The following sessions will focus on issues surrounding sustainable communities.
Opportunities for Successful Community and Economic Development in Small Towns and Rural Regions – Kathy Nothstine, NADO
Thursday, Feb 2, 8:30 to 10:00 am
This session will discuss how rural regions and small towns are creating innovative partnerships to promote place-based community and economic development, and will highlight “quality of place” investment strategies and economic development techniques in rural areas that build on and enhance community assets.
Public-Private Partnership to Finance and Promote Equitable TOD
Thursday, February 2nd, 8:30 to 10:00 am
One of the primary financing mechanisms for the creation or preservation of affordable housing near transit has been acquisition loan funds for TOD. These pioneering funds allow borrowers to hold land for five or more years, layer capital to lower interest rates from standard acquisition loans to keep holding costs over the extended time as low as possible, and generally create an environment in which both the borrowers and the lenders take new or non-traditional risk in order to ensure that low-income households can benefit from combined access to reliable public transportation and affordable housing. The session will highlight such a fund, the Bay Area Transit Oriented Affordable Housing Fund and focus on collaboration and the elements (program, policy and innovative financing tools) that need to exist to advance equitable TOD.
Growing Wealthier Training: Achieving the Prosperity Benefits of Transit and Smart Growth
Thursday, February 2, 2:00 to 5:15 pm
Enhanced understanding of the economic, quality of life and equity benefits of Transit-Oriented-Development (TOD) and smart growth is essential for actually realizing these benefits. This training session will provide insight from experts in research, development, planning, modeling, TOD, policy and practice to guide participants on how to assess and maximize the broad benefits of TOD and smart growth, including affordable housing, and household transportation and energy costs. Ample time will be allotted for Q&A, interaction and group discussion. We encourage participants to bring real-world challenges and questions for expert peer-review and guidance.
Scenario Planning: Tools to Visualize Smart Growth and Move from Planning to Action – Ted Cochin, EPA and Ken Snyder, PlaceMatters
Friday, February 3rd 7:30 to 8:30 am
Harbor Island Ballroom #1 (Breakfast will be served in Ballrooms #2 and 3)
This networking session aims to bring together scenario planning tool developers, practitioners, researchers and anyone interested in learning more about scenario planning for information gathering, sharing, and general networking. The event is scheduled for Friday 7:00-8:30 am, during breakfast, and will begin with an Open House setting for people to meet with tool providers and practitioners available to provide information and show live demonstrations of tools and techniques being applied to scenario planning projects around the country. Afterwards, there will be a brief moderated panel discussion to learn about additional cutting edge work in scenario planning software tools including neighborhood scale scenarios, 3-D visualization capabilities and open source tool development.
Rural Sustainability: Federal Collaboration, Regional Innovation and the Partnership for Sustainable Communities
Friday, February 3, 10:00 to 11:30 am
In collaboration with USDA, Partnership for Sustainable Communities (made up of the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation, and Department of Housing and Urban Development) is working to show how its six “livability principles” support economically and environmentally vibrant rural communities. Through its Regional Innovation Initiative, USDA brings expertise and resources to support the Partnership’s work in rural America. The work of the Partnership and Regional Innovation Initiative happens at the state, region and local level. Experience from EPA’s Region VII, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri, provides one of several Partnership geographies that will be explored. These efforts are contributing to a new model of “place-based” federal support for sustainable rural communities.
A Look Back at the Last 10 Years of TOD: the National TOD Database – Reconnecting America
February 4th, 7:30 am, over breakfast
There has been significant growth in fixed-guideway transit investments and planning for transit-oriented development in the last two decades. But, have these investments actually changed the way we live, work, and commute? The updated National TOD Database gives us the tools to easily find out in all 4,200+ station areas across the country. Hear about the updated tool and the national trends it is revealing, and discuss how it can be used in your community.
The Democratization of Planning: A Demonstration of Emerging Tools for your Next Planning Process – Ken Snyder, PlaceMatters
Saturday, February 4th 10:15 am to 12:15 pm
Technology is rapidly changing the way communities and regions can accomplish stakeholder and public engagement. This session is designed to introduce participants to recent and emerging technologies that make it possible to engage people around the spatial and policy implications of planning and community initiatives in meaningful and iterative ways. Participants will walk away from this session with a number of tools to build their own toolkit and a vision of where we are heading. The session will include a number of interactive demos (including polling systems, digital charrette technology and DIY touchscreens) and a chance to understand how to adapt and apply these tools to more open and democratic planning and community development processes.
Emerging Practices and Policies in Transit-oriented Development
Friday, February 3, 3:30 to 5:30 pm
TOD is emerging as an integral part of building sustainable, walkable, transit-supportive places. This panel provides an overview of the TOD state-of-the art, followed by an overview of TOD at the regional scale. Regional planning for TOD is a growing field in the US – meaning looking beyond the station. The panel will discuss the emerging TOD best practices in three U.S. locations at the regional scale. Next is a set of station case studies that relate to the regional/corridor construct and begins to address implementation. The fourth feature of the panel is a discussion on FTA’s emerging Joint Development Guidance, as one means of assisting in the local development process. A local transit agency representative will provide a response to the FTA Guidance. Taken as a whole, the session provides a comprehensive overview of TOD and the ability to implement it.
Transforming the Golden Westside: The Role of Youth in Sustainable Brownfields Redevelopment
Friday, February 3, 1:30 to 3:00 pm
This panel will describe a community engagement project. EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Office of Sustainable Communities supported the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Fresno in convening five community meetings to promote joint learning among West Fresno stakeholders, including youth, on brownfields redevelopment, local planning process, and various stakeholders roles in removing blight. The project also captured various viewpoints, including the youths’, input on possible brownfield sites and reuse ideas.
Smart Growth for Small Towns and Rural Areas: Connecting Leaders and Sharing Successes – Kathy Nothstine, NADO
Saturday, Feb 4, 7:30 to 8:30 am
This session will provide attendees from small towns, rural communities and tribal communities an opportunity to network, learn implementation techniques and best practices, and brainstorm ways that smart growth approaches can help their communities attract economic development, protect the environment, and enhance quality of life.
Building Sustainable Rural Communities with Regional Transportation Systems – Kathy Nothstine, NADO
Saturday, Feb 4, 1:45 to 3:15 pm
Rural communities often struggle with coordinating transportation and land use systems to ensure equitable, affordable access to jobs, housing, schools, and services. This session will discuss rural, regional transportation programs that leverage existing resources and close transportation gaps through partnerships.
Visit www.newpartners.org for more information about the conference and to register.