issues as they
exist in the real world—inextricably connected.
In the past, the federal government has too
often operated as if these areas were unrelated.
The old approach has proven to be ineffective,
costly, complicated, and inconsistent. Not only
does interagency collaboration get better results
for communities—such as making it easier to
build affordable housing that is convenient to
a range of job opportunities and transporta-
tion choices—it also uses taxpayer money more
efficiently. Coordinating federal investments in
infrastructure, facilities, and services meets mul-
tiple economic, environmental, and community
objectives with each dollar spent. For example,
investing in public transit can lower transporta-
tion costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
other air pollution, decrease traffic congestion,
encourage healthy walking and bicycling, and
spur development of new homes and amenities
around transit stations.
Agencies throughout the federal government are
realizing the value of this new model of collabo-
ration. Together or individually, HUD, DOT,
and EPA are also working with the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, the Department of Defense,
the Department of Education, the Depart-
ment of Energy, the Department of Health and
Human Services, the Economic Development
Administration, the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency, the General Services Administra-
tion, the National Endowment for the Arts, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion, and other federal agencies on related issues.
Parks, open space, and recreational opportunities make communities
more attractive and help keep residents healthy by giving them
places like Gasworks Park in Seattle to exercise, play, or just relax.
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Progress for American Communities «5 PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
The Partnership's First Year: June 2009-June 2010
More Effective Federal Investments, Better Outcomes for Communities
In its first year, the Partnership for Sustainable Communities made strides toward three goals:
O3 Targeting resources through grants and other programs to help states and communities create
jobs and stronger economies by developing more sustainably.
03 Removing regulatory and policy barriers at the federal level to make it easier for state and
local governments to access federal services and resources.
03 Aligning agency priorities and embedding the Livability Principles in each agency's actions so
that transportation, housing, and environmental protection efforts are coordinated.
TARGETING RESOURCES TO COMMUNITIES
Communities across the country are eager to build more sustainable neighborhoods. Some have
projects ready to go but lack the funds to put shovels in the ground; others have citizens and local
leaders who are excited about planning a sustainable future but need help taking the next step
to translate their ideas into actual development. In response to those needs, the Partnership for
Sustainable Communities has focused on getting resources to communities so they can turn their
visions into reality.
Transportation Investment Qenerating
Economic Recovery (TIQER) Qrants
In February 2010, as part of the Ameri-
can Recovery and Reinvestment Act, DOT
announced $1.5 billion in TIGER grants
for more than 50 innovative transportation
projects across the country. Twenty-two of
these projects were selected because they would
promote livability by increasing transportation
choice, providing better access to job opportu-
nities, strengthening economic resiliency, and
protecting air and water quality. As part of the
continuing coordination under the Partnership,
DOT used EPA and HUD's expertise in its
application review to select projects that would
achieve multiple benefits.
Now urban, suburban, and rural communi-
ties across the nation are getting ready for the
exciting improvements TIGER grant money
will bring. For example, TIGER will fund a new
streetcar loop linking downtown New Orleans
with other transit services and an Amtrak hub.
In Revere, Massachusetts, TIGER funding will
be used to turn acres of dilapidated parking lots
into a bus and rail station with pedestrian access
to the adjacent Wonderland neighborhood, site
of America's first public beach. Grant money
Downtown Boise, Idaho, is welcoming to bicyclists, pedestrians,
drivers, and transit users. It has many historic buildings that have
seen new life with renovation and reuse.
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PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 08 Progress for American Communities
will also support Whitefish, Montana's plan to
improve vitality on its main street and maintain
a pedestrian-friendly streetscape, balanced with
the need to move significant volumes of traffic.
Joint DOT TIQER II-HUD Community
Challenge Qrants
For the first time, DOT and HUD will join
forces to award up to $75 million—up to $35
million in transportation planning grants from
the second round of TIGER funds and $40 mil-
lion in HUD Community Challenge Planning
Grants to support local planning activities that
integrate transportation, housing, and economic
development. To make it easier for communi-
ties to apply to both programs, DOT and HUD
accepted a single application for both oppor-
tunities and will make joint awards as well as
individual grants in the fall of 2010. The three
agencies collaborated on the joint proposal and
will review applications together.
