Smart Growth AmericaNearly all transportation agencies will tell you that safety is their absolute top priority, but if you look more closely, you’ll discover that—in practice—it takes a backseat to moving as many vehicles as possible, as quickly as possible. How can street design be used to slow down vehicles and make all people safer? How would our streets look different if we truly prioritized safety ahead of speed? Why must transportation agencies choose only one top priority on their streets: Speed, or safety.
Why safety and vehicle speed are incompatible goals for street designSmart Growth America2022-04-06 | Nearly all transportation agencies will tell you that safety is their absolute top priority, but if you look more closely, you’ll discover that—in practice—it takes a backseat to moving as many vehicles as possible, as quickly as possible. How can street design be used to slow down vehicles and make all people safer? How would our streets look different if we truly prioritized safety ahead of speed? Why must transportation agencies choose only one top priority on their streets: Speed, or safety.
Read more about Dangerous by Design from Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition: smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design smartgrowthamerica.org/why-safety-and-speed-are-fundamentally-incompatible-a-visual-guideCreating a Complete Streets policy rooted in equity and community engagementSmart Growth America2024-10-09 | When writing a Complete Streets policy, it's important to uplift and prioritize marginalized communities who have been harmed or left out of transportation conversations in the past. In our Complete Streets Policy Action Guide, we provide recommendations for how to create a strong community engagement plan that allows everyone in a community to travel to essential destinations in a safe, healthy, and dignified manner.
Learn more:Complete Streets Policy Action GuideSmart Growth America2024-10-09 | In partnership with CityHealth, we created a Complete Streets Policy Action Guide that makes it easier than ever to work towards creating more equitable, accessible, and sustainable communities. This guide is not merely a resource—it's a roadmap for collective action.
Learn more: smartgrowthamerica.org/introducing-the-complete-streets-policy-action-guideSmart growth in rural communities: Key takeaways from the latest Smart Growth Network conveningSmart Growth America2024-10-01 | Rural communities face unique challenges when it comes to growth and development. At the recent Smart Growth Network quarterly meeting, hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts, experts came together to discuss how smart growth principles can be applied effectively in rural settings. In this webinar, hear from panelists who highlight innovative approaches, practical advice, and lessons learned from applying smart growth principles in rural contexts.Flooding in Ft. Pierce: Building resilience in FloridaSmart Growth America2024-09-19 | In 2004, Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne, all major hurricanes, wreaked havoc across large swaths of Florida, including the Treasure Coast region along Florida’s Atlantic shores, where St. Lucie County lies. Damaging winds and floods earned Florida the nickname “the Plywood State,” and the pace and severity of these flooding and storm events have only increased. Historically disinvested communities tend to be less prepared and harder hit by these disasters while facing more difficult recoveries, due to the legacies of institutional disinvestment and discriminatory policies. St. Lucie County is no exception. Majority-Black Ft. Pierce, especially in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, is seeing the effects of flooding against a backdrop of increased development through affordability issues and inadequate infrastructure.
Smart Growth America partnered with Incubate Neighborhood Center, a community-based organization seeking to address systematic and institutionalized forms of racism, in the Ft. Pierce area to learn from community residents, business owners, government officials, and regional resilience partners about their experiences with flooding. The resulting video, “Ft. Pierce on the frontlines: Solutions for flooding and resilience” highlights the need for equitable and climate resilient land use and economic development policies in the region.
Special thanks to: @Ecodeo Canieria Gardner, Incubate Neighborhood Center Teresa Bishop, Roundtable of St. Lucie County Bishop Dr. Jonathan Ingram, St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church Darcy L. McFolley, Sr., IGNITE Youth Alliance Rachel Tennant, Fort Pierce Utilities Authority Caleta Scott, Fort Pierce Housing Authority / Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program Paul Thomas, City of Fort Pierce Angela Hayle, ACCH Insurance Vincent Encomio, UF IFAS / Florida Sea Grant Sonji Hawkins, St. Lucie County Public Safety Oscar Hance, St. Lucie County Public Safety Tessa Adams, Phatz Chick-N-Shack Heathcote Botanical Gardens
Local engagement opportunity: stlucieco.gov/departments-and-services/oxbow-eco-center/resilient-st-lucie-countyExtreme Heat & Smart Growth with the Smart Growth NetworkSmart Growth America2024-08-08 | This July, SGA hosted the Smart Growth Network (SGN), a national coalition of smart growth-oriented organizations, in its offices for the coalition’s Summer 2024 Quarterly Discussion. The discussion focused on extreme heat, which has been especially prevalent globally in recent years, and the role that smart growth, urban forests, and community organizing can play in addressing inequities in how extreme heat is felt by communities. The convening was closed with a discussion and sharing of resources regarding ongoing heat-related resilience efforts by SGN partners.Walking in one of the deadliest states in AmericaSmart Growth America2024-08-07 | In our 2024 Dangerous by Design report, Florida ranked as the second most deadly state for pedestrians. Additionally, 8 of the top 20 most deadly metro areas are in the state of Florida. In this video, advocates, residents, and policymakers talk about their experiences of walking in Florida, and what they want to see change to make their streets safer for all road users.
