Smart Growth Around America

Can you spot the affordable housing units from here? Image from Bing.com

Should an apartment, townhouse, or condo automatically be considered affordable – no matter the cost or rent? That would be crazy, right?

A New Jersey State Senator has introduced a bill that would do exactly that, letting cities and towns off the hook for producing desperately needed affordable housing units if they merely have a lot of multi-unit buildings.

Legislation introduced by State Senator Raymond Lesniak (and passed out of committee today) would have devastating consequences for the state – limiting the supply of housing that lower-income residents can afford, undermining affordable housing laws, encouraging more sprawl, and setting back regional equity gains made in past years.

Under the legislation, towns in which at least 33 percent of the overall housing stock is made up of multi-unit buildings – apartments, townhouses, or condominiums – regardless of their cost, will be designated as “inclusionary” (i.e., affordable) and exempted from providing new affordable units. If a town doesn’t meet this significantly relaxed standard, it will be required to change its zoning so that land is set aside or prioritized for residential development, with only minimal affordability requirements – and zero requirements for providing that housing near jobs or transit options.

This would mean that 50 percent of New Jersey’s cities and towns – almost 300 in total – would no longer be obligated to provide any affordable housing. It would also mean that low-income families would be cut off from opportunities to live in transit-accessible neighborhoods, which are more likely to contain the required percentage of multi-family housing units, forcing them out to areas far from jobs and driving up their costs for housing plus transportation. (Truthfully, a much better measurement of housing affordability.)

Advocates from New Jersey’s affordable housing, environmental, smart growth, and equity communities have all vehemently opposed the bill. Sierra Club of New Jersey’s executive director Jeff Tittle pointed out that Governor Corzine’s luxury condo in Hoboken would be considered affordable housing under the legislation, Kevin Walsh of the Fair Share Housing Center called it “the policy equivalent of throwing a dart at a dart board”, and the NJ NAACP filed a formal ethics complaint against the bill’s sponsors, who legally represent 40 of the cities and towns this bill would impact as paid legal counsel.

Lesniak’s proposal, which he describes as a market driven approach to affordable housing, was scheduled for a committee vote today, where it passed unanimously. Advocates are hopeful that the glaringly obvious flaws in this legislation will halt its progress, and that they’ll be able to work with New Jersey lawmakers to find rational ways to provide homes that people can afford throughout the region.

A full vote by the State Senate is scheduled for March 22.

Divorcing the measurement of affordability from the actual cost and tying it merely to “type” of housing makes little sense – and will do nothing to satisfy the need for housing near jobs and transit that low-income New Jersey residents can afford.

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Tags: Affordability, Housing, New Jersey

Tell Congress to support the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act today!

The Chesapeake Bay, one of our country’s most precious natural resources and one of its most troubled, is suffering in a new way these days. Agriculture was once its biggest problem; improperly treated waste from farmland contaminated the rivers that lead into the estuary. As farmers have gotten smarter and more diligent about their role in contaminating the waterways, a new problem has emerged: development.

The population within the watershed’s region has exploded. About 17 million people live in the Chesapeake Bay region, more than double what it was in the 1950s. As people move to the Chesapeake Bay, development increases, and most of it is decentralized, auto-centric sprawl that results in more roads, parking lots, and rooftops, as forests and wetlands shrink.

When it rains, the water has nowhere to go. The natural habitat that used to filter out pollution has disappeared, replaced by impervious surfaces, and rain rolls right off the parking lots and roads, bringing all the pollutants into the streams, creeks, and rivers that feed into the Chesapeake Bay. Between 1990 and 2000, the amount of land covered in such impervious surfaces increased nearly 41 percent. The population only grew 8 percent in that time. Stormwater runoff is considered the fastest-growing source of pollution for the Bay.

