10th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth

As a follow up to the highly successful "Working Together for Equitable Development" workshop held in conjunction with the 2010 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Seattle, WA, this new daylong workshop will focus on capacity building within neighborhood and community based organizations to engage on growth and development issues in their neighborhoods, communities and regions. Capacity building will take place through on-site training and peer-to-peer exchange.

During this one-day workshop, participants will:

• Get to know federal, state, local and tribal tools and programs that support equitable development.
• Hear from community leaders who have forged successful partnerships.
• Learn about opportunities for collaboration between smart growth, equitable development and environmental justice.
• Explore why integrating these efforts is critical and necessary to right past wrongs, can revitalize America’s disadvantaged communities, grow the economy, and create healthy and sustainable urban, suburban, rural and tribal communities.
• Learn about tools and strategies to help finance equitable development.

Workshop Agenda (PDF)

Training Presentations:

• Goldstein Presentation (PDF)
• Hudson Presentation (PDF)
• Sills Presentation (PDF)

Sponsored by the Transect Codes Council

Fourteen of the nation’s leading Smart Growth practitioners, led by renowned urbanist Andres Duany, provide an information-packed, day-long workshop at the Westin Charlotte Hotel. This workshop will provide everything you ever wanted to know about Smart Growth Codes, the most effective tools cities have for creating healthy, walkable communities. Register at Center for Applied Transect Studies. Download the workshop flier.

Sponsored by the Safe States Alliance and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Conducted by Safe & Healthy Communities Consulting.

This training will provide injury prevention professionals with strategies on how to integrate injury-specific public health goals into transportation planning and the larger Smart Growth movement. The training will also serve to build the capacity of injury prevention programs to effectively promote policies and practices that create safe, healthy, and livable communities. For more information on this event, please contact the Safe States Alliance at info 'AT' safestates 'DOT' org.

The Regional Climate Protection Authority (RCPA) in Sonoma County is the first of its kind in California and was created by State Statute in 2009. Working in tandem with the Sonoma County Transportation Authority, RCPA has comprehensive city/countywide representation and plays a pivotal role in efforts of local governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This session will describe the events leading up to the transformation of the transportation agency and continuing efforts to prepare and implement climate friendly, sustainable community strategies at the local level including the a proposed countywide Sonoma County Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Implementation Program (GRIP). The GRIP will be a crucial demonstration of “next steps” for local and regional efforts to collaborative plan and enact community strategies to reduce GHG.

Tryon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Jake Mackenzie, Councilmember, City of Rohnert Park. Presentation (PDF)
• Pete Parkinson, Planning Director, Sonoma County. Presentation (PDF)
• Alex Hinds, PhD., Interim Director, The Center for Sustainable Communities. Presentation (PDF)
• Janet Spilman, Deputy Director, Planning and Public Outreach, Sonoma County Transportation Authority. Presentation (PDF)

In the last few years, there has been a proliferation of sustainability standards and evaluation tools to communities and urban infrastructure, many new or still under development. These include ICLEI USA’s STAR Community Index, LEED for Neighborhood Design, CEEQUAL, the Sustainable Sites Initiative, AWWA sustainable standards for drinking water, FHWA’s Web-based Transportation Evaluation Tool, and the Zofnass Program for Infrastructure Sustainability, as well as numerous custom standards. In this session, speakers will discuss their perspectives on sustainability standards with the audience, exploring questions such as: Why are sustainable infrastructure standards needed? When is an industry-wide standard preferable to a custom standard? Is the proliferation of standards helpful or not? What characteristics make a standard most useful? How have these standards addressed social sustainability, such as equity concerns, and economic sustainability? What might we expect in the future with sustainability standards?

201 AB - Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Anita Yap, Community Development Director, City of Damascus, OR. Presentation (PDF)
• Spiro Pollalis, PhD, Director of the Zofnass Program for Infrastructure Sustainability, Harvard Graduate School of Design.
• Andrea Ramage, PE, LEED® AP Sustainability Strategy and Planning, CH2M HILL. Presentation (PDF)
• David Panagore, Chief Operating Officer, City of Hartford, CT. Presentation (PDF)

Achieving equitable development outcomes requires the integration of smart growth principles with the unique character, context and voice of local communities. Case studies will present the successes and challenges of environmental justice capacity building (South Carolina), a green infrastructure strategy for area-wide brownfields (Richmond, VA) and revitalization strategies for industrial communities in transition (Dayton, OH). Federal, state and local partnerships will be highlighted.

This working session is geared towards newcomers and field veterans. Following case study presentations, session participants will breakout into three facilitated groups to discuss strategies for achieving equitable development through capacity building at the state, local and grassroots levels, area-wide planning for vacant properties, and strategies for raising quality of life for communities suffering disproportionate economic and environmental impacts. Session participants are encouraged to bring their own questions and experiences for discussion.

Trade Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Mike Hancox, CEO, Skeo Solutions.
• Vernice Miller-Travis, Vice-Chari, Maryland Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities
• Tom Bloom, Reuse Coordinator, U.S. EPA Region 5
• Jerry Bowling, III, President, McCook Field Neighborhood Association; Spokesperson, BVOCAL (Behr VOC Area Leaders)
• Lisbeth M. Coker, AICP, Project Development Manager, Department of Economic and Community Development, City of Richmond
• Miranda Maupin, Manager, Community Planning and Design Team, Skeo Solutions
• Harold Mitchell, Jr., Representative, South Carolina State Legislature, (District 31); Managing Principal, H. Mitchell Group LLC
• Nancy C. Whittle, LISW, Community Liaison, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
• Hancox, Miller-Travis, Bowling, Bloom, et al. Presentation (PDF)

With impact fee revenues declining rapidly in tandem with the construction downturn, many communities are looking at additional ways to finance infrastructure and public services.

State and local governments are authorized to use many financing tools to build infrastructure and provide public services. All too often, however, they are reluctant to use these mechanisms because they are not well understood, deemed too complicated, or seen as politically infeasible. Many also do not know that these tools often work better in combination.

This session will highlight several alternative infrastructure financing tools, such as special districts, tax increment financing, synthetic TIFs, and other public-private partnerships, as applied in actual projects. These financing tools will be examined from both the public and private sector’s interests and viewpoints. Federal programs, such as New Market Tax Credits, that can be used in conjunction with state and local tools will also be discussed.

Providence BR I

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Debbie Bassert, Assistant Vice President, Land Use Policy, National Association of Home Builders
• Emil Malizia, Ph.D., AICP is Professor and Chair, Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Lucy Gallo, Managing Principal, Development Planning & Financing Group, Inc.
• Brent Jeffcoat, Partner, McGuire Woods
• Robert Hagemann, Senior City Attorney, City of Charlotte
• Bassert, Gallo, Malizia, Jeffcoat, Hagemann Presentation (PDF)

As communities understand and confront the impacts of their growth and development patterns on residents’ health, the land use planning process offers a unique opportunity to bring together diverse partners and advance strategies to improve community health. This session will highlight the experience of the Port Towns, four small urban communities in Maryland, that joined together to put health considerations at the center of land use planning while linking the effort to a larger community health initiative. The session will describe how the effort engaged a broad cross-section of community stakeholders and political leaders, collaborated with a private healthcare company, and prepared residents—including youth—to advocate at the County level for community improvements that foster smart growth. The session will outline the multi-faceted commitments needed to implement urban design and zoning tools in tandem with holistic health and wellness goals while collaborating across sectors and disciplines.

Providence BR II

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Celeste A. James, Program Director, Community Health Initiatives, Kaiser Permanente
• Deana Rhodeside, Director, Rhodeside & Harwell, Inc. Presentation (PDF)
• Adam Ortiz, Mayor, Town of Edmonston, MD
• Sadara Barrow, Executive Director, Port Towns Community Development Corporation

This session is geared towards first-time attendees to the conference or for participants who are new to the practice of implementing smart growth solutions. The session will cover general topics, such as the ten principles of smart growth, the basics of planning and zoning for smart growth and how Smart Growth is being implemented at the state, regional and local level. The goal of the session is to provide a good working background on smart growth and prepare participants for more in-depth sessions during the main conference.

Harris Room

Level: Beginner

Speakers

• Paul Zykofsky, Associate Director, Local Government Commission. Presentation (PDF)
• John Frece, Director, Office of Sustainable Communities, U.S. EPA. Presentation (PDF)

The common thread between every successful smart growth-oriented regional plan is a creative, active public engagement strategy. This session will focus on the key public engagement strategies that create meaningful two-way communication connecting decision-makers, stakeholders, and a diverse general public and sincerely address environmental justice (EJ) issues beyond meeting basic federal mandates. This session will begin with a panel discussion with some of the nation’s leading experts about winning public engagement strategies, methods of technical analysis to support public outreach, the smart growth-EJ connection, and best practices from around the country. An open discussion and breakout groups will follow, and participants will leave with a summary and toolkit for engaging the public and strategically integrating EJ and Smart Growth.

Independence Room

Level: Advanced

Speakers

• C.J. Gabbe, Project Manager, Fregonese Associates. Presentation (PDF)
• Mark Butala, Manager, Comprehensive Planning, Southern California Association of Governments. Presentation (PDF)
• Erin Aleman, Senior Community Planner, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
• Jane Meconi, Public Involvement Manager, Communications and Public Affairs, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.
• Meghan Weir, Transportation Planner, Office of Transit, Bicycle, and Pedestrian Planning, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
• Meconi, Weir Presentation (PDF)

2010 proved to be one of the most difficult policy and political years for states since the Depression. With draconian budget cuts in play, fierce partisan politics ruled the day. Join this session for a look back at how key sustainability issues fared, forward opportunities, and what to anticipate in 2011-2012. Panelists will discuss lessons learned, how we build on successes and identify collaborative opportunities.

209 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Speakers

• Julie Seward, Director of State Policy, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
• Shelly Hazle, Program Manager, Governors' Institute on Community Design
• Charles Pattison, FAICP, Executive Director, 1000 Friends of Florida
• Will Shroeer, State Policy Director, Smart Growth America
• Bryce Maretzki, Deputy Secretary for Administration, Pennsylvania Department of Economic and Community Development

Vacant and abandoned properties are no longer exclusively a problem found in central cities—for years they have spread to the surrounding suburban towns as well, impacting communities in many of the same ways. In both cities and suburbs, the negative impacts of vacant and abandoned properties have often disproportionately affected communities of color and low-income residents. To combat the effects of these properties and to direct resources where they are needed most, an increasing number of cities, suburbs, and counties are enacting policies that provide mechanisms to acquire vacant properties throughout wider geographies and channel resources to the most affected areas. This session will include diverse stakeholders in three area—Syracuse/Ondondaga County, NY, Flint/Genesee County, and Detroit/Wayne County, MI—to highlight seasoned and emerging models of these policies including countywide land banking, regional TIFs, and brownfield financing mechanisms.

Sharon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Dan Kildee, President, Center for Community Progress. Presentation (PDF)
• Aundra Wallace, President, Detroit Land Bank. Presentation (PDF)
• Benjamin R. Walsh, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Neighborhood & Business Development, City of Syracuse, NY.

As cities and suburbs work to retrofit their sprawling malls and poorly designed streets with good, walkable urbanism, they are finding that a major barrier exists: the fire code. The Congress for the New Urbanism, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and fire marshals from across the U.S. have been working to find common ground between the access needs of the fire service and the aspirations of communities for a vibrant future that also promotes overall health and life safety. That common ground is better connectivity. The Emergency Response & Street Design Initiative proposed amendments to the International Fire Code that empower local fire code officials to build connected streets that are accessible by fire equipment, safe for pedestrians, and that meet New Urbanism/Smart Growth principles. The result was recognition from the International Code Council that the fire code already has inherent flexibility where such designs are concerned—an important first step.

202 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Beginner

Speakers

• Danielle Arigoni, AICP, Director, Codes, Standards and Sustainable Design Division, Office of Sustainable Communities, U.S. EPA
• Norman Garrick, Director, University of Connecticut, Center for Smart Transportation. Presentation (PDF)
• Carl D. Wren, P.E., Chief Engineer, Engineering Services Section, Austin Fire Department/Emergency Prevention Division. Presentation (PDF)
• Danny Pleasant, Key Business Executive/Director, Charlotte Department of Transportation. Presentation (PDF)

Charlotte’s LYNX light rail line that runs through the heart of South End is the catalyst for transitioning this former industrial district into a true mixed-use urban neighborhood.  Previously renowned as a business district, it is quickly evolving to great city neighborhood.  The district has added over 2,000 new residential units, triggered by rising demand for urban living, proximity to uptown and the introduction of four walk up transit stations.

Project developers and a city planner will provide highlights of three unique transit oriented developments in South End and discuss some of the advantages and challenges to building in an urban transit corridor — from infrastructure and community involvement to incentives and how market forces impact planning decisions.

210 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• David Furman, President, Centro City Works. Presentation (PDF)
• Laura Harmon, Assistant Director, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department. Presentation (PDF)
• Tim Dison, Senior Development Manager, Crescent Resources. Presentation (PDF)
• Monty Ritchey, President, Conformity Corp. Presentation (PDF)

Scientists have established that the early signs of climate change are already evident. While many cities and counties are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation), very few are designing the tools, strategies, and policies needed to prepare for climate change impacts (adaptation). It is difficult given budget constraints and immediate competing priorities to dedicate resources for something that seems distant and uncertain. However, research shows that there will be enormous costs if we choose to do nothing to minimize or prepare for the expected impacts of climate change. Smart local governments will understand this and prepare now. This session will discuss developing comprehensive climate change adaptation strategies at the local and regional levels focusing on the City of Keene, a small town in New Hampshire and San Luis Obispo, a predominately rural county on the central coast of California.

Tryon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Judy Corbett, Executive Director, Local Government Commission
• Melissa Stults, Adaptation Manager, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability USA. Presentation (PDF)
• Mikaela Engert, Planner, City of Keene, NH
• Kate Meis, Director of Climate Change & Energy Programs, Local Government Commission
• Supervisor Jim Patterson, County of San Luis Obispo, CA
• Meis, Patterson Presentation (PDF)

While Smart growth would appear to embrace principle tenets of environmental justice which speak to where we live, work, pray, learn and play—the smart growth vision of suburbanites moving into urban areas is supplanting local indigenous leadership and local visions of growth. More open space, esplanades and swimmable water translate into loss of manufacturing jobs and small local businesses. Affordable housing is replaced with luxury housing, greenways become cycling paths for people rolling through poor neighborhoods and local culturally grounded institutions like bodegas get priced out and replaced with trendy organic shops- Institutions such as homeless shelters, methadone clinics and other social services are seen as out of context for a new vision that is laden with intolerance. What does smart growth really mean? What does it mean for Latino communities and how are local leaders addressing concepts that appear attractive on their face, but discriminatory in practice.