Special thanks to Subpixel Creative for their creative direction and support in making this video!2024 Champions Alumni ConveningSmart Growth America2024-06-26 | Last month, we spent two days with Complete Streets Champion Institute alumni and community leaders to discuss strategies for implementing Complete Streets in our communities. The event served as an opportunity to connect elected officials, allowing policymakers from across the United States to build capacity, work together, and find solutions to their shared challenges with advancing healthy community design. Check out this video that captures our time together!Equitable infrastructure to bridge dividesSmart Growth America2024-06-20 | Divisive infrastructure has had long-term damage, both tangible and intangible, on Black and Brown communities. While we are beginning to see policies, programs, and funding to combat the destructive legacies of past decision-making, work remains and barriers to finding solutions exist. This panel talked about how to address disparities, repair trust, and foster new relationships for a future that centers community.ATL Rising: Building resilience in the face of extreme heatSmart Growth America2024-06-20 | In 2023, Atlanta had its second-hottest year in almost a century. Largely driven by climate change, Atlanta and other cities across the country are experiencing extreme heat events that come more frequently, more intensely, and more dangerously. Heat-related deaths have been increasing year-over-year, with over 2,300 recorded in 2023—a 161% increase from 2010. It’s historically disinvested communities that feel the heat the most, thanks to the effects of redlining and residential segregation, institutional disinvestment, and widespread health disparities. In areas of southern Atlanta, where much of the city’s Black population is concentrated, that manifests as high asthma rates, unaffordable energy bills, and an unbearable heat island effect amplified by pavement and a lack of green space.
The Partnership for Southern Equity and Smart Growth America learned from community residents, advocates, thought leaders, and policy leaders about their lived experiences with extreme heat and their hopes for a safe, prosperous, and healthy Atlanta. This video highlights community voices on the need for policy and advocacy strategies that create safer and more accessible infrastructure.
This video was produced by @Ecodeo.Harnessing data and lived experiences for safe streetsSmart Growth America2024-06-18 | To provide a practical response to the information presented in Dangerous By Design, a Smart Growth America report that identifies unsafe road design as the main culprit in rising pedestrian deaths, this panel talked about unique partnerships with universities, advocacy groups, and local high school students to address traffic violence before it happens through a near-miss data collection model. In addition to talk about methods to capture, integrate, and respond to lived experiences, learn about local efforts and strategies that be better incorporated into the data gathering and storytelling process.The 2024 Equity Summit Recap VideoSmart Growth America2024-06-18 | Smart Growth America's Equity Summit is a two-day convening that brings movement leaders and practitioners together to gain insights into the successes and challenges of racial equity projects in the smart growth space. Hear from some reflections and key messages from some of our speakers and staff in this video recapping our time together.Cultural organizing as reclamation and resistanceSmart Growth America2024-06-17 | Learn from cultural organizing groups from community-based organizations across the country working to preserve commercial corridors and community centers through arts and culture outside of historic urban ethnic enclaves. Panelists share effective cultural community organizing strategies to build power and renegotiate exclusionary, top-down, community planning processes and more.Building momentum: Lessons from frontline advocates & government leadersSmart Growth America2024-06-17 | Frontline community and advocacy organizations, frequently led by people of color, have fought these discriminatory practices and policies as well as their de facto effects for years, often with little support from federal, local, and regional governments. However, the current administration has dedicated an unprecedented amount of federal funding that directly supports community-led efforts, but structural challenges remain for communities and non-profit organizations to access funding to support community and advocacy-led initiatives.
