Last week, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took a major step toward turning the state’s vacant properties back into homes and businesses. On Wednesday the House passed HB 1682, a bill that would allow counties and municipalities in Pennsylvania to create land banks. Land banks are entities that can hold and manage vacant, abandoned and foreclosed properties, making it faster, easier and cheaper for prospective new owners to purchase these properties and get them back into productive re-use.

If signed into law, HR 1682 would help reduce the costs borne by cities and towns across the state, and it would also provide substantial economic benefits to communities by improving property values and reversing cycles of neighborhood blight and decline.

Supporters in the state, including the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania and our coalition partner 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania point out that the legislation itself is beneficial in several ways:

• Permissive: Gives local governments the ability to create land banks, but does not require them to do so.
• Flexible: Extends maximum control over the creation and operations of land banks to local governments. Each land bank can be specifically tailored to the needs of its community.
• Revenue neutral: There is no state appropriation in the bill. Land banks in Pennsylvania would be self-funding after initial start up.

Land banks are gaining momentum nationwide as a tool with a proven track record for revitalizing neighborhoods and getting delinquent properties back on local tax rolls. Today there are over 80 land banks or land bank initiatives across the country, with more forming every year in all types of communities and in every region of the nation. New York State is among the most recent to pass legislation enabling local governments to establish land banks. Smart Growth America is proud to support these and similar land bank efforts across the country.

Photo: John Coltrane’s former home in Philadelphia is flanked by three vacant properties. Image by Flickr user Tony the Misfit.

Shilling: Why Renters Rule U.S. Housing Market (Part 1)
Bloomberg – February 22, 2012

The collapse in housing and the 33 percent plunge in house prices since 2006 are favoring renting over homeownership. This trend will dominate the housing market for the next four or five years, and put additional pressure on a weak economy.

Taxes pay for things
The Economist – February 19, 2012

But Mr O’Malley makes a compelling case for why reinvestment might require more broad-based tax increases. America’s infrastructure is crumbling. It will cost money to fix it—and delaying maintenance and postponing key projects will only cost taxpayers more in the long run.

Transportation bills to get tune-up during recess
Politico – February 22, 2012

A top GOP aide confirmed the bill’s funding is being reworked, but that’s far from the only hang-up: The severing of a link between the gas tax and federal transit funding threatens to open an urban-rural divide among Republicans.

K Street pessimistic about highway bills
The Hill – February 21, 2012

Supporters of the two transportation bills stuck in the House and Senate are pessimistic either will win chamber approval now that they have lost any momentum they once had.

Most Americans Want a Walkable Neighborhood, Not a Big House
Good – February 7, 2012

The symbol of American success often involves having the biggest house possible, but our outsized fantasies seem to be shifting. According to a new survey, more than three quarters of us consider having sidewalks and places to take a walk one of our top priorities when deciding where to live. Six in 10 people also said they would sacrifice a bigger house to live in a neighborhood that featured a mix of houses, stores, and businesses within an easy walk.

HUD boss Shaun Donovan jumps into President Obama mortgage melee
Politico – February 21, 2012

In fact, Donovan’s preferred approach to solving the worst housing meltdown in U.S. history — forcing banks to write down a relatively modest amount in mortgage principal to help out homeowners — won out over initial objections of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, a boogeyman to many liberals who think he’s been too soft to punish the One Percent.

Driverless Car Could Defy the Rules of Sprawl: Robert Bruegmann
Bloomberg – February 21, 2012

There has been a great deal of speculation about what effect this technology will have on the way we use automobiles and its implications for safety and legal liability. But how will it change the American city? For example, might it allow drivers to commute even farther in relative comfort and safety and thus accelerate sprawl in our urban areas?

Local News:

Job creators? Some cities are poachers instead
MSNBC – February 21, 2012

When the leaders of this small Iowa city became desperate to land a new department store, they didn’t have to look far: They lured one from the city next door, along with up to 100 jobs.

Illinois lawmakers ‘concerned’ about GOP transportation bill
Chicago Tribune – February 21, 2012

Rep. Robert Dold, R-Kenilworth, said he and others want to make sure that mass transit funding, tax incentives for riders of public transportation and money for long-range large projects are restored to the transportation bill.

People share revitalization frustrations
Reading Eagle – February 22, 2012

Few would disagree that downtown Reading, once the region’s retail nerve center, is in need of economic revitalization. There’s much less agreement, though, on how to go about restoring some of the luster of an era when suburban consumers drove into the city to shop at Pomeroy’s or Whitner’s.

Complete streets would aid Muncie transportation
The Star Press (IN) – February 21, 2012

As mentioned in an editorial last Sunday, getting around on foot in downtown Muncie can be a challenge. The same can be said for many other streets — heavily traveled and not — in other parts of the city for those who walk or bicycle.