Trade Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Elizabeth C. Yeampierre, Executive Director, UPROSE; Chair, National Environmental Justice Advisory Council
• Martha Dina Arguello, Executive Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
• Kimberly Wasserman Nieto, Coordinator, Little Village for Environmental Justice
• Eddie Bautista, Executive Director, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. Presentation (PDF)

This panel will describe how the Sustainable Communities Partnership (SCP) has set us on an unprecedented course of interagency collaboration, while serving as a catalyst to promote economic development, green jobs and sustainable building practices in distressed communities. Panelists will discuss how New England’s regional team of smart growth practitioners from HUD, DOT and EPA has identified priority projects. They will describe the first regionally selected SCP pilot in New England – Boston’s 9-mile Fairmount Indigo Transit Corridor. Community leaders who have successfully fought for new and rehabilitated train station stops along the corridor will highlight ongoing green economic development projects including revitalization along Quincy Street, where plans are underway to transform a blighted former Brownfields site into a state-of-the-art Green Building and future home for the New England Center for Arts and Technology; and preliminary efforts to create Talbot Commons, a new transit-orientated development (TOD) and “Green Auto Mall.”

202 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Carl Dierker, Regional Counsel, U.S. EPA New England. Presentation (PDF)
• Jeanne DuBois, Executive Director, Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corp.
• Gail Latimore, Executive Director, Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corp. Presentation (PDF)
• Mary Beth Mello, Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Region I. Presentation (PDF)
• Ernie Zupancic, Operations Specialist, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Building upon growing recognition of the nexus between public health and transportation, housing, and urban planning, local health departments are engaging in inter-disciplinary efforts to promote health through healthy places. This session will introduce strategies to address social determinants of health by incorporating clear health equity goals at the onset of local planning and redevelopment processes.

We will highlight challenges faced by two low-income communities: a diverse unincorporated area heavily impacted by three railroad rights of way and aging infrastructure, and a small city confronting a legacy of environmental and economic limitations as it undertakes a complicated redevelopment effort involving varying needs and interests. Participants will also learn how a parallel community-based process, incorporating several stages of health impact assessment, is shaping the redevelopment effort. Public health professionals, planning experts, and health impact assessment practitioners will offer unique perspectives on challenges and solutions to improving community health through smart growth.

Providence BR II

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Crispin Delgado, MPP, Management Analyst III, San Mateo County Health System
• Jennifer Lucky, MPH, Project Director, Human Impact Partners. Presentation (PDF)
• Cathleen Baker, MPP, Community Health Planner, San Mateo County Health System
• Ruben Abrica, City Councilmember, East Palo Alto. Presentation (PDF)
• Abrica, Lucky, Baker, Delgado Presentation (PDF)

Davidson and Chapel Hill, NC noteworthy for their institutions of higher education are also home to two of the more progressive affordable housing programs in the Southeast. Davidson’s success can be tied to its inclusionary zoning ordinance while Chapel Hill has worked extensively with Community Home Trust, which has built or purchased 160 homes in the last 10 years. As a privately held development company, Crosland has developed affordable housing over the last 65 years and is an industry leader in integrated, high quality designed mixed income communities. The panel discussion will cover the following topic areas:

• Designing and developing high quality mixed income affordable housing
• Integrating properties in a variety of neighborhoods and with different building types
• Making affordable housing permanently affordable through deed restrictions and an affordable housing plan
• NIMBYism and the challenge of successfully integrating affordable housing in all neighborhoods
• Financing affordable housing (use of layered financing from multiple constituencies)
• Making affordable housing an integral component of a for profit business model
• How inclusionary zoning effectively creates an affordable housing inventory

209 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Advanced

Speakers

• Kris Krider, Planning Director, Town of Davidson, NC
• Dionne Nelson, Senior Vice President, Affordable Housing Development and Operations, Crosland. Presentation (PDF)
• Cindy C. Reid, Affordable Housing Coordinator, Town of Davidson, NC. Presentation (PDF)
• Paul Woolard, Executive Director, Affordable Housing Group
• Kathy Stilwell, Deputy Director, The Affordable Housing Group of NC. Presentation (PDF)

This session will bring together key leaders in forging sustainable communities’ initiatives in the aftermath of Katrina floods and BP oil spill. A unique partnership of over 40 nonprofits, the City of New Orleans, the regional planning commission, a transportation coalition, and community development financial institutions are planning for and implementing the revitalization of their key transit corridor—the Claiborne corridor—and working to reverse the historic fractures caused by the Interstate through historic African American and freed black communities. Learn how they have drawn down diverse federal investments to build on the momentum of the recovery groups that formed to rebuild their city, including transit oriented development, choice neighborhoods, minority business inclusion, and greening of their recovery. Their insights are leading the way for the re-knitting of urban infrastructure in a resident-driven process that builds smart, healthy communities that are driven by the rich cultural histories of the city.

Harris Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Kalima Rose, Senior Director and Director of the PolicyLink Center for Infrastructure Equity, PolicyLink
• Vaughn Fauria, NewCorp
• Flozell Daniels, Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation
• Jeff Schwartz, Executive Director, Broad Community Connections; Co-Founder, Transport for NOLA
• Joyce Wilkerson, Executive Director, New Orleans Redevelopment Authority
• Rose, Daniels, Wilkerson Presentation (PDF)

Violence jeopardizes health and safety by causing injuries, death, and emotional trauma, and disproportionally affects young people, low-income communities, and people of color. The presences of community violence influences where people live, work, shop, and learn. In fact, it can undermine the effectiveness of efforts like designing neighborhoods that encourage walking and bicycling to public transit, renovating neighborhood parks, and attracting healthy food retail. As a result, it exacerbates existing illnesses and increases the risk for disease onset, such as chronic disease. This presentation will broaden the understanding of the relationship between violence, chronic disease, and community vitality and highlight strategies to address the intersection. Three communities will share their experiences working in diverse partnerships to implement quality improvements in public spaces through Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and increase economic development and safe access to healthy food resources by creating a community bus system and an urban farm.

Independence Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Amanda M. Navarro, Associate Director, PolicyLink. Presentation (PDF)
• Virginia Lee, MPH, CHES, Program Manager, Prevention Institute. Presentation (PDF)
• Dana Richardson, Senior Director, Advocacy & Community Health, Community Health Improvement Partners. Presentation (PDF)
• Scott Gifford, Director of Community Development, Matrix Human Services. Presentation (PDF)
• Eric Kornacki, Executive Director, Revision International. Presentation (PDF)

In 1998, Onondaga County, NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation and the EPA were jointly sued to address water quality issues in Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, NY. This lawsuit resulted in an Amended Consent Judgment, requiring the county to abate Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) that contributed to degraded water quality in the lake and its tributaries. The decision to build a regional treatment facility in a socioeconomically poor, yet diverse, neighborhood caused significant social and political upheaval.

Ten years later, US District Court in Syracuse approved the county’s plans to prevent at least 95 percent of storm runoff from reaching waterways by 2018 through a combination of storage tanks, sewers and green infrastructure-green infrastructure being an innovative concept for infrastructure planning in the area.

The challenge is, how do you retrofit a rust-belt city with sufficient GI to meet water quality standards? And how do you engage the community in the process? This panel will discuss the technical, regulatory, political and community outreach components of Onondaga County’s GI plan.

201 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Sara Pesek, Environmental Finance Center at Syracuse University, EPA Office of Sustainable Communities, National Association of Development Organizations, USDA Rural Development
• Matthew J. Millea, Deputy County Executive for Physical Services, Onondaga County
• BJ Adigun, Program Coordinator, CH2M Hill Syracuse
• Khris Dodson, Communication and Program Manager, Environmental Finance Center, Syracuse University. Presentation (PDF)
• Joanne M. Mahoney, County Executive. Presentation (PDF)

The Atlanta BeltLine is the most comprehensive, urban redevelopment project underway in the United States. By building 22 miles of new transit, 33 miles of new trails, 1300 acres of new parks, affordable housing, economic development and public art along a 22-mile historic rail corridor encircling Atlanta’s urban core and connecting 45 neighborhoods, the Atlanta BeltLine will fundamentally change the city’s framework for growth. It will also remediate approximately 1,100 acres of brownfields to make way for the development of new public spaces and economic development. The Atlanta BeltLine is expected to generate over 30,000 new jobs over the next two decades and revitalize sections of the city that have long been neglected. This transformative project has already catalyzed over $1 billion in new private development and has engaged whole swaths of the city’s population that will benefit from this project for decades to come.

Providence BR I

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Geoff Anderson, President & CEO, Smart Growth America
• Brian Leary, President & CEO, Atlanta Beltline, Inc.
• Valerie Wilson, Executive Director, Atlanta Beltline Partnership
• Joyce Sheperd, Councilmember, City of Atlanta, Community Development Committee Chair
• Nate Conable, Director - Transit & Transportation, Atlanta Beltline Inc.
• Anderson, Sheperd, Leary, Wilson, Conable Presentation (PDF)
• Wilson, Richardson Presentation (PDF)

As interest in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) has grown, little attention has been given to making family-friendly TODs. The Great Communities Collaborative (GCC) in the San Francisco Bay Area has developed an aspirational vision for guiding development in the region that is equitable and family-oriented. Convened by the Center for Cities & Schools (CC&S) at the University of California-Berkeley, this session will focus on identifying the connections between TOD, families, schools, and expanding educational opportunities for all children. The session will highlight innovative efforts in the region to bring issues of school quality and attracting families to the regional growth dialogue. The panel discussion, which will include the regional planning agency and a leading advocacy organization, will provide an interactive opportunity for participants to discuss the opportunities and challenges of connecting TOD and other infill strategies with improving public education and being more attractive to households with children.

210 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Jeff Vincent, PhD, Deputy Director, Center for Cities & Schools. Presentation (PDF)
• Vu-Bang Nguyen, AICP, Land Use Program Coordinator, Urban Habitat. Presentation (PDF)
• Marisa Raya, Regional Planner, Association of Bay Area Governments. Presentation (PDF)

Wyomissing Borough, PA is a small town of 10,000 people with an enormous smart growth success story. 6 years ago, a coalition called the Berks County Smart Growth Alliance brought together leaders, economic development advocates, and farmland preservation supporters to pave the way for a 13-acre downtown mixed use redevelopment. The lynchpin to securing a developer was a redevelopment zone overlay that permitted the developer to go beyond the original commercial zoning to create a project that boasts real smart growth. The overlay not only permitted the mixed-use development but also granted greater density and a shared-use parking strategy. This session brings together key players to tell the story of how this ideal smart growth redevelopment project came to fruition, and the benefit that having a coalition of members with seemingly different agendas helped to pave the way for a successful project.

Sharon Room

Level: Beginner

Speakers

• Chuck Liedike, Government Affairs Director, Reading-Berks Association of REALTORS®
• Fred Levering, Councilmember, Wyomissing Borough Council
• John Connors, Managing Partner, Brickstone Realty Company
• John Kramer, Founder and Director, Center for Excellence in Local Government, Albright College
• Connors, Kramer, Liedike Presentation (PDF)
• Connors, Kramer, Liedike Presentation Part 2 (PDF)

Is smart growth safe? In 2009, 33,308 people died in traffic accidents in the US, the lowest number since 1950. Does this mean our roads and streets are safer? Many transportation departments think so, but research suggests other forces are at work. Meanwhile, core principles of smart growth are being challenged. Are connected street networks less safe than poorly connected streets and cul-de-sacs? Is on-street parking inherently dangerous? Are wide lanes safer than narrow lanes? Do add-lanes projects reduce crash rates and accident severity and do new turn lanes improve intersection safety? These speakers are at the forefront of addressing the street design and traffic safety issues associated with smart growth principles. They will describe emerging best practices for balancing traffic safety with urban design and sustainable mobility. This issue is of paramount importance to urban planners, public health workers, architects and others concerned with improving the livability of our communities.

Providence BR III

Level: Advanced

Speakers

• Jim Charlier, Charlier Associates, Inc. Presentation (PDF)
• Norman Garrick, Director, University of Connecticut, Center for Smart Transportation. Presentation (PDF)
• Eric Dumbaugh, Dpt of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning, Texas A&M University. Presentation (PDF)

An underlying assumption for sustainable development is that the effects of actions taken at one location can be understood and designed in such a way that they do not cause negative consequences elsewhere. Using the powerful analytical, sketching and visualization capabilities of the geodesign tools of ArcGIS, planners and policy makers are able to better understand the opportunities for sustainable growth present in their region and then easily sketch and assess the effects of different local actions that may leverage those opportunities. These tools can successfully enhance collaboration, scenario generation, monitoring of implications, evaluation and ongoing feedback, and selection of preferred scenarios that mitigate environmental ramifications, enhance economic vitality, and foster social equity. This session will provide a straightforward definition of geodesign as it relates to smart growth and land use planning from the regional economic growth perspective to the individual neighborhood or citywide projects that would implement a sustainable development strategy.

Sharon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Ahmed Abukhater, Community Development Industry Solutions Manager, ESRI
• Jon Harrison, Mayor, City of Redlands; Senior Consultant, ESRI. Presentation (PDF)
• Matthew Baker, Instructor, Educational Services, ESRI. Presentation (PDF)

Encouraging reinvestment in existing communities and neighborhoods is a central principle of smart growth. However, there are many stories of communities and neighborhoods where existing, low-income, and often minority residents have been displaced as their neighborhoods have experienced new investment and activity. Tools and strategies exist that support more inclusive community revitalization, minimize displacement and expand community benefits. In this session, we will explore these tools and strategies, learn from on ground success stories and hear the federal perspective.

Trade Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Scot Spencer, Manager of Baltimore Relations, Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Kalima Rose, Senior Director and Director of the PolicyLink Center for Infrastructure Equity, PolicyLink
• Dwayne Marsh, US HUD Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities
• Roger Kim, Executive Director, Asian Pacific Environmental Network
• Rose, Spencer, Marsh, Kim Presentation (PDF)

Equitable development is a vehicle to unearth the full potential from revitalization efforts in existing communities by expanding choice and opportunity for under-served populations and localities. This component of smart growth is important not only to minimizing the environmental impact of community development, but also for servicing the needs of under-served communities by way of jobs, affordable and energy-efficient housing and access to basic, though often absent services like grocery stores and financial institutions. As with any successful venture, financing is an important component for equitable development, and serious financial barriers must often be overcome. Trailblazers in the financial industry will illustrate some of the winning strategies they have employed, as well as their approach to finding the correct balance between economic imperatives and social responsibility. In addition, community leaders who have successfully implemented equitable development projects will share keys to a successful venture.