This panel explored lessons and points of view from grassroots and non-profit organizers on supporting low-income communities and communities of color, the role of youth advocacy in retroactively trying to right the historic wrongs of our countries pasts, and insights provided from the government’s perspective.Moving within this moment: Strategies for overcoming structural barriers | Equity Summit 2024Smart Growth America2024-06-17 | Efforts to advance equity in today’s environment face major structural setbacks, including the recent Supreme Court decision overturning affirmative action and reduced corporate commitment to DEI. Panelists representing a range of fields, including transportation, housing, and the civic sector, reflect on how they are continuing to center equity in the face of these challenges.Charles T. Brown | Equity Summit 2024Smart Growth America2024-06-17 | Charles T. Brown, Founder and CEO of Equitable Cities, LLC, delivers a keynote presentation talking about ways to address the root causes of inequity, and framing that around the concept of Arrested Mobility.April De Simone | 2024 Equity SummitSmart Growth America2024-06-17 | Hear from April De Simone, Founder and Managing Principal at The Practice of Democracy, who delivered the opening remarks at Smart Growth America's 2024 Equity Summit.Smart Growth Network Roundtable: Capacity Building and CollaborationSmart Growth America2024-06-11 | In April 2024, the Smart Growth Network convened to learn and discuss on the theme Capacity Building and Collaboration. The Environmental Protection Agency hosted the meeting, which featured federal speakers from EPA, Department of Transportation, and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The agencies shared about capacity building and funding opportunities from across the U.S. government, including the HUD Thriving Communities program, the DOT Thriving Communities program, and the EPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund program. After the roundtable, meeting participants used an interactive mapping tool to identify opportunities for collaboration with partners across the United States, and breakout sessions were organized by topic and geography. More than 50 participants joined the meeting in person and virtually.A rural roadmap: Aging in place with Complete StreetsSmart Growth America2024-06-11 | A common misconception about investments that support walking, biking, rolling, and public transit is that the demand for these initiatives is limited to urban communities. Our new video, made in partnership with AARP, tells the story of Saco, Maine and how they’ve created greater connectivity for residents of all ages in Saco.A rural roadmap: Complete Streets for small townsSmart Growth America2024-06-11 | As we strive to create more inclusive and resilient communities, implementing Complete Streets in rural communities is a key step towards ensuring that everyone can live safely, affordably, and healthily. In our new video, created in partnership with AARP, we explain why a Complete Streets approach is needed—and can be made possible—in rural communities.Champion Spotlight: Fort Smith, ARSmart Growth America2024-06-11 | As part of our Dangerous by Design Technical Assistance program, we brought together champions from across the country to advance street safety efforts through data collection and storytelling. In this video, Reese M. Brewer, Director of Frontier MPO, talks to Talicia Richardson and Pathro Black I about losing a family member to traffic violence.Champion Spotlight: Tempe, ArizonaSmart Growth America2024-06-10 | This video was made as part of our Dangerous by Design Technical Assistance program. This initiative brought together champions from across the country to advance street safety efforts through data collection and storytelling. This video was filmed by Hannah Moulton Belec and her daughter from Tempe Bicycle Action Group.Dangerous by Design Champion TestimoniesSmart Growth America2024-05-30 | Our very first Dangerous by Design Technical Assistance program brought together advocates and government leaders from 15 cities across the country to think about the ways they can use data and storytelling to promote street safety initiatives in their communities. In this video, you'll hear from a few of the participants on what motivates them to do the work.Walking in Memphis: These streets are Dangerous by DesignSmart Growth America2024-05-30 | Memphis is the deadliest city for pedestrians. According to our new report, Dangerous by Design 2024 (smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design), Memphis holds the #1 spot, with a rate of 5.14 per 100,000 pedestrians who are hit and killed by cars while walking is—triple their rate from 2009. But why is walking in Memphis so dangerous?
