Podcasts about Smart Growth America

In this episode, I finally connect with Beth Osborne with Smart Growth America for an in-depth conversation about the Transportation For America Program. Note: A few days after recording this episode, Beth stepped in to serve as the Interim CEO of Smart Growth America.Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform. Also, don't forget to check out the Active Towns Channel for video content.Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to support the channel):

On this week's episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck is joined by Beth Osborne, the director of Transportation for America, to discuss the Highway Trust Fund. They cover its history, how it affects federal and state transportation policies, and its potential future. Before joining Transportation for America, Osborne served as a deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Transportation. She also worked in multiple congressional offices, served as the policy director for Smart Growth America, and served as the legislative director for environmental policy at the Southern Governors' Association. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Beth Osborne (Twitter/X). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, from 2010 to 2022, opioid-related overdose deaths in Georgia increased by 302%. Naloxone is a lifesaving medication that's used to reverse opioid overdoses. Andy Gish, director of Georgia Overdose Prevention, discusses an upcoming community naloxone training. Plus, Georgia's 5th Congressional District, which includes parts of Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Decatur, East Point and College Park, ranks as the second deadliest district in the nation for pedestrians. Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America at Smart Growth America, shares details about the reportSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ilana Preuss is the founder and CEO of Recast City, a program that helps cities build strong downtowns by empowering small-scale manufacturers. She is also the author of “Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing.” Previously, she was the vice president and chief of staff at Smart Growth America and led the technical assistance program at the EPA Smart Growth Program. She is a TEDx speaker on, “The Economic Power of Great Places,” and a featured keynote speaker. In this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, Preuss joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to discuss the importance of small-scale manufacturing and her experiences as a city builder. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local recommendations: Bespoke Not Broke Consignment The People's Book The Olive Lounge Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram). Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

CAL FIRE provides an update as wildfire season picks up. Addressing Sacramento's high number of fatal pedestrian and cyclist accidents. Finally, how the Food Literacy Center encourages healthy eating habits. CAL FIRE Wildfire Updates As summer continues to heat up and the hillsides turn from green to brown, fire safety should be at the top of everyone's minds. Nick Schuler, Deputy Director of Communications/Incident Awareness for CAL FIRE joins Insight with the latest on fires burning in Northern California, as well as what to expect for wildfires this year. Cyclist and Pedestrian Safety in Sacramento More than 60 people have died in Sacramento County this year from car crashes. The region was recently ranked as the 20th most dangerous region for pedestrians by the nonprofit Smart Growth America, but the city's recently-adopted budget includes no new funding for addressing the growing number of traffic fatalities. Sacramento District 1 Councilmember Lisa Kaplan and Debra Banks, Executive Director of Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates talk about what can be done to make the roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Food Literacy Center If you're desperate to get your kids to eat their veggies and can't seem to convince them otherwise, there's a Sacramento nonprofit dedicated to changing their minds. The Food Literacy Center has been teaching kids in Sacramento schools how to make healthy food choices since 2011. Founder and CEO Amber Stott speaks with CapRadio's Jen Picard about the center's mission.

Sine Die is just days away. WABE politics reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali return to “Closer Look,” to discuss proposed bills that have stalled and others that are advancing as the 2024 Georgia legislative session comes close to an end. Insert: We revisit Rose's conversation with Steve Davis, the assistant vice president of transportation strategy for Smart Growth America. He discusses his organization's report “Divided by Design.” The report looks at historical data of how one built and one unbuilt highway in Atlanta and Washington D.C. have disproportionately impacted Black residents and what could be done today to address the harm caused by the highways. Atlanta is one of many cities dealing with the harms of inequitable interstate projects. On Monday during Mayor Andre Dickens' State of the City address, he talked about his transportation plan, which involves the creation of a new MARTA train station at Murphy Crossing, the first of four additional in-fill stations. He also talked about the city receiving $157 million in federal funds for the Stitch project. Rose talks with A.J. Robinson, the president of Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, about the development project that aims to connect three areas within Downtown Atlanta. It involves creating approximately 14 acres of urban green space along with affordable housing options and transportation enhancements.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we're joined by Heidi Simon, Director of Thriving Communities at Smart Growth America. Heidi talks about lessons learned from Complete Streets Leadership Academies as state and local officials and advocates work to create safer streets through quick build projects. Find the report here. OOO Follow us on twitter @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Follow us on Threads @theoverheadwire Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

On this week's edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about revisiting the state's Complete Streets policy, adopted by the State Transportation Commission in 2012.Amy Matisoff, whose duties include strategic alignment and outreach for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), explains why she's spearheading a survey of Michigan residents to get feedback on the existing policy and what they'd like to see revised or updated.Later, she talks about another of her roles as the department's tribal liaison and her work in that area.Some related links: How the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) tracks policies across the countryhttps://www.transportation.gov/mission/health/complete-streets-policies  Smart Growth America's overview of Complete Streetshttps://smartgrowthamerica.org/what-are-complete-streets/ A WXYZ-TV story on the surveyhttps://www.wxyz.com/news/mdot-launches-survey-to-help-improve-roads-for-pedestrians-and-vehicles

