Office of Sustainable Communities created

Obama initiative

Vilas Bhuchar, Feb 08, 10.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced a new Obama initiative called the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities in Portland last Thursday afternoon, according to OregonLive.com.

According to the story, the office, backed by $200 million, “plans to study smart growth and put money toward helping communities across the country develop mass transit lines near affordable housing.”

A Housing and Urban Development (HUD) press release quotes Donovan, in describing the new office, as saying:

“Through our new Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, we will begin to tie the quality and location of housing to broader opportunities such as access to good jobs, quality schools, and safe streets. By working with DOT, EPA and other federal agencies, and with Deputy Secretary Sims’ guidance, we will finally begin to meet the needs of today without compromising the futures of our children and grandchildren.”

Finally, the story notes that the Obama administration included $48.9 billion for HUD in its proposed 2011 federal budget:

The Obama administration on Monday released its proposed federal budget for 2011, including $48.9 billion for Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which administers low-income and public housing programs, as well as community development programs.

The budget reflects a new focus by the agency on reform, including an effort to streamline rental assistance programs and a plan to release in May the nation’s first comprehensive plan to end homelessness, including a $200 million increase in homeless assistance funding compared with fiscal 2010.

“We need to rebalance the housing policy,” said Donovan, the former commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development who helped to build and preserve 165,000 affordable homes, the largest municipal affordable housing plan in the nation’s history. “The agency has a lot of rebuilding to do. ... We are not going to build the failures of the 1960s that are so bright in people’s minds. We are not going to ghettoize low-income people.”

A press release from HUD also says this:

Under the management of Director Shelley Poticha, OSHC will be the center-point for all of HUD’s sustainability efforts. The average household spends more than half of its budget on housing and transportation, which have become American families’ two single biggest expenses. With OSHC as lead, HUD will work to improve access to affordable housing and transportation options, saving money for American families while allowing them more time to spend at home and less time traveling.

Full story
HUD press release

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