209 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Valerie Rawlston Wilson, Economist and Vice President of Research, National Urban League Policy Institute
• Cy Richardson, Vice President of Housing and Community Development, National Urban League
• Carlton Eley, Senior Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Strategic Environmental Management, U.S. EPA
• Brian Schneiderman, Vice President, Commercial Lending, Self Help Credit Union and Ventures Fund. Presentation (PDF)

Our nation’s transition away from local food production to large agri-businesses has had a cascade of negative impacts, including job elimination and obesity. Inner-city and rural families alike suffer from a lack of access to fresh, local foods. But local food systems are coming back. This session will highlight very different places that are tackling the challenge of providing healthy food access within their dcommunities. Detroit’s Eastern Market is building partnerships to increase local food production; educating farmers and consumers; and creatively bringing food into underserved areas. This city’s successes can be easily adapted by rural communities. On the rural front, Delano, CA—although an agricultural hub—still has residents with limited access to healthy foods. The city joined partners to make major policy and environmental changes that address environmental and land-use issues, and uses its farmers’ market to improve equity. In Burlington, NC, Company Shops Market uses food to bridge new jobs, fresh food produced by sustainable farmers, and community ownership of the business.

Independence Room

Level: Beginner

Speakers

• Doug Loescher, Director of the National Trust Main Street Center, National Trust for Historic Preservation
• Avtar Nijjer-Sidhu Ph.D., R.D., Senior Health Educator, Environmental Health Services, Kern County, CA
• Dan Carmody, President, Eastern Market Corporation (Detroit, MI)
• Eric Henry, Secretary, Board of Directors, Company Shops Market (Burlington, NC)
• Bartlett, Henry Presentation (PDF)

What happens when too many platted lots are too much of a good thing? In areas where the real estate boom has busted, it results in a huge surplus of potential development with inadequate resources to provide services. Zombie subdivisions, partially built-out and refusing to die, cover the landscape. Teton County, Idaho has entitled enough development sufficient to quadruple their population.

Even in areas that expect large increases in population, these premature subdivisions may be in the “wrong” location to foster smarter growth patterns. In Arizona’s Sun Corridor, approximately 1 million undeveloped lots, many not even platted yet, have been entitled that would lead to further sprawl.

The current recession provides an opportunity to address past impacts, better anticipate and prepare for future growth, and improve property values. “Redesigning” communities could foster more sustainable development.

Harris Room

Level: Advanced

Speakers

• Armando Carbonell, Senior Fellow and Chair, Department of Planning and Urban Form Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
• Arthur “Chris” Nelson, Director, Metropolitan Research Center, University of Utah. Presentation (PDF)
• Jim Holway, Director, Western Lands and Communities. Presentation (PDF)
• Thomas Wright, Executive Director, Regional Plan Association. Presentation (PDF)
• Kathy Rinaldo, County Commissioner, Teton County, ID. Presentation (PDF)

There is a growing awareness among planning and policy practitioners, as well as within Congress, that America will not be able to meet its goals related to sustainable, healthy communities without giving particular consideration to the livability needs and barriers faced by smaller regions, cities and rural America. Panelists will provide an overview of developments in federal policy that are providing smaller regions and rural communities with the resources and technical assistance needed to address transportation and community planning challenges. They will then share regional and local case studies from rural areas in Idaho and from smaller cities in Montana, Mississippi and North Carolina. The panelists will share example plans and policies, such as a hybrid form-based code developed for Davidson, NC, as well as specific examples of community projects that have resulted from the livable community planning efforts in these communities.

201 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• John Robert Smith, President & CEO, Reconnecting America. Presentation (PDF)
• Kris Krider, Economic Development Manager, Town of Davidson, NC. Presentation (PDF)
• Roger Millar, Director, Smart Growth Leadership Institute, Smart Growth America. Presentation (PDF)
• Sandy Misiewicz, AICP, Senior Transportation Planner, Capital District Transportation Committee. Presentation (PDF)

The Piedmont Triad on North Carolina is a 12 county region, made up of a multi-city urban core and more distant rural communities, undergoing economic change. The traditional economic drivers are in a state of decline, and a new future is crucial. The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation is a significant regionalism expression. It recently completed a Regional Transit Development Plan based on increasing community involvement, assessing propensity to transit, connecting major employment centers to residential areas, tying together land use and transportation, focusing on affordability and equity, and employing sustainability’s triple bottom line.

With an integrated regional transit system, the “image” of transit is enhanced, and transit is presented as an integral element of the region’s mobility system. The RTDP adjusts the current service network to better address needs of transit-dependent and choice riders. In addition, the plan includes long-haul, bus rapid transit, local bus and streetcar service.

210 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Brent McKinney, PE, Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation
• Mark Kirstner, AICP, Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation
• Robert Bush, AICP, Transit Principal, Bus Rapid Transit, HDR Inc. Presentation (PDF)
• Ann Steedly, PE, Owner/COO, Planning Communities LLC. Presentation (PDF)
• McKinney, Kirstner, Bush, Steedly Presentation (PDF)

Communities have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage federal funds to support green jobs, energy efficiency and conservation measures, and reductions in GHG emissions. The principal challenge lies in satisfying short-term needs while maximizing long-term benefits.
South Carolina is poised to avoid investing in expensive new power generation while still meeting growing energy demands by implementing innovative policies. New state legislation enabling on-bill financing options for utility customers and a new financing approach for its residents in the City of Charleston are two ways in which South Carolina is working to increase energy efficiency.

The City of Corpus Christi secured $2.7M in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) funds through the Department of Energy. City leaders seized the opportunity to establish GHG and energy baselines for city operations and set the foundation for fundamental changes in municipal and city-wide resource management through projects involving mobility, water, land use and energy.

Tryon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• James Moore, AICP, National Community Planning Principal, HDR Inc.
• Lindsey Smith, Director of Public & Member Relations, The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc. Presentation (PDF)
• Hamilton Davis, Energy & Climate Director, Coastal Conservation League. Presentation (PDF)
• Lori Collins, Managing Director, Abundant Power
• Oscar Martinez, Assistant City Manager, City of Corpus Christi, TX
• Jeff Pollack, LEED AP, Environmental Scientist, HDR Inc.
• Moore, Pollack, Davis, Collins, Smith Presentation Cover (PDF)

Public input into planning processes often takes place in a closed room, with participants hunched over maps. While these meetings have their place, “Pounding the Pavement” will demonstrate how to get participants on their feet using a “walkshop,” where participants walk through areas of the community, using mobile technologies, social media, and other tools to identify local assets and challenges.

This session will essentially follow the structure of a “walkshop” with: 1) introductory instruction on walkshops and their goals, 2) a walk around uptown Charlotte taking pictures, and 3) a wrap up discussion on how to use the information gathered. While “walkshops” focus on the pedestrian environment, the techniques used in the walkshop setting are transferable to a variety of topics. This session will provide capacity building for gathering multi-media input in an interactive setting.

202 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Beginner

Speakers

• Jocelyn Hittle, Director, Sustainable Solutions Group, PlaceMatters
• Jason Lally, Director, Decision Lab, PlaceMatters
• David Dixon FAIA, Principal in charge of Planning and Urban Design, Goody Clancy & Associates
• Carlson, Clancy Presentation (PDF)
• Carlson, Lally, Snyder Presentation (PDF)

The field of health impact assessment (HIA) continues to grow as a means to understand the health implications of proposed land-use and development projects and policies and to inform decision-making processes. This session will feature HIA practitioners and case studies from around the country. In the first part of this session, panelists will describe local and state-level capacity building processes, share success stories, and discuss how HIA efforts have provided the opportunity to collaborate with non-traditional partners. In the second half of this session, new case studies on transportation, housing, and local land use projects will be presented. After panel presentations, participants will breakout into roundtable discussions with representatives from health, equity, planning and regional government agencies from across the country to discuss HIA on particular topics of interest. This interactive session will provide practical information for both novices as well as for those with a good working knowledge of HIA.

Providence BR II

Level: Beginner

Speakers

• Pilar Lorenzano-Campo, Senior Associate, Planning and Development, Public Health Law & Policy. Presentation (PDF)
• Jennifer Lucky, MPH., Project Director, Human Impact Partners. Presentation (PDF)
• Jennifer Boyce, MPH, Epidemiologist, Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health
• Nancy Goff, MPH, Health Impact Assessment, Oregon Health Authority. Presentation (PDF)
• Kristen Raab, MPH, Project Consultant, Minnesota Department of Health
• Jeffrey Rosenhall, Active Communities Specialist, California Active Communities, California Department of Public Health. Presentation (PDF)
• Noelle Dobson, MPH, Project Director, Oregon Public Health Institute
• Karen Roof, Public Health Consultant, EnviroHealth Consulting. Presentation (PDF)
• Shireen Malekafzali. Presentation (PDF), Senior Associate, PolicyLink
• Steve White, Project Director, Oregon Public Health Institute
• Kathryn Sofich, Council Policy Coordinator, Metro Regional Government
• Amee Xiong, Director, Hmong Organizing Program, TakeAction Minnesota
• Doran Schrantz, Executive Director, ISAIAH
• Dobson, White Presentation (PDF)
• Raab, Bernard Presentation (PDF)

Form-Based Codes are, by definition, sustainable. Their capacity to produce compact, mixed-use urbanism makes them an essential tool in efforts to create sustainable communities. The training session covers the key elements of sustainable design that may be regulated by form-based codes, including renewable energy systems, stormwater and wastewater conservation, urban agriculture, green roofs, landscaping, community-based transportation, and others. Instructors will use specific case studies to illustrate these elements, drawing upon their work from across the country. They will also discuss effective community participation strategies that advance sustainable design in form-based codes.

Each presenter brings a unique expertise in the form-based code field that adds to the overall knowledge of sustainable form-based codes. The expert presenters have a combined over 100 years experience working with municipalities and form-based codes and will be able to share their experiences, expertise, and research in a panel format.

Providence BR III

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Carol Wyant, AIA Hon. CNU, Executive Director, Form Based Codes Institute. Presentation (PDF)
• Dan Parolek, Principal, Opticos Design, Inc.. Presentation (PDF)
• Bill Lennertz, Executive Director, National Charrette Institute. Presentation (PDF)
• Dan Slone, National Counsel for the Congress for the New Urbanism, Seaside Institute; U.S. Green Building Council. Presentation (PDF)
• Victor Dover, Principal, Dover-Kohl Partners. Presentation (PDF)
• Tom Low, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company. Presentation (PDF)

Racial disparities affect virtually every dimension of community life. Different population groups and communities are often differently situated in terms of pathways needed to achieve desired results for development, conservation, and smart growth. Even still, planners and developers may apply "universal" approaches to change presuming that one size fits all. If an approach seems necessary on its face, it nevertheless may not be sufficient to achieve the desired results across all racial/ethnic groups or neighborhoods. This experiential learning session will provide participants with a thorough assessment of the implications of race and equity in order to create communities of opportunity. Participants will explore real world strategies deployed in Baltimore, MD and Portland, OR and will use the Race Matters Toolkit to conduct a Racial Equity Impact Analysis.

Trade Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Deeohn Ferris, President, Sustainable Community Development Group
• john a. powell, Professor and Executive Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity
• Scot Spencer, Manager of Baltimore Relations, Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Paula Dressel, Vice President, JustPartners Inc.
• Delia Carmen, Senior Research Associate, Annie E. Casey Foundation

This session is for lenders, investors and other professionals in the lending and real estate development communities. The focus of the session centers on the core proposition that investing in smart growth is a good business strategy. The session moves beyond the corporate “triple bottom line” mantra and examines the many business reasons why investing in smart growth should be pursued. The session will look at issues such as the current and future economic condition, home building trends, changing demographics and preferences, and cost comparisons of smart growth and conventional development, investment trends, and finance strategies.

209 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Lee Sobel, Real Estate Development and Finance Analyst, U.S. EPA
• Christopher Leinberger, Metropolitan Land Strategist & Developer, The Brookings Institution. Presentation (PDF)
• Geoffrey Anderson, President & CEO, Smart Growth America. Presentation (PDF)
• Shyam Kannan, Vice President, Robert Charles Lesser and Co. Presentation (PDF)

Sustainability is typically defined to include the economic, environmental and social value of decisions (the “triple bottom line”). While the importance of these issues is widely recognized, organizations are challenged when trying to integrate sustainability into their investment and operating decisions. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the Sustainable Return on Investment (SROI) process and explain how it can be used as a tool to help promote sustainable investment strategies from an objective and transparent perspective. This interactive presentation will describe how SROI has been applied in dozens of settings for projects with an aggregate value in the billions of dollars to supplement traditional performance measures in order to help agencies integrate sustainability into their current decision-making process. The presentation will also feature two real-world case studies presented by clients who will demonstrate how the SROI process can assist in making optimal sustainable decisions.

Independence Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Stephane Larocque, Principal Economist, HDR, Inc.
• Russ Manning, Senior Health System Planner, Tricare Management Activity – Department of Defense
• Jeannie Renne-Malone, National Director, Climate and Green House Gas, HDR, Inc.
• Michael Murr, Manager, Sustainability Planning and Development, City of Ottawa
• Renne-Malone, Larocque, Murr, Manning Presentation (PDF)

This session will explore the context of disasters as an opportunity to apply smart growth principles in pre-disaster planning and post-disaster recovery. Speakers will discuss how the U.S. EPA and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) partnered with states and communities to incorporate sustainable, smart growth practices into disaster recovery.

After a natural disaster, communities face many challenges, difficult choices and unclear futures. Disasters provide a unique opportunity to explore policy considerations, analyze development patterns, and ask how a community can rebuild in a sustainable manner. Smart growth strategies can foster economic, environmental and public health benefits and create safe, resilient and sustainable communities. Case studies will explore how impacted communities in North Carolina, Iowa and Kansas utilized smart growth strategies to rebuild in a safe and sustainable manner.

Harris Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Ted Cochin, Office of Sustainable Communities, U.S. EPA
• Steve Castaner, Director, Long-Term Community Recovery, FEMA
• Timothy J. Trautman, Flood Mitigation Program Manager, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services. Presentation (PDF)
• David R. Godschalk, Stephen Baxter Professor Emeritus, Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Presentation (PDF)
• Gavin Smith, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Natural Hazards and Disasters, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Presentation (PDF)
• Diana Coho, CFM, FEMA Mitigation Planning. Presentation (PDF)

USEPA identifies “watershed planning approach” as one of the four pillars of sustainable infrastructure. Many watershed plans, despite receiving wide support, have yet to be implemented due to a lack of financial resources. Tapping into local government revenue is essential to achieving the land conservation goals in these strategies. “Revenuesheds,” the areas that generate local revenues for particular services, rarely coincide with watersheds and accessing these revenues for watershed services can be quite difficult. For example, one watershed may contain a dozen utilities each controlled by separate units of government and each with different customer bases. Pooling the revenue from these communities for efforts that cut across boundaries is difficult. This session will include a geospatial analysis of the Falls Lake, NC watershed and revenueshed and will highlight the disconnect between revenue boundaries and watershed boundaries. The session will describe past and planned efforts to overcome the revenueshed/watershed challenge.