HUD Sustainable Communities Regional
Planning Qrants
In June 2010, HUD opened the application
process for the $100-million Sustainable Com-
munities Regional Planning Grant program. This
program will support metropolitan and multijuris-
dictional planning efforts that integrate housing,
land use, economic and workforce development,
transportation, and infrastructure investments.
With strong, comprehensive, long-range regional
plans, communities can better address the inter-
dependent challenges of economic competitive-
ness and revitalization, social equity and access
to opportunity, public health, energy efficiency,
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES TOUR
In September 2009, Administrator Jackson, Secretary
LaHood, Secretary Donovan, and White House Urban
Affairs Director Adolfo Carrion embarked on a Sustainable
Communities Tour, visiting Chicago, Dubuque, and Denver
to hear from leaders on the ground about ways the Part-
nership could help communities create more economic
opportunities and affordable homes while protecting their
air and water. They talked with state, regional, and local
officials and held community forums to hear from the pub-
lic. The agency leaders visited several projects that exem-
plify the types of places the Partnership wants to support:
£f Chicago's Bethel Center is a new community services hub
in a green building on a former brownfield. It is located
next to a train station and has affordable homes nearby.
£f Dubuque, Iowa, is transforming its historic Millwork
District into a sustainable neighborhood with a mix of uses, housing options for a range
of income levels, transportation options, and infrastructure improvements.
£f Denver has refurbished its historic Union Station to make it a multimodal transit hub
that has helped revitalize the surrounding area. Also in Denver, South Lincoln Park
Homes built new affordable housing on a former brownfield near a transit station.
The public investment in Denver's
Union Station spurred private
investment nearby.
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Progress for American Communities «5 PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
i
Arlington County, Virginia, offers a wide variety of transportation
options, including Metrorail and Metrobus to downtown
Washington, D.C., and the surrounding region; carsharing; and an
extensive network of bike and pedestrian routes.
environmental protection, and climate change.
The Partnership agencies collaborated on the
development of the proposal and will jointly
review applications. Funding announcements will
be made in the fall of 2010.
Funds for Urban Circulator and
Bus & Bus Livability Projects
In July 2010, DOT awarded nearly $300 million
under two new programs that will give Ameri-
cans better transportation choices and strengthen
communities. Six cities were selected for Urban
Circulator grants, which will fund streetcar, bus,
and other urban transportation projects that con-
nect destinations and foster walkable, mixed-use
redevelopment. For example, the award will help
Cincinnati construct a 6-mile streetcar route that
will connect its downtown to Over-the-Rhine, a
low-income neighborhood, and to Uptown, the
region's second largest employment center.
Bus & Bus Livability grants went to 47 projects
in 31 states that will improve bus service and
facilities, encouraging development around pub-
lic transit and giving bus riders better access to
jobs, health care, and education. Funded projects
include a bike and pedestrian trail connecting
downtown destinations to a bus and commuter
rail hub in Orlando; a real-time bus-tracking
system in Montrose, Colorado; and New York
City's 34th Street Transitway, which will add bus
lanes and a pedestrian plaza to the busy corridor,
easing traffic congestion, improving bus service,
and enhancing pedestrian safety.
State Revolving Funds for Water
Infrastructure
The single largest category of funds that flow from
EPA to states and ultimately local communities
is funding for water infrastructure projects, also
known as State Revolving Funds (SRFs). In May
2010, EPA issued guidance to states on spending
the 2010 appropriation of $3.3 billion for clean
water and drinking water infrastructure. The guid-
ance explicitly recommends that states make fund-
ing decisions that are consistent with the Livability
Principles, and that they discourage expanding
infrastructure to accommodate growth if there are
available facilities in existing communities. Three
states—Maryland, New York, and California—are
now testing how the billions they receive in Clean
Water SRF dollars can support their efforts to
make communities more sustainable.
Smart Qrowth Implementation Assistance
EPA has engaged HUD and DOT in its Smart
Growth Implementation Assistance (SGIA)
program, which provides direct technical assis-
tance to three to five communities selected each
year through a competition. Over the last five
years, this program has worked with urban, sub-
urban, and rural communities across the country
on issues such as stormwater management, code
revision, transit-oriented development, affordable
housing, infill development, corridor planning,
green building, and climate change. In addition to
helping communities directly, the SGIA program
helps EPA, HUD, and DOT learn more about the
challenges that communities around the country
face as they strive to create places that provide
transportation and housing choices while protect-
ing environmental resources. Reports from these
projects often provide new tools for other commu-
nities to use. In the first year of the Partnership,
the agencies worked together on SGIA projects
with the state of California; Louisville, Kentucky;
Montgomery County, Maryland; and Las Cruces,
New Mexico. The next round of selected commu-
nities will be announced in fall of 2010.