Our new video shares on-the-ground perspectives and birds-eye views to demonstrate why Memphis’s streets are so dangerous. In the video, we interview local residents who deal with these perilous streets on a daily basis. Behind the alarming fatality numbers are countless human faces and stories of people trying to move around their communities in a safe and dignified way.Small Towns, Big ImpactSmart Growth America2024-02-28 | In this video, we introduce six rural communities who received Hometown Grants from T-Mobile to support community development projects in towns nationwide. To learn more about their projects, read the profiles: smartgrowthamerica.org/small-towns-big-impactHealing our Highways Informational WebinarSmart Growth America2024-02-16 | We hosted an information to provide the background, context, and project expectations for our new Healing our Highways grant. Applications are due Feb. 22nd.
Link to apply : smartgrowthamerica.org/call-for-ideas-healing-our-highways-through-creativity-community-and-culture-applications-openComplete Streets Power Hour, Implementer SpotlightSmart Growth America2023-12-14 | Implementers Barbara Chamberlain, Active Transportation Director for the Washington State Department of Transportation and Patrick Hartley, Complete Streets Program Coordinator, City of Tucson join us to discuss how to pave the way for safer streets as an implementer.Community Connectors Atlanta Convening RecapSmart Growth America2023-12-12 | Smart Growth America in collaboration with Equitable Cities, the New Urban Mobility Alliance, and America Walks, have created the Community Connectors program to help advance locally driven projects that will reconnect communities separated or harmed by transportation infrastructure and tap available federal and state funds to support them. Here's a quick look at last month's convening in Atlanta.
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): uppbeat.io/t/ben-johnson/some-kind-of-feelin License code: W7JDBLSMA8W6Z1N9Transportation Camp 2024Smart Growth America2023-12-06 | A message from Robb Dooling about #TCamp24 hosted by Transportation for America and Smart Growth America.Complete Streets Progress in Wenatchee - ShortSmart Growth America2023-10-25 | Made in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Health, our new video tells the story of Wenatchee, Washington—a community that came together to make their streets safer. Watch to hear from community members about how a temporary installation has made a permanent change to their approach to safety and accessibility.
Learn more at bit.ly/3LPwDyfComplete Streets Power Hour 10/25/2023: Advocates SpotlightSmart Growth America2023-10-25 | Complete Streets Power Hours are a series of virtual gatherings happening this fall where we’ll discuss the importance of establishing a clear commitment and vision—and what that looks like in practice. We’ll talk to elected officials, professional implementers, and the state and local advocates who hold them accountable. Most importantly, we’ll connect with colleagues, share best practices, and discuss what local, state, and federal policy changes we need to make Complete Streets the rule, not the exception.
During our October Power Hour, advocates got the floor to build connections, talk strategy, and learn more about the tools they need to succeed. We were joined by Anna Zivarts (Director, Disability Mobility Initiative).
Anna Zivarts is a low-vision mom and nondriver who was born with the neurological condition nystagmus. Since launching the Disability Mobility Initiative at Disability Rights Washington in 2020, Zivarts has worked to bring the voices of nondrivers to the planning and policy-making tables through organizing, research and policy campaigns led by nondrivers. Zivarts launched #WeekWithoutDriving in 2021 and wrote a soon-to-be published book for Island Press about valuing the expertise of nondrivers.
Learn more about the National Complete Streets Coalition and Complete Streets Power Hours here: smartgrowthamerica.org/program/national-complete-streets-coalitionComplete Streets Progress in Wenatchee - Short [AUDIO DESCRIBED]Smart Growth America2023-10-04 | Made in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Health, our new video tells the story of Wenatchee, Washington—a community that came together to make their streets safer. Watch to hear from community members about how a temporary installation has made a permanent change to their approach to safety and accessibility.
Learn more at bit.ly/3LPwDyfComplete Streets Progress in Wenatchee [AUDIO DESCRIBED]Smart Growth America2023-10-04 | Made in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Health, our new video tells the story of Wenatchee, Washington—a community that came together to make their streets safer. Watch to hear from community members about how a temporary installation has made a permanent change to their approach to safety and accessibility.
Learn more at bit.ly/3LPwDyfComplete Streets Progress in WenatcheeSmart Growth America2023-10-04 | Made in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Health, our new video tells the story of Wenatchee, Washington—a community that came together to make their streets safer. Watch to hear from community members about how a temporary installation has made a permanent change to their approach to safety and accessibility.
Learn more at bit.ly/3LPwDyfDivided by Design 2023 WebinarSmart Growth America2023-07-28 | Our streets are #DividedByDesign. Smart Growth America's new report examines the racist roots of our current transportation system, revealing that flawed thinking continues to haunt our policies and practices.