Sharon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Jeff Hughes, Director, Environmental Finance Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Presentation (PDF)
• Lisa Creasman, Conservation Projects Manager, Conservation Trust for North Carolina. Presentation (PDF)
• John Carman, General Manager, Public Utilities Department, City of Raleigh. Presentation (PDF)
• Ed Buchan, Environmental Coordinator, Public Utilities Department, City of Raleigh. Presentation (PDF)

Where residents choose to locate their schools directly impacts the sustainability of a community. Their locations can either encourage more walking and biking or more idling of cars. They can either save taxpayer dollars while offering efficient transportation options or they can encourage longer drives for parents, students, and faculty.

In this session, hear how a small rural county (pop. 15,600) rallied to save its 1923 high school from a proposed closure. Discover how Charlotte-Mecklenburg ensures maximum use of taxpayer dollars through an inter-agency joint use taskforce and see how state-level policy reform encourages more rehabilitation and retrofitting of existing buildings. Learn how to correct the misperceptions about the continued viability of older schools and how to overcome the challenges of interagency planning collaboration. Explore how communities are trying to encourage more walkable schools while maintaining diverse student bodies. Through an in-depth Q&A discussion with the panelists, gain new ideas for overcoming obstacles to retaining or building a community-centered school.

210AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Renee Kuhlman, Director of Special Projects, Center for State and Local Policy, National Trust for Historic Preservation. Presentation (PDF)
• Myrick Howard, JD, President, Preservation North Carolina. Presentation (PDF)
• Sara Zimmerman, JD, Senior Staff Attorney, Public Health Law & Policy. Presentation (PDF)
• Jonathan Wells, AICP, Capital Facilities Program Manager, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department. Presentation (PDF)
• Vicki Coggins, Special Projects Coordinator, Uwharrie Capital Corpt. Presentation (PDF)
• Michael K. Raible, Executive Director, Planning and Project Management, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Presentation (PDF)

While many communities have embraced the idea of Transit-Oriented Development, there is still a significant lack of understanding about the best ways to coordinate and prioritize TOD investments and to ensure that measurable outcomes of TOD, such as reduced household budget expenditures on housing and transit, increased transit ridership and reduced vehicle miles traveled (VMT), are realized. This session will give participants an overview of three new interactive web-based tools developed by the Center for Transit-Oriented Development that provide community development practitioners and advocates with the data, best practices, implementation techniques and visualization tools needed to advance equitable and sustainable regional development. Panelists will also share applied, local examples of using data to create a TOD investment typology for the Portland (OR) region and to conduct transit corridor planning in Denver, CO.

201 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Sam Zimbabwe, Director, Center for Transit-Oriented Development
• Peter Haas, Chief Research Scientist, Center for Neighborhood Technology
• Abigail Thorne-Lyman, Senior Project Director, Reconnecting America. Presentation (PDF)
• Christopher Yake, Senior Planner, Metro. Presentation (PDF)
• Ismael Guerrero, Executive Director, Denver Housing Authority. Presentation (PDF)
• Zimbabwe, Haas Presentation (PDF)

Grand Ballroom CD

Speakers

• Jake Mackenzie, Councilmember, City of Rohnert Park, CA
• Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming, Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5 (invited)
• Mayor Anthony Foxx, City of Charlotte, NC

Grand Ballroom CD

Speakers

• Judy Corbett, Executive Director, Local Government Commission
• John Frece, Director, Sustainable Communities Office, U.S. EPA

Improving land use decisions for the good of the community, the environment and the economic bottom line requires significant investment and dedicated leadership, both from the public and private sectors. This plenary session will explore our country’s current fiscal and real estate development conditions, and will describe how the market for smart growth may fare as financial realities change over time. U.S. EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe will share his perspective on the millions of dollars of coordinated federal investments that EPA, HUD and DOT have made during the past year as part of the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities and discuss how these investments meet community project needs. Congressman John Mica, Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, will discuss the national context of issues that face this committee. Henry Cisneros, former HUD Secretary and current Executive Chairman of CityView, will then share his perspective on the important role that the private sector can play in supporting more sustainable communities, even in a time of constrained resources and challenging market conditions. A response panel of experts from the real estate, development and financial sectors will share their perspectives on the role of financial investment and dedicated public- and private-sector leadership in making smart growth a success.

Grand Ballroom CD

Speakers

• Bob Perciasepe, Deputy Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (invited)
• Henry Cisneros, Executive Chairman of the Board, CityView. Presentation (PDF)

Response Panel

• Christopher Leinberger, Metropolitan Land Strategist & Developer, The Brookings Institution. Presentation (PDF)
• Nathan Taft, Director of Acquisition, Rose Smart Growth Fund
• Brian Leary, President & CEO, Atlanta Beltline, Inc.

The first full day of sessions and tours will be capped off with a dynamic evening plenary and a hosted networking reception. This social event is designed to get our multi-disciplinary audience talking and networking with each other early in the conference.

Grand Ballroom AB

Bring your continental breakfast to the Southeast Smart Growth Networking event planned from 7-8:30 a.m. on Friday, February 4. Learn more about the Network, help shape its direction, and interact with your colleagues in the Southeast. Many communities throughout the Southeast are striving to manage fast-paced growth and development and are looking for region-specific strategies, tools and resources to guide their efforts. To address this need, over 40 organizations are coming together to form a Southeast Smart Growth Network. Currently, Network partners are conducting an analysis of green building practices in southern states and will be compiling case studies on green building programs in 20 communities to share on a new website under development – www.smartgrowthsouth.org. Your help and participation in this project is welcome. Help explore ways to address regional needs and issues.

King's Room

With the Federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities hitting its stride, 2010 was a monumental year for federal partners to provide resources and technical assistance to the nation. This informal gathering has been arranged for communities, national content experts and federal partners to gather to discuss successes, challenges and opportunities for new technical assistance. In particular, staff from EPA will be on hand to provide updates on the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program and the Building Block for Smart Growth Technical Assistance Program.

Brevard Room

Resource Person

• Kevin Nelson, Senior Policy Analyst, U.S Environmental Protection Agency

Join your colleagues along with representatives from Smart Growth America and Advocacy Associates to network and talk about advocating successfully in your smart growth context. Are there challenges you are facing in your own campaign? Are you trying to get a policy passed but keep hitting a political wall? Are you looking for new ideas and connections to strengthen your work? At this networking breakfast, you'll have the chance to learn about resources available to you through these national organizations and talk with your fellow colleagues about the issues you are facing. Staff will be on hand to brainstorm potential solutions through advocacy, coalition building and proactive campaigns. Come to this open, interactive discussion prepared with business cards and ideas.

Queens Room

Grand Ballroom CD

Speakers

• Jake Mackenzie, Councilmember, City of Rohnert Park, CA

Smart growth approaches to development apply to all types of communities—from urban to suburban to rural. And yet, rural communities are sometimes underrepresented in the dialogue about smart growth. Knowing that the sustainability of rural communities is key to the health and prosperity of our nation, this plenary session will discuss how smart growth approaches to development can help rural communities enhance economic competitiveness, improve public health, and protect the environment. U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Undersecretary Doug O’Brien will discuss federal investments that USDA is making to enhance sustainability and economic development opportunities in rural communities across the country. Assistant Administrator Mathy Stanislaus will describe the resources that the EPA has to help rural communities, including the Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grants to help small towns and rural communities revitalize areas around brownfields. A panel of respondents will then share their perspectives on how smart growth principles can enhance economic development opportunities, solve transportation challenges, and revitalize disadvantaged communities – all while recognizing that the success of Rural America is key to the success of our metropolitan regions and our nation as a whole.

Grand Ballroom CD

Speakers

• Doug O’Brien, Deputy Undersecretary for Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Response Panel
  • Matt Chase, Executive Director, National Association of Development Organizations
  • John Robert Smith, President and CEO, Reconnecting America
  • Deeohn Ferris, Sustainable Community Development Group

While some states and localities have started to plan for adaptation to climate change, few places are thinking about how to adapt on a regional scale. Yet adaptation planning will be less effective if it happens piecemeal or in only a few communities in a region. Addressing regional issues of water supply, sea-level rise, weather extremes, and other predicted effects of climate change require a regional approach, particularly when using smart growth strategies to improve resilience. The San Diego region is embarking on an ambitious effort to plan for adaptation across the region, reaching out to a wide variety of stakeholders, including local and regional agencies, tribes, the business community, and nonprofits. The Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS) brings together state and federal agencies to encourage collaboration in land use decisions to protect open space and natural resources, support healthy communities, promote economic development, preserve military readiness—and adapt to climate change.

Tryon Room

Level: Advanced

Speakers

• Linda Rimer, Ph.D., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4 Liaison to North and South Carolina
• Robert W. King, Jr., Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Quality Control, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
• Nicola Hedge, MPIA, Manager, Climate Initiative, The San Diego Foundation. Presentation (PDF)

Researchers in the fields of urban planning and public health have developed a range of indicators on healthy neighborhoods and smart growth. Common indicators include measures of access to key community resources (i.e., retail and service locations, recreational space), walkability, and availability of public transportation. However, most real estate listings provide little or no relevant information on these smart growth neighborhood characteristics. EPA and CDC are working with the consulting firm IEc to: identify potential indicators to incorporate into real estate listing databases, conduct feasibility research, and develop an implementation strategy. This session will report on project outcomes and next steps including piloting select indicators, including Walk Score, Transit Score, and the H+T Affordability Index, with participating local multiple listing services and consumer-facing real estate listing websites.

201 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Clark Wilson, Senior Urban Designer, Office of Sustainable Communities, U.S. EPA
• Andrew Dannenberg, MD, MPH, Team Lead, Healthy Community Design Initiative, EEHS, NCEH, CDC. Presentation (PDF)
• Neal Etre, Senior Associate, IEc. Presentation (PDF)
• Melissa Olson, Senior Manager, Marketing and Communications, Denver Metrolist. Presentation (PDF)
• Wilson, Dannenberg, Etre, Olson Presentation (PDF)

Every year, the United States depends on the two billion tons of freight that moves through our nation’s busy marine terminals, as well as volumes of domestic product.  Freight is distributed by air, truck, train or ship through a complex system that conveniently delivers these necessities to local distribution centers, warehouses and the neighborhood store.

U.S. ports expect that import/export volumes will continue to increase, along with the movement of domestic goods and will result in further expansion and development to accommodate this growth.  Communities situated immediate to goods movement activities may be affected by the environmental impacts from these operations, including traffic congestion, air emissions, land use and other quality-of-life issues.

This panel aims to discuss how smart growth principles can be applied to goods movement and what initiatives can be taken by the freight transportation industry, including ports, to help promote environmental justice.

Trade Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Alycia Gilde, Vice President of East Coast Operations, Gladstein, Neandross & Associates
• Aston Hinds, PhD, Senior Environmental Affairs Manager, Port of Houston Authority
• Shankar Prasad, Executive Fellow and Member of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, Coalition for Clean Air. Presentation (PDF)
• Christina Casgar, Goods Movement Policy Manager, San Diego Association of Governments. Presentation (PDF)
• Lee Kindberg, PhD, Director, Environment & Sustainability, Maersk Line, Maersk Agency USA. Presentation (PDF)

In this annual update on the state of smart growth funding, speakers from foundations will discuss their perspectives on popping opportunities and noteworthy funding challenges that face smart growth practitioners moving forward. Particular focus will be placed on changing dynamics of the funding world, interplay between foundation, private, and government funding, and the role of equity in funding decisions. Significant time will be allocated for interactive conversation with participants.

Providence BR III

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Mariano Diaz, Program Vice President, LISC
• Scot Spencer, Manager of Baltimore Relations, Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Don Chen, Metropolitan Opportunity Program Officer, The Ford Foundation
• Ivye Allen, Foundation for the Mid South

Connecticut presented a nightmare for creating affordable housing and preventing sprawl. With no county government, no regionalism and 169 separate municipalities born of a Revolutionary bent toward liberty and fearful of change, the property-tax fueled desire for revenue threatened to overrun the state with Big-Box sprawl and exclusionary zoning that was plowing up cornfields and meadows in favor of 4- and 5-BR colonials. But HOMEConnecticut, a municipal incentive program that encourages smart-growth housing but leaves municipalities with enormous control over how it is created, has changed the equation. Towns are thinking, planning and acting in new ways. Myths and misperceptions are dying at the hands of reputable research. And residents are finding that they can have affordable, attractive homes in transit-rich locations, and preserve the beauty of New England too. It is a formula that can work anywhere.

209 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• David Fink, Policy Director, Partnership for Strong Communities; Architect of HOMEConnecticut Program
• Calvin Price, Vice President, Liberty Bank
• Dara Kovel, Chief Housing Officer, Connecticut Housing Finance Authority. Presentation (PDF)
• Fink, Price Presentation (PDF)

Planning is more than policies and codes – it’s about getting to the heart of what matters to communities. Storytelling is a powerful, inclusive way to engage community members in a collaborative process, gather information about community perspectives on land-use, and foster shared ownership of planning for the future. In partnership with the Orton Family Foundation, five towns in the Northeast and Rocky Mountain West embarked on groundbreaking efforts to gather citizens’ stories and distill their values to shape community planning. Recognizing that many community members are intimidated by the planning process, these towns experimented with a storytelling approach that reached new voices and bridged community divides. This session will look at the experiences of Victor, Idaho, Damariscotta, Maine, and Golden, Colorado and highlight the tools and processes used to discover what matters most to citizens, then translate those values—the heart and soul of the community—into policies and action.

Providence BR I

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Alece H. M. Otero, Rocky Mountain Senior Associate, The Orton Family Foundation
• Jane Bechtel Lafleur, Executive Director, Friends of Midcoast Maine
• Dahvi Wilson, Project Coordinator, Envision Victor
• Steve Glueck, Planning and Development Director, City of Golden, CO
• LaFleur, Wilson, Glueck, Otero Presentation (PDF, 15 MB)

Low-carbon district energy systems—community-scale utilities that pipe heating, cooling and hot water to a neighborhood of buildings—will play a critical future role in achieving community sustainability goals, as individual buildings hit the limit of energy efficiency and generation measures that are feasible within their site boundaries. Such systems are relevant and viable in both traditional urban villages and compact rural towns. The Preservation Green Lab of the National Trust has collaborated with the University of Oregon’s Lundquist Center for Sustainable Business Practices to create a policy primer for communities wishing to create or expand district energy systems in neighborhoods of older and historic buildings, and a case study of a new system being integrated into the historic downtown of West Union Iowa, which is a National Trust Main Street community.

