Federal Agencies Discuss Sustainable Communities Partnership
by Stacey Levitt and Julia Pulidindi
 Over the course of the year, several NLC committees focused their agenda on the impact of sustainability on communities nationwide. An emerging issue, city officials discussed ways in which their communities have begun to incorporate sustainability practices into local housing and transportation initiatives, reaching a crossroads of both environmental and economic efficiency.
At NLC’s annual Congress of Cities in San Antonio, three NLC policy and advocacy committees — Community and Economic Development, Energy, Environment and Natural Resources and Transportation Infrastructure and Services — were treated to a glimpse of a unique multi-agency federal partnership aimed at furthering the sustainability dialogue and promoting and encouraging sustainable planning and growth among localities nationwide.
The Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities, formed in June, is a multi-agency working group composed of high level staff from three federal agencies: the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT); and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The group’s goals include partnering with local governments to improve access to affordable housing, create more transportation options and reduce overall energy costs to families, all in a manner that minimizes environmental impact.
The partnership has established six livability principles that serve as a foundation for the interagency coordination:
• Provide more transportation choices
Develop safe, reliable and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce the 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 reliable 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 such strategies as transit-oriented, mixed-use development and land recycling — to increase community revitalization, improve the efficiency of public works investments and safeguard rural landscapes.
• Coordinate policies and leverage investment
Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding and increase the accountability 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 communities by investing in healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods — rural, urban or suburban.
Representatives from each agency were on hand to share with committee members their insights into the guiding principles and the need for collaboration with city officials as the partnership moves forward.
According to C. Donald Babers, HUD deputy regional director, low- and moderate-income households are disproportionately affected, with rising housing and transportation costs that are forcing families to cut back on necessities including food and medicine.
“Moving forward,” he said, “we certainly want to make sure that we have insight from those who have on-the-ground experience.”
Joanna Liberman Turner, DOT Deputy Assistant Secretary, agreed and discussed some emerging roles transportation will play in promoting sustainable communities. For example, introducing alternative methods of transit and reducing the need for vehicles on the road could lower the average expenditures for American families, freeing up money for housing, education and savings.
In addition, Turner discussed new funding streams, including surface transportation grants made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will open the door for cities to implement innovative and cutting-edge transportation projects and generate new revenue sources to stimulate economic recovery.
The speakers and committee members agreed that federal investment in sustainable transportation and infrastructure is essential to recovery at the local level and that development of sustainable communities will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.
According to Tim Torma, Smart Growth Program senior policy analyst at the EPA Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation, where and how houses are built dictates where and how roads are built — and vice versa. Torma also emphasized in his remarks the need to coordinate housing, transportation and infrastructure development planning efforts to ensure the effective use of federal funding, as well as an improved quality of life for millions of Americans.
NLC members embraced these concepts and approved a sustainability resolution during the Congress of Cities. The resolution calls on Congress and the Administration to address sustainability issues related to housing, transportation and economic development in a comprehensive manner. In addition, the resolution calls on Congress and the Administration to support local government efforts to plan and develop sustainable communities.
“The NLC policy and resolutions are going to help us a lot,” Torma said. “The more you can point us to the problems, the more we can go to our experts and say ‘let’s talk about this.’ We can’t succeed in this effort unless local governments are supportive.”
|