On this webinar, Beth Osborne, Vice President of Transportation and Thriving Communities at Smart Growth America, discusses our findings, and shares recommendations for a new approach to transportation.
Read the report: smartgrowthamerica.org/program/divided-by-designHow an arcane rule helps justify destructive highway projectsSmart Growth America2023-07-20 | Incredibly expensive new or widened highways divide our communities, produce more congestion and pollution, and make it harder to get around in nearly every way. These projects often get justified using fuzzy math known as the "value of time"—one of the most influential transportation measures you've never heard of.
Produced by Steve Davis with Smart Growth America.How I-395/695 devastated Washington, DC - Divided by DesignSmart Growth America2023-07-12 | This animation using historic satellite imagery to show before and after construction of Interstates 395 and 695 in Washington, DC was produced in partnership with @Segregation_By_Design. Learn more about this project, what was lost, and who was displaced in Divided by Design from Smart Growth America: http://smartgrowthamerica.org/divided-by-designHow I-20 devastated Atlanta, GA - Divided by DesignSmart Growth America2023-07-12 | This animation using historic satellite imagery to show before and after construction of Interstate 20 in Atlanta, GA was produced in partnership with @Segregation_By_Design. Learn more about this project, what was lost, and who was displaced in Divided by Design from Smart Growth America: http://smartgrowthamerica.org/divided-by-designHow I-66 WOULD HAVE devastated Washington, DC - Divided by DesignSmart Growth America2023-07-12 | This animation combines Google Earth imagery with a portion of the planned route of the Northern Leg (I-66) in Washington, DC to illustrate devastation avoided thanks to successful freeway fights in the 1960s. Learn more about what could have been was lost and how today's transportation program still inflicts the same kind of damage in Divided by Design from Smart Growth America: http://smartgrowthamerica.org/divided-by-design
(Animation by SGA and KarBel Multimedia)How I-485 WOULD HAVE devastated Atlanta, GA - Divided by DesignSmart Growth America2023-07-12 | This animation combines Google Earth imagery with a portion of the planned route of I-485 through Atlanta, GA to illustrate the devastation avoided when the interstate was defeated. Learn more about what could have been was lost and how today's transportation program still inflicts the same kind of damage in Divided by Design from Smart Growth America: http://smartgrowthamerica.org/divided-by-design
(Animation by SGA and KarBel Multimedia)Best Complete Streets 2023 webinarSmart Growth America2023-05-25 | Not all Complete Streets policies are created equal—our Best Complete Streets Policies 2023 report spotlights the strongest ones. This panel of advocates and practitioners from across the country discussed how they developed their policies, who they brought together, and how they got them passed. More: smartgrowthamerica.org/best-complete-streetsJoy Bailey Bryant Keynote | 2023 Equity SummitSmart Growth America2023-02-16 | Arts and culture play a tremendous part in Smart Growth America’s mission. Joy’s keynote discusses what practitioners have been taught on the role of arts and culture in cities and explores the following questions: Who is involved? Who is this for? Who gets to decide? How do we as practitioners/how have we democratized these processes in a certain way?
Joy Bailey Bryant is the President of the U.S. office of Lord Cultural Resources and a specialist in municipal engagement around culture. A certified interpretive planner and outreach facilitator, Joy has worked on a plethora of notable projects, including the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center in New York and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
On Day 1 of the 2023 Equity Summit, we focused on “Equitable Community Development”, or Empowering communities by dismantling exclusionary zoning, supporting wealth-building among historically disenfranchised communities, and prioritizing attainable housing.
Learn more about Smart Growth America’s Equity programming here: smartgrowthamerica.org/equity-summitStrategies for Wealth-building Panel | 2023 Equity SummitSmart Growth America2023-02-16 | Homebuilding and landowning is the American Dream and the fastest way for Americans to build generational wealth—but many communities were intentionally left out of these opportunities due to exclusionary home-owning policies and practices. Although those policies are no longer enacted by law, the structural and institutional racism built into those practices remains.
Our panelists and their organizations work to identify obstacles and provide strategies to ensure that all communities have the opportunity to own homes and build generational wealth.