Independence Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Patrice Frey, Deputy Director of Sustainability, National Trust for Historic Preservation. Presentation (PDF)
• Tom Osdoba, Managing Director, University of Oregon’s Lundquist Center for Sustainable Business Practices. Presentation (PDF)
• Robin Bostrom, Executive Director, Main Street West Union. Presentation (PDF)

Projects underway in the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities have sprung from rural, urban and small town settings in EPA Region 4. Our three examples—Asheville, NC; Selma-Montgomery, AL; and SW Atlanta, GA—will highlight the development of partnerships, establishment of priorities and new successes that were forged via the partnership that previously would have been unworkable. Asheville is focused on enhancing sustainability efforts in their region, strengthening connections between rural and urban areas, and “greening” their economy. The Selma-Montgomery project centers on the National Civil Rights Trail and the need for economic revitalization and cultural preservation. Communities along the Trail are working more closely together—including pursuing intercity transit options. Southwest Atlanta is “ground zero” for the subprime mortgage crisis and seeks to enhance workforce development, health improvements and housing. Community partners are planning to reuse a brownfield as an urban farm and collaborate with the adjacent Atlanta Beltline project.

Providence BR II

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Anne E. Keller, PhD, Senior Sustainability Advisor, U.S. EPA Region 4
• Camilla Warren, Brownfields Project Manager, RCRA Management Division, U.S. EPA. Presentation (PDF)
• Gary Sharp, Community Planner, City of Montgomery, AL
• Christian Stearns, Director and Regional Sustainability Officer, HUD’s Greensboro, NC Field Office
• Stephanie Monson, Urban Planner, Riverfront Redevelopment Coordinator, City of Asheville, NC
• Sam Lytle, Sustainability Officer, U.S. EPA, Region 4
• Garnett Brown, Assistant Director, Bureau of Planning, City of Atlanta, GA

This session will discuss how seemingly unlikely partnerships can come together as part of sustainable regional planning efforts — with a particular focus on the unusual role the military is playing in such efforts in North Carolina. North Carolina is home to a number of nationally important military installations. Presenters will include focus on the innovative regional partnering efforts of the Marine Corps' Camp Lejeune (on the eastern coastline) and the Army's Fort Bragg (in the state's south central interior). The presentations are designed to stir discussion and provide lessons learned, including how other regions can benefit as well through working with diverse partners and institutions.

Sharon Room

Level: Beginner

Speakers

• Paul Friday, Director of Community Plans and Liaison Program, US Marine Corps-East (Camp Lejeune). Presentation (PDF)
• Mike Lynch, Director of Plans, Training, and Mobilization, Fort Bragg. Presentation (PDF)
• Bob Barnes, Senior Policy Advisor, The Nature Conservancy. Presentation (PDF)
• Jonathan Weiss. Presentation (PDF)

This session will consider and discuss the future for small towns and rural communities in light of the many economic, environmental, and demographic challenges that they face, and consider innovative tools and methods that have instilled hope for their long-term sustainability. The past decade has not been friendly to many rural communities as economic, environmental, and demographic changes have often worked contrary to their interests. This session asks, What will be the future of these places in the 21st century? What roles can they play in shaping their own destinies? Contrasting recent experiences in the West and the Southeast, the session will confront problems and issues, offer concepts and solutions, and provide realistic and thought-provoking assessments from private and public sector leaders. It is designed to incite discussion and debate.

Harris Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Stefan Pellegrini, AICP, LEED AP, Principal, Opticos Design, Inc. Presentation (PDF)
• Suzi Zakowski, Sustainable Communities Program Manager, Audubon International. Presentation (PDF)
• Tom Ward, Ph.D., Sustainability Coordinator, Town of Williamston, NC
• Josh Meyer, Director of Community Planning Programs, Local Government Commission. Presentation (PDF)
• Cruz Ramos, City Manager, City of San Joaquin. Presentation (PDF)

Parking is typically a seriously underperforming municipal owned asset that is poorly managed, given away or underpriced. Policies regarding off-street accessory parking regulations and on-street parking pricing in most cities are outdated, supporting auto-dependency, and have contributed to numerous undesirable outcomes such as unsafe walking environments, traffic congestion, air pollution and long distances between destinations. When better managed, parking can help ease traffic conditions on local roads and provide a source of revenue for sustainable transport, while improving livability and environmental performance. The most innovative practices have impacted the economic, social and environmental quality of city centers. These strategies have also helped bring time and money savings to shoppers, residents, commuters and business owners. The introduction of more stringent parking regulations, in several cases through public-private partnerships, has worked to better balance the competing demands on street space and land use. These policies have also been instrumental in addressing climate change and energy security issues while creating more attractive and comfortable cities.

202 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Rachel Weinberger, PhD, University of Pennsylvania/Department of City and Regional Planning. Presentation (PDF)
• Kieran Fitsall, Westminster City Council (London, UK). Presentation (PDF)
• Arthur Noriega, CEO, The Miami Parking Authority. Presentation (PDF)
• Michael Kodransky, Global Policy Research Associate, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Presentation (PDF)

As officials at all levels of government collaborate to plan and implement livability, demand for bicycle and pedestrian facilities is increasing. These infrastructure improvements pose financial, practical and political challenges, and the public is setting high expectations for siting, design and delivery.

The industry is quickly developing tools to help planners determine which investments are most feasible. Technology-based tools are helping planners figure out which investments will best support equitable development. These assessments can increase access to transit and public participation, create walkable, bikeable communities, and improve information about mobility options.

Representatives from FTA, cutting-edge cities, and nonprofit technology firms will discuss and showcase their experiences creating great walking and wheeling networks. The cities of Salem, OR, San Jose, CA and New York, NY, all winners of the 2010 Transportation Planning Excellence Awards, will join a nonprofit research firm to inspire your bike-ped imagination.

210 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Andrew Mortensen, Senior Transportation Planner, Transpo Group
• Hayes Lord, Director, New York City Department of Transportation
• Todd Klocke, Project Coordinator, Urban Development Department, City of Salem
• Yves Zsutty, Trail Manager, City of San Jose, Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services
• Klocke, Zsutty, Lord, Mortensen, et al.Presentation (PDF, 15 MB)

Sea level rise and climate change will affect where and how coastal communities continue to grow and thrive. This session will overview coastal community adaptation options, their impacts on community design and the built environment, and the ways in which smart growth approaches can be incorporated into community responses to sea level rise. In addition, panelists from North and South Carolina will highlight state efforts to work with coastal communities on adaptation strategies. In South Carolina, the state is considering enhanced shoreline management through regulation of beachfront development and a strengthening of the role of local governments in beachfront management and planning. In North Carolina, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is working with coastal communities to begin incorporating hazard mitigation and the impacts of sea level rise into local land use plans. Both state presentations will highlight the connection between shoreline management goals, hazard mitigation and smart growth.

Tryon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Lynn Desautels, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Sustainable Communities, U.S. EPA
• Kenneth Walker, Program Analyst, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. Presentation (PDF)
• Braxton Davis, Director, Policy and Planning Division, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Presentation (PDF)
• Tancred Miller, Coastal Policy Analyst, Division of Coastal Management, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Presentation (PDF)

Communities of color have had to face disproportionate environmental risks as a byproduct of unequal and unsustainable development patterns. Major advocacy organizations are espousing green empowerment zones, weatherization and green development to brighten prospects for declining communities. These groups are seeking to leverage expanding green development initiatives to support healthy communities to meet today’s challenges of concentrated unemployment and under-utilized infrastructure. This panel will discuss the relevancy of climate justice, green development, and metropolitan planning to the quality of life, prosperity and health for struggling communities. Strategies, policies and actions relevant to the interests of communities of color and Native Americans will be covered. For example, climate neutral reinvestment strategies, including building rehabilitation, mass transit, and walkable communities have synergies with equitable development. Success will hinge upon whether national objectives to increase energy independence, decrease fossil fuel emissions, and provide for green lifestyle choices do not unfairly burdening vulnerable populations.

Trade Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Daniel J. Hutch, Economist, Office of Sustainable Communities, U.S. EPA
• Dr. Daniel Wildcat, Haskell Indian Nations University, American Indian Studies
• Dr. Manuel Pastor, Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity, University of California, Berkeley
• Jacqui Patterson, Climate Justice Director, NAACP
• Leslie Fields, Director, National Environmental Justice and Community Partnerships Sierra Club. Presentation (PDF)
• Marc Littlejohn, Manager, Diversity Partnerships. Presentation (PDF)

In 1998, the Spartanburg, SC community identified physical inactivity and poor nutrition as leading risk factors. As a result, local leaders began a multi-faceted approach to integrating public health strategies with community development initiatives. Ten years later, four separate nonprofits focus exclusively on one or more aspect of active living, smart growth policies, and access to healthy foods, and three foundations are engaged in the two-headed fight against obesity and poverty. While the City’s population is less than 40,000, it serves a County more than five times that size. Over 19% of its population does not have a car and 23% live below the poverty line. This scenario is coupled with deep philanthropic pockets and an underdeveloped downtown infrastructure. The perfect storm that resulted has made Spartanburg an ideal case study for the role of bicycling and walking in advancing equity and in revitalizing a community from the ground up.

Independence Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Jean Crow Crowther, Planning Assistant, ALTA Planning + Design
• Craig Lewis, Managing Principal, Carolinas Office, The Lawrence Group
• Curt McPhail, Program Officer, Mary Black Foundation
• Stephanie Monroe, Planning Director, City of Spartanburg, SC
• Rochelle Williams, Community Mobilizing Coordinator, Partners for Active Living
• Crowther, Monroe, Lewis, McPhail, Williams Presentation (PDF, 12 MB)

Even before the housing bust and the downsizing movement driven by empty-nesters, architect/author Sarah Susanka discovered and nurtured an audience of millions for her “Not So Big House” books. On the other side of the continent, Washington architect/author Ross Chapin nullified real estate’s “bigger is better” conventional wisdom by demonstrating demand for cottage-size homes within“pocket neighborhoods” at premium prices. Meanwhile, New Urbanist designers, working on the Gulf coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, jump-started a movement for super-safe, super-green affordability with Katrina Cottages.

What are the lessons learned? And how can they be applied to support a broad range of housing strategies and to serve families at diverse income levels? The panelists will "show and tell."

209 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Beginner

Speakers

• Ben Brown, Principal; Director, Client Public Relations, PlaceMakers, LLC
• Ross Chapin, AIA, Principal, Ross Chapin Architects
• Sarah Susanka, FAIA, Author/Architect, Susanka Studios
• Chapin, Brown, Susanka Presentation (PDF, 19 MB)

Smart Growth makes sense, even far from the coasts. The Oklahoma City metro has quickly emerged with its recession-resistant economy, its livability, helpful people, and pioneer penchant for innovation. Far from the exodus described in Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, today’s Oklahoma is a noteworthy laboratory of transition to smart, healthy growth. Its people are an interesting mix of conservatives and progressives, but overall favoring opportunity, equity, and respect for each other regardless of disability, race, or where they started in life.

The session will describe: the Amazing 2009 MAPS3 initiative, a seven-year sales tax approved by voters for eight retrofit projects throughout the City; growing appreciation of transit’s role in quality of life and health; current plans to improve statewide health equity and health outcomes; and the leadership and the building of collaborations and alliances.

Sharon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Eric J. Gorman, Planner, Parsons Brinckerhoff
• Larry Hopper, AICP, Principal Planner, METRO Transit. Presentation (PDF)
• Lauren White, CPA, President and CEO, NewView Oklahoma
• Marisa (New) Wells, OTR, MPH, Director, Health Equity and Resource Opportunities (HERO) Division, Oklahoma State Department of Health. Presentation (PDF)

With the current focus on sustainability at all levels, there is a tremendous opportunity to put best practice into the hands of leaders who can move smart growth forward. This session will explore key training and communications commitments to building sustainable communities across the country. Multi-sector players will discuss why they are training, what technical assistance is being provided, who the audiences are, and how they are delivering the messages. Presenters will discuss successes, lessons, and how we leverage our work in all sectors. Substantial time will be allowed for audience discussion.

Providence BR I

Level: Beginner

Speakers

• Julie Seward, Director of State Policy, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
• Judy Corbett, Executive Director, Local Government Commission
• Shelly Hazel, Interim Director, Smart Growth Leadership Institute
• Eileen Figel, Director, Institute for Comprehensive Community Development
• Ron Stief, Associate Director, PolicyLink. Presentation (PDF)
• Mariia Zimmerman, Deputy Director for Sustainable Communities, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Presentation (PDF)
• Figel, Seward Presentation (PDF)

Parks have long been recognized as major contributors to the physical and aesthetic quality of urban neighborhoods. But a new broader view of parks has recently been (re)emerging. This new view goes well beyond the traditional value of parks as places of recreation and visual assets to communities, and focuses on how policymakers and the public can begin to think about parks as valuable contributors to larger urban policy objectives, such as job opportunities, youth development, public health, and community and economic development.

A nationwide initiative called Red Fields to Green Fields will convert vacant and financially distressed commercial property into parks. Eleven metropolitan regions throughout the U.S are already involved. This transformative solution is a health plan for the economy, the environment and for people . The session explores broad concepts to implementation.

Harris Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Kathy Blaha, President, Kathy Blaha Consulting, LLC
• John M. Bowers, AICP, RLA, Landscape Architect, Miami-Dade Park and Recreation Department
• Brenda McClymonds, Director of Philanthropy, Southern Division, Trust for Public Lands
• Maria Nardi, Chief, Planning and Research Division, Miami-Dade Park and Recreation Department
• Blaha, Bowers, McClymonds, Nardi Presentation (PDF, 15 MB)

This session will bring together national leaders in forging more racially and economically integrated development patterns through the levers of fair housing law, to share strategies for advancing fair housing and ensuring racial and economic equity when undertaking redevelopment of neighborhoods, utilizing HUD investments in development strategies, and advancing redevelopment in a sustainable communities context.

As HUD aligns its significant community development resources to assure the affirmative furthering of fair housing, and requires recipients of the new Sustainable Communities Planning grants to plan for furthering fair housing, the emergent redevelopment and infill efforts will need to ensure opportunity for people of color, people with disabilities, and other protected classes. Evidence shows that regions with fewer disparities are healthier and more economically competitive. Regions with high degrees of racial segregation and communities of concentrated poverty are less so. How can communities build on civil rights law in planning for redevelopment that creates greater opportunity? This session will focus on best practices, current legal and administrative actions that deliver on that goal.

Providence BR III

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Kalima Rose, Senior Director and Director of the PolicyLink Center for Infrastructure Equity, PolicyLink
• James Perry, Executive Director, Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center
• Michael Allen, Partner, Relman, Dane & Colfax, PLLC. Presentation (PDF)
• Tracy Brown, Executive Director, The Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston
• Mona Tawatao, Regional Counsel, Legal Services of Northern California
• Rose, Allen, Perry, Brown Presentation (PDF)

Anyone who has ever had a child in school knows how quickly a little bug can spread across a school system. What if that little bug, was a little green bug!

