Frequently Asked Questions

What are the six Guiding Principles of the Livability Initiative?

• Provide more transportation choices. Develop safe, reliable and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nations' dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote public health.
• Promote equitable, affordable housing. Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.
• Enhance economic competitiveness. Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers as well as expanded business access to markets.
• Support existing communities. Target federal funding toward existing communities - through such strategies as transit oriented, mixed-use development and land recycling - to increase community revitalization, improve the efficiency of public works investments, and safeguard rural landscapes.
• Coordinate policies and leverage investment. Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.
• Value communities and neighborhoods. Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods - rural, urban or suburban.

What resources are available to support Livability?

• The Sustainable Communities Partnership is founded on a need for comprehensive regional planning and local efforts that support livability. A Partnership Contacts map has been developed that will link key personal for coordinating collaboration between DOT, HUD, and EPA regional offices. Several FHWA Division Offices have already hosted Livability Workshops in their areas. With support from Headquarters in the form of Let's Talk Planning and other outreach efforts, FHWA field planners will have the latest up to date information available to them. This includes a Livability Guidebook and other training material that is being finalized and will soon be available for their needs.