Smart Growth America

Smart growth news – May 18, 2012

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Alex Dodds

Top Stories

Erie and Chautauqua counties to get state land bank
Buffalo News (NY) – May 17, 2012
The Empire State Development Corp. on Thursday approved a joint application from Erie County and the cities of Buffalo, Lackawanna and Tonawanda, as well as one from Chautauqua County, giving the area the ability to start two of the state’s first land banks.

City hopes to become more sustainable, vibrant with bicycling
Dayton Daily News (OH) – May 17, 2012
Dayton is planning on spending $12.1 million through 2018 — most from federal and state money — on street repair, and road reconstruction and repaving that includes adding bike lanes or making improvements to bike and pedestrian paths.

Posted in New York, SGA News Clips | Tagged Bicycling, Land bank, Land banking, Transportation bill | Leave a comment

Greer, SC explores transit options along Route 29 with help from Smart Growth America

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Alex Dodds

Community leaders in Greer, South Carolina, are trying to figure out if and how the town might create better transportation options for its residents and earlier this month, Smart Growth America went to Greer to help those leaders answer some of these questions.

Smart Growth America and our partner Strategic Economics led a workshop on Implementing Transit-Oriented Development. Transit-oriented development, or TOD, means building homes, offices or stores close to public transportation stations. This strategy supports the businesses along the public transportation line, and makes commuting more convenient for residents – even those who don’t ride public transportation. The one-day workshop laid out both the short and long-term benefits such a strategy would bring to Greer’s transportation and planning staff members as well as business and community leaders.

“Greer is extremely interested in smart growth solutions, as our fiscal and environmental well-being depends on having a thoughtful and reasonable pattern of growth across our region,” said Mayor Rick Danner in a statement. “In fact, we see smart growth solutions as the only responsible way to address our transportation needs. Our community faces a choice between an expensive expansion of the I-85 corridor or an enhanced transportation corridor along Highway 29.”

Posted in Featured Content, South Carolina, Technical assistance | Tagged Greer, south carolina, technical assistance, TOD, Transit-oriented development | Leave a comment

National Complete Streets Coalition to become official program of Smart Growth America

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Smart Growth America

In an effort to ensure the continued growth and widespread support for Complete Streets policies, we are pleased to announce that the National Complete Streets Coalition’s steering committee recently approved a proposal to incorporate the coalition as an official program of Smart Growth America. The change will take effect July 1.

“The Coalition has had spectacular success as an ad-hoc group for seven years,” said Barbara McCann, who founded the Coalition. “Now it needs a more formal and sustainable structure to better serve the growth of Complete Streets.”

“Complete Streets are a vital component of strong, vibrant neighborhoods,” said Geoff Anderson, President and CEO of Smart Growth America. “Adding the Coalition as a new program aligns with our goal of making communities work for everyone. This is something that goes beyond safety and access and speaks to the need to develop towns and cities in ways that improve quality of life, enhance economic futures and create great places to live and work.”

Posted in Complete Streets, Members and Main | Tagged Complete Streets, Smart Growth America | Leave a comment

Breathing new life into a symbol of Atlanta’s past

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Riordan Frost

A rendering of the Atlanta BeltLine project. Photo courtesy of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. / Perkins + Will / Field Operations. Used with permission.

Despite its reputation as a sprawling capital of the New South, Atlanta, GA is a city with a rich history and industrial legacy. Now, as part of the massive Atlanta BeltLine project, historic buildings that encapsulate the city’s past are being repurposed to meet the growing demand for walkable urbanism in the region. One such example of this type of revitalization is the Ponce City Market, which will restore the expansive Sears, Roebuck & Co. building in Atlanta.

The project is being developed by Jamestown Properties and Green Street Properties, and will bring new life to 1.1 million square feet of the old building which has been largely unused for over 20 years. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Sears, Roebuck & Co. building was built in 1926 to provide space for the company’s regional offices and a retail store. The building was expanded several times and even hosted farmer’s markets, but it closed in 1987. The city of Atlanta later purchased the building, but after renovations were delayed, sold it to a developer in 2006.

Posted in Georgia, LOCUS | Tagged Atlanta, Atlanta BeltLine, Georgia, redevelopment | Leave a comment

Smart growth news- May 17, 2012

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Paige Miller

National

Neighborhood affects how much we walk, bike and take transit, survey finds
The Washington Post- May 16, 2012
The typical home in Logan Circle is likely to have more bikes than cars. About one in six Reston residents carpools to work. People in Langley Park walk more than twice as often as those in the rest of the region.

GOP hints it’ll part with Keystone XL pipeline to finish highway bill
The Hill- May 16, 2012
Republicans are pressing for approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline in a final House-Senate transportation bill but appear unlikely to draw a line in the sand that jeopardizes the infrastructure legislation.

New housing forecast mostly good for walkable communities
NRDC Blog- May 17, 2012
The housing price recovery has begun, says a new report from The Demand Institute, a think tank recently launched by Nielson and The Conference Board to track consumer demand.