Schools are a microcosm of our communities. As such they offer a unique opportunity to provide a showcase of, and hands on experience with, sustainability initiatives. Working within schools in our county we are looking to offset energy usage, reduce water and resource consumption, create sustainable food systems, manage paper and materials flows and develop an education and information climate that excites and engages our students and their families. Schools cut across all social-economic boundaries, and touch almost everyone within a community one way or another. As we work collaboratively between our two school districts, our three charter schools and our many community partners, Reading Riding and Retrofit is about helping our schools lead the way in this community.

210 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Robin Cape, Reading Riding and Retrofit Project Coordinator; RLCape Consulting, Inc., Senior Associate, Mathis Consulting
• Ron Miller, Consultant, Waste Reduction Partners
• Larry McCallum, PhD, Assistant Superintendent, Buncombe County Schools
• Eleanor Ashton, Evergreen Community Charter School
• Joyce Brown, Equinox Environmental; President, Hall Fletcher Elementary PTO. Presentation (PDF)
• Gene Bell, Chair, Asheville School Board; Director, Asheville Housing Authority
• Linda Giltz, Grant Manager, Reading Riding and Retrofit Project, Land of Sky Regional Council

Mayors from small towns and cities will share smart growth goals and strategies and discuss challenges posed by development in the rural environment. This roundtable will emphasize priority rural issues, avenues of promoting sustainability and green infrastructure, and ways to foster full participation by small communities in the new green economy. Participants will engage in interactive discussion with diverse leaders who are transforming their communities while preserving farms, cultural and historical assets and natural landscapes.

201 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Deeohn Ferris, Sustainable Community Development Group
• Mayor Willie E. Burns, City of Washington, GA
• Mayor Priscilla Everette Oates, Town of Princeville, NC
• Mayor Aneice R. Liddell, City of Moss Point, MS
• Mayor James Young, City of Philadelphia, MS

Bus rapid transit (BRT) can deliver cheap, efficient, high-quality public transportation and anchor transit-oriented, people-friendly development. If well designed and paired with a proactive development plan, BRT can direct growth to support walking, cycling, and transit, rather than driving. BRT stations can be places where travelers can make a quick stop on their way home, or destinations themselves, where residents can enjoy an afternoon’s shopping.

This session will begin with a discussion on BRT as a driver of city revitalization, focusing on impacts on development and property values. We will also examine the status and character of BRT in the US and how existing systems could adapt lessons from abroad to better promote TOD and advance livable communities. Finally, we will discuss densification and land value capture on BRT corridors and the institutional structures for directing these revenues towards BRT development, using a city in Indian as a model.

202 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Advanced

Speakers

• Michael Replogle, Global Policy Director and Founder, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Presentation (PDF)
• Graham Carey, Project Director, York Consortium. Presentation (PDF)
• Javier Ramon Cruz, Transportation Environmental Consultant. Presentation (PDF)

Jurisdictions across the State of North Carolina are moving beyond the intent to provide Complete Streets to the creation of Complete Streets “on the ground”. The Charlotte DOT has been implementing Complete Streets for several years on their street projects. Both Charlotte and the nearby Town of Davidson work with the North Carolina DOT on projects within their jurisdictions, raising the importance of working collaboratively to implement the State’s Complete Streets policy (adopted in 2009). This session examines the transition from policy to implementation from the perspectives of a small town, a large city, and the State of North Carolina (which owns and maintains the second largest state road network in the US). By offering examples of implemented projects and describing the processes underway to implement Complete Streets, this session shows how various entities are moving away from auto-only design.

Providence BR II

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Tracy Newsome, Transportation Planner, Charlotte Department of Transportation. Presentation (PDF)
• Lauren Blackburn, Planning Manager, Town of Davidson. Presentation (PDF)
• Norm Steinman, AICP, Planning and Design Division Manager, Charlotte Department of Transportation
• Jay Bennett, PE, State Roadway Design Engineer, North Carolina Department of Transportation. Presentation (PDF)

This session will address community impacts linked to smart growth development projects, ranging from demolition debris to new waste disproportionately affecting surrounding and low income communities, and identify access to legal protection for those marginalized and adversely impacted by development projects (even those labeled “smart growth”). An impressive panel with a board range of experiences and expertise will share strategies for engagement in planning and implementation with stakeholders that represent the interests of environmental justice and smart growth areas. The panel will explore the challenges of combining the goals of environmental justice and civic engagement – one that is outcome-oriented, the other process-oriented. Panelists will present case studies highlighting positive and negative impacts that smart growth projects have had on underserved communities, and ways to engage the community in efforts to protect, stabilize and revitalize underserved neighborhoods.

Trade Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Ken Snyder, CEO/President, PlaceMatters. Presentation (PDF)
• Minister Robert L. Campbell, President RENA, Co-Chair CEER
• Margaret Gordon, Co-Director, West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project
• Kimberlee Archie, Acting Director, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, WA. Presentation (PDF)
• Sarah Reginelli, Development & Planning, City of Albany, NY. Presentation (PDF)
• Alycia Gilde. Presentation (PDF)
• Chris Heaney. Presentation (PDF)

Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) provide a unique way for developers, government and the community to work together to create innovative and sustainable urban infill developments. This workshop will focus on case studies of successful PPPs that achieve “triple bottom line” results: meet community goals, reduce our environmental footprint and achieve financial returns. Case studies from across the U.S. will illustrate how to structure, negotiate and implement effective PPPs. You will learn how PPPs have been used to accomplish a broad range of projects, from the redevelopment of surplus public properties and brownfield sites to the creation of mixed-use, TOD developments that incorporate green design. The most successful PPPs effectively balance the financial risks and rewards from both sides, and the panelists will present key financial concepts critical to understanding how the deal will be evaluated from both the public and private perspective.

Providence BR III

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Elizabeth (Libby) Seifel, President, Seifel Consulting Inc.
• William Gilchrist, Director of Place-Based Planning, City of New Orleans, LA
• Andrew (Andy) Manshel, President, Jamaica Capital Corporation
• Nina Shor, Partner, The Shor Law Firm, PLLC
• Manshel, Shor, Gilchrist, Seifel Presentation (PDF)

Perhaps one of the most intractable issues that confront urban, suburban, and rural communities is how to build a long-term workforce that renews the economic core of sustainable communities and provides meaningful employment for people of all income levels. Successful solutions include not only green jobs, but also how to reframe states and cities development workforce systems and provide meaningful employment for all citizens in the 21st century. Join national experts and practitioners in this session to explore our workforce system, current workforce strategies, and examples of promising practices at the local, state, and local levels.

210 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Speakers

• Kevin Jordan, Director of Family Income and Wealth-building, LISC
• Russ Adams, Executive Director, Alliance for Metropolitan Stability. Presentation (PDF)
• Larry Fitch, Senior Policy Fellow, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
• Greg LeRoy, Executive Director, Good Jobs First. Presentation (PDF)

How can we create healthy places where all children thrive? In this workshop, representatives from W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Food & Community program will discuss efforts to transform food systems and the places kids live, learn and play. Collaborative leaders, including both adult and youth community members, will share their specific efforts to create healthy places—Oakland’s transition from a 2.5 year planning process into implementation; Seattle/King County’s innovative youth engagement model; Holyoke’s authentic engagement of community members; and Northeast Iowa’s efforts actualizing community-driven policy and systems change targets. After the panel discussion, participants will break out into small group discussions where they can discuss specific challenges faced by the collaboratives, and/or discuss issues arising in their own projects and organizations.

Independence Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Linda Jo Doctor, MPH, Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
• Hector Figarella, Project Director, Holyoke Food & Fitness Policy Council
• Maria Salgado, Interim Executive Director, Solutions CDC
• Hazel Wesson, Project Director, HOPE Collaborative
• Cristina Orbe, Program Manager, FEEST
• Lena Guevara, Jounalism Intern, FEEST
• Brenda Ranum, Regional Extension Education Director, Iowa State University Extension; Co-Convener, Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative. Presentation (PDF)
• Heather Wooten, MCP, Public Health Law & Policy. Presentation (PDF)
• Orbe, Guevara Presentation (PDF)

Transforming corridors requires a big tent to pull together competing and often conflicting demands. Two regional efforts model how this collaborative work is done:

• The Grand Boulevard Initiative convenes multiple agencies responsible for the condition, use and performance of the roadway, spanning 19 cities and two counties. This critical transit corridor in the Bay Area includes 15 rail stations (BART, Caltrain, Light Rail) and significant bus service. This “coalition of the willing” has achieved surprising success in the realms of policy development and planning, providing a national template for retrofitting a suburban arterial street.
• In the Twin Cities, a series of workshops designed to strengthen the region’s ability to implement transit-oriented development took the conversation to another level. The opportunity to engage multiple jurisdictional agencies and stakeholders, types of expertise, and interests from both public and private sectors offered big dividends in building momentum for policies and a plan of action.

Providence BR I

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Gretchen Nichols, Program Officer, Twin Cities LISC. Presentation (PDF)
• Corinne Goodrich, Manager of Strategic Development, San Mateo County Transit District
• Sujata Srivastava, Senior Associate, Strategic Economics, Inc.
• Malik Holt-Shabazz, Harrison Neighborhood Association
• Lucy Thompson, Principal Planner, Department of Planning and Economic Development, City of St. Paul, MN
• Barbara Pierce, Council Member, City of Redwood City, CA. Presentation (PDF)
• Deborah Nelson, Planning Manager, City of San Carlos, CA

Coding smart growth is arguably one of the most difficult tasks in the practice of urban planning and urban design, especially when operating within a rural context. The form of rural settlements and their surroundings are less “typical” than their sub-urban and urban counterparts. As a result, it becomes essential to locally survey and calibrate codes to resemble that of time-honored hamlets, crossroads, and farms. Moreover, dynamic cultural attributes of the small town and rural contexts yield a multidimensional coding process. What are the best management practices in coding in small towns and rural codes in the Southeast? Panelists from Beaufort County (South Carolina), Town of Ridgeland (South Carolina), and rural Louisiana will dissect the challenges to rural coding via concepts related to social equity, balancing of community and private property rights interests, intergovernmental cooperation, environmental/open space preservation advocacy, and minority groups.

Harris Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Stefan Pellegrini, AICP, LEED AP, Principal, Opticos Design, Inc. Presentation (PDF)
• Joshua Lange Martin, AICP, CNU-A, Program Director of Land Use & Communities, South Carolina Coastal Conservation League
• Jason Taylor, Administrator, Town of Ridgeland
• R. Gregory Rushing, PE, Director of Planning and Engineering, Town of Ridgeland
• Tara Titone, ASLA, LEED AP, Community Planner, Project Manager, Center for Planning Excellence
• Ken Dawson, President, West Feliciana Parish Police Jury
• Cathy Tillman, Chair, Daufuskie Island Community Preservation Committee, Daufuskie Island, SC. Presentation (PDF)
• Mary Legree, Planning Commissioner, Beaufort County, St. Helena Island. Presentation (PDF)
• Taylor, Rushing Presentation (PDF)
• Titone, Dawson Presentation (PDF)

Passing a new zoning ordinance, creating a local ballot measure, and even asking for federal grants all have one major component in common—they need a broad and diverse coalition behind them to succeed. These days, coalitions are built by savvy public sector leaders, elected officials, or advocates. This workshop will offer insight on how to reach out to a diverse set of local and regional interests and find opportunities for culturally competent partnerships with the most unlikely groups to reach your smart growth goals. Jason Jordan will lead an advocacy training that will help local leaders think strategically about the role of their coalition in their overall smart growth efforts. Finally, we will hear from expert panelists who will offer insights and examples from successful campaigns and coalitions of all sizes. Come learn the key to local success—the ingredients for a strong coalition.

Tryon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Ilana Preuss, Chief of Staff, Smart Growth America
• Jason Jordan, Partner, Advocacy Associates LLC. Presentation (PDF)
• Shelley Lauten, President, MyRegion.org
• Nimisha Ghosh Roy, Program Developer and Coordinator, Cross Cultural Health Care Program. Presentation (PDF)
• Ray Christman, Executive Director, Livable Communities Coalition. Presentation (PDF)
• Katie Ozdemir, Project Manager, myregion.org. Presentation (PDF)

The HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities announced Brownfields Pilots at last year’s New Partners for Smart Growth conference. One year has passed since the Pilots were announced. This session will explore the impact of the Sustainable Communities Partnership in supporting equitable development, increasing job access and affordable housing, and creating healthy and greener neighborhoods and buildings through on the ground, community based efforts in National City, California; Denver, Colorado; Boston, Massachusetts; Iowa City, Iowa; and Indianapolis, Indiana. Community representatives as well as EPA, HUD, and DOT staff will be on hand to discuss the projects and the Partnership. Participants will learn about the Partnership, strategies for equitable development and working with federal partners, and how lessons learned from the Pilots are influencing policy and programs within HUD, DOT and EPA. In addition, the recently announced Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Pilots will be introduced and connections between the efforts will be highlighted.

201 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Stacy Swartwood, Biologist, Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program. U.S. EPA
• Aimee Storm, U.S. EPA Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program
• Jeanne DuBois, Executive Director of Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation; Chair of the Fairmount Coalition, Boston, MA. Presentation (PDF)
• Chris Harrell, Brownfield Redevelopment Coordinator, City of Indianapolis, IN. Presentation (PDF)
• Karen Howard, Planner, City of Iowa City, IA. Presentation (PDF)
• Kimball Crangle, Senior Developer, Denver Housing Authority
• Patricia Beard, Redevelopment Manager, City of National City, CA. Presentation (PDF)
• Georgette Gomez, Policy Advocate, Environmental Health Coalition
• Crangle, Erikson Presentation (PDF)
• Swartwood, Storm Presentation (PDF)

The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) movement has grown exponentially, and it is clear that making it safer for more children to walk and bicycle to school aligns with Smart Growth objectives. As SRTS has grown, new areas of practice and policy change have emerged as an essential part of ensuring that Safe Routes to School initiatives are sustainable and that they are inclusive of vulnerable populations and communities. In this interactive session, speakers will give an overview and local examples of the latest innovative practices and policies. Topics will include SRTS challenges and opportunities in low-income communities, engaging youth as SRTS leaders, complete streets policies, policies to dedicate long-term local funding streams to SRTS, school siting, and more. Session participants will break into discussion groups to delve more deeply into cutting-edge practices and policies to share success stories, lessons learned, and ideas for moving forward.

Sharon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Robert Ping, State Network Director, Safe Routes to School National Partnership. Presentation (PDF)
• Elaine Clegg, Boise City Councilmember, Special Projects Manager, Idaho Smart Growth. Presentation (PDF)
• Nancy Pullen-Seufert, Associate Director, National Center for Safe Routes to School
• Richard Winters, Built Environment, SRTS Coordinator, Mecklenburg County Health. Presentation (PDF)

Smart Growth does not occur in isolation. Likewise, a rural community does not exist in isolation. One way to bring Smart Growth principles and practices to a rural community is to work at the regional level. This workshop will explain how that can happen.