Panelists: Chris Herrman | Chief Investment Officer and Fund Manager, Real Estate Equity, Enterprise Community Investment Julius Tillery | Founder of Black Cotton and the North Carolina Black Farm Trust Representative
Moderated by: Christopher Brown | Senior Vice President for U.S. Business Partnerships & Policy at Citi.
On Day 1 of the 2023 Equity Summit, we focused on “Equitable Community Development”, or Empowering communities by dismantling exclusionary zoning, supporting wealth-building among historically disenfranchised communities, and prioritizing attainable housing.
Learn more about Smart Growth America’s Equity programming here: smartgrowthamerica.org/equity-summitFireside Chat: Reconnecting Communities with Scott Kratz and Veronica P. McBeth | 2023 Equity SummitSmart Growth America2023-02-16 | What does it mean to experience displacement? Join us for an energizing fireside chat with practitioners Scott Kratz and Veronica P. McBeth, where our speakers will interview each other about the equity challenges in reconnecting communities programs. The speakers will share important context on what it means to be displaced, including when it’s caused by current reconnecting communities projects.
Panelists: Scott Kratz | Director of 11th St. Bridge Park and SVP of Building Bridges Veronica P. McBeth | Senior Advisor, Federal Transit Administration
Moderated by: Steve Davis | Assistant VP of Transportation Strategy, Smart Growth America.
On Day 2 of the 2023 Equity Summit, we discussed ways to rethink transportation to support and repair communities that continue to be harmed by divisive infrastructure and car-dependent design.
Learn more about Smart Growth America’s Equity programming here: smartgrowthamerica.org/equity-summitA Conversation with Front Line Community Advocates | 2023 Equity SummitSmart Growth America2023-02-16 | To truly discuss reconnecting communities, you need to include community voices. These community leaders—Adah Crandall, Paulo Nunes-Ueno, and Ally Smither—are actively working toward building better-connected communities.
Ally Smither helps to lead Stop I-45 in Houston Texas, trying to prevent an interstate project that will disconnect communities throughout the city. Adah Crandall is a 16-year-old organizer with Sunrise Movement PDX and Portland Youth Climate Strike, working to prevent harmful highway projects and promote connectivity in Portland, Oregon. Paulo Nunes-Ueno works with Front and Centered to promote connectivity primarily in Washington State and, in his own capacity, throughout the country.
Panelists: Adah Crandall | Organizer, Sunrise Movement PDX Paulo Nunes-Ueno | Transportation and Land Use Policy Lead, Front and Centered Ally Smither | Member, Communications Coordinator, Houston in Action
On Day 2 of the 2023 Equity Summit, we discussed ways to rethink transportation to support and repair communities that continue to be harmed by divisive infrastructure and car-dependent design.
Learn more about Smart Growth America’s Equity programming here: smartgrowthamerica.org/equity-summitImplementing Urban Climate Justice Keynote: Kizzy Charles-Guzmán | 2023 Equity SummitSmart Growth America2023-02-16 | As Executive Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice, Kizzy Charles-Guzmán delivers climate leadership and programs focused on sustainability, decarbonization, brownfields remediation, resiliency and environmental justice. She has spent over 15 years of her New York City service career developing and delivering work at the intersection of environmental policy, public health, and racial equity.
She led the development of Cool Neighborhoods NYC, the city’s first strategy to address the impacts of rising temperatures and heat waves, and several adaptation initiatives to ensure that NYC residents are ready to withstand and emerge stronger from the impacts of climate change.
Hear from Charles-Guzmán about how a multi-hazard approach to climate adaptation can advance equity and climate justice and how dense housing, housing preservation, and transit play key roles.
On Day 3 of the 2023 Equity Summit, we focused on ensuring that the benefits and costs of cutting emissions in the transportation and building sectors are equitably distributed across society.
Learn more about Smart Growth America’s Equity programming here: smartgrowthamerica.org/equity-summitDeveloping the Built Environment for a Low-Carbon Future Panel | 2023 Equity SummitSmart Growth America2023-02-16 | As the U.S. transitions to renewable energy systems to combat climate change, equitable and just considerations must be made across sectors. The building and transportation sectors are two areas where we can intentionally reduce carbon emissions by developing mixed-use, transit-oriented communities, electrifying our transportation system, enforcing low-carbon building standards, and investing in renewable utility infrastructure.
