At DOT, we are constantly looking for innovative partnerships to help solve our transportation challenges. Through our work in the Partnership for Sustainable Communities with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, we've helped communities boost economic development at the local level by thinking comprehensively about transportation, housing, and environmental needs. Good community planning requires a unified and collaborative approach.
That’s why DOT is proud to join HUD and EPA in supporting the Governors’ Institute on Community Design in a new effort to help states grow their economies and make better use of taxpayer dollars. And yesterday, Deputy Secretary John Porcari joined EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe and current and former governors from around the country for the launch of this exciting partnership.
This collaboration--which has grown out of our very successful Partnership for Sustainable Communities--will allow governors from across the country to tap the expertise of these three agencies to tackle pressing issues in their states.
It will ensure that the federal government supports cities and towns that are looking to create sustainable, healthy, and economically vibrant communities.
The Institute, established in 2005 and administered by Smart Growth America, helps governors create practical solutions to the individual issues facing their states, and develop a better understanding of how community design can be used to increase the social and economic well-being of their citizens.
Last month, DOT provided $787 million to support 255 different projects in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico through the Federal Transit Administration’s State of Good Repair and Bus Livability programs. And through four rounds of our TIGER grant program, we’ve helped to build livable communities that deliver transportation options that Americans want, whether it’s biking, taking public transit, walking, or driving.
We look forward to continuing our partnership with HUD and EPA and to collaborating with Smart Growth America and governors across the country on this important project. Building strong neighborhoods, communities, states, and regions is not a simple matter; we want the nation's governors to know they have a strong partner in the DOT-HUD-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities
Patronage, plain & simple. $$$ to keep retired governors off the street and out of trouble.
Posted by: Tom Murphy | August 02, 2012 at 02:13 PM