Smart Growth America hosted the senior leadership from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency on this briefing.

Click below to listen to Beth Osborne (DOT), Mariia Zimmerman (HUD), and Tim Torma (EPA) give updates on this year’s Partnership for Sustainable Communities grants and programs, talk about where the Partnership stands in the President’s fiscal year 2013 budget, and outline the work that each Partnership agency plans to do in the upcoming year.

	Listen in: Click here to view the archived webinar
	Click here to download the presentation
	Click here to download “Partnership for Sustainable Communities 2012 Priorities and Demand & Funding 2009-2012,”

Want to know about webinars like this one before they happen? Join the Sustainable Communities Network, an online community of state and local government officials, business leaders and non-profit professionals interested in the Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The Network provides opportunities to ask questions, learn best practices and share ideas with others from around the country. The Network also shares updates about federal initiatives, upcoming events, webinars and conferences to support vibrant, sustainable communities.

Fast-forward 50 years and Flint is facing the opposite struggle — jobs are gone, homes are empty, people are leaving — and community leaders are poised to craft a new master plan that will attempt to point the city in a new direction.

It will be the first time the city will have a comprehensive look at its former industrial and now-vacant properties, officials said.

Using federal funds awarded in 2010, through a Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Challenge grant, Flint will undertake a three-year process to align the city’s resources with the needs of members of the community.

For more information on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities visit www.smartgrowthamerica.org/partnership.

Economic crisis slows U.S. population growth
USA Today – February 18, 2012

“We’re still talking about adding a lot of people,” Fulton says. “We know we can’t environmentally sustain those people living in sprawled locations. … Local governments are not going to be able to afford sprawl anymore.”

Highway bill stalled; Chamber campaigns outside beltway
The Hill – February 20, 2012

Lawmakers can expect to hear about the stalled surface transportation reauthorization bill from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during the congressional recess.

Trending Local News: Cities and Smart Growth

Video of the Day: Thinking Cities
The Atlantic Cities – February 20, 2012

A new documentary explores the world’s exploding urbanization. The documentary (created by Ericcson), looks at how cities can operate more efficiently and sustainably.

Land-use plan shifts emphasis to economic growth
Asbury Park Press – February 20, 2012

Now state planners are more eager to make room for projects that first and foremost promise robust fiscal results, as attendees at the ongoing State Strategic Plan public hearings are learning.

Cincinnati’s streetcar project breaks ground
Cincinnati.com – February 18, 2012

With speeches, shovels and plenty of fanfare, Cincinnati leaders Friday began the long-awaited construction of the streetcar, the controversial project alternately seen as a bold path to a brighter future or a costly mistake that reflects failure to learn from the past.

Project to make Dale Mabry pedestrian friendly
The Tampa Tribune – February 21, 2012

Workers are completing a Florida Department of Transportation project that will add miles of sidewalk and wooden boardwalk on either side of the congested roadway, from Carrollwood Springs Road to Northgreen Avenue.

Flint poised to craft first master plan since 1960 — when jobs were plentiful and industry boomed
Michigan Live – February 17, 2012

Fast-forward 50 years and Flint is facing the opposite struggle — jobs are gone, homes are empty, people are leaving — and community leaders are poised to craft a new master plan that will attempt to point the city in a new direction.

City leaders make new ripples in riverfront development
The Tampa Tribune – February 19, 2012

With the help of the Washington-based Urban Land Institute, Tampa’s political and business leaders have embarked on a yearlong effort to craft a future for the 140-acre tract stretching from Columbus Drive south to Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park.

Rochelle Riley: City finding a way to make Detroit Works actually work
Detroit Free Press – February 19, 2012

But from that audit grew a way to make Detroit Works — Mayor Dave Bing’s bold initiative to create denser, viable neighborhoods — actually work. Over the next two years, the city plans to spend $87 million in federal funding, including community development block grants, to improve neighborhoods. But from now on, the city will spend where it can do the most good.

Seattle: If this is a bust, what will a boom look like?
Crosscut – February 21, 2012

For growth and economic boosters, good signs were in abundance last week. Amazon is buying three blocks of Clise property in the Denny Triangle with the idea of putting up three high-rise office towers with 1 million square feet of space each, plus options to buy more lots in the area. This just as Bezos & Co. are settling into their new South Lake Union headquarters nearby. Boeing orders are strong, and the 737 production has been assured for the region due to an innovative labor agreement that commits to place. The possibilities of getting a National Basketball Association franchise back in the city and the potential of attracting a new National Hockey League franchise into a new venue are just frosting on the cake. Yes, there were grumbles —there always are —but you could almost feel a spring in the city’s step.

The new 3.6-mile streetcar line will connect Downtown and Over-the-Rhine.

