DC’s food entrepreneurs and the neighborhoods they call home

Food in the City
Some of the people and projects involved in tomorrow’s Food in the City event.

Tomorrow evening we’ll be hosting Food in the City, a conversation about DC’s burgeoning food scene and how it is shaping growth and development in the city. Here’s a closer look at the people and projects involved in the event.

The most vibrant neighborhoods support places for both work and play to make local economies stronger.

At our last “In the City” series event, Tech in the City, we examined how DC could foster technology startups through better urban development. The panelists identified several unique characteristics as to how DC promotes tech entrepreneurship, and how the city’s neighborhoods foster innovation.

Tomorrow, the next event in the series—Food in the City—will look at how DC’s neighborhoods can foster culinary entrepreneurs. The New York Times named Washington, DC a 2013 top destination for its great food scene, and there are exciting new businesses from brick-and-mortar restaurants to food trucks to pop-up restaurants to incubator kitchens to neighborhood markets growing across the city.

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House subcommittee introduces bill that cuts funding to Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development

Earlier today the House Appropriations Subcommittee introduced the fiscal year 2014 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill. The bill slashes funding to programs at both the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by $7.7 billion compared to their 2013 spending levels. At DOT, the budget would eliminate funding for the TIGER grant program and rescind $237 million in unobligated TIGER funding from 2013. The bill would also eliminate funding for high-speed rail and cut Amtrak’s subsidy by a third.

At HUD the bill would cut overall funding by 35% compared to FY 2013, including a 50% cut to Community Development Block Grants and a 30% cut to the HOME Investment Partnership Program. The bill would also zero out funding for HUD’s Office of Economic Resilience, created just this year. President Obama’s FY 2014 budget proposed $75 million in funding for that office.

In response to the proposed bill, Geoff Anderson, President and CEO of Smart Growth America, issued the following statement.

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New workshop available, upcoming congressional briefing – Complete Streets News – June, 2013

Policy Adoption

On May 21, Hopkins, Minnesota adopted a Complete Streets policy. Hopkins, a densely populated town in the Minneapolis area, will be home to 3 light rail stations in the next few years, Creating safe walking and bicycling connections to those stations are paramount for the city team. The policy draws from national and state best practices, includes specific exemptions and next steps for implementation. Read more >>

The Albany, New York City Council passed Complete Streets legislation on June 3. After two auto-pedestrian accidents in the last year, one of them fatal, community stakeholders and councilmembers want to improve safety for all citizens. “This is about considering all users of the road,” noted Alderwoman Leah Golby, who proposed the law. “It’s time for our code to reflect the way people live today.” The ordinance applies to “all street construction, reconstruction, resurfacing or repaving projects that are undertaken by the City and not covered under the New York State Complete Streets Law.” Read more >>

The Common Council of White Plains, New York adopted a Complete Streets resolution on June 3. The resolution directs the City’s Department of Public Works to “consider all modes of travel within its projects” and includes specific exceptions. Read more >>

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Smart Growth News – June 19, 2013

Smart Growth Costs Less, Yields More Revenues for Cities and Towns
Better! Cities & Towns – June 18, 2013
Smart Growth America takes the case to a higher level with a nationwide meta-analysis of 17 studies, including a new study of Nashville, Tennessee, commissioned for the report. The conclusion: Smart growth strategies can help any town or city improve its finances.

Bad Bridges Have Hidden Cost
The Washington Post – June 18, 2013
“That has an impact on the economy,” said David Goldberg, communications director for Transportation for America.

Could Increasing Complete Streets Decrease Pedestrian Deaths and Injuries?
Transportation Issues Daily – June 18, 2013
Yes, increasing the number of complete streets would almost certainly reduce deaths and injuries.

New Pentagon Mandate: Make Military Bases Livable, That’s an Order!
DC Streetsblog – June 18, 2013
As Rep. Blumenauer told the Smart Growth America-affiliated developers, the new UFC looks like something they would have written themselves.