Author and award-winning journalist Antonia Hylton discusses her new book, “Madness.” The book exposes the mistreatment and abuse of Black patients at Crownsville Hospital, a segregated mental asylum in Maryland, VA during the Jim Crow era. In the book, Hylton interviews former patients about their experiences and makes comparisons to the mental health system of today. Plus, Steve Davis, the assistant vice president of transportation strategy for Smart Growth America, discusses his organization's report “Divided by Design.” The report looks at historical data of how one built and one unbuilt highway in Atlanta and Washington D.C. have disproportionately impacted Black residents and what could be done today to address the harm caused by the highways.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we're joined by Beth Osborne, Vice President for Transportation and Thriving Communities at Smart Growth America.  We chat about the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Measure Rule that will make State DOTs and MPOs measure emissions on the federal highway system. We also talk about how Beth thinks we have things lining up for positive change, politics of implementing rules, and how the NTSB treats air travel and surface transportation so differently. OOO Join our February Happy Hour! OOO Follow us on twitter @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site!  And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

How many of us in the nonprofit world can track our interest in climate to nightmares we had about natural disasters at age ten? Anyone? Oh, right, just Don Chen, President of the Surdna Foundation, former director of the Cities and States program at the Ford Foundation, former CEO (and founder!) of Smart Growth America, and this week's guest on Let's Hear It. Don is a fabulous guest to start our new year and sixth season – he is uncommonly thoughtful, optimistic, and soulful, and his ideas on how to run a foundation will have you filling notebooks. Eric and Don put their heads together to discuss how to combine trust-based and strategic philanthropy without having to find a magic wand, what Don learned from being a CEO at age 30, and lots more. By the way, we are so happy to welcome Don – and you! – to our sixth season of Let's Hear It. Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts, for five wonderful years of listening, learning, and building connections in this vast and exciting field. We hope you enjoy this new season, and if you do, please continue to like, follow, and spread the word.

How many of us in the nonprofit world can track our interest in climate to nightmares we had about natural disasters at age ten? Anyone? Oh, right, just Don Chen, President of the Surdna Foundation, former director of the Cities and States program at the Ford Foundation, former CEO (and founder!) of Smart Growth America, and this week's guest on Let's Hear It. Don is a fabulous guest to start our new year and sixth season – he is uncommonly thoughtful, optimistic, and soulful, and his ideas on how to run a foundation will have you filling notebooks. Eric and Don put their heads together to discuss how to combine trust-based and strategic philanthropy without having to find a magic wand, what Don learned from being a CEO at age 30, and lots more. By the way, we are so happy to welcome Don – and you! – to our sixth season of Let's Hear It. Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts, for five wonderful years of listening, learning, and building connections in this vast and exciting field. We hope you enjoy this new season, and if you do, please continue to like, follow, and spread the word.

We were thrilled to have Danielle join us to talk about our warming and unpredicatable change and how our nation is being effected, specifically older Americans. In Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation, community resilience and housing expert Danielle Arigoni argues that we cannot achieve true resilience until communities adopt interventions that work to meet the needs of their oldest residents. She explains that when we plan for those most impacted by climate, and for those with the greatest obstacles to opportunity and well-being, we improve conditions for all.Danielle is a policy and program expert in the fields of livable communities, affordable housing, and climate resilience. She has worked for more than 25 years in the federal government and nonprofit sectors in pursuit of more equitable, sustainable, and resilient places. She began her career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya and has since led impactful and innovative teams at USAID, EPA, HUD, and AARP, currently serving as Managing Director of Policy and Solutions at National Housing Trust. She serves on the boards of Smart Growth America and the League of American Bicyclists.Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation (islandpress.org)Support the showOur Website: https://theplanningcommissionpodcast.com/YouTube: The Planning Commission Podcast channelInstagram: @theplanningcommissionpodcastFacebook: The Planning Commission Podcast pageTwitter: @planningcommish Subscribe, like, help us make a difference in the profession we all love. Have an episode idea, tell us about it. Email us at: info@theplanningcommissionpodcast.com

What's your downtown like? As a county economic developer, I can look out over several different cities, all with a diverse array of downtowns: Some are vibrant, beautiful tourist destinations. Others are transitioning and improving with city dollars and commercial reinvestment into new stores, new facades, new lighting, new life. Some suburban cities, to their shame, don't even really have downtowns. Unfortunately, I live in a town like that. But still, others are shells of their former selves; Empty storefronts with faded signs and broken sidewalks -- places that you don't go after dark -- not because they're dangerous per se, but because there's no reason to. Our guest today, hopes to change that. Ilana Preuss (https://www.recastcity.com/about) and her book Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1642831921/econdevshow-20) offer an excellent primer on how to rebuild your downtown without relying on outsiders to bring their businesses to your community. Ilana's an expert. She led the technical assistance program at the U.S. EPA Smart Growth Program and was the Vice President & Chief of Staff at Smart Growth America. Her firm Recast City (https://www.recastcity.com/), works with local leaders to help create great places. Enjoy the show, and the book. Recast Your City https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/f/f078f684-f72f-4a43-957d-de3aff69810b/2rD6QgD3.png (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1642831921/econdevshow-20) (Originally aired June 2021) --- Like this show? Please leave us a review here (https://econdevshow.com/rate-this-podcast/) — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Ilana Preuss.

