NPSG13-117

Are States Losing Ground? Solutions from Heartland Communities for a New Generation

Speakers: Andre LeRoux, Executive Director, Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance; Bridget Jones, Executive Director, Cumberland Regional Tomorrow; Charles Pattison, Executive Director, 1000 Friends of Florida; Senator Marci Francisco, Kansas State Senate, District 2. Moderator: Julia Seward, Principal, Julia W. Seward Consulting

Mired in stagnant budgets and escalating politics, are states a growing battle ground for sustainability policies? Or do they remain a center of innovation and practical solutions? Hear a panel of recognized advocacy leaders as they explore current political dynamics, strategies that are working, and critical future game plans. This session focuses on the lessons from several key state policy losses, strategies that are achieving results with limited budget impact, and trends that are key to future state sustainability policies across the country. Following opening presentations, panelists open a conversation about what is happening at the state policy level, implications for smart-growth practitioners everywhere, and how we grow an new generation of smart-growth state advocacy.

MP3

$10.00

$10.00

NPSG13-154

Building Blocks: Making Smart Growth Happen at the Local Level

Speakers: Roger Millar, PE, AICP, Vice President, Smart Growth America; Phillip Myrick, AICP, Senior Vice President, Project for Public Spaces; Jeff Aken, Communities Program Manager, Forterra; Scott Allen, AICP, Community Development Director, City of Blue Springs, MO; Raymond Lai, AICP, Deputy Director, City of University City, MO; Barbara Goode, Pollution Prevention Specialist, Kansas State University Pollution Prevention Institute. David Doyle, Sustainable Communities Coordinator, U.S. EPA, Region 7

Many communities around the country are asking for tools and resources to help them achieve their desired development goals, improve the quality of life for their residents, and make their communities more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. In response to this demand, EPA developed the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program. Building Blocks seeks to provide quick, targeted technical assistance to communities using a variety of tools that have demonstrated results and widespread application. This technical assistance helps selected local and tribal governments implement development approaches that protect the environment, improve public health, create jobs, expand economic opportunity, and make communities more livable. The panelists present an overview of the tools being offered and a summary of the experiences over the first two rounds of this program, and also provide information on how to apply for technical assistance in the future.

MP3

$20.00

$20.00

NPSG13-132

New Strategies for Equitable Smart Growth: The Promise of Place-Based “Green Zones”

Speakers: Charlie Sciammas, Community Organizer, People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights; Anita Maltbia, Executive Director, Green Impact Zone, Kansas City, MO; Carolina Martinez, Policy Advocate, Environmental Health Coalition; Penny Newman, Executive Director, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice. Moderator: Sarah Russell, Brownfields Project Manager, U.S. EPA, Region 9.

How can smart growth braid together economic development and equity with a strong foundation in land-use planning into one cohesive movement? We explore this question from the bottom-up: from the perspective of organizations that are combining sustainable land-use planning and smart-growth principles with economic development, all within the framework of equity. The panel lookS at four place-based initiatives that are transitioning areas of high poverty, pollution and poor land-use planning into thriving communities with sustainable housing, transit and economic development. The models are examples of how communities across the country are using place-based models to address persistent issues of poor land-use planning, environmental burdens and lack of economic opportunity. The panelists will discuss how diverse groups can work together to achieve neighborhood-level change on issues of economic development, equity, and sustainable planning.

MP3

$10.00

$10.00

Subtotal

$40.00