The same problem is happening elsewhere all over the United States. The EPA, which has traditionally regulated things like sewers and factories, has taken note: stormwater runoff changes the physical and chemical nature of streams and waterways, and nationally stormwater is doing the most damage to our watersystems. According to a 2000 National Water Quality Inventory from EPA, stormwater significantly contributes to impaired water quality nationwide – “13% of impaired rivers and streams, 18% of impaired lakes, 55% of impaired ocean shorelines, and 32% of impaired estuaries.”

Now the real question is: how do you preserve the integrity of our natural acquatic environment, which is facing real and troubling disturbances due to the effects of human development, without stopping the healthy, smart, necessary redevelopment?

One answer could be for government to incentivize and encourage the use of more “green infrastructure,” which is really just a fancy way of talking about the green roofs, permeable sidewalk pavers, and other innovative uses of natural materials in our built environment to make more natural water filtration possible.

There’s a bill in Congress right now that would do that, so send a message to your representatives today and tell them to support this important bill.

Save the Bay, Save the Sound, Save the Lake — fill in the blank with the waterway nearest you.

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Tags: Action Alert, Chesapeake, EPA, Water

It’s one of our most basic needs, and one we take most for granted — clean, fresh water. But polluted stormwater runoff, overtaxed sewer systems, increasingly urbanized areas and shrinking forests and grasslands are threatening Americans’ water quality.

Instead of adding massively expensive new sewer capacity, Americans need a smarter way to filter stormwater. We need “green infrastructure,” the proven method by which we filter water naturally through the soil, trees, green roofs, or rain gardens. Beyond cleaning up our water supply, green infrastructure saves us money, improves public health and air quality, provides green jobs – even increases land value.

Tell your Representative to support green infrastructure now!

Get more information on the bill and what it would do from our partners at NRDC.

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Tags: Action Alert, stormwater, Water

Atlantic Station in Atlanta in 1971, today a superb example of a successful brownfield restoration.

The economic downturn changed the landscape of communities across the country — creating growing numbers of abandoned homes, shuttered auto manufacturing plants, and vacant land parcels. Distressed and economically disadvantaged areas have been hit worst of all, and more communities than ever are in desperate need of revitalization planning, clean-up for contaminated land, and help dealing with abandoned property.

For that reason, Smart Growth America and other revitalization advocates applauded President Obama’s FY2011 budget for the EPA brownfields program today, which demonstrated a keen awareness of the desperate need in cities across the country to clean up vacant properties and reclaim polluted industrial sites as community assets. The Obama Administration’s proposed $40 million dollar increase for the program is aimed specifically at funding pilot projects that will give disadvantaged communities the resources to create holistic brownfield redevelopment plans.

Those plans will help link the cleanup of individual sites to broader community goals: creating jobs, promoting equitable development, and inspiring private investment, all while protecting human health and the environment. In a statement, Smart Growth America President Geoff Anderson said there was no better time than the present to fund this work to clean up brownfields and restore them to productive assets for communities:

“This is the perfect time to clean up brownfields. Brownfields have a longer lead time before they are development-ready, and investing now will mean that we’ll have more sites ready to accommodate growth in a responsible and sustainable fashion when the real estate market is ready to grow again,” he said.

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Tags: Brownfields, President Obama

This post by SGA President Geoff Anderson originally appeared on the Georgia Municipal Association’s “Georgia Cities – 2010 Connection.” The GMA Connection is a project to educate Georgia gubernatorial candidates on the issues facing Georgia cities ahead of this year’s election. This post originally appeared here. Our thanks to GMA for letting us reprint it.  - Stephen Davis, Smart Growth America

—

In case any doubt remains, let me remove it. The fortunes of our country will rise and fall with the fates of our cities and metropolitan areas. For the first time in history, more people worldwide live in cities than anywhere else. In the United States, our largest 100 metropolitan areas house a staggering 65 percent of our population.

Numbers from the Brookings Institution make it clear that how we govern and grow our cities and metro areas will determine our success or failure. Those same 100 largest metro areas — including metropolitan Atlanta — produce 75 percent of our nation’s GDP yet occupy just 12 percent of our country’s land area. Places where people congregate and concentrate are incredibly efficient generators of wealth, jobs and economic activity.