We talk with Steve Davis from Smart Growth America about their Divided By Design report, which focuses in part on the damage that freeways like I-20 did to Atlanta neighborhoods, why it happened, and what a better future could look like.  Links: https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/divided-by-design/atlanta-ga/ https://www.ajc.com/news/highways-divided-black-communities-infrastructure-money-could-bridge-gaps/4WE4HEEYMZB4DNECJXWWZKSFU4/  

The vice president of transportation at Smart Growth America explores the role car-centric infrastructure plays in a growing traffic-fatality crisis, and how drivers are often blamed for errors that would be prevented by better design.

Between the cars, bikes, pedestrians, and traffic cones, there's a lot going on on Las Vegas roads. This year, Las Vegas saw an increase in pedestrian deaths and ranked in the top ten for the most dangerous roads for pedestrians according to Smart Growth America. As the city starts yet another road improvement project on the Westside to improve the experience for all users, we wonder what makes the Vegas roads so hard to navigate? Ray Delahanty, aka City Nerd on YouTube, joins co-host Dayvid Figler to talk about the design aspects that make Vegas roads dangerous, why stroads are a nightmare, and how he's committed to not driving in Las Vegas. What projects around the city are you curious about? Call or text us so we can look into it at 702-514-0719! Let us know what intersections you hate on Twitter @CityCastVegas. Stay up to date on all things Vegas with our morning newsletter! Sign up at lasvegas.citycast.fm/newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first comprehensive research study on the status of heritage trades in the US has now been published! On this week's PreserveCast, we are talking with Donovan Rypkema from PlaceEconomics about the Historic Trades Labor Study published by The Campaign for Historic Trades (Powered by Preservation Maryland). Rypkema will take us through the research and how he and his team conducted the study, some surprising key findings about Historic Trades in the United States, and about the industry's expected growth in the next decade. To access the full study and other assets, visit www.historictrades.org/laborstudy Donovan D. Rypkema is principal of PlaceEconomics, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate and economic development-consulting firm. The work of the firm is at the nexus of historic preservation and economics. He has undertaken assignments for public and non-profit sector clients in 49 US states. He also teaches a course on the economics of historic preservation at the University of Pennsylvania where he received the 2008 G. Holmes Perkins Award for Distinguished Teaching. Rypkema was educated at Columbia University receiving a Master of Science degree in Historic Preservation. He is author of several publications including Community Initiated Development, The Economics of Rehabilitation, and the Feasibility Assessment Manual for Reusing Historic Buildings. Rypkema's book, The Economics of Historic Preservation: A Community Leader's Guide is widely used by preservationists nationwide and has been translated into Russian, Georgian, and Korean. Rypkema has worked with such groups as the Urban Land Institute, the Mayors' Institute on City Design, the American Planning Association, Smart Growth America, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the International Downtown Association. Federal Government clients have included the U.S. Army, the Department of State, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Interior, and the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation for whom he prepared a report entitled Measuring Economic Impacts of Historic Preservation.    

Announcing a grant program that is intended to support improvements to small towns in America. T-Mobile has partnered with Smart Growth America and Main Street America, looking for elected leaders, town managers, employees, or nonprofit leaders to submit the details for their project request on behalf of the small towns to be eligible.

Liz Cornish joined South Baltimore Gateway Partnership in April of 2021 as the Enhanced Services Director where she currently manages a multi-million-dollar portfolio of community development projects in South Baltimore. Liz previously served as the Executive Director of Bikemore, Baltimore City's Livable Streets Advocacy organization. Under her leadership the organization achieved significant growth and secured major policy wins including the passage of the Complete Streets Ordinance which was recognized by Smart Growth America as a top complete streets initiative in 2018. During her tenure at Bikemore she was named a Baltimore Visionary by Baltimore Magazine, and a "True American Hero" for her work on complete streets by Streetsblog USA. In 2019, Bikemore was named Bike Advocacy Organization of the Year by the League of American Bicyclists. In 2020, she served on Mayor Brandon Scott's Transition Team as Co-Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure committee. She has previously held positions with Outward Bound, University of South Carolina, and the League of American Bicyclists. She currently serves on the board of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Adventure Education from Prescott College and a Master of Education in Recreation Administration from the University of Arkansas. Liz believes great parks, public spaces, and access to reliable transportation are essential for building healthy and equitable neighborhoods. She loves morning walks to neighborhood coffee shops with her dog Daisy, playing piano and ukulele, and spending time outside with neighbors. She grew up in Tulsa, OK and has called Baltimore home since 2015. intro Music: John Tyler produced: www.acutevisions.com www.nopixafterdark.com Sponsors of NoPixAfterDarkPodcast Zeke's Coffee www.zekescoffee.com Maggies Farm www.maggiesfarm.com FoundStudio Shop www.foundstudioshop.com United Way Central Maryland https://uwcm.org Charm Craft City Mafia www.charmcitycraftmafia.com Siena Leigh https://www.sienaleigh.com Open Works https://www.openworksbmore.org Snug Books Baltimore https://www.snugbooks.com Baltimore Fiscal https://www.baltimorefiscal.com    

