Greetings from Smart Growth America

Smart Growth America is a new advocacy coalition of over 60 national, statewide, and local organizations, including APA.  The coalition was officially launched at a Washington DC press briefing on October 16, at which time this booklet was released.  It features the results of a September poll on Americans' attitudes toward sprawl and smart growth issues.  The report can be downloaded from www.smartgrowthamerica.com.  A list of current member organizations is also at the website.  Jeff Soule, Director of Policy, represents APA at coalition meetings.  (24pp)  

Growing Smart Legislative Guidebook

Planning for a Sustainable Future

FEMA has just released this booklet, which is designed to help communities incorporate sustainable development into their day-to-day planning and development functions.  The booklet emphasizes the critical role that good planning plays in guiding pre‑disaster mitigation and post‑disaster reconstruction.  APA's monumental PAS Report on this subject is highlighted on page 15 and the APA website is listed on page 35.

Written in accessible language and studded with examples, this booklet can help APA members make the case for planning with government, business, and civic leaders.  Copies are available for free by calling FEMA's Publication Warehouse at 1-800-480-2520 and requesting FEMA Booklet #364.  In December, FEMA intends to release a companion booklet that will also be available for free .. Rebuilding for a More Sustainable Future: An Operational Framework [FEMA Booklet #365] (43pp)

The Last Best Places:  The Impact of Sprawl on Gateway Communities in the American West

This 21-page report is the first in what the Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse intends as an ongoing monograph series on issues of smart growth.  Written by Luther Propst and Susan Culp of the Tucson-based Sonoran Institute, the paper addresses the economic incentives that encourage growth in gateway communities and the resulting social, environmental and fiscal impacts.  The report also offers a 'what's working and what's not' review of projects currently on place that addresses the problem of gateway community growth.  For additional copies, contact jbailey@sprawlwatch.org or visit their website at www.sprawlwatch.org. (21pp)

Historic Neighborhood Schools in the Age of Sprawl:  Why Johnny Can't Walk to School

This is the executive summary of a 52-page report that the National Trust for Historic Preservation released on November 16, 2000 during National Education Week.  The report shows how "excessive acreage requirements, funding formulas, and planning code requirements are promoting the spread of mega-school sprawl on outlying, undeveloped land at the expense of small, walkable, community-centered schools in older neighborhoods."  The Trust recommends eliminating arbitrary acreage standards, funding biases, and certain zoning exemptions that undermine the public's ability to maintain older and historic schools as centers of community life and learning.  Copies of the press release, executive summary, and full report are available as pdf files on the Trust's website at www.nthp.org. (52pp)

Funder's Network Translation Papers

The Funder's Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities has provided APA with two "translation papers" released this summer:

These papers are primarily intended to help leaders in the philanthropic community see the links between various aspects of smart growth and their own funding objectives.  The papers have not yet been posted on the groups website at www.fundersnetwork.org.  If you wish to get copies to share with funders in your area, contact Benjamin Starrett, Executive Director at 305-377-4484 or bstarrett@collinscenter.org.

How Transportation and Community Partnerships are Shaping America

This is the second of two case study reports commissioned by the Transportation and Livable Communities Consortium, of which APA is a member.  Part I: Transit Stops and Stations, was released last year.  Part II: Streets and Roads, was released this fall.

Produced by Project for Public Spaces (PPS) and funded by AASHTO with a grant from the Transportation Research Board, the report (Part II) illustrates how collaboration among highway engineers, county and city agencies, and community groups can produce transportation projects that "bring together the traditional safety and mobility goals of transportation agencies and the livibility goals of communities."  Case studies include small town Main Street projects in Florida and Utah, urban and suburban corridors in Oregon, California and Massachusetts, and scenic roads in Kentucky and Connecticut.

While copies last AASHTO is selling the Part II report for $1.50 plus shipping.  Contact ErikFriesenhahn@aashto.org or call him at 202-624-5800.  Copies of both reports can also be ordered from PPS for $5.00 each.  Order online at www.pps.org or call 212-620-5660.