"Connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation and building a clean energy economy."
Secretary Shaun Donovan, February 4, 2010
During visits to the Northwest in early 2010, Housing & Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the establishment of an Office of Sustainable Housing & Communities. It would, he explained, be charged with creating "strong, sustainable communities by connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation, and helping to build a clean energy economy".
By coordinating Federal housing, transportation and environmental policies and investments with local land use decision-making, the nation could, he said, "reduce transportation costs for families, improve housing affordability, save energy, and increase access to housing and employment opportunities." When it "comes to housing, environmental and transportation policy," he argued, "the federal government must speak with one voice."
The Secretary also announced formation of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an "unprecedented" federal collaboration. Guided by six Livability Principles the "unprecedented" new partnership between HUD, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is to "provide resources and tools to help communities realize their own visions for building more livable, walkable, environmentally sustainable regions."
Less than a year later, that partnership has been formed, hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal resources have been allocated and the work to promote sustainable, livable communities is well underway in the Northwest, thanks not just to the Federal partnership but, more importantly, to scores of local governments, nonprofit organizations and private citizens across the region.
Find out more about the work we – and our Federal, state and local partners – are doing in Alaska by visiting the links below. And, once you do, we hope you will contribute your energy and expertise to building more sustainable communities and more sustainable futures in the Northwest.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) Sustainable Communities Resource Center.
Contact HUD Northwest's Sustainability Team.
LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMS
City of Anchorage Sustainability
Sustainable Juneau
Sustainable Kodiak
Anchorage Citizens Coalition
OTHER SUSTAINABILITY RESOURCES
University of Alaska at Anchorage Office of Sustainability
Alaska Sustainability & Environmental Health Director
Alaska Center for the Environment
Alaska Cooperative Extension Service
Alaska Craftsman Home Project
Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Alaska Home Wise Broadcasts
Alaska Chapter of American Planning Association
Alaska Sustainable Energy Center
Interior Alaska Green Star
Cascadia Green Building Council
Northwest Environmental Business Council
Northwest Eco Building Guild
Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition
Sustainable Northwest
ENERGY EFFICIENT MORTGAGES
FHA Green Refinance Plus Mortgage for Multi-Family Properties program
HUD Energy Efficient Mortgage for new homeowners
HUD PowerSaver Mortgage for existing homeowners
Alaska Housing Finance Second Mortgage for Energy Conservation
USDA Energy Efficient Mortgages - USDA Rural Housing guaranteed, direct and repair & rehab loans can finance energy efficiency in purchasing either new or existing homes.
ENERGY EFFICIENT TAX CREDITS & REBATES
Federal Energy Efficiency Tax Credits
Alaska Housing Finance Home Energy Rebate
Alaska Energy Efficient Appliance Rebates
Alaska Database of Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency
WEATHERIZATION & LOW-INCOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS
Alaska Heating Assistance Program
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation Weatherization Providers
Alaska Community Development Corporation (southeast Alaska)
Interior Weatherization Inc. (Fairbanks)
RurALCAP