In this week's episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Regan Patterson, an incoming assistant professor at UCLA who recently completed a fellowship as a Transportation Equity Research Fellow at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Patterson describes how the US transportation system has led to environmental injustice and inequitable access to mobility services. She and Raimi talk about how this situation came to be; potential policy solutions; and how cities, states, and the federal government can address these issues moving forward. References and recommendations: “Gender, Climate and Transport in the United States” by Regan Patterson from the Women's Environment and Development Organization; https://wedo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/WEDO_PolicyBriefonTransport_July15.pdf “Dangerous by Design 2021” by Smart Growth America; https://smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design/ “Carbon trading, co-pollutants, and environmental equity: Evidence from California's cap-and-trade program (2011–2015)” by Lara Cushing, Dan Blaustein-Rejto, Madeline Wander, Manuel Pastor, James Sadd, Allen Zhu, and Rachel Morello-Frosch; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002604 Black in Environment; https://www.blackinenviron.org/ “Black Like Plastic” short film; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ta-IaB8Y0I

Nick Albanese leads BloombergNEF's global Intelligent Mobility team, which produces research, data and forecasts on shared mobility services and autonomous vehicles. Based in Washington D.C., Nick advises the world's leading automakers, energy companies, governments and financial players on the policies, technologies, corporate strategies and economic factors shaping the future of e-mobility. He is also a lead author of BNEF's annual “Long-Term Electric Vehicle Outlook”. Nick holds a B.S. from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a M.A. from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.Beth Osborne is the Director of Transportation for America, a national nonprofit seeking a transportation system that safely, affordably and conveniently connects people of all means and ability to jobs, services, and opportunity through multiple modes of travel. She was previously at the U.S. Department of Transportation, where she served as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, managing the TIGER Discretionary Grant program, the Secretary's livability initiative, and the development of policy proposals for the department. Before joining DOT, Beth worked for Sen. Tom Carper (DE) as an advisor for transportation, trade and labor policy, as the policy director for Smart Growth America and as legislative director for environmental policy at the Southern Governors' Association. She began her career in Washington, DC, in the House of Representatives working as a legislative assistant for Rep. Ron Klink (PA-04) and as legislative director for Rep. Brian Baird (WA-03).

Ilana Preuss is my guest on Episode 122 of Inside Ideas with Marc Buckley. Ilana Preuss is the Founder & CEO of Recast City. Prior to that she was the Vice President and Chief of Staff at Smart Growth America and led the technical assistance program at the EPA Smart Growth Program. She is a TEDx speaker on “The Economic Power of Great Places” and a featured keynote speaker. COVID-19 brought about a historic collapse in jobs and people's livelihoods, devastating many small businesses and leaving storefronts vacant across the country. But even before the pandemic, main streets across the US were suffering and cities relied on an unsustainable and inequitable economic development model. As cities emerge from the pandemic, how can they take control of the situation and shift to a new model that supports long-term growth through thoughtful, inclusive investment in the local community? In Recast Your City, Preuss inspires change by showing what communities across the country have been able to achieve using this method. She highlights how Fremont, California, worked to build up small- scale manufacturing businesses instead of relying on one major manufacturer, while Knoxville, Tennessee, supported a diverse range of business owners through small-business training programs and a Maker Summit featuring producers of color. Preuss provides local government, business, and real estate leaders as well as entrepreneurs and advocates with the tools necessary to build strong local businesses, reinvest in their downtowns, and create inclusive economic opportunities through small-scale manufacturing. Recast Your City works in conjunction with free online tools, worksheets, and templates that will help readers effectively implement changes in their communities. https://www.recastcity.com/

What's your downtown like? As a county economic developer, I can look out over several different cities, all with a diverse array of downtowns: Some are vibrant, beautiful tourist destinations. Others are transitioning and improving with city dollars and commercial reinvestment into new stores, new facades, new lighting, new life. Some suburban cities, to their shame, don't even really have downtowns. Unfortunately, I live in a town like that. But still, others are shells of their former selves; Empty storefronts with faded signs and broken sidewalks -- places that you don't go after dark -- not because they're dangerous per se, but because there's no reason to. Our guest today, hopes to change that. Ilana Preuss (https://www.recastcity.com/about) and her book Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1642831921/econdevshow-20) offer an excellent primer on how to rebuild your downtown without relying on outsiders to bring their businesses to your community. Ilana's an expert. She led the technical assistance program at the U.S. EPA Smart Growth Program and was the Vice President & Chief of Staff at Smart Growth America. Her firm Recast City (https://www.recastcity.com/), works with local leaders to help create great places. Enjoy the show, and the book. Recast Your City https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/f/f078f684-f72f-4a43-957d-de3aff69810b/2rD6QgD3.png (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1642831921/econdevshow-20) Special Guest: Ilana Preuss.

