Transit-Oriented Development
Streetsblog Basics
Livable Communities Act Clears Senate Committee
The Senate Banking Committee voted 12-10 yesterday in favor of the Livable Communities Act, legislation that would bolster the Obama administration's initiatives to link together transportation, housing, economic development, and environmental policy.
August 4, 2010
Dodd’s Livability Bill Earns Praise from Local Governments
With financial reform nearly complete, the Senate Banking Committee turned its attention today to one of Senator Chris Dodd's (D-CT) next priorities, the Livable Communities Act. Local government came out strong for the initiative to promote sustainable and integrated regional planning, with representatives of the nation's cities, towns, counties, and regional planning organizations testifying in favor. Among committee members, concerns persisted about whether the bill would disadvantage rural areas.
June 9, 2010
How Portland Sold Its Banks on Walkable Development
Gresham, Oregon used to look like your typical suburb. Lots of lawns and lots of parking. When Portland's MAX light-rail line expanded to Gresham, developers saw an opportunity to bring something different: walkable development. But a downturn in the local real estate market interceded. One developer trying to build a four-story condo project decided that he'd be better off with a video store surrounded by surface parking.
May 25, 2010
Feds to Start Scoring Transportation Potential of Housing Grant Applicants
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan said late Friday that his agency will soon start gauging the "location efficiency" of its grant applicants, determining each project's potential for connecting residents to surrounding neighborhoods -- and mirroring the recommendations of a recent report that found a correlation between homeowners' foreclosure risk and their dependence on car ownership.
May 24, 2010
Will Robert Lieber’s Successor Finally Fill the Gaps in PlaNYC 2030?
City Hall has another big vacancy to fill. This morning the Bloomberg administration announced that Robert Lieber, deputy mayor for economic development, is returning to the private sector. Lieber's portfolio includes the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Department of City Planning. His departure could create a window of opportunity to fill some of the biggest gaps in the city's sustainability agenda, PlaNYC 2030.
May 19, 2010
Menendez Proposes Tax Credit for Transit-Oriented Development
New construction projects that are within a half-mile of transit stations and exceeding national energy-efficiency standards would be eligible for a tax credit under legislation introduced yesterday by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), the senior member of the Banking Committee's transit panel.
April 16, 2010
Feds Begin Redefining ‘Affordable Housing’ to Include Transport Costs
The process of expanding the federal government's definition of "affordable housing," a stated goal of the Obama administration's sustainable communities effort, began in earnest yesterday with the introduction of a new index that integrates transportation prices into the cost of living for hundreds of metro areas.
March 24, 2010
The Next New York: How NYC Can Grow as a Walkable City
In the last eight years, Amanda Burden's Department of City Planning has rezoned 20 percent of New York along relatively transit-oriented lines, while simultaneously promoting quasi-suburban projects at prominent sites and maintaining parking minimums that erode the pedestrian environment. In other words, the planning department is promoting growth in the right places, but enabling the wrong kind of development.
So in the next four years, will New York's planners adopt more sustainable practices or continue the status quo?
February 22, 2010
The Next New York: How the Planning Department Sabotages Sustainability
This is the second installment in a three-part series on the
reshaping of New York City and its consequences for sustainability and
livable streets. Read the first part here.
February 19, 2010
Shaping the Next New York: The Promise of Bloomberg’s Rezonings
This is the first installment in a three-part series on the reshaping of New York City and its consequences for sustainability and livable streets.
February 18, 2010