BREAKING NEWS: NATIONAL

Rural Areas Increasingly Dependent on Mass Transit
A new study by Reconnecting America found that 40 percent of rural populations—including senior citizens, the disabled, and low-income individuals—are dependent on mass transit for their daily activities. The study explored how smaller cities, towns, and rural places are integrating transit to serve this transit-dependent population. The study highlights smaller cities and rural places where transit investments are helping to set the stage for a robust future.

Six Cities Selected for Protected Bikeways Project
The Bikes Belong Foundation has launched its Green Lane Project, which will develop protected bikeways in six U.S. cities. The initiative will work with Austin, Chicago, Memphis, Portland, Ore., San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., to support the cities' development of world-class bicycling facility networks over the next two years.

HUD’s Choice Neighborhood Program to be Evaluated
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $500,000 in research grants to four entities to study HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Program. The program is a centerpiece of HUD’s revitalization effort to transform distressed neighborhoods into sustainable, mixed-income neighborhoods with the affordable housing, safe streets and good schools.

More National News on the Smartgrowth.org website

BREAKING NEWS: STATE

Arizona || Phoenix Residents Drive Less than Suburban Neighbors
A new report by the Arizona Department of Transportation found that residents of higher-density Phoenix neighborhoods drive substantially less than similar residents located in lower-density suburban neighborhoods. The study found that urban dwellers drive about a third fewer daily miles than their suburban counterparts.

Illinois || Chicago Launches "Make Way for People" Program
The City of Chicago recently kicked off its "Make Way for People" program. The program will create "temporary decks" that replace parking spots with public seating during the spring and summer; close streets with "excess asphalt" and turn them into public spaces; create space in plazas and malls for farmers' markets and other retail opportunities; and transform alleys in off-hours by filling them with tables and chairs, live music or art exhibitions.

Iowa || Sustainable Redevelopment in Downtown Davenport
An article in ICMA's PM Magazine profiled the city of Davenport's sustainability efforts, including the renovation of the historic, city-owned ballpark and renovation of the art deco theatre district. Davenport's River Vision Plan, created with the input of more than 1,000 city residents, has guided the reinvigoration of the city's riverfront areas.

Massachusetts || Boston Bike Sharing Exceeds Projections
Boston's bicycle-sharing system has eclipsed the 250,000 mark for total rides in the past six months, all without a serious accident. The bike-sharing program debuted last July, although the full complement of 61 stations and 610 bikes was not in place until early April of 2012.

New York || Buffalo's New "Green Code" Released
A Preview of Buffalo's New Zoning, a 30-page report on Buffalo's new Green Code, has been released. The new zoning will embrace Buffalo's contemporary vision for the city's future, eliminate outmoded regulations, and include more walkable, green neighborhoods.

Pennsylvania || Philadelphia’s Eastern North Neighborhood Undergoes Revival
A recent story by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) discussed their Building Sustainable Communities program work in Philadelphia. LISC and the local Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM) have achieved the rebirth of Philadelphia's Eastern North neighborhood, creating almost 300 units of affordable housing and a shopping center with a supermarket, laundromat, and credit union.

More State News on the Smartgrowth.org website

NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Community Transformation Grants - CDC Small Communities Programs
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is awarding approximately $70 million in grants to improve the health of small communities. Grants are awarded across a variety of sectors, including transportation, housing, education, and public health. Previous awards have been given to develop small neighborhood grocery stores in residential areas to increase access to healthier foods. CDC expects to make 25 to 50 competitive grant awards. Successful applicants will be announced in September 2012. The letter of intent is due on June 18, and the closing date for the full application is July 31, 2012. For the full announcement: http://tinyurl.com/7e4kd8c.

Sustainable Cities: Urban Energy Planning for Smart Growth in China and India
The US Department of Energy is seeking U.S. technical expertise in the area of sustainable urban development for cities in China and India. Funded activities will include strategic and policy planning and analysis, design and management, energy market assessment, energy modeling, financial management, and improvement of governance in local bodies. DOE anticipates providing $750,000 total to several grantees over two years. Proposals due July 26, 2012.

Call for Applications: 2012 Safe Routes to School Award
Applications are now being accepted for the 2012 James L. Oberstar Safe Routes to School Award. The award will recognize a school or community that has improved the safety or increased the number of school students who walk and bicycle to school. Particular consideration will be given to applicants who have made active transportation to/from school an integral part of the school's culture. The application deadline is Thursday, June 28, 2012.

More Funding Opportunities on the Smartgrowth.org website

UPCOMING EVENTS

June 19, 2012
12:30-1:30p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
National Building Museum Smart Growth Speaker Series - The Suburban Office: Understanding the Past to Redesign the Future
Wahington D.C.
Louise Mozingo, author of Pastoral Capitalism: A History of Suburban Corporate Landscapes, presents a history of an overlooked archetype of sprawl, the suburban office, and discusses ideas for and challenges of redesigning work-places for a post-peak-oil metropolis.