Ilana Preuss, Founder and CEO of Recast City, speaks with Troy Mix, Associate Director of the University of Delaware's Institute for Public Administration (IPA), about her latest book, "Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing." Released by Island Press in June 2021, the book explains how local leaders can revitalize their downtowns by supporting small-scale manufacturing. It is available for purchase at Amazon and other major booksellers, and you can use the promo code RECAST to save 20% at https://islandpress.org/books/recast-your-city. Topics covered in this June 2, 2021 interview include the value of small-scale manufacturing for economies of all sizes, the five-step method Ilana prescribes for community revitalization, and her thoughts on economic recovery opportunities for small towns and cities nationwide. Ilana nurtured a passion for great places through her experiences working with big and small cities all over the country when she led the technical assistance program at the U.S. EPA Smart Growth Program and was the Vice President & Chief of Staff at Smart Growth America. Through her firm Recast City (https://www.recastcity.com/), Ilana works with local leaders to create great places that build energy, increase the number of good-paying jobs, fill storefronts, and make people proud of where they're from. First State Insights is a podcast presented by IPA. Learn more about IPA at ipa.udel.edu. Opening and closing music: "I Dunno" by Grapes, used under Creative Commons 3.0 License

This episode features someone who has a true passion for creating healthy and sustainable places for all people, Becca Buthe. Becca is a Research Analyst for Smart Growth America where she works on projects relating to economic development, land use, and transportation. She studied civil engineering in undergrad before earning her master's in urban and regional planning followed by taking her skills and heart for refugees and overlooked minorities to the Middle East. Now back in the states, she's working to create evidence-based planning solutions for underrepresented communities, letting her Christian faith guide her career journey.If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a review! It takes less than 60 seconds and it makes a big difference in helping others hear this valuable resource!Follow Aspiring Altruists:LinkedInInstagramFacebookMusic: Spark of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.comIf you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a review! It takes less than 60 seconds and it makes a big difference in helping others hear this valuable resource.Follow Aspiring Altruists:LinkedInFacebookMusic: Spark of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Kol: Here we are! Ezra, what's up, buddy? All right. Ezra: Cool. How are you? Kol: Good man. Thanks for coming on [00:02:00] today to be our guest on the ADU hour. So Ezra, we've been just jumping right into stuff pretty quickly, but let me just like, first of all, let me have you introduce yourself a little bit. I just, you know, briefly said you're with the Portland Home Builders Association. Tell us, give us a, like a, a one minute intro of who you are and how you came to be in the position that you're in. Ezra: Yeah, sure. And thanks for having me today. Really appreciate it. And so nice to see folks joining from all over the country and it looks like internationally too.Very cool. So I am a land use attorney by training. I practiced in Southern California, primarily in the Los Angeles region. My wife and I fell in love with beautiful Portland Oregon, as so many folks have, and we recently moved up here about a year and a half ago. And since that time I've been leading the efforts advocacy, lobbying, and education here at the home builders association of metropolitan Portland.We're a local HBA. There are chapters across the country and we engage with policymakers and decision-makers at the local and regional level [00:03:00] to help craft policies that are pro-housing, as we call them- kind of focused on allowing more housing, different types of housing, lower priced housing, housing that's accessible to all folks and you and I actually met because in my previous life, I was a big fan of yours down in Southern California.I actually have my copy of Backdoor Revolution right here. Highly recommend that everyone get one or get two. They make wonderful Christmas gifts and, and great gifts even in springtime. You'll notice that I have my sign here tab, so I will be looking for a signature next time I get to see you in person. But your book was actually an inspiration for a number of us who were working on ADU policies in the City of Los Angeles and in California, more broadly back in 20 15, 16 and 17, I, I saw you speak before I believe a Senate committee in California working [00:04:00] with one of our senators down there who was very interested in allowing for more ADUs. And we actually took a lot of your ideas and copied and pasted them into conversations that were being had in Los Angeles at the time. It was a pretty pitched battle in LA, as I'm sure practitioners who are joining us today from that area can attest to, and it actually came to a head at a point in time when the state kind of shrug their shoulders, said enough is enough and took away a local control for jurisdictions like Los Angeles that had really been recalcitrant in implementing a series of regulations that legalized ADUs. I think as many folks recognize that it's been a fantastic smashing success down there and throughout Southern California in all of California generally. And a big part of that is thanks to you and the work you've done advocating for and educating folks about accessory dwelling units.Kol: Well, thanks for the I was more of a flattery than itself introduction, but I really appreciate it Ezra, [00:05:00] and yeah, I mean, that was kind of the goal of the book was to kind of lay out some statistically based evidence to back up some of the policy ideas that has been bantered around for a while and were just hard to kind of get enacted into local ordinances and then California in 2017, put forward this pretty aggressive legislation and then doubled down in 2018 or maybe I'm getting those wrong years wrong.But and that kind of set the pathway in terms of showing that state legislative approaches are perhaps not only a good idea, but maybe even a best practice as far as getting these types of updates done. The way I think about it now is, I mean, and I'm having firsthand experience with this in Oregon.Now I'm on rulemaking for HB 2001, but HB 2001, which we've talked about in a previous show. And we'll talk about more today and the California legislation. I would say [00:06:00] that it's not a unfair