Under the leadership of Secretary Tom Vilsack, USDA is encouraging rural communities to come together on a multi-county regional basis to develop a regional economic development strategy. Although the focus of these strategies will be on upgrading the regional economy, the achievement of broader quality-of-life objectives is also encouraged. One of USDA’s recent regional initiatives is Stronger Economies Together (SET), which has been launched in 22 regions. This workshop will describe SET and explain how Smart Growth principles and practices can be integrated into the region’s strategy development.

One of the hallmarks of SET is that urban-rural linkages are encouraged; in fact, two-thirds of the 22 regions include at least one metropolitan county. Moreover, SET is a genuine partnership among USDA’s Rural Development, the land-grant university-based Cooperative Extension Service, and other key federal/state/regional institutions.

209 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Lee A. Jones, Assistant to the State Director and Community Development Coordinator, USDA Rural Development, Louisiana
• Alison Davis, Associate Professor, Agricultural Economics Department, College of Agriculture, University of Kentucky
• Dianna Jennings, Special Projects Coordinator, Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Lionel J. "Bo" Beaulieu, Director, Southern Rural Development Center; Professor, Rural Sociology, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University
• Beaulieu, Agans Presentation (PDF)

Ridership is on the rise, but service cuts, fare increases and underfunded capital plans plague transit systems around the country. How can we reverse this decline and continue expanding the social and economic benefits of world-class public transportation for all members of our communities? By partnering with the public to raise new dedicated funding for transit. In this highly interactive and engaging session, participants will hear from policy, campaign and polling professionals about the nuts and bolts of a successful transit funding effort. Then participants will form teams and practice building their own campaigns from the ground up. If you want learn the nuts and bolts of what it takes to build and launch a successful transit fundraising effort and secure the future of transit in your state or region, please join us for this session.

Providence BR II

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Elisa M. Ortiz, Outreach Manager, Smart Growth America
• Thomas R. Shrout, Jr., Partner, Avvantt Partners LLC
• Lori Weigel, Partner, Public Opinion Strategies. Presentation (PDF)
• Neha Bhatt, Deputy Research and Policy Director, Smart Growth America
• John M. Muth, P.E., Deputy Director, CATS. Presentation (PDF)

The complex and ever-evolving conditions of the Louisiana coast create inexorable consequences for development and redevelopment of coastal areas. The impacts of Climate Change and anthropogenic activities on Louisiana’s coast include sea level rise, increased hurricane activities and intensities, frequent flooding, coastal erosion and, most recently, oil spills—all of which contribute to unprecedented rates of wetland loss and subsidence. These impacts often combine for compounded risk in coastal communities. The pithy outsider answer—“don’t build there!”—is not an option in Louisiana, where generations of economies and cultures have formed with a core reliance on their close proximity to water. To adequately help communities in these coastal areas, Center for Planning Excellence has partnered with the State of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to create a Best Practices Manual that will provide information on sustainable development practices and recommend regulations intended to increase coastal communities’ resilience and sustainability.

202 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Robin Rather, CEO, Collective Strength
• Camille Manning-Broome, Director of Planning, Center for Planning Excellence. Presentation (PDF)
• Charlotte Randolph, Parish President, Lafourche Parish Government, LA. Presentation (PDF)
• Glen Bolen, Vice President, Fregonese Associates
• Lee Einsweiler, Principal, Code Studio. Presentation (PDF)

This networking session aims to bring together HIA experts and other subject matter experts from the HIA community with new and established HIA practitioners for information gathering, sharing, and general networking. Come meet others in the emerging HIA community. Bring your business cards, your HIA project summary, and your most pressing questions! The session will begin with a moderated panel discussion and Q&A, followed by mingling.

Queens Room

Resource Panelists

• Margo Younger, Public Health Analyst, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Andrew Dannenberg, MD, MPH, Team Lead, Healthy Community Design Initiative, EEHS, NCEH, CDC
• James E. Dills, MPH MUP, HIA Coordinator, Nashville/Davidson County Metro Public Health Department
• Kara Vonasek, MPH, Project Manager, Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts
• Kerry Williams, Director, Environmental Health, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

Are you interested in incorporating green building and sustainable design components into your development codes, standards and policies, but don't know where to start? This networking session is aimed to gather a range of communities that are leaders in LEED to those new to the concept. We will have an informal discussion to better understand the interests of communities on this topic. The second aim of this meeting will be to introduce two resources, Smart Growth Guidelines for Sustainable Design and Development, and Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit and discuss how to use these tools and acquire technical assistance from federal partners on this topic.

Brevard Room

A follow-up to the pre-conference training, injury prevention professionals will gather to identify strategies, needs, and next steps for building capacity and integrating injury prevention goals into Smart Growth efforts.

This session is sponsored by the Safe States Alliance and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and will be facilitated by Safe & Healthy Communities Consulting.

Kings Room

At the core of Smart Growth principles is the idea that Smart Growth is truly effective when implemented at a regional level. Urban and suburban areas are often the focus in the Smart Growth discussion, but in the Environmental Finance Center’s work, we have found that rural communities are very often interested in smart growth but wonder what it means for them. Rural areas face challenges with planning and infrastructure that are distinctly different from their urban counterparts. Furthermore, residents in rural areas enjoy a different kind of lifestyle. How can this rural community character be preserved while promoting smart growth principles? This session would provide conference attendees from rural areas with a forum to share their success stories and questions, leading to enhanced and improved smart growth projects when they return home.

Kings Room

Speakers

• Jake Mackenzie, Councilmember, City of Rohnert Park

From the city to the state to the national level, smart growth approaches to development must play a significant role in our efforts to move to a green economy. In this session, Charlier will share information about the future price and volatility of oil supplies and the impact this will have on jobs and the economy. Corbett will share newly released information demonstrating why smart growth is critical to job growth and economically healthy regions. Anderson will address the job creation potential of developing alternatives to our auto current dependence and will update us on the Congressional reauthorization of transportation funds. Finally, Mayor Bell of Durham, NC, will describe how his City's residential energy conservation program is helping residents reduce their household energy expenditures while providing green jobs for those in need of work in his community.

Grand Ballroom CD

Speakers

• Virginia Madueno, Mayor, City of Riverbank, CA
• Jim Charlier, President, Charlier Associates, Inc. Presentation (PDF)
• Judy Corbett, Executive Director, Local Government Commission. Presentation (PDF)
• Geoffrey Anderson, President & CEO, Smart Growth America. Presentation (PDF)
• Mayor Bill Bell, City of Durham, NC. Presentation (PDF)

Expand and diversify your toolbox for effective public involvement and equitable development! There is no single best public involvement technique. Rather, smart growth professionals strategically and skillfully combine approaches tailored to the needs of the community and the process or project at hand. This session will provide an opportunity to learn and practice techniques that have been applied and tested for effective engagement of underrepresented communities.

We will also review the concepts of “environmental justice,” “underrepresented communities” and “interested parties,” and discuss how to work inclusively with vulnerable populations throughout the planning process.

The interactive portion of the workshop will be led by innovators from FTA’s Public Transportation Participation (PTP) Pilot. This applied research program tests promising techniques and advances the state of the practice in public involvement. Since 2006, FTA has funded 29 projects that are generating an array of powerful new tools, techniques, and approaches.

201 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Joanne Waszczak, Transportation Program Specialist, Federal Transit Administration
• Elizabeth Murphy, Community Planner, Volpe Center, U.S. DOT
• Malcolm Carson, Managing Attorney, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
• Shiela Holbrook-White, Executive Director, Texas Citizens Fund. Presentation (PDF)
• Scott Giering, Associate Transportation Planner, Public Involvement Specialist, Howard/Stein-Hudson
• Joseph F. Hacker, Ph.D., AICP, Manager, Office of Transit, Bicycle, and Pedestrian Planning, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
• Hacker, Carson, Giering, Holbrook-White, Waszczak Presentation (PDF)
• Rasasubramanian, Giering, Stattel, Emerole Presentation (PDF)

Low income residents of unincorporated communities face health and safety risks that are less widely understood in large part because the very nature of being unincorporated means that there is less information about the area and fewer opportunities for residents to raise issues in public meetings or planning reports. Rural, suburban and urban in quality, many of these communities are victims of poor planning and even discriminatory practices that too often result in a severe lack of basic community infrastructure like safe sidewalks and quality services like safe drinking water.

Advocates, activists, researchers and non-profit allies, are partnering with resident leaders across the country to address these challenges and to highlight this issue as critical for equitable development. This session will explore several case studies of partnerships that are using strategies like planning policy reform, community capacity building, and even litigation to improve basic infrastructure, service provision, governance, and civic engagement.

Trade Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Diane Standaert, Legislative Counsel, Center for Responsible Lending/Self-Help
• Anita S. Earls, Executive Director, Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Presentation (PDF)
• Phoebe S. Seaton, Program Director, Community Equity Initiative, California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. Presentation (PDF)
• Solana Rice, Program Associate, PolicyLink

This session covers some of the most cutting edge and innovative finance strategies for creating infrastructure investment mechanisms necessary to spur development. This session will examine four funding concepts. The Redfields to Greenfields effort; a method to create a revolving parks fund to removes bank’s toxic assets while providing valuable new park land where there was once vacant commercial property, thereby generating more capital for local investment. We also look at new methods for the creation of a public facility fund for building schools, libraries, and other institutions.In addition, we review land banking strategies for right-sizing shrinking cities in ways that can also stimulate economic development. Finally, we review investment analysis that compares the performance of public infrastructure investments and their financial returns from projects in walkable and lower density environments.

Providence BR III

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Lee Sobel, Real Estate Development and Finance Analyst, U.S. EPA
• Catherine Nagel, Executive Director, City Parks Alliance. Presentation (PDF)
• Arthur “Chris” Nelson, Director, Metropolitan Research Center, University of Utah. Presentation (PDF)
• Dan Kildee, President, Center for Community Progress. Presentation (PDF)
• Joe Minicozzi, Public Interest projects. Presentation (PDF)

The health hazards of air pollution may increasingly complicate TOD and corridor revitalization projects. Regulators are already requiring attention to such health risks. In California, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District adopted new standards for analysis of fine particulates that suggest a 500’-1000’ zone around major roadways in which sensitive uses—including such assets as housing, schools, senior centers and open space—might need to be prohibited.

Arguably, the existing health risks require planners and activists to lead the way in formulating sensitive responses now. This panel discussion includes policy, design, and environmental justice perspectives to offer a thorough introduction to the health risks that resulted in the new guidelines being adopted, to the complex societal imperatives at work, and to potential design solutions for TOD and corridor revitalization.

Independence Room

Level: Advanced

Speakers

• Ellen Greenberg. AICP, Associate Principal, Arup. Presentation (PDF)
• Doug Eisinger, PhD, Director of Transportation Policy and Planning, Sonoma Tech. Presentation (PDF)
• Phil Erickson, President, Community Design + Architecture. Presentation (PDF)
• Cecil Corbin-Mark, Deputy Director/Director of Policy Initiatives, WE-ACT

Visioning exercises across the county show a public increasingly willing to embrace the concept of directing new growth to established areas. However, local residents may not be as amenable to infill or redevelopment in their neighborhood. Concerns about appropriate scale of development, traffic impacts, changes in community character and displacement of existing residents and businesses are valid and can pose significant barriers to local projects.

This session will explore the concepts of opportunity, structural racialization, and targeted universalism as new frames to promote collaboration between regional planning bodies, local governments, and community advocates. Examples will be presented of how to establish equity as a core organizing element—not only as a principle for sustainable growth, but in the planning process as well. Panelists will discuss the lessons learned from their experience and how other regions and communities across the country can implement similar strategies.

Harris Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Jeff Taebel, FAICP, Director, Community and Environmental Planning, Houston-Galveston Area Council. Presentation (PDF)
• john a. powell, Professor and Executive Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity. Presentation (PDF)
• Sue Schwartz, FAICP, Interim Director of Housing and Community Development, City of Greensboro, NC
• Mitch Silver, AICP, Planning Director, City of Raleigh, NC; President, American Planning Association

An award-winning architect and urban planner, Andres Duany has been defining the cutting edge of planning since the 1980s. His early projects broke new ground by providing the first on the ground example of what we now call "Smart Growth." His more recent work has led to the widespread use of form-based codes. He was first to use the Transect to clearly illustrate that development needs to fit within the context of what's around it.

This 2-hour session offers a unique opportunity for participants to hear Duany’s newest cutting edge thinking, he calls it Slow-Development. Up to 2008, he observes, land was expensive but money was cheap and plentiful Today land is cheap and money is unavailable. Hear how we can take advantage of this inversion to make it good for developers and for the environment.

Providence BR I

Level: Intermediate

Speaker

• Andres Duany, Principal, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company

From the White House garden dinners to Agro-Hollywood, the nation’s interest in protecting and promoting sustainable food sources is flourishing. But what does that mean for existing rural farmers and traditional ways of life? And why aren’t we using more local produce at home, in our grocery stores, and in our restaurants? Panelists from coastal South Carolina and California will discuss preserving and expanding the local food movement through employing sustainable farming practices, linking rural economies to our urban cores, and diversifying forms of local food distribution.

Sharon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Lisa Turansky, Sustainable Agriculture Program Director, Coastal Conservation League
• Tee Miller, Rural Economic Development Consultant, Black Mingo LLC. Presentation (PDF)
• John Culbreath, farmer; People’s Farm Co-op
• Carol Williams, Principal, Millgrove Farms LLC
• Helen Fields, Farmer, Joseph Fields’ Farm
• Rebecca Sloan, Director of External Affairs & Member Services, Sacramento Area Council of Governments. Presentation (PDF)
• Turansky, Culbreath, Williams, Fields, Miller, Sloan Presentation (PDF)

Join this interactive session to learn what is happening in metropolitan areas across the country as community stakeholders add value to the often controversial task of shaping inclusive, productive regional agendas. Drawing on first hand local experiences, the discussion will focus on identifying players, forming relationships, increasing citizen access, developing collaborative strategies, and getting results—a practical approach to taking advantage of regional opportunities. Take away materials will be provided.

Providence BR II

Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Speakers

• Heidi Sweetman, Vice President, The Urban Land Institute
• Andriana Abariotes, Executive Director, Twin Cities LISC
• Stephanie Reyes, Policy Director, Greenbelt Alliance
• Chris Estes, Executive Director, North Carolina Housing Coalition
• Amy A. Cotter, Director of Regional Plan Implementation, Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)

Are we thinking about density in the right way? This session will focus on the opportunities and challenges of creating a new generation of higher density communities that are part of more holistic sustainable community solutions. If we are building more mixed use/mixed income, how can we ensure that our projects promote a better quality of life? How does density benefit neighborhood planning, and what risks does it bring? What is the benefit of density to low income communities and people? What are we learning about best practices and outdated concepts of working with density? This session will combine thoughtful discussion about moving density forward with tools about doing density better.