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PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 08 Progress for American Communities
Qreening America's Capitals
This new EPA-led Partnership project will
help up to five state capital cities per year
develop a vision of distinctive, environmen-
tally friendly neighborhoods that incorporate
innovative green building and green infra-
structure. EPA will fund a team of designers
to visit each city and work with residents and
local leaders to produce designs for a demon-
stration neighborhood that can catalyze or
complement a larger planning process. HUD
and DOT will also bring their expertise to
these teams. Each project will involve city
staff as well as staff from the state legislature
and governor's office. The cities selected in
2010 will be announced in the fall.
HUD Adoption of Sustainability Criteria
in Scoring Qrant Applications
Secretary Donovan announced in May 2010
that HUD will adopt the Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design for Neighborhood
Development (LEED-ND) system to evaluate
applications for its $3.25 billion in discretion-
ary funding. Funded by EPA and developed by
the U.S. Green Building Council, the Natural
Resources Defense Council, and the Congress
for the New Urbanism, LEED-ND is a system
for rating and certifying neighborhoods that
integrate housing with jobs and services, offer
a range of transportation choices, and incor-
porate green building and green infrastructure.
With this change, grant applications that
emphasize sustainable communities can be
awarded additional points.
Mixed-Income, Trans it-Oriented
Development Action Quide
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
and HUD have developed an action guide
to help planners implement mixed-income,
transit-oriented development. This interac-
tive Web guide, www.mitod.org, will help
local planners and community groups find
effective strategies and tools to encourage
mixed-income development around transit.
FRESNO, CALIFORNIA
The San Joaquin Valley faces incred-
ibly challenging environmental, human
health, and social issues. The Partnership
for Sustainable Communities is support-
ing local and regional efforts to improve
quality of life in the valley. A focus of this
pilot project is increasing transit for bet-
ter access to jobs and services, including
potential links to future high-speed rail
stations. The project aims to engage local
residents to learn what they want from
future development, to teach them about
the health and economic benefits of clean-
ing up and reusing brownfields, and to
empower them to influence development
decisions. HUD, DOT, and EPA will also help
their regional partners evaluate whether
local brownfield sites are good locations
for green spaces, commercial develop-
ment, and transit-oriented development.
Together, the federal partners and the
city have already initiated efforts such as
a redevelopment project in West Fresno,
and are considering collaborating around a
possible Bus Rapid Transit system.
"We're excited about the promise
of federal agencies working in such
a focused, concentrated way with
the city of Fresno. We hope this
partnership will provide us with the
technical expertise and resources to
focus on one of the most challenging
neighborhoods in the city."
—Ashley Swearengin, Mayor, Fresno, California
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Progress for American Communities «5 PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
REMOVING FEDERAL BARRIERS
For too iong, federal policy has inadvertently encouraged inefficient development patterns that are
costly to taxpayers and cause traffic congestion and pollution. Many federal regulations and poll'
cies unintentionally erected barriers to smart, sustainable development. The Partnership agen-
cies are working with state and iocal governments, nonprofit organizations, and other entities to
learn about federal policies that have hampered their work. With input from these stakeholders,
the agencies are working to remove federal regulatory and policy barriers and make it easier for
communities to implement the type of development they want.
Executive Order on Federal Leadership
in Environmental, Energy, and Economic
Performance
President Obama's Executive Order 13514, signed
on October 5, 2009, aims to make federal govern-
ment facilities more sustainable and to encourage
the federal government to lead by example in
using resources more efficiently. EO 13514 requires
agencies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions,
make their buildings more energy efficient, and
work with communities to site federal buildings in
downtowns, near transit and affordable housing,
and with easy access on foot or by bike. Because
the location of federal facilities can influence com-
munities' development patterns for decades, the
three Partnership agencies worked with the Gen-
eral Services Administration and consulted with
the Department of Defense and the Department of
Homeland Security to develop siting recommenda-
tions that will make future federal facilities assets to
communities and catalysts for better development.