statement to say it was actually less work to pass the statewide ordinances than to pass the same kinds of ordinances at the local level. What do you think about that? Ezra: Yeah, I think you're hitting the nail right on the head there, Kol. You know, it's interesting to see States like Oregon and California borrow practices from States in the South and Midwest where this has been standard practice for quite some time. The devolution of complete authority to local jurisdictions to manage land use is not something that's practiced nationwide. It's something that's unique to a lot of high priced urban markets where there's been an expectation of extensive community engagement and feedback for even the smallest projects, going back to the 1960s and seventies as a way to push back against some of the darker times of urban renewal.But in other parts of the country statewide regulations around housing are [00:07:00] pretty common practices. I often speak with my counterparts in Texas or Indiana who work on pieces of legislation that are total no-brainers but would be extremely difficult to get implemented at the local level. And, and they deal with it all at the state level.Just an example, Texas recently prohibited jurisdictions from putting in place material restrictions on houses that would kind of otherwise limit what sort of material builders could use in homes. Obviously they have building code standards there and they ensure material that they use is safe.But what we've seen a number of jurisdictions do up and down the West coast has kind of arbitrarily set standards and what can be used on houses. As a way to drive up the cost of housing kind of control the type of housing that can get built. And the cumulative effect of these regulations year over year are higher housing costs.So I think dealing with things at the statewide level makes a ton of sense. Although it's great to have community participation for many [00:08:00] things, when it comes to small scale housing, oftentimes we need to take a deep breath, step back, and really let policymakers shape a series of regulations that are going to open the door for housing. Because quite frankly, Kol, we've been failing doing that at the local level.There was a great report that came out in 2018 from Smart Growth America and ecoNorthwest here in Portland that highlighted the fact that since the great recession we've under built in Oregon, 155,000 units of housing as a ratio of household formation. I know for folks in California, that sounds like a drop in the bucket, but that's really impactful here in Oregon.And the same report showed that there's about a 6% increase in overall housing costs associated just with that scarcity. And so when we talk about tools to help craft housing that is more accessible to more Oregonians and more, more people, generally, we need to take [00:09:00] into account the fact that we have not been building enough housing and a big reason for the fact we haven't been building that housing is because local governments put impediments in place to inhibit folks from building.Kol: So let's go back to HBA for a second to tell us a little bit about the organizational structure of HBA. You are in a local chapter. How are you connected to a national organization? Is there a national organization in DC and how do all those chapters play out nationally? Ezra: Yeah, sure. So the home builders association of metropolitan Portland, we're a member-driven organization. Our membership is primarily builders, developers, remodelers who build small scale single family and multifamily housing. Our folks generally don't work with steel. That's kind of the rule of thumb. So anything over four stories, our folks aren't building anything under that, they probably are. As well as all the trade professionals and suppliers , the legal folks, the engineers, everybody that's kind of in that universe of smaller scale [00:10:00] residential developments.Like you mentioned, we are a a chapter organization. So we work in partnership with the Oregon home builders association. They work down in Salem and we coordinate our efforts to advance kind of policy at the local regional and state level. And we're also members of the national association of home builders, which has a big honkin building in DC.You know, they're working on things like home buyer, tax credits ensuring that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are, are, are up and running effectively. But we, we don't, you know, we, we don't work with them on policy at the local level just because each jurisdiction is different. And we need to be crafting policies that are right for Portland and more broadly, right for Oregon. Kol: So tell us about the national structure of HBA in terms of the DC representation, national association of home builders. What's that? What do they do and how are you guys tied into them?Ezra: Yeah. So all of the local chapters are kind of members [00:11:00] of the broader organization, the national association of home builders, and they they do education, advocacy and lobbying at the at the federal level. So they work closely with HUD and secretary Carson. They work with congressional leaders.They've been actively engaged in conversations around the COVID-19 relief efforts and ensuring there's a appropriate number of dollars being dedicated to the triple P program to help our small businesses and ensure that they can remain viable during these difficult economic times. So they're doing grant work out of DC and, and we try to do good work here locally.Kol: So I wanted to dive into HBA's role with regard to middle housing legislation. So are we just really lucky to have you and your colleagues here in Portland who are doing middle housing type of advocacy and education in local jurisdictions around the Portland Metro area, [00:12:00] or is that a national policy that, that the national association of home builders is doing you know, countrywide?Ezra: Yeah. So, as I mentioned before we set we set policy, our organizational policy at the local level. It's just too difficult to coordinate with the hundreds of chapters that exist around the country. And quite frankly, I don't know what's right for Indiana. I don't know what's right for North Carolina and I certainly don't know what the right fit is for, for, for Boston.But what we do know is that here locally, middle housing is a critical piece of the overall housing picture. And we have members that build it. They build it with great success. And we have seen middle housing kind of proliferate throughout. The Portland Metro region and have really positive impacts region wide.We're starting to see great product getting built in communities like Tigard and Milwaukee, where they've really been at the forefront