Tryon Room

Level: Advanced

Speakers

• Julie Seward, Director of State Policy, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
• Kaid Benfield, Natural Resources Defense Council. Presentation (PDF)
• David Dixon, FAIA, Principal, Goody Clancy. Presentation (PDF)
• Daniel Hernandez, Managing Director, Planning Practice, Jonathan Rose Companies. Presentation (PDF)
• Stephanie Forbes, Director, Bay Area LISC. Presentation (PDF)

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the US DOT issued Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants. The agency received 1,400 applications requesting approximately 40 times the available funding. The DOT funded 51 projects.

This session will explore not only what set these projects apart from the crowd, but more importantly, what federal, state, and local government officials have learned from the grant process. A representative from US DOT will discuss the lessons the agency learned from TIGER and how it will be applying those lessons to current and future federal investments in transportation and planning projects. The panel will also discuss the lessons learned by state and local government officials, including those related to financing projects and accessing federal funding. Panelists will share their thoughts on how future funding should be structured, with a particular focus on how to better support projects in low-income communities.

202 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Advanced

Speakers

• Will Schroeer, State Policy Director, Smart Growth America
• Nick Donahue, Policy Director, Transportation for America. Presentation (PDF)
• Eric B. Beightel, Environmental Protection Specialist, U.S. DOT. Presentation (PDF)
• Tyler Meyer, Planning Manager, Department of Transportation, City of Greensboro, NC. Presentation (PDF)

A Clemson University study recently showed that land in Greenville County, SC is being consumed at an alarming rate in relation to population growth; a development pattern that surfaced only in the last 20 years. In a locale where improving regulations is not always possible, Upstate Forever is creating incentive programs to change these development patterns. The Stormwater Banking Program (SBP) offers residential density bonuses in exchange for paying a participation fee and utilizing a Decision Making Tool (DMT) that evaluates a development’s impact to water quality. Funds generated will pay for county stormwater retrofits. The Floodplain Restoration Bank (FRB) offers developers an incentive to install only the number of parking spaces needed, while encouraging the use of pervious pavement. Developers will be charged a fee to install parking above the City’s parking standards; this fee may be waived or reduced if pervious pavement is used. Fees collected will fund floodplain restoration projects.

Queens Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Steve Klaine, PhD, Professor, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, Clemson University. Presentation (PDF)
• Heather Nix, Co-Director, Clean Air and Water Program, Upstate Forever
• Jean Pool, Planning and Development Manager, City of Greenville, SC
• Nix, Pool Presentation (PDF)
• Nix, Walsh Presentation (PDF)
• Pool, Hollis Presentation (PDF)

This year’s National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement are being featured in a 25-minute video that provides a direct look at why these five communities, from rural farmland to an urban downtown, make great places to live, work and play. The videos include stunning shots of smart growth in practices, as well as interviews with policy makers and local citizens from each of the five award-winning communities. Visit the EPA sponsor display space for more details on each award winner.

Grand Ballroom CD

Speakers

• Clark Wilson, Policy Analyst, US EPA

Locally-controlled and sited community-clean energy generation projects might be a network of rooftop solar panels or a group of small farms with wind turbines. In spite of the recent growth of these projects, there is no guarantee the economy they power will be an equitable one. Clean energy policy provides a window to prioritize social equity and reliability in the provision of electricity, while increasing certainty and opportunity for generators of all sizes.

Public policy at the national and local level is essential to this effort. The Environmental Protection Agency has partnered with the Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory to encourage clean energy development on contaminated lands through its RE-Powering America's Land initiative. The Center for Social Inclusion has partnered with wind developer One World Energy to understand the policy needs of small farmers of color coming together to aggregate locally owned land that can be replicable.

Tryon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Lura Matthews, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Center for Program Analysis, U.S. EPA
• Denis Rhoden Jr. AICP, Research Associate, The Center for Social Inclusion
• Paul Reeves, Principal/CEO/Founder, Upepo Energy Group; Langston University. Presentation (PDF)
• Vernice Miller-Travis, Senior Associate, Skeo Solutions; Vice-Chair, Maryland Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities
• Gail Mosey, U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Courtney Welch, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Presentation (PDF)

Green jobs, from sustainable manufacturing to renewable energy, are going to be one of the drivers of the economy for the foreseeable future. How can older urban centers position themselves to benefit from this growth? This practitioner-oriented session will involve presentations by economic development strategists who have done exactly that – developed strategies for older urban centers to link to and benefit from green job growth. The session will feature presentations from cities and towns that have had green jobs success, including Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley and Boston's Green Tech campaign. These experts will cut through the rhetoric and deliver practical strategic suggestions for distressed communities to determine their best options, considering both “grow from within” and “attract from outside” green business investment strategies.

Trade Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Evans Paull, AICP, Principal, Redevelopment Economics. Presentation (PDF)
• Chris Slattery, Senior Associate Director, Delta Institute. Presentation (PDF)
• Chris Steele, President, CWS Consulting Group LLC
• Karen Dettmer, PE, Senior Environmental Project Coordinator, Milwaukee Redevelopment Authority. Presentation (PDF)
• Galen Nelson, GreenTech Business Manager, Boston Redevelopment Authority. Presentation (PDF)

By 2030 the number of 65+ is expected to double to more than 70 million and almost all want to age in place. To make communities livable for people of all ages and abilities requires recognizing the need for active aging through smart growth design and activity programming.

This session will feature winners from EPA’s Building Health Communities for Active Aging award (Cary, NC & Martinsville, VA). This award recognizes communities who have exemplary work to bridge active aging and smart growth. Attendees will also learn about the guiding principles of AARP’s Livable Communities and Federal government’s Sustainability
Partnership and how implementation of these efforts will address the needs of a diverse aging population and persons of all ages. Planners and developers will learn what they can do to be ready for the aging population and the importance of meeting the mobility needs of all residents.

Sharon Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Kathy Sykes, Senior Advisor, Aging Initiative, U.S. EPA. Presentation (PDF)
• Mary Leary, PhD, Senior Director, Project ACTION and Transportation Initiatives. Presentation (PDF)
• Jeannie Frisco, Program Director, Activate MHC
• Rodney Harrell, PhD, Senior Strategic Policy Advisor, Housing and Livable Communities, Public Policy Institute, AARP. Presentation (PDF)
• Juliet Andes, AICP, Principal Planner, Town of Cary, NC
• Ulma, Andes Presentation (PDF)

Historic properties can serve as catalytic pieces of corridor-wide redevelopment efforts. However, many communities face challenges associated with ensuring that the redevelopment of historic and other existing buildings is done to reflect current green building and/or energy-efficient standards. The perceived or real financial and regulatory burdens of retrofitting these properties to comply with these codes can stall community-wide redevelopment efforts, and undermine community goals to make energy-efficient, location-efficient investments.

This session will focus on the work of EPA’s Region 5, which leads EPA efforts to identify resources, policies, and strategies to sustainably renovate and preserve existing buildings. The panel will also feature a CDC representative from Indianapolis, struggling to redevelop six historic duplexes into affordable housing opportunities that comply with state guidelines; an architect who has done over 100 sustainable historic renovation projects; and a state historic preservation representative who will discuss the role of preservationists in sustainable community redevelopment.

201 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Danielle Arigoni, AICP, Director, Codes, Standards and Sustainable Design Division, Office of Sustainable Communities, U.S. EPA
• Yolanda Bouchee, Historic Preservation Expert, U.S. EPA Region 5. Presentation (PDF)
• Tim E. Simmons, Senior Preservation Architect, Income-producing Tax Credit Coordinator, Restoration Services Branch, North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Presentation (PDF)
• Donald O. Tise, Jr., Principal, Tise-Kiester Architects PA. Presentation (PDF)
• Keith Veal, Executive Director, United Northwest Area Development Corporation. Presentation (PDF)

Trailnet’s Healthy, Active & Vibrant Communities Initiative (HAVC) works at the intersection of public health, urban planning, and community organizing to foster community-scale movements that advance active living and healthy eating. HAVC has achieved significant early successes catalyzing built environment change, policies, and social networks in three diverse community settings in the St. Louis region. Successes include: passage of three Complete Streets policies, including the first two in Missouri; the launch of Sunday Parkways events; incorporation of bicycle and pedestrian accommodations into development plans; and the creation of the Healthy, Active, & Vibrant Communities Toolkit, currently being disseminated by Active Living Research.

In Catalyzing Community-Scale Movements, Trailnet and partners from Old North St. Louis and Ferguson, Missouri, will describe the HAVC process, local results, and key lessons-learned. Attendees will be presented with a framework for catalyzing municipal-scale change and will be given tools to aid implementation in their own communities.

Harris Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Jennifer Allen, Program Coordinator, Trailnet . Presentation (PDF)
• Sean Thomas, Executive Director, Old North St. Louis Restoration Group. Presentation (PDF)
• Rosalind Williams, Director of Planning and Development, City of Ferguson, MO. Presentation (PDF)

Typical uses for rehabilitated brownfields land include new industrial centers or businesses. Several recent projects in Alabama and Georgia demonstrate approaches that enhance community amenities or draw tourism dollars by turning abandoned, industrially impacted lands into new green destinations. The focus of this session is the development of significant greenspace (greater than 100 acres), including waterfronts, into economic drivers for both local and regional populations. EPA brownfields grants have enabled the Freshwater Land Trust to develop greenways and a trail in Birmingham, AL and nearby towns; the historic textile town of Valley, AL to develop plans for a canoe trail/blueway along the Chattahootchee River near I-85; and a new future for an urban site in Atlanta where the community is working to preserve green space while developing new business opportunities for its citizens. By interweaving concepts of sustainability, public health, environmental protection, natural resources/habitat conservation, and historic/cultural resource preservation we will paint a portrait of how small towns and urban locations are addressing alternative approaches.

Providence BR I

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Camilla Warren, Brownfields Project Manager, RCRA Management Division, U.S. EPA
• Wendy Jackson, Executive Director, Freshwater Land Trust
• Jim Jones, Councilmember, City of Birmingham, AL; Executive Director, Valley Community Development Corp. . Presentation (PDF)
• Garnett Brown, Assistant Director, Bureau of Planning, City of Atlanta, GA
• Jackson, Warren Presentation (PDF)

This session will focus on the importance of communication, cooperation and coordination as strategic tools for communities working together on smart growth initiatives. Gaston County, North Carolina, and its 14 municipalities are transforming by creating successful partnerships between community leaders, county and city governments, the county school system, the private sector, and non-profit organizations as it relates to land use. During periods of slow economic activity, communities must be creative and innovative about land development to maintain and enhance their economic viability. Gaston County’s award-winning Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), and the Multi-County Carolina Thread Trail Plan are two examples of how local and regional collaboration was the difference in the successful adoption and implementation of these projects in Gaston County. Participants will learn about the tools used by local planners and elected officials to garner support for the development of these and other multi-jurisdictional planning efforts.

Providence BR II

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Lucy R. Penegar, Gaston County Historic Preservation Commission
• Bill Duston, AICP, Planning Director, Centralina Council of Governments. Presentation (PDF)
• Robert C. Clay, CCIM, Managing Partner, Clay Realty Advisors
• David L. Williams, AICP, Director of Planning for Gaston County, NC
• James Henry “Hank” Graham, Jr. AICP, Principal Transportation Planner with the City of Gastonia

This moderated panel discussion will explore how regional planning organizations in rural areas are facilitating connections between the local agricultural sector and local consumers as both an economic development tool and a public health initiative. Many rural areas suffer from “food deserts,” lacking access to nutritious, sustainably grown, locally produced food. In addition, small- and mid-size farmers struggle to remain financially solvent amid land development pressures and increased competition from large-scale agriculture producers Experts that have developed strategies to support regional farmers and promote healthier lifestyle options for rural residents will describe the challenges and opportunities they have uncovered.

Independence Room

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Kathy Quillinan Nothstine, AICP, Program Manager, National Association of Development Organizations Research Foundation
• Cheryal Lee Hills, Executive Director, Region Five Development Commission Presentation (PDF)
• Tom Elmore, Planning Consultant/Farmer, Land-of-Sky Regional Council; Thatchmore Farm/Thatchmore Consulting

The heart of smart growth is a sustainable transportation system. Our dependence on private automobiles as well as trucks for goods movement has negatively impacted public health, access to opportunities and the environment. From the buses and trains of NYC to Chicago to LA, Transit Riders for Public Transportation (TRPT) is advocating for environmental justice and civil rights priorities in the next Federal Surface Transportation Act (FSTA). Since the 1950's the FSTA has locked federal funds 80/20 in favor of highways. TRPT is organizing to ensure that the next re-authorization of the FSTA prioritizes the needs of transit dependent riders in low-income communities of color who form the backbone of urban transit ridership. TRPT seeks to re-establish Title VI Civil Rights protections in all FSTA-funded projects and to create truly green jobs. This session will discuss federal transportation policies and share TRPT's goals and achievements.

202 AB Convention Ctr, 2nd Floor

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Soledad Gaztambide-Arandes, Policy Analyst, Transportation Justice Coordinator, UPROSE
• Bob Allen, Director of Transportation and Housing, Urban Habitat
• Francisca Porchas, Labor Movement Strategy Center/Transit Riders for Public Transportation. Presentation (PDF)
• Cecil Corbin-Mark, Deputy Director/Director of Policy Initiatives, WE-ACT
• Kimberly Wasserman Nieto, Coordinator, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization

Relevant, persuasive messaging can be the difference between a successful project and an unsuccessful one, and understanding political context and audience values are tools which every smart growth advocate can use to his or her advantage. Smart Growth America conducted a series of state and national polls this past year that provide insight into what voters are thinking about and how best to frame smart growth issues within that context. Come to this session to learn about these timely messages and how you can incorporate them into your own work.

Providence BR III

Level: Intermediate

Speakers

• Alexandra Goldschmidt, Communications Associate, Smart Growth America
• Ilana Preuss, Chief of Staff, Smart Growth America. Presentation (PDF)
• Robin Rather, CEO, Collective Strength
• Geoff Garin, President, Hart Research Associates. Presentation (PDF)

In order for our cities and towns to remain competitive in a global economy, they must be attractive and unique places. No one knows this better than Mitch Silver, Planning Director for Raleigh, North Carolina. Mr. Silver will discuss his role in helping to shape Raleigh into a nationally- and globally-competitive city through enhancing public transportation, re-sculpting the city’s suburban neighborhoods, and building on Raleigh’s best assets. He will discuss the important role of leadership and political will in implementing smart planning practices at the city scale and will highlight the important role of collaboration between city and state government, particularly in the context of North Carolina’s recent statewide Sustainable Communities Task Force legislation. He will also share perspectives from his involvement with the American Planning Association and will explore what planners and other local government officials around the country can do to ensure that their cities and towns become safer, smarter, and more competitive in the future.

Grand Ballroom CD

Speakers

• Mitch Silver, President, American Planning Association; Planning Director, City of Raleigh, NC