State leaders need to recognize that for the whole state to prosper, Georgia needs to ensure the health of its economic engines, large and small: Georgia cities (and their suburbs), towns and metro areas. Leaders need to help the bigger cities, yes, but they can’t stop there. Even in largely rural areas in central and southern Georgia, economic energy is also primarily focused around small towns and cities.

In many states however, these areas are neglected. Metros and cities are often generating more economic benefit for the state than they are receiving back in aid. And in many cases the aid they do get comes with a price. Rather than being able to make their own decisions about growth or transportation, city or metro regional leaders are at the mercy of state leaders as they decide where and how to spend scarce state and federal dollars.

In this difficult and changing economy, states that are allies and partners in helping cities prosper — creating a rising tide to lift all boats — will be the models of success.

State, regional and city leaders also need to look to the future and work together to capitalize on the changing trends in real estate and development to remain prosperous. Drive 20 miles out of Atlanta, and you’re likely to see at least a few subdivisions with streets, curbs, light posts — but no houses. Not only are we in a troubled economy, but signs point to numerous consumer preference and demographic shifts that are upending the twentieth century model of development: drive a little further out, bulldoze trees and build a new subdivision.

The newest buzzword is “walkability,” which serves as a really good shorthand for the kinds of livable, sustainable, enjoyable places with a high quality of life that people are demanding like never before. There is still demand for housing in the exurbs, but a growing number of people are looking to move to places where they can live in closer proximity to work and daily needs; places where they can walk, ride their bikes or take a train to get where they need to go.

There is plenty of evidence pointing to this shift, but one need look no further than this year’s edition of the trustworthy “Emerging Trends in Real Estate” report from the Urban Land Institute — where they offer advice on investing in real estate:

“Next-generation projects will orient to infill, urbanizing suburbs, and transit-oriented development. Smaller housing units-close to mass transit, work, and 24-hour amenities-gain favor over large houses on big lots at the suburban edge. People will continue to seek greater convenience and want to reduce energy expenses. Shorter commutes and smaller heating bills make up for higher infill real estate costs.”

One notable demographic group that is increasingly looking to live in places where walking is a convenient option is empty nesters and seniors. Georgia’s 65 and over population will grow 143% by 2030, with more than 2 million seniors living in Georgia by 2030. This is just one significant group driving this shift toward more walkable, convenient neighborhoods.

In some states, economic development and infrastructure dollars are spread across the state like peanut butter, ignoring where targeted investment can have the greatest impact. Those paying attention to the forces driving our economy know this won’t cut it in the 21st century. The opportunity is there for the State to give metropolitan areas — cities, towns and their suburbs — the tools and funding they need to succeed, ensuring the continued success of the whole state.

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Tags: cities, Geoff Anderson, Georgia, Metropolitan agenda

Through the end of 2009, investments by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in public transportation have created almost twice as many jobs per dollar as investments in highways — and the advantage is growing.

The most recent data from states shows that every billion dollars spent on public transportation produced 19,299 job-months, compared to 10,493 job-months for every billion spent on highway infrastructure. Public transportation projects create more jobs than road projects because they spend less money on land and more on labor, and because projects are often more complex, whether laying track or manufacturing vehicles.

The data were released by the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on February 9, 2010 and analyzed by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Smart Growth America, and U.S. PIRG. The new data from the states add two months and several billion dollars to previously released data. The new data show public transportation’s job-production performance advantage widening.

“States have put more than $22.6 billion of transportation stimulus funds under contract,” said Geoff Anderson, President of Smart Growth America. “We’ve gotten a lot of vital projects for that money — and we’ve also learned a lot. Treasury Secretary Geithner just told Congress: “Our basic test should be: what’s going to add jobs?” At the stimulus’s one-year mark, we’ve learned that the answer is ‘more public transportation.’”