June 20, 2012
2:00 - 3:30p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
Webinar: Incremental Costs, Measurable Savings: Enterprise Green Communities Criteria
During this webinar, Enterprise will release an update to Incremental Cost, Measurable Savings, a report that illustrates the cost effectiveness of the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria in delivering health, economic and environmental benefits to developers and residents of green affordable housing. This session reviews report findings and lessons learned from properties designed and built to the Criteria.

June 24-26, 2012
International Conference on Aging, Mobility and Quality of Life
Ann Arbor, Michigan
This conference will focus on the needs of the elderly for transportation that maintains their health and well-being and enhances their quality of life. The conference will bring together a diversity of experts, including gerontologists, urban planners and policymakers, and engineers working in vehicle design and assistive technologies.

June 27, 2012
2012 APA Washington Speaker Series – Sustainable DC
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
This event will discuss the Sustainable DC initiative, an effort to create a comprehensive sustainability strategy for Washington, DC. The Mayor's vision is to make Washington, DC the most sustainable city in the nation. Sustainable DC focuses the District's sustainability vision in nine topic areas: the built environment, waste, energy, water, the green economy, climate, food, nature, and transportation.

July 9-10, 2012
Master Planning: Moving Toward a Sustainable City
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Participants in this American Planning Association program will develop a broader understanding of how the master planner's skills and contributions fit within overarching sustainability goals. Case studies ranging from new cities in emerging and urbanizing countries to mixed-use urban infill of American cities will be presented and examined. Particular attention will be given to improving the quality of urban life as an inducement to higher-density living.

July 14 - 17, 2012
Greater & Greener: Re-Imagining Parks for 21st Century Cities
New York, New York
New and revitalized parks are critical to making cities places that thrive economically, environmentally and socially. This forum offers topics and speakers, interactive mobile workshops and tours, a volunteer-led service project and a dynamic audience of urban parks professionals, advocates, and leaders from around the world.

August 6-15, 2012
Focus On Sustainable Urbanism
Chicago, Illinois
Explore all scales of sustainable urbanism "from room to region" in this intensive ten-day course. Presented by Farr and Associates, these sessions will include site visits, lectures delivered by prominent industry leaders, and small group projects. Chicago's Lathrop Homes, a residential-complex revitalization project, will serve as an organizing focal point for the course.

November 8-10, 2012
From the Outside In: Sustainable Futures for Global Cities and Suburbs
Hempstead, New York
Suburban landscapes are often not part of the dialogue on sustainability, even though they cover large areas of the United States. This conference focuses on sustainable futures in global city-regions, taking the suburbs as its starting point and working its way inward to city centers.

New Partners Conference Call for Session Proposals:
Proposals accepted through June 30
Kansas City, Missouri
The Call for Session Proposals for the February 2013 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Kansas City, Missouri runs through June 30, 2012. If you are interested in submitting a proposal for a breakout, workshop or focused training for this event, go to www.newpartners.org/program/cfsp/

More Events on the Smartgrowth.org website

NEW RESOURCES

CNU20 Conference Webcasts Now Online
Many of the presentations from the Congress for New Urbanism's 20th Annual Meeting held in May 2012 are now available for free viewing online. As more content becomes available over the course of the next few months, CNU will be uploading additional videos, webcasts, podcasts and presentations. Access the CNU20 YouTube Channel at this website:
www.youtube.com/user/Congress4NewUrbanism/featured

Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of the Nation
Many aspects of the obesity problem have been identified and discussed; however, there has not been complete agreement on what needs to be done to accelerate progress. Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention from the Institute of Medicine presents five key recommendations to bring about meaningful change. The study suggests that the causes of the nation's obesity epidemic have much more to do with the absence of sidewalks and the limited availability of healthy and affordable foods than a lack of personal responsibility.

Essential Smart Growth Fixes for Rural Planning, Zoning, and Development Codes
This new report from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers ten essential fixes to help rural communities amend their codes, ordinances, and development requirements to promote more environmentally and economically sustainable growth. [PDF/4.74MB]

More Resources on the Smartgrowth.org website

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Green lanes benefit everyone who uses city streets, not just people on bicycles. More people on bikes eases congestion. When people ride bikes, they are healthier, and they save money."

Martha Roskowski
Green Lane Project director for Bikes Belong

A National Conversation On the Future of Our Communities: What's your vision for the future of your community? The Smart Growth Network (SGN) invites you to join in the first national conversation about how neighborhoods and regions could be planned, designed, and developed to meet the needs of current and future generations. This national conversation will occur over the next 12 to 18 months in a range of media and include a compendium of emerging issues along with innovative new ideas. Open Solicitation Papers Are Due June 30th, 2012. SGN is seeking short papers that discuss a particular issue that communities will be facing in the next 15 years. More details can be found at www.smartgrowth.org/nationalconversation.

Want even more Smart Growth news? Then subscribe to EPA's new Smart Growth Listserv at http://yosemite.epa.gov/opei/opeipub.nsf/Membership. Subscribers will receive e-mails from the EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities about new events, publications, and more.

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