of progressive conversations around middle housing. We've seen the incredible [00:13:00] steps that the city of Portland has taken to advance conversations with the residential infill project, although they haven't passed it yet, there's been a ton of great conversation.And we've been part of many of those many of those conversations for the past five years. So, you know, here locally, we really recognize that middle housing and by middle housing, you know, we think expansively. So it's everything from accessory dwelling units, townhomes, multiple units on a lot up to, up to four in whatever kind of form that they take.But we found that when you liberalize the types of housing that can get built, not only do you kind of expand the marketplace of folks that can participate in building new housing, which is a real positive because you let homeowners kind of actively engage in that market and bring good housing to the marketplace for folks to to rent or to buy. But you also produce myriad types of housing. And I think that's the piece that's been the most exciting quite frankly Kol, because for so long, like, like the viewers know, and [00:14:00] like, you know you know, planners have relied on kind of monochromatic maps to say the light yellow goes here and the red goes here and the blue goes there and never shall they ever meets.And this is how we show, advance our society. And for anybody that's traveled in Latin America or Europe or or, or many parts of the globe, they'll say that that's not how housing has to be. And I think over the years. And, and middle housing has really been a big piece of this. It's helped us chip away at those kind of outdated Euclidean models of zoning, and really allowed us to think more creatively about the types of housing that folks need.I live in a multi-generational household, like many Portlanders do. We were thankful enough to have my mother come live with us right before the pandemic. And, you know, had we lived in a community let's say with restrictive covenants that had kind of prohibited that type of intergenerational, it would have been really hard on our family [00:15:00] and middle housing plays a role in giving people the type of flexibility that they need to get the type of housing that's most appropriate for Kol: So you came to Portland by way of LA, as you mentioned, and LA has become a huge hotbed of ADU activity, I would say it's yeah, it's fair to say it's objectively the best well, the biggest market in the country for ADUs right now, 5,000 or so permits issued last year alone in 2019. So it's, it's been pretty phenomenal. Can you help explain why LA has since seen such a groundswell of ADU permits being issued and, and and say like we already, like, we've already kind of covered that there is some legislative changes at the state level, but why LA, why aren't we seeing tens of thousands being built in say San Jose instead of LA?Ezra: Yeah, I know that's, that's a great question Kol. So Los Angeles, like any practitioners from there we'll know, or anybody that's lived down there and we'll know the entire Southern California region, but LA specifically is just starved for housing.You know, it, it was a open secret [00:16:00] before the city took the appropriate steps to liberalize accessory dwelling units that there were likely tens of thousands of unpermitted units existing in the city. A couple of estimates that I've seen put that number upwards of 50,000 throughout the entire city.And many of these were built to appropriate code standards. They just didn't have the appropriate paperwork and land use authorization to allow them to be quote- unquote legal. Many of them, unfortunately, weren't built to appropriate code, but that was due in large part to the fact that government had made it so onerous to build an accessory dwelling unit that any rational person would just shrug their shoulders and ignore the system altogether. Before LA took the steps that it did, again, driven in large part by the great great work of the California legislature, folks were asked to go through a year- long entitlement process that was entirely discretional. The costs generally were 40 to a hundred thousand dollars in permits, [00:17:00] legal fees, and land use planner fees.And all it took was one disgruntled neighbor to show up and yell at a hearing officer about lack of parking or neighborhood character or disruption to the community or any sort of those kind of standard tropes that we hear from folks. And, and their application would be denied. Before I was a land use attorney, I had the pleasure of working for Councilman Mike Bond and in the city of Los Angeles.For those of you that are familiar with LA, each council member represents a geographic area, and they're essentially the mayor of their geographic area for the purpose of discretionary land use entitlements. And I talked to literally dozens of, of heartbroken and frustrated homeowners who are attempting to go through the process of building an ADU for a loved one or for for some additional rental income.And it had just been dragged through the most arduous process, not only from the city side of things through the regulatory environment, but then from [00:18:00] just terrible interactions with their neighbors that, that, that hurt the community that kind of caused more ill will between neighbors and at the end of the day, kind of resulted in in no benefit to anyone.So when LA took the steps to kind of do away with that regulatory framework, they really opened the floodgates. And there was such a voracious appetite that the citizens of Los Angeles have for housing that we've seen these incredible numbers, like you mentioned 5,000, that's fantastic.I hope next year it's 10,000. Let's build 15,000, let's build a hundred thousand ADUs. If we take those sorts of real steps than California, and hopefully Oregon too, we'll be able to address the incredible housing shortfall that we have. Kol: So since you've come to the HBA, Portland HBA, you've taken a really active role in representing the Portland home builders, associations, interests, and local legislative issues. In the jurisdiction [00:19:00] surrounding Portland, there's roughly 28 jurisdictions in the Portland Metro area. And I, I'm not sure how many. Jurisdictions you represent, but, but you've been, you've taken an active role in, in participating in these meetings, as cities are going through code updates. Can you tell us a little bit about that?Ezra: Yeah, absolutely. And, and, and listen, Kol. I couldn't be doing it without you. Anytime a jurisdiction looks at amending their middle housing regulations or ADU regulations. I come a calling. You've probably gotten emails from me at 11 o'clock at night, asking you to dig into something