Brownfields Policy Change
HUD revised its policies to make it easier to
develop Federal Housing Administration-
insured multifamily housing on cleaned-up
former industrial and commercial sites, known as
brownfields, while ensuring the health and safety
of future residents. This change makes it easier
for communities to build homes that working
people can afford on reused sites that are near
key amenities, such as public transit. Redevelop-
ing sites like these can revitalize entire neighbor-
hoods, providing new jobs, stores, and services.
Brownfields Pilot Communities
EPA, HUD, and DOT have selected five pilot
communities—Boston; Indianapolis; Iowa
City, Iowa; Denver; and National City, Cali-
fornia—where there is a convergence of mul-
tiple brownfield sites, economic distress, public
transit, and the need for affordable housing. The
three agencies are helping these communities
clean up and reuse contaminated and vacant
properties, which will provide new sustainable
housing and transportation choices, create jobs,
and expand economic opportunity. EPA, HUD,
and DOT will use lessons learned from the
pilots to identify barriers and find opportunities
for program and policy changes that will make
federal investments more effective in economi-
cally distressed places.
Small towns and rural areas face major obstacles to plan and
implement strategies that increase livability. Therefore, I'm
very pleased to see the federal government's new focus on
incentive-based funding and technical assistance for rural areas.
—Julia Gouge, President, Board of Commissioners, Carroll County, Maryland
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PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 08 Progress for American Communities
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
The Fairmount Commuter Rail Line in Boston passes through three low-income neighbor-
hoods— Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan. For decades, however, the rail line did not stop
in these communities. Boston is now using investments from the Partnership to turn the
rail line into an engine of economic development and community revitalization. The FTA is
supporting four new stations and the renovation of two existing stations in the three neigh-
borhoods. EPA has provided funding to clean up more than 30 brownfield sites within a half-
mile of the new and renovated stations and will be providing technical assistance to a Green
Jobs Incubator on a former brownfield. HDD's funding provided support for a significant
portion of the more than 2,000 new housing units that are being built along the corridor.
The corridor was selected as one of the Partnership's
Brownfields Pilots. This project will assist a collaborative
of four community development corporations (CDCs)
with two transit-oriented development planning efforts
and an area-wide brownfield revitalization strategy for
the corridor. The Partnership is working with the city, the
CDCs, The Boston Foundation, and other partners to help
avoid displacement of existing residents as the area is
revitalized, to create job and recreational opportunities
for residents, and to encourage development of afford-
able housing near transit.
'
The area around Uphams Corner, a station on
the Fairmount line in Dorchester, before the
transit upgrade, and a rendering showing the
planned redevelopment around the station.
In National City, for example, the three agencies
are supporting the efforts of the local redevelop-
ment authority and neighborhood organizations
to revitalize a brownfield site in the Westside
neighborhood, a low-income, heavily polluted
area. The Partnership's assistance will help the
city clean up the site, link it to an adjacent light
rail station, develop 201 units of affordable hous-
ing, improve the nearby tidal creek, and create a
much-needed park for local families.
Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Pilot Initiative
In collaboration with HUD, DOT, and other
agencies, EPA's Brownfields Area-Wide
Planning Pilot initiative will work with about
20 communities to help each one create a
shared vision for brownfields redevelopment
that will inform cleanup decisions. The pilots
will demonstrate how brownfield reuse can
clean up health hazards, create new economic
opportunities, and bring new life to disad-
vantaged communities. Recipients will be
announced in fall of 2010.
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Progress for American Communities «5 PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
Indianapolis' Smart Growth Redevelopment District,
chosen as one of the Partnership's Brownfields Pilots,
focuses the resources of EPA, HUD, and DOT on a por-
tion of the city's northeast side, which faces widespread
abandonment, environmental contamination, poor
transit accessibility, and housing needs. The Partner-
ship team is working with the state of Indiana, the city
government, local nonprofits, and community groups to
coordinate federal investments in and near the Smart
Growth Redevelopment District. These investments
include brownfields and Superfund cleanups, a transit
corridor, and a green housing redevelopment.
These traditional homes in the Smart Growth
Redevelopment District sit across the street from
an abandoned brownfield and vacant property
(inset). The district's revitalization strategy
will propose ways to bring back amenities and
residents, strategically reuse brownfields, improve
transit access, and spur economic development.
