DOT Livability

Recent DOT Accomplishments

• Partnership Accomplishments Report.  Since 2009, HUD, DOT, and EPA have been coordinating their work to help communities around the country better meet their housing, transportation, and environmental goals—laying the groundwork for an economy that provides good jobs now and creates a strong foundation for long-term prosperity. This report describes accomplishments of the Partnership and the communities it serves on its third anniversary.
• New Livability Training Available Online  DOT recently released two training videos highlighting key concepts and case studies from The Livability in Transportation Guidebook. The trainings and Guidebook illustrate how livability principles have been incorporated into transportation planning, programming, and project design, using examples from State, regional, and local sponsors. View Part I of the training here and Part II here.
• New Livability Resources OnlineThe Livability Initiative has developed a library of materials to assist communities with building more livable communities.
  • Fact Sheets on how incorporating livability into the transportation decision-making process can benefit communities.
  • The Role of FHWA Programs in Livability: State of the Practice Summary (or PDF - 668 KB)
  • Videos of how rural, local and regional agencies are advancing the livability principles in their communities.
  • Livability in Transportation Guidebook - FHWA-HEP-10-028 (or PDF - 3.9 MB)
• Changes to New Starts Project Planning & Development The Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) discretionary New Starts program is the federal government's primary financial resource for supporting locally-planned, implemented, and operated transit "guideway" capital investments. On January 25, 2012, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood proposed a significant change in the way major transit projects compete for federal funds by streamlining the process and making decisions more responsive to local needs. Read more about the program and change here.
• Supporting Sustainable Rural Communities Report Produced by the Partnership for Sustainable Communities and USDA, this report features case studies showcasing rural accomplishments, sample funding and technical assistance opportunities, and performance measures rural communities can use to assess their progress. Click here to download the Supporting Sustainable Rural Communities (PDF 52p 3MB) report.
• Partnership for Sustainable Communities Code-A-Thon The Partnership for Sustainable Communities hosted a Code for Livability to bring together citizens, web developers, and agency staff to work on solutions that bring sustainability to the forefront of peoples’ everyday lives. Read More here.
• Federal Barriers to Local Housing and Transportation Coordination DOT and HUD prepared this report on a synopsis of the history of barriers to local coordination of housing and transportation resulting from HUD and DOT statutes and regulations, a summary of efforts to date to identify barriers within each agency’s programs, and a description of efforts underway to address these barriers. Click here to download the Federal Barriers to Local Housing and Transportation Coordination (PDF 285KB) report.
• Changes to Federal Transit Administration’s Cost Effectiveness Rules DOT has repealed the New Starts cost-effectiveness rule that limited its New Starts funding recommendations. DOT made this change in order to give meaningful consideration to the full range of benefits that transit can provide, including shorter travel times, congestion relief, and other important economic development, environmental, and social benefits. Read more about the change and a Q&A on the new process here.
• Recommendations on the Sustainable Siting of Federal Facilities - DOT, with other agencies, recently completed an interagency effort to develop recommendations for the sustainable siting of Federal facilities in response to President Obama’s Executive Order 13514. These recommendations will help agencies improve their sustainability and strengthen the surrounding communities.

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