The DOT says it will spur Cincinnati’s efforts to revitalize its downtown core by improving access to major employers, the developing riverfront and many area attractions.

For more information on the Department of Transportation’s TIGER grant program visit www.dot.gov/tiger.

For more information on the Partnership visit www.smartgrowthamerica.org/partnership.

Walk in the Park: Encouraging Physical Activity in Communities
New York Times – February 8, 2012

In this lesson, students read about ways to make streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. They learn about the health benefits associated with pedestrian-friendly communities, assess their own community’s level of pedestrian and cyclist access and make recommendations for improving these neighborhood attributes.

In UN Conspiracy Theorists, the Right Has a Long Con
Esquire – February 16, 2012

Almost every issue of the angry modern American right was engaged. A project to save the region’s endangered oyster beds was attacked as adding to the national debt. But Agenda 21 provides a coherent narrative for inchoate anger and fear. People want someone to blame. Agenda 21 gives them a simple answer. It gives them a They, and life is always simpler with a They. It is a unified field of resistance to what seems to be the irresistible.

HUD launches Sustainable Communities Resource Center
NRDC Blog – February 16, 2012

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has created an important online resource for professionals and citizens interested in improving America’s metro regions, cities, and neighborhoods. It looks very promising to me, especially as a sort of living compendium of best practices.

Should Building Taller Be Much, Much Easier?
The Altantic Cities – February 13, 2012

In early December, the city council of Austin, Texas, adopted an exhaustive downtown plan that will guide every element of the neighborhood’s transformation over the next 25 years, from its historic preservation policies to investments in workforce housing to parking and transit infrastructure. Amid all of those potentially touchy topics, though, the loudest row grew out of one program sketched on just five pages of the full 183-page document.

A Blueprint for a 21st Century Workforce
The Atlantic Cities – February 17, 2012

The good news is that the United States is on track to add nearly four million new blue-collar jobs between 2010 and 2020, according to projections by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the vast majority of these jobs, 2.7 million, will be in construction and transportation.

Local News:

Walker, bike-friendly streets goal of W.Va. bill
Herald Dispatch (Hungtington, WV) – February 15, 2012

West Virginia would encourage more walkable downtowns and neighborhoods through a proposal under review in the House of Delegates.

Bay Area Climate Change Plans Lack Regional Cooperation
New York Times – February 17, 2012

Iowa Poll: Don’t raise gas tax, 68% of Iowans say
Des Moines Register – February 16, 2012

Iowans are overwhelmingly opposed to a plan that would boost the state’s fuel tax by 8 to 10 cents a gallon to help pay for road and bridge repairs, according to The Des Moines Register’s latest Iowa Poll.

Opinion and Editorial:

Commentary: A ‘leftist agenda’ on every street corner
Fort Worth Star Telegram – February 17, 2012

Who’d have thought Fort Worth’s efforts to spruce up inner-city neighborhoods were part of a U.N. plot to rob us hard-working Americans of all we hold dear? That head-scratching conclusion is where the dots might lead if you connect them in the way U.S. Senate hopeful Ted Cruz wants you to.

A conservative for the Red Line
Lake Norman Citizen – February 17, 2012

Here’s a real grabber: in Lake County, the mean earnings of rail commuters were more than double those of people who drove to work alone. Those demographics say a lot of people on Metra’s trains are political conservatives.

“The EPA is going to send in a private firm to assess things like walkability, such as sidewalks, street crossings and parking,” said Hiram Peck, Simsbury’s Town Planner.

The technical experts will work with the communities on actions they can take to improve the economy, the environment, and quality of life.

“EPA is very pleased to be part of a coordinated effort to help these six New England communities develop practical and sustainable approaches that can lead to quality of life improvements for citizens, and which can help bolster our economy,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office.

The EPA’s Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program is part of the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities. For more information on the Partnership visit www.smartgrowthamerica.org/partnership.

Twin Cities chase a desire named streetcar
Minnesota Star Tribune – February 16, 2012

Since 2010, when President Obama changed the evaluation criteria for transit, nine cities have received federal grants of at least $23 million to build — not just study — streetcar systems. The cities are Dallas, New Orleans, Tucson, Ariz., Portland, Ore., Charlotte, N.C., Cincinnati, Fort Worth, Texas, St. Louis and Atlanta.

Where to build streetcar lines
Washington Post – February 14, 2012

Where should the District build its next streetcars after the H Street and Anacostia lines under construction today? That should depend on which neighborhoods want to help make them succeed.

Oakland to Launch Second $300,000 Streetcar Study
East Bay Express – February 15, 2012

For at least a decade Oakland has pined after a modern streetcar system linking Jack London Square with Uptown and North Oakland along the Broadway corridor. It spent $300,000 studying the viability of such a line between 2003 and 2005, and starting in May it will launch an updated eighteen-month study with an equally hefty price tag.