New data show public transportation’s job-production performance advantage widening

The number of jobs created or saved per billion stimulus dollars spent on transportation is rising over time for both public transportation and highways. The data shows public transportation creating, on average, 2,880 more job months per billion dollars than it had two months ago. Highway spending created 1,712 more job months per billion than two months ago. Thus, a billion dollars invested in public transportation produces 8,806 more job months than a billion dollars spent on highways. The difference is an increase from two months ago when the extra employment impact from investing in public transit was 7,638 more job months. The states are reporting updated job-creation numbers as they bring more projects under contract, and as the states correct earlier reports.

“Not only do public transportation investments create more jobs, more quickly than highways. We now see the advantage growing over time as the stimulus advances,” said Phineas Baxandall, Senior Analyst at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. “If job creation was an Olympic event, public transportation would be laps ahead and gaining. At the one-year mark, it isn’t even close.”

Other recent data also confirm that ARRA investments in public transportation are superior job creators. Last month’s President’s Council of Economic Advisers Second Quarterly ARRA Economic Impact Report showed that public transportation was the top job generator among ARRA clean energy programs (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/100113-economic-impact-arra-second-quarterly-report.pdf, page 47,Table 13).

“The new data shows that the job productivity of transit is no fluke – transit not only maintained its job productivity advantage over highway investing over a longer period of time, in the fourth quarter it was the top job supporter of all clean energy investments in ARRA, according to the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors,” said Scott Bernstein, President of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. “Shifting as much of our transportation spending to the most job-creating investments as we can is essential. The Senate should pass companion legislation to the House’s Jobs for Main Street bill, and make it effective by giving transit spending parity with highways.”

The numbers

CNT, SGA, and US PIRG analyzed the data reported by states and posted by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee here: http://transportation.house.gov/singlepages/singlepages.aspx?NewsID=852 The results of the analysis:

The report by CNT, SGA and US PIRG on the earlier data, “What we learned from the Stimulus, and how to use what we learned to speed job creation in the 2010 jobs bill”, is available at: http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/stimulus2009.html.

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Tags: ARRA, press releases, Stimulus

Washington, D.C., has been a dreary, snowy place of late.  For those of you in the immediate area, we invite you to shake off those winter blues and join us at Next American City Magazine’s Spring 2010 issue launch here in Washington, co-sponsored by Smart Growth America. On March 10, head out to the AIA headquarters downtown to hear guest speaker Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution and celebrate with food, drinks and great conversation with Smart Growth America staffers.

The launch is at March 10, 2010 from 6-8pm at the AIA Headquarters, 1735 New York Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.  You can RSVP to rsvp [at] americancity.org

Entry to the event is free for NAC subscribers, but you can subscribe now for just $15 (50% off the regular subscription price) with the special discount code ISSUE26. Subscriptions are $20 at the door. Subscribe here today: http://americancity.org/subscribe/

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Tags: Events, washington d.c.

In today’s announcement of $1.5 billion in TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) awards, the US Department of Transportation (US DOT) showed the kinds of transportation projects that move people and freight in a way that makes places stronger, cleaner, and safer.

DOT received 1,380 applications for the $1.5 billion pot, for a grand total of $56.5 billion in funds requested. The 51 projects announced under TIGER, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), include:

• Port and freight-rail projects in Tennessee, Alabama, Hawaii, Illinois that support economic growth and take freight off the road;
• Bridge replacements in Oklahoma, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Indiana that support multiple modes of travel;
• Modern streetcars to support vibrant places in Tucson, Dallas, Portland, New Orleans and Detroit;
• Innovative highway funding and operations in Texas, North Carolina, Colorado, South Carolina and Arkansas;
• Bicycle and pedestrian networks in Philadelphia, Indianapolis, and complete streets in Dubuque, IA;
• Beautiful new train stations in places as different as New York and Normal, Illinois.

“These projects show the kinds of transportation investments that will make our lives better: projects that get freight out of people’s way, that give people a place to walk and bike, that replace unsafe bridges, and that in the end, help connect our communities in ways that make them stronger,” said William Schroeer, State Policy Director for Smart Growth America.

