It once again feels like an important moment for smart growth. Economic recovery is underway, and the Obama administration is placing new emphasis on sustainability, the coordination of agencies like HUD and Transportation, and "place-based" initiatives. A critical reauthorization of federal transportation funding is coming up (though Congress has been kicking that can down the road). The best and the brightest in major regions are determined to be ready for this new era, and New England is no exception. New challenges and opportunities for smart growth during the economic recovery, including the new engagement by the federal government on sustainability, will be the topic of the New England Smart Growth Leadership Forum November 20 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Shelley Poticha, senior advisor for Sustainable Housing and Communities at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, will deliver the keynote address, “An Alternative Vision of our Economic Future.” John Frece, director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Smart Growth Program, will discuss new collaborations and policy priorities at the federal level. Questions for consideration include:
* Is smart growth holding its value over time, as compared with sprawl development? What do the patterns of foreclosure tell us?
* Has stimulus funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act supported smart growth, hindered it, or been neutral?
* What is our vision for a smart growth future? What does it take to create a smart growth community?
* How is the Obama administration promoting smart growth?
Wellesley College housing expert Karl “Chip” Case will be on hand for an up-to-the-minute look at the housing market. Lincoln Institute president Gregory K. Ingram will review the recent report evaluating statewide smart growth initiatives in four states. The discussion of stimulus funding and smart growth, and perspectives from local and state government, and the non-profit sector, will include Mark Stout of Mark L. Stout Consulting, Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins, Thomas Burack, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, and Scott Wolf, executive director of Grow Smart Rhode Island. Aaron Gornstein, executive director of the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, will facilitate a final session on how the New England region can best position itself to take advantage of new federal funding for regional transportation and housing activities, and how stakeholders from the housing, transportation, and energy sectors can work collaboratively in planning and implementing new smart growth initiatives.
The day will culminate with a plan of action for the New England states to be more effective partners with the federal government in this new era, said Armando Carbonell, senior fellow and chairman of the Department of Planning and Urban Form at the Lincoln Institute. Earlier that week, planning directors from among the thirty largest U.S. cities will meet in Cambridge in a program convened by the Lincoln Institute, Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, and the American Planning Association, to be briefed on national housing and demographic trends and engage federal officials in discussions on the Obama administration’s initiatives in urban, transportation, and environmental policy.
The New England Smart Growth Leadership Forum is an annual gathering of the region’s leaders from governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, and the private sector, who play a critical role in shaping growth in New England. This year’s forum, Smart Growth From Hard Times, is sponsored by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, and the Boston Society of Architects.