Hear from our expert panelists about how they have advocated for, designed, built, and funded low-carbon or Net-Zero interventions, what synergies they see across sectors, and what policies are holding back equitable decarbonization.
Panelists: Jose Bodipo-Memba | Chief Diversity Officer, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Anyeley Hallova | Founder, Adre Athena Motavvef | Legislative Representative, Policy and Legislation, Earthjustice
Moderated by: Katharine Burgess | Vice President, Land Use & Development, Smart Growth America
On Day 3 of the 2023 Equity Summit, we focused on ensuring that the benefits and costs of cutting emissions in the transportation and building sectors are equitably distributed across society.
Learn more about Smart Growth America’s Equity programming here: smartgrowthamerica.org/equity-summitAdvocacy & Community Leadership for Zoning Reform Panel | 2023 Equity SummitSmart Growth America2023-02-16 | In this “Advocacy & Community Leadership for Zoning Reform” panel, our panelists discuss civic engagement process and the broken design of our communities. Hear how communities, advocates, and artists took steps to address and eliminate exclusionary zoning barriers, demand a just and equitable community development process, and expanded affordable housing within their communities.
Panelists: Regina Celestin Williams | Executive Director SV@Home Meg McMahan | Director of Planning, City of Minneapolis Adam Paul Susaneck | NYC-based Architect, Founder of Segregation by Design
Moderated by: Toccarra Nicole Thomas, AICP | Director of Land Use and Development at Smart Growth America
To learn more about Segregation By Design and to rewatch the animation of Minneapolis' history of divisive infrastructure, click here: youtube.com/watch?v=f3qpgUWgmaQ
On Day 1 of the 2023 Equity Summit, we focused on “Equitable Community Development”, or Empowering communities by dismantling exclusionary zoning, supporting wealth-building among historically disenfranchised communities, and prioritizing attainable housing.
Learn more about Smart Growth America’s Equity programming here: smartgrowthamerica.org/equity-summitA Regional Approach to Zoning Webinar | Form-Based Codes InstituteSmart Growth America2023-02-02 | The Form-Based Codes Institute, a program of Smart Growth America, is excited to share "A Regional Approach to Zoning," our January webinar discussing form-based codes, and sharing tools on how those can be implemented on a regional level.
We also present the 2022 FBCI Form-Based Codes Award to Opticos Design, for their regional code in Marin County, CA, titled "Objective Design and Development Standards".
Original date of recording: January 19, 2023
List of speakers:
-Toccarra Nicole Thomas, FBCI Executive Director & Director of Land Use and Development, Smart Growth America
Ada Chan, Regional Planner, Association of Bay Area Governments / Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Peter Park, Director/Owner, Peter J. Park, LLC (FBCI Award Jury Chair and FBCI Steering Committee Member)
Jillian Zeiger, AICP, Senior Planner, County of Marin
Tony Perez, Senior Associate, Opticos Design, Inc.
Stefan Pellegrini, Principal, Opticos Design, Inc.
Adam Wolff, Town Manager, Town of Corte Madera
Bob Brown, Principal, Sustainable Community PlanningWhat is Equity? Doing more for those who have less.Smart Growth America2023-01-11 | Hear from Smart Growth America partners on what equity means to them when thinking about affordable housing and transit-oriented development.
Featuring: Danielle Arigoni | Managing Dir. of Policy and Solutions, National Housing Trust Catherine Buell | Director, Amazon Housing Equity Fund Calvin Gladney | President and CEO, Smart Growth America Drew Hubbard | Interim Director of the DC Department of Housing and Community Development Tamar Shapiro | CEO, MpactPanel - Creative Approaches to Funding Equitable TOD | Equity Forum: Advancing Equitable TODSmart Growth America2023-01-10 | Moderated by: Cheryl Cort, Policy Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth Panelists include: David Bowers, Vice President, Mid-Atlantic Market, Enterprise Community Partners; Drew Hubbard, Interim Director, DC Department of Housing & Community Development; George Leventhal, Mid-Atlantic Director of Community Health, Kaiser Permanente; and Senthil Sankaran, Principal, Amazon Housing Equity Fund
In the last few years, funding for affordable housing and transportation in our region has surged. What can we learn from this? In this panel, we’ll hear from leading funders about why it’s important to support transit-oriented affordable housing, how they consider transit access as a part of this funding strategy, and how other organizations can make similar commitments.