City streetcar plans represent another developer-fueled heist
San Antonio Current – February 15, 2012

The promises sound great. The San Antonio Express-News offered the editorial judgment that the streetcar could be “a game-changer that sparks inner-city growth and slows the culture of sprawl.”

National News:

Reid blocks amendments to Senate version of Transportation Bill
Politico – February 16, 2012

Things aren’t much rosier over in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid filled the amendment tree — a procedural move that blocks any other amendments and sets up a possible cloture vote this Friday (technically a cloture vote on a Reid amendment that combines the Commerce, Finance and Banking titles). Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wants to offer an amendment to ban U.S. aid to Egypt until the country releases the 19 Americans it has detained for the past few weeks. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who opposes the amendment, is heading to the region this evening but will not press for their release. Environment and Public Works head Barbara Boxer isn’t happy about another delay. “I think it’s typical of what happens when there’s a lot of dancing around on a bill. But I have to say I think the Republicans are taking an enormous gamble because there is huge support for this bill in the country,” she told MT.

John Boehner Struggles to Secure Support for Transportation Bill
Roll Call – February 16, 2012

Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday struggled to salvage his plan to remake the nation’s transportation policies, temporarily pulling the measure from the House Rules Committee as he worked to shore up eroding GOP support.

House Republicans push off transportation, Keystone bill amid bipartisan grumbling
Fox News – February 15, 2012

Some conservatives in the House GOP caucus oppose the levels of highway spending in the bill, despite efforts by Republican leaders to pay for the provisions and strip out earmarks, as well as include sweeteners like the Keystone rider.

MacArthur Foundation awards organizations around globe for pursuing innovative solutions
Washington Post – February 16, 2012

The work of both of the Chicago nonprofits, the Community Investment Corporation and Business and Professional People for the Public Interest, includes projects to improve housing in and around the city, hit hard by foreclosures and scarred by thousands of vacant properties. Their awards are in recognition of the importance the MacArthur Foundation places on the issue of housing and its role in strengthening communities and the economy, said foundation President Robert Gallucci.

The American Dream, Revised
The Atlantic Cities – February 15, 2012

Saving the suburbs might mean starting essentially from scratch.

At Charlotte’s New Walmart, a Transit Promise Unfulfilled
The Atlantic Cities – February 15, 2012

Instead of transit-oriented development, East Charlotte residents have a tangle of automobile congestion, according to several local news reports. The new Walmart is situated on Independence Boulevard just east of a cloverleaf interchange and just west of a major intersection with Albemarle Road. Despite its name, Independence is not a cozy boulevard in the pedestrian sense but a roaring six-lane expressway. That means drivers leaving the Walmart parking lot must merge into speeding traffic, and those who want to make the Albemarle exchange have to cross multiple lanes in about the time it takes to say “low prices.”

The Tea Party’s war on mass transit
Salon – February 13, 2012

House Republicans try to gut federal funds for subways as they extend the culture wars to urban policy issues.

Obama to Cities: Drop Dead—the Life and Death of a Great American Urban Policy
New York Observer – February 15, 2012

Yet for all this work, it is hard to recognize a marquee project, a bright shining beacon of the Obama administration on the scale of those that came before.

Local News:

San Marcos general plan update approved
UT San Diego – February 14, 2012

The plan embraces smart-growth strategies in several areas, including the mobility element, which calls for a “complete street network.” That means streets should provide access for pedestrians, bicycles and transit — not just vehicles.

Photo via Flickr user Oran Viriyincy

Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced, last week, the availability of $826.5 million to modernize and repair transit around the country, underscoring President Obama’s dedication to infrastructure investments.

“An American economy that’s built to last must be built on a solid foundation, and when we have buses, transit facilities, and other equipment that’s in disrepair, we simply cannot afford to ignore them,” Secretary LaHood said. “The President knows that transportation projects like those we’ll fund from today’s announcement will help provide businesses and families with the safest, fastest, most efficient way to connect with opportunity.”

“Reliable and desirable transit systems enable hard-working American families to keep billions of dollars in their wallets rather than hand them over at the gas pump,” said Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff. “These investments will ensure that transit remains a dependable option and advance President Obama’s goal for an America Built to Last.”

Out of the $826.5 million, $650 million will be available for replacing or rehabilitating infrastructure through the Federal Transit Administration’s State of Good Repair Initiative. Another $125 million will go towards projects that improve quality of life through the Bus and Bus Facilities Livability Initiative. The final $51.5 million will fund projects that help communities meet national air quality standards through the Clean Fuels Grant Program.

Read Secretary LaHood’s full press release here.

Find the full Notices of Funding Availability here along with the due dates for each grant type.