The Fastest Growing Communities in RI
Go Local Prov- May 17, 2012
Housing construction has slowed to a crawl across most of Rhode Island, but some communities are still growing in spite of all the economic woes, a GoLocalProv review of U.S. Census data shows.

Posted in SGA News Clips | Leave a comment

Subdivisions go urban as housing market changes

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Tom Madrecki

Changing demographics and shifting consumer demands have deeply impacted the real estate market, causing developers to put a greater emphasis than ever before on the creation of smart growth neighborhoods within easy distance to jobs, shops and schools. From millenials …

Posted in Blog, Smart growth stories | Tagged Chris Leinberger, Demographics, Developers, Economics, Housing, LOCUS, Market demand, Real estate | Leave a comment

Smart growth news – May 16, 2012

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Alex Dodds

Subdivisions go urban as housing market changes
USA Today – May 15, 2012
“It’s the kids (ages 18 to 32), the empty nesters (Baby Boomers with no kids at home),” says Chris Leinberger, president of Smart Growth America’s LOCUS (Latin for “place”), a national coalition of real estate developers and investors who support urban developments that encourage walking over driving. “These two generations combined are more than half of the American population.”

Housing’s Future: Renting and Downsizing
Wall Street Journal’s Real Time Economics blog – May 15, 2012
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like a rented apartment. That may be the mantra of U.S. households for the next three years, according to a new study released Tuesday by the Demand Institute division of the U.S. Conference Board. Most Americans still hope to own a home, the study found — but that home will be smaller than the MacMansions of the housing boom.

San Jose City Council OKs developer incentives to build downtown apartment high rises
San Jose Mercury News (CA) – May 15, 2012
To bring more workers to San Jose, the City Council in January enticed developers with fee and tax waivers to fill or build office space. Now, the council wants to lure more people to live downtown — even though it means giving residential developers millions in tax breaks and other fees to do so.

Posted in SGA News Clips | Tagged California, Chris Leinberger, Kansas City, LOCUS, Market demand, Oregon, San Jose | Leave a comment

Walkable communities in demand, will lead housing market recovery new report finds

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Alex Dodds

The U.S. housing market has begun to recover, and homes with amenities within walking distance will be those most in demand in coming years, according to a new report from the Demand Institute, a division of the U.S. Conference Board.

The Shifting Nature of U.S. Housing Demand, released May 15, examines the state of the U.S. housing market and the new trends emerging as real estate prices begin to recover from the recession.

Notably, the report predicts that areas with homes within walking distance of amenities and public transportation will recover more quickly and more strongly than those without these features. The report authors refer to these communities as “Resilient Walkables”:

About 15 percent of the population lives in this segment, which comprises populous urban or semi-urban communities well served by local amenities. House prices here fell by less than the national average between 2006 and 2011, in some cases by much less. The same is true of local employment…These localities will be the first to recover. We expect house prices here to rise by an average of 3 percent in 2013, and by up to 5 percent a year between 2014 and 2017.

Posted in LOCUS | Tagged Housing, LOCUS, Market demand, Real estate market | Leave a comment

Smart growth news- May 15, 2012

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Paige Miller

National

Bike Score is here!
Walk Score- May 15, 2012
Just in time for Bike to Work Week, we are thrilled to launch Bike Score and our first ranking of the most bikeable U.S. cities.

Follow Chicago’s example: Invest in infrastructure
Politico- May 13, 2012
On the day I announced the Building a New Chicago plan to create 30,000 jobs and invest $7.3 billion in our city’s infrastructure, Congress passed its tenth 90-day extension of the highway bill. It hasn’t passed one since 2005.

In good news for Obama, housing markets improve in key states
Reuters- May 14, 2012
(Reuters) – Kathleen and Brett Sache are building a six-bedroom, six-bathroom home of their dreams in a sought-after corner of northern Virginia after taking encouragement from a robust local market.

Golden age of public transit
Atlantic Journal-Constitution- May 14, 2012
Transit enthusiast Taras Grescoe, 45, has never owned a car. “I was always trying to make a life without a car,” says the veteran travel writer, who lives in Montreal. “It’s a challenge and it makes you look at things differently.”

Posted in SGA News Clips | Leave a comment

Now Hiring: Smart Growth America Fellowships

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Smart Growth America

Are you interested in economic development, transportation, planning, housing, real estate finance, or environmental policy? Are you an organizer, a blogger, a policy person or just love making a difference? Are you looking to get experience working on federal and state policy to help make great neighborhoods? If so, Smart Growth America is the place for you.

Smart Growth America is hiring for three Fellowship positions in our core programs to engage with Congress, the Obama Administration, state leaders and allies on the benefits of smart growth policies. This is an opportunity that features a great deal of responsibility, direct collaboration with organizations, and valuable hands-on experience.

Posted in Careers | Tagged Fellowships | Leave a comment