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Watch the live video stream of tomorrow’s Complete Streets briefing on Capitol Hill

Tomorrow at 2:30 EDT the National Complete Streets Coalition and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute will host a briefing for members of Congress and their staff about national and local trends in Complete Streets policies, and how a fiscally-sound federal transportation policy can support the creation of safer streets in communities across the country.

Anyone interested in streets that work for everyone, including Complete Streets advocates and design professionals, are invited to listen in and join the discussion. The video below will be live as of 2:20 EDT on Thursday, June 20. Join us here tomorrow to watch the briefing as it happens live.

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Video: Bill Fulton speaks on planning for economic and fiscal health in Fairfax, VA

As part of Smart Growth America’s free technical assistance program for local governments, Smart Growth America’s Vice President of Policy Development and Implementation Bill Fulton gave a presentation on “Planning for Economic and Fiscal Health” to community members and government officials in Fairfax, VA on June 6, 2013.

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Cuyahoga County, OH hosts public workshop on Complete Streets

Cuyahoga County officials and local residents met with representatives from Smart Growth America on May 1 and 2, 2013 as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshops aimed to give Cuyahoga County strategies to create a built environment that focuses on better and more accessible transportation options for all residents.

“Providing a multi-modal transportation network is a key component to Cuyahoga County’s guiding principles of designing a place-based development strategy. Under the leadership of County Executive Ed Fitzgerald, the County also recognizes the momentum of the City of Cleveland’s efforts to implement a Complete and Green Streets policy and embraces this opportunity to explore the concept of Complete Streets on the regional level,” said Glenn Coyne, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission.

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Smart Growth News – June 18, 2013

Walking Tour Explores Fort Totten’s Present and Future
Greater Greater Washington – June 17, 2013
Last Saturday, the Coalition for Smarter Growth concluded their spring walking tour series with “Fort Totten: More than a Transfer Point,” a look at future residential, retail and commercial development near the Fort Totten Metro station.

How Communities Become Nicer Places to Live
National Association of Realtors – June 17, 2013
What smart growth really boils down to is simply making communities nice places to live even as population densities increase.

How Cities are Fixing America
The Daily Beast – June 17, 2013
Every major demographic trend that the United States is experiencing—rapid growth, increasing diversity, an aging demographic—is happening at a faster pace, a greater scale, and a higher level of intensity in our major metropolitan areas.

Conservative Think Tank: Invest in Transit to Boost Metros
DC Streetsblog – June 17, 2013
The conservative Free Congress Foundation says it’s time America got serious about investing in transit in its metro areas.

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Congressional Complete Streets Briefing on June 20

On June 20 at 2:30 pm, the National Complete Streets Coalition and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute invite you to join local, state and national experts at a Congressional briefing to discuss national and local trends in Complete Streets …

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Smart Growth News – June 17, 2013

The Bike Lobby Rolls On
Politico – June 16, 2013
A scrappy band of bicycle manufacturers, smart-growth advocates and cycling nonprofits is increasingly fighting — and winning — battles at all levels of government.

How to Build a Resilient City (Budget)
Planetizen – June 14, 2013
As planners, we know this quite well thanks to a great new study published by Smart Growth America. Build a city in a low-intensity, sprawling pattern and you’ll end up with inefficient services and strained city budgets.

Ten Principles for Making High Density Cities Better
NRDC Switchboard – February 13, 2013
Getting the right city density – generally expressed in the US as people per square mile or homes per acre – to support sustainable and pleasant living is one of the trickiest problems we face as we address the future of our communities.

The Philosophy and Goals of New Chair of Senate’s Surface Transportation Subcommittee
Transportation Issues Daily – June 16, 2013
Warner has considerable experience with transportation issues, serving on Virginia’s Board of Transportation for four years. As Governor, Warner directed a “dramatic turnaround” of the state DOT.

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