“We applaud states and cities for submitting these projects for funding, and US DOT for choosing them,” continued Schroeer. “It’s worth noting however, that many of these activities technically could be funded through current programs. The fact that they aren’t and it takes a special program to get this kind of innovation, just highlights the need for broader transportation reform at both federal and state levels.”

Project applications had to show multiple benefits, with priority given to projects that: 1) Improve the condition of existing facilities and systems, 2) contribute to U.S. economic competitiveness, 3) improve the quality of living and working environments for people, 4) improve energy efficiency, reduce dependence on foreign oil, and reduce pollution, and 5) improve public safety.

Congress and the Obama Administration are working hard to change how states and the federal government fund transportation in America so that more projects produce all five of these benefits. While they complete that task, TIGER projects are excellent examples of the kinds of investments that states can and should be making today.

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Tags: ARRA, Economic Stimulus, press releases, Stimulus, TIGER

For those of you brave enough to dig into the numbers, the latest edition of the Washington Update from Smart Growth America details the President’s budget for smart-growth related programs in HUD, EPA, and DOT. If you want to know more about the details of policy and would like to receive the Washington Update newsletter regularly via email, you can sign up for it (and others) here via the SGA website.

Administration Announces Recipients of High-Speed Rail Grants
$8 BILLION FROM ARRA GOES TO 31 STATES AND DC

The Obama Administration recently announced the recipients of $8 billion in high-speed rail grants. The funding was divided among 31 states and the District of Columbia, with the majority of the grants going to new, large-scale programs. Grants were made for railways in thirteen major corridors and for planning and studies in another eleven.

…CONTINUE READING »

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Tags: President Obama, washington update

A few of the record-breaking 1,700 attendees at the New Partners for Smart Growth conference in Seattle might have been pinching themselves on Thursday night after hearing three of President Obama’s cabinet secretaries emphasize the importance of smart growth, sustainability and livability as core goals shaping the work of their three massive federal agencies.

Demonstrating the Obama Administration’s commitment to making neighborhoods more livable, sustainable and affordable, Secretaries Ray Lahood and Shaun Donovan of the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development came to Seattle to discuss their plans to use their giant agencies’ budgets and programs in unison to help American families in rural, suburban and urban communities have better options for affordable housing and getting where they need to go each day. Making sure that future growth in our towns and cities results in affordable homes in walkable neighborhoods close to places to work, shop or go to school means less money wasted on skyrocketing transportation costs — saving money for everyday Americans.

(Lahood and Donovan were joined by Assistant Administrator Mathy V. Stanislaus from the Environmental Protection Agency, filling in for EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, who was unable to attend due to a conflict, but sent a video message for the conference recipients to watch.)

Secretary Ray LaHood made it clear that the federal government will be a powerful supporting partner in the work that all of us are doing across the country to ensure that the neighborhoods, communities and cities we call home are great places to live for decades to come. “You guys are the dreamers; the innovators — but we are going to partner with you to do this work,” he said.

Smart Growth America applauds HUD, DOT and EPA for the powerful message delivered by cabinet secretaries flying across the country to tell 1,700 planners, local officials, advocates and ordinary citizens that they’ll be making smarter growth and livability the norm and the standard — not the exception.

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Tags: DOT, EPA, HUD

President Obama’s budget for the 2011 fiscal year, released this morning, contains more than $1 billion in programs and grants that will help create and support livable, sustainable communities and neighborhoods across the country.

“This is good news for anyone looking to cut their transportation costs, find an affordable home in a walkable neighborhood, or live in a community with a multitude of transportation options,” said SGA President Geoff Anderson.

“It’s worth noting that in such difficult economic times and in a budget with extensive cuts in other areas, the Administration is emphasizing the importance of improving sustainability and livability in our neighborhoods large and small, meeting numerous goals by saving taxpayer money and improving sustainability while enhancing the quality of life for Americans in communities across the country,“ Anderson continued.