Policy Statement on
Bicycle and Pedestrian
Accommodation Regulations
and Recommendations
DOT has issued a new bicycle-
pedestrian policy that emphasizes
the need to consider non-motorists
in federally funded road projects,
discourages transportation invest-
ments that jeopardize the safety
of cyclists and pedestrians, and
encourages investments that go
beyond minimum requirements and
provide facilities for bicyclists and
pedestrians of all ages and abilities.
The department has also proposed
emphasizing its policy that extends
FTA funding to pedestrian and
bicycle improvements within a des-
ignated area around a transit stop.
Reducing Contracting Conflicts
The Federal Highway Administra-
tion (FHWA) worked with HUD to
resolve a contracting conflict that
had the potential to hold up projects.
FHWA will use Special Experi-
mental Project No. 14 (SEP-14) to
permit, on a case-by-case basis, the
application of HUD contracting
requirements on federal-aid highway
projects. This will allow better coor-
dination of transportation and hous-
ing expenditures because HUD and
FHWA requirements were often in
(, ( It is important that these federal agencies work together as these .
issues are all interconnected. From the local perspective, this
cross-disciplinary partnership is an important, all-encompassing
approach, which will make our lives easier by giving us access to
more resources and streamlining the process.
—Mark Stodola, Mayor, Little Rock, Arkansas
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PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 08 Progress for American Communities
conflict. For example, HUD's Section 3 Program
requires that low-income people living in a proj-
ect area be hired as a condition of funding that
project, which conflicts with FHWA rules that
prohibit geographic hiring preferences. FHWA's
action will make it easier for communities to build
the infrastructure they need and will generate jobs
for these communities.
Change to Federal Transit Administra-
tion's New Starts Program
FTA's New Starts program funds locally planned,
implemented, and operated rail and bus projects.
In January 2010, DOT changed a rule that had
required the New Starts program to consider
cost-effectiveness above all other factors when
selecting major transit projects to support.
Building on this policy shift, in June 2010, FTA
asked for public comment on how to change the
way proposed New Starts projects are rated and
evaluated. FTA is now reviewing the comments
as it develops new ways to define and measure
statutory program criteria to evaluate major tran-
sit project proposals. Changes will give meaning-
ful consideration to a broader range of benefits
transit can provide, including economic devel-
opment, a healthier environment, and increased
access to opportunities.
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
EPA's Environmental Justice Showcase Communities
program convenes federal agencies, state and local gov-
ernment entities, non-governmental organizations, and
other stakeholders to help underserved communities
shape their neighborhoods' futures with comprehen-
sive, locally appropriate solutions. As one often Envi-
ronmental Justice Showcase Communities, Jacksonville
is receiving assistance from the Partnership agencies to
help address local environmental, health, and economic
challenges. EPA, HUD, and DOT representatives partici-
pated in the Jacksonville project's kickoff event, where
they toured the northeastern part of the city, a disad-
vantaged area with several Superfund and brownfield sites and high rates of heart disease, can-
cer, diabetes, asthma, and infant mortality. The agencies will support the local partners as they
establish a community health center, designed with green building techniques, on a cleaned-up
brownfield site close to parks, community gardens, and other amenities. The center will provide
training for health care jobs in partnership with historically black colleges and universities and will
offer educational programs on healthy living. The lessons learned through this and other Envi-
ronmental Justice Showcase Communities pilots will help the Partnership better use its resources
to help underserved communities build more sustainable neighborhoods with better access to
opportunities; improved services and amenities; and healthier places to live, work, and play.
During the kickoff event in April 2010, community
leaders talked with federal and local government
officials and private-sector partners on one of the
contaminated sites slated for redevelopment.
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Progress for American Communities «5 PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
ALIGNING POLICIES AND BUDGETS
To make the Livability Principles a part of the way the three agencies do business and to ensure
ongoing collaboration, HUD, DOT, and EPA have been working to align their respective pro-
grams, policies, and budgets.
Coordinating Policies and Funding Programs
The three agencies have been working together in
unprecedented ways to promote sustainable com-
munities through their policies and grant programs.
They have jointly evaluated applications for the
TIGER, Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Pilot,
Sustainable Communities Regional Planning, and
Community Challenge Planning grants, among oth-
ers. They have collaborated on regulatory and policy
changes such as HUD's brownfields policy change,
DOT's bicycle-pedestrian funding policy changes,
and recommendations for federal facility siting.
