Post Tagged with: "Housing and Urban Development"

Join a live chat with leadership for the Obama Administration’s Sustainable Communities Partnership – Thursday July 15, 2010

July 14, 2010 at 3:19 pm

(Source: ITS America Newsletter & White House Office of Urban Affairs)

Photo: Shelley Poticha. (courtesy of Planetizen)

Shelley Poticha - Image Courtesy: Planetizen

On Thursday, July 15, the White House Office of Urban Affairs will host a live chat with the leadership of the Sustainable Communities Partnership, an agreement between HUD, Transportation, and EPA to coordinate federal housing, transportation, and environmental investments. Last month, the Partnership released a joint notice of funding availability — $35 million in TIGER II Planning grants and $40 million in Sustainable Community Challenge grants — for local planning activities that integrate transportation, housing, and economic development. And, HUD also announced $100 million in funding for Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grant program that will support regional planning efforts that integrate housing, land use, economic development, and transportation.

What:
Sustainable Communities Live Chat

Who:
Shelley Poticha, Director of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, HUD
Beth Osborne, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Policy, Department of Transportation
Tim Torma, Deputy Director of the Office of Sustainable Communities, EPA
Moderated by Derek Douglas, Special Assistant to the President on Urban Policy, White House

When:
2:00PM EST, Thursday, July 15, 2010

How:
Watch and participate at www.whitehouse.gov/live
Send questions in advance to Planetizen.

For more information on the partnership, read their latest blog that summarizes their work and accomplishments.

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HUD and USDOT Announce Joint Sustainable Communities Initiative

March 20, 2009 at 12:18 pm

 (Source: The Transport Politic)

HUD and DOT will encourage communities to combine federally-mandated metropolitan area housing and transportation plans 

During the campaign, now-President Barack Obama argued that the federal government could contribute to the planning and development of neighborhoods around the country through a livable communities initiative, arguing that “Our communities will better serve all of their residents if we are able to leave our cars to walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives.” Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan testified today on the issue in front of the House Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing (part of the Appropriations Committee).

Both Secretaries argued that transportation and housing had to be planned together in order to handle the rising costs of both for most American households. Each pointed out that providing housing near public transportation allows for lower transportation costs and argued that transportation and housing in the United States should be organized in order to address climate change concerns.

HUD and DOT will establish a Sustainable Communities Initiative, which will encourage transit-oriented development. The initiative will encouraged integrated planning with HUD and DOT working together on neighborhood projects by encouraging metropolitan areas to consolidate their current government-mandated five-year housing plans and four-year transportation plans, both of which are used to determine federal formula appropriations to communities. The program will also consider transportation costs when determining the level of affordability in communities and develop “livability measures” to benchmark improvements that can be made to communities through federal funding. Finally, HUD and DOT programs and research will be “harmonized.”

Click here to read the entire article.  Click here to read a related article on tihs subject from the TransportGooru archives.

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Inspector General: USDOT has hands full tracking stimulus funds

March 11, 2009 at 6:59 pm

(Source: Federal Computer Week)

The Transportation Department has established a special team to oversee the $48 billion it is slated to receive under the economic stimulus law, said Calvin Scovel, DOT’s inspector general. 

 

The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery team would make sure that the department provides accountability and transparency for the massive amount of additional funding authorized by the law, Scovel said in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee’s Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee today. 

However, dealing with that large infusion of money, which must be distributed quickly and with the limited staff resources available, will force the department to limit its focus on its mission of transportation safety, Scovel said.

DOT must balance the quick distribution of funds to create jobs with significant oversight of that money and the $70 billion the department spends annually on safety and mobility projects, he said. The stimulus funds would flow through existing DOT program spending, most of which is channeled to the states in the form of grants, he added.

Click here to read the entire article. 
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