White House claims progress on sustainability

Cites eight initiatives

Jon Boyd, Jul 16, 10.

The Federal Government is making progress on sustainability, according to a press release from the White House Office of Urban Affairs, noting the work of the Partnership for Sustainable Communites:

In the past, federal policy inadvertently promoted uncoordinated, dispersed growth that left too many communities disconnected from regional assets and without the proper tools to realize their full potential. Today, many Americans are car-dependent, living far from their workplaces in residential subdivisions that don’t have quality public transportation and traditional amenities like corner markets, schools, parks, and medical facilities. These far-flung suburbs were initially developed to provide more affordable homes for working families, but instead many Americans are spending 60% of their income on housing and transportation, leaving them little else to save or invest.

People are looking for other options. Market research shows that there is a substantial unmet demand for communities with more housing and transportation choices. The two largest demographic cohorts – the retiring Baby Boomers and the Millennials just entering the workforce – are the most interested in these walkable, transit-accessible communities with a rich array of amenities. These communities are more economically sustainable because they attract workers and families, providing the skilled employees that businesses seek and the customer base that neighborhood shops and services need to thrive, and they are more environmentally sustainable because they use water, energy, and other resources more efficiently.

All the evidence suggests the demand is strong, yet poorly aligned housing, transportation and environmental programs have made it difficult for communities to develop these types of places. To build and support these sustainable communities, housing, transportation, environmental protection, economic development, and energy policies need to be developed in concert. The conventional way of looking at these issues in isolation won’t work anymore.

The Partnership for Sustainable Communities, a collaboration between the US Department of Transportation (DOT), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was formed in June 2009. The White House Office of Urban Affairs cites eight initiatives for sustainability:

1. A joint grant program between HUD and DOT with $75 million of total grants.
2. The Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grant program, administered by HUD and coordinated with DOT and EPA to grant a total of $100 million.
3. HUD adopted LEED-ND for evaluating its grant applications.
4. President Obama signed an executive order to require sustainability criteria in citing of federal buildings.
5. DOT mandated greater attention to the needs of non-motorists in federally-funded road projects.
6. HUD now has a policy to facilitate FHA-insured multi-family housing on remediated brownfields.
7. EPA now collaborates with HUD and DOT on its Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Pilot Initiative
8. DOT’s repealed the old cost-effectiveness rule for considering New Starts projects.

The Houston-Galveston Area Council launched its Sustainable Communities web site in May, as part of its effort to secure federal funding to develop a regional sustainability plan for the Houston region.