HUD Office of Sustainable Housing and
Communities
In February 2010, HUD launched the Office of
Sustainable Housing and Communities to serve as
the center point for HUD's sustainability efforts and
the main liaison to the Partnership. The Office of
Sustainable Housing and Communities will support
stronger, more sustainable communities by advanc-
ing policies that connect housing to jobs, foster local
innovation, and support a clean energy economy.
EPA Office of Sustainable Communities
In February 2010, EPA announced that the Office
of Sustainable Communities would be created to
coordinate the agency's work on smart growth and
green building. The office will provide technical
assistance to urban, suburban, and rural com-
munities in support of the Partnership and will
Seneca Falls, New York, invested in its main street to maintain its
rural character while also creating a vibrant, thriving place that
attracts visitors and residents.
work with a wide range of stakeholders to produce
research, tools, and other resources to help com-
munities create sustainable neighborhoods.
Regional Partnerships
The national Partnership for Sustainable Com-
munities is being replicated by field staff in the
three agencies' regional offices around the country.
Regional HUD, DOT, and EPA staff are col-
laborating on a variety of projects. For example,
regional HUD, FTA, and EPA staff met with Tuc-
son leaders to kick off the Tucson Modern Street-
car Project, a TIGER grant recipient. They toured
the corridor and explored opportunities to connect
the streetcar project to other local public invest-
ments, such as brownfield cleanups and housing
and small business development along the corridor.
The smallest municipalities are connecting to federal agencies, which
has not happened in a coordinated fashion, not just on Long Island
but any suburban area in the nation— This new federal partnership
could provide the resources necessary to assist the revitalization of our
downtowns and support needed sewer and transit infrastructure.
—Eric Alexander, Executive Director, Vision Long Island
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PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 08 Progress for American Communities
The Road Ahead:
The Partnership's Plans for the Future
The Partnership for Sustainable Communities
has already yielded impressive results—but
HUD, DOT, and EPA still have a lot of work
to do together. The agencies plan to continue
working with other interested federal partners
to help them better support communities that
offer more job opportunities, better housing
choices, reliable and convenient transporta-
tion options, and high quality of life.
For example, to better support economic
growth and community development in rural
areas, the Partnership is working with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA). The
agencies are discussing how to facilitate future
technical assistance collaborations, how the
Livability Principles support USDA programs
to improve economic opportunity and qual-
ity of life in rural America, and how best to
address rural issues in the Partnership's work.
This collaboration builds on work EPA has
done with USD As Rural Development Pro-
gram, including providing smart growth assis-
tance to the town of Waverly, Iowa, which was
damaged by floods and tornadoes in 2008.
The Partnership is also exploring ways to
work with the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency (FEMA) to incorporate sus-
tainable communities practices into hazard
mitigation planning and long-term disaster
recovery. This potential collaboration stems
from work between EPA and FEMA to help
six Iowa towns that were damaged by floods
and tornadoes in 2008 and a Memorandum
of Understanding between these two agen-
cies. This work is also helping to inform
a federal task force working on a national
strategy for climate adaptation, and it could
be used to help local climate change adapta-
tion planning as well.
The Partnership plans to continue examining
and, if necessary, modifying federal policies
and actions on transportation, housing, and
environmental protection to complement
each other and to better reflect the Livability
Principles. In addition, the Partnership will
screen these policies and actions to ensure
they provide equal opportunities to disadvan-
taged communities, including rural and tribal
areas. The Partnership will make sure our
programs are fair and inclusive. The Partner-
ship for Sustainable Communities recognizes
that effective decision-making about how
and where growth occurs depends on under-
standing and properly addressing the unique
needs of different socioeconomic groups. We
will ensure the full and fair participation in
our activities and programs by all potentially
affected communities.
All photos courtesy of EPA
unless otherwise noted.
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3
ft)
http://www.hud.gov/sustainability http://www.dot.gov/livability
http://www.epa.gov/
smartgrowth/partnership
III
Photos on front cover (from left to right): Boise, Idaho; Kentlands, Gaithersburg, Maryland; Washington, Virginia;
Salt Lake City, Utah; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Photos on back cover (from left to right): Starkville, Mississippi; Vermont; Millennium Park, Chicago; Stapleton,
Denver, Colorado; Providence, Rhode Island.
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