“At its core, sustainability is about making sure that we use resources responsibly and wisely, and livability means creating communities where people can find an affordable place to live, a good job, and options for getting where they need to go each day,” he added.

“In today’s economic climate, with millions of Americans out of work, facing foreclosure or mounting transportation expenses due to rising oil prices or cuts in public transportation, it is imperative that the federal government be a strong partner for local governments, working with them to ensure that our future growth is sustainable, equitable, livable and affordable. This budget moves those important priorities forward.”

The administration blazed a path toward improving livability and sustainability with last year’s creation of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, a joint effort between the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Transportation. In the FY 2011 budget, that Partnership would receive more than $830 million (between the three agencies) to help American families in rural, suburban and urban communities have better options for getting where they need to go and better access to affordable housing.

DOT will also get an additional $1 billion in high-speed rail funding, in addition to $2.5 billion in the current year’s budget, and $8 billion in grants from the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act awarded last week. All told, the administration could be spending more than $11.5 billion to lay the groundwork for a national high-speed rail system over the course of just a few short years.

“Investing in our transportation system and high speed rail travel are smart bets for the future. Not only will we create jobs in the short and long term, but we will be building the kind of infrastructure that can connect the people in our metro areas, giving them more options for travel, and creating opportunity and long-term economic success from coast to coast,” said Geoff Anderson.

We will have a deeper analysis of the President’s budget coming hopefully later this week.

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Tags: Budget, DOT, EPA, Housing, HUD, President Obama, press releases

In the first ten months of the 2009 economic stimulus package, investments in public transportation created twice as many jobs per dollar as investments in highways, according to a new analysis by Smart Growth America. With the 2009 stimulus providing three times more money for highways than transit, Congress missed a chance to put more people to work – while also investing in the kind of clean, efficient transportation systems we so desperately need.

Congress has a chance to do better with the jobs bill currently in the works. If The Senate passes a jobs bill that invests equally in public transportation and highways, for example, we could produce year-round employment for nearly 6,000 more workers for the same cost as the House version of the jobs bill.

Tell your Senators: don’t miss this opportunity to create more jobs without spending more money. Let’s invest wisely and put people to work quickly creating a clean, green transportation infrastructure for the 21st Century.

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Tags: Action Alert, Economic Stimulus, Jobs, Transit

The Onondaga Lake: one of the most polluted waterways in the country. Image by Joegrimes

Across the country, older cities struggle with outdated water-sewer systems that collect sanitary sewage and stormwater runoff in a single pipe system. When a big storm occurs, the main system gets overloaded, resulting in a disgusting combination: sewage combines with stormwater and runs into nearby lakes and rivers, causing serious water pollution and health issues.

Combatting these problems traditionally required that cities make a big investment in either building a second piping system for the whole city, or large tanks that can store water during storms. These “gray infrastructure” solutions can take years to implement, cost millions, and substantially disrupt the lives of residents. Cities are beginning to turn instead to “green” water infrastructure as a viable alternative to addressing combined sewer overflow. Green infrastructure uses plants and porous pavement — among other tools — as natural ways to filter water, increase infiltration, and reduce stormwater runoff into pipes.

Onondaga County, New York where Syracuse is located, became one of the first regions in the country in November to announce it will use this technology on a large scale. A judge approved an agreement that will allow the county to hold, infiltrate, and clean polluted runoff through vegetated basins, roof gardens, tree boxes, and rain gardens. This new agreement replaces a 1999 consent order that mandated the construction of large-scale water treatment systems to reduce pollutant levels in Onondaga Lake — widely considered one of the most polluted waterways in the country due to sewage waste and industrial dumping.

Now, the same money that would have been spent to build three concentrated industrial structures and massive pipe storage systems will go toward this mixed approach that will help beautify the city, create green jobs, and save money on construction, operation, and maintenance. It will also help position the Syracuse area as one of the nation’s leaders in green solutions to wastewater and pollution reduction.

Cities across the country that struggle with similar outdated systems will certainly be watching Syracuse carefully.

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Tags: Infrastructure, New York, Water