and see if there are any poison pills in there or if there are any concerns that you have. Like I mentioned before, our members build accessory dwelling units throughout the greater Portland region. And therefore it's, it's my responsibility to ensure that our advocacy team is beating down the doors of elected leaders and citizens serving on planning commissions to to, to push them, to advance progressive ADU regulations.You know, at the end of the day, it is so [00:20:00] difficult for many potential ADU developers to actively engage in advocacy. These are homeowners, as you know, that have busy lives. That may be thinking in the back of their mind about potentially building one, they have a single, or maybe even multiple conversations with the city about what the process will be.But oftentimes when they find that it's going to be expensive time-consuming and difficult, they shrug their shoulders and go on their ways. And so those folks are, are really tough to kind of rally and, and get to these public meetings even to write letters to advocate because they might not know that they're an ADU developer yet because they've only thought about it.So the role that we play along with you and with many other great community activists in the Portland Metro region is making sure that we go to these meetings, that we submit testimony into the record, that we demonstrate the value and the benefit of accessory dwelling units. So that jurisdictions will adopt regulations that are more favorable to building ADUs in whatever [00:21:00] form they might be.Kol: So things are a little bit more advanced here with regard to the baseline context of the ADU conversation because of HB 2001. But for those who are not in Oregon or California, who are on this call, I want to just kind of pick your brain a little bit about the role that you specifically in the HBA with wearing your HBA hat has played . So what are some common themes that you've observed amongst planning, staff and elected officials who are grappling with how to loosen ADU regulations. And what, what advice would you offer to other HBA chapters or for members who are in other jurisdictions who want to talk to their HBA reps like you?Ezra: Yeah, absolutely. And I would just say the biggest thing that we should be doing and that we should think about is is how we're going to be bold. I think it's, I think it's that simple Kol we're so used to operating in a paradigm where it's kind of the, the, the NIMBY, not in my backyard, folks coming out who expect to [00:22:00] play an oversized role in conversations around new housing.And I think a number of planners out there have been through these battles time and time again, to the point where they're really war weary, where they feel like any time they take you know, a positive, progressive step forward and maybe ADUs, they're going to get beaten back. Their, their elected leaders are going to get nasty letters. And then they're going to have a really tough time defending their positions. And our message to you is, is be bold. Take that step. Just like Portland and just like Oregon. I know that many of the regions that folks on this video come from are dealing with intractable housing crises.And we're not going to solve those crises. You know, using businesses as usual techniques, we need to be able to take steps forward that take away poison pills and make it easy and effective to build accessory dwelling units. When we do that, we will show our communities that ADUs aren't something to be feared, but are [00:23:00] rather something that fit beautifully and seamlessly into existing community frameworks and have a lot of positive knock on effects.If we build enough ADUs, we'll see rents reduce, you know, a great report that came out here in Oregon and Kol, I'm sure you can remind me of the specifics, but I think it found that upwards of 12% of ADUs are actually rented for free to family members. That's incredible. There's no other type of affordable housing. And I, and I, I mean that affordable housing zero, it doesn't get any more affordable than zero. That the marketplace can build without significant government subsidy. And the ADU is something that by and large will help people support family members who might need access to housing at reduced costs.Kol: Yeah. Yeah, you're totally right. The three studies that I've looked at on this issue related to ADUs and affordable housing are that in all three cases, [00:24:00] roughly 18 to 20% of ADUs are rented out vastly less than market rates. And those are probably, you know, people like me who owned an ADU and rented out to a friend or whatever.And then roughly eight to 10%, five to 10%, or probably I think 8% is the aggregate figure rent at, at $0 per month to probably, you know, granny, grandpa, whatever, that kind of situation or brother who, you know, doesn't have a job or whatever it is. So whether or not it's a required, it seems as though ADUs are actually outperforming regulated, affordable housing, Ezra: Wow.Kol: And so so what, what role do you think builders specifically can play in terms of advocacy for liberalizing ADU regulations and missing middle housing regulations in general? Ezra: Yeah. That's a great question. And Kol, you know, it's my job to be out there talking to folks since my job there to be out there advocating, but, but I'll tell you this it is so much more impactful for an elected leader to hear from somebody that is actually [00:25:00] engaged in the business that they do.It's great to have lobbyists again, as I mentioned before, it's really tough for a lot of small developers and builders to spend time to interact with elected leaders and policymakers. But when you can take the time to write a letter or provide public testimony it goes miles further. And so I would say to folks, you know, think about advocacy and think about lobbying as something that you would do to support your own business.You'd certainly take the time to hire an accountant to make sure your books are right. You'd certainly take the time most likely to to work with a professional on doing some advertising. Taking the time and the, and the resources associated with that to do a little bit of advocacy will go miles.So highly recommend for people to share their own stories. You know, here in Oregon like many parts of the country, we have a part-time legislature. These are folks that have jobs like you and I, that aren't elected. And, and sit in some sort of [00:26:00] ivory tower, just thinking about policy day in and day out.These are folks that live in the community and when they can hear their neighbors and their neighbors, friends share their stories about how they're building accessory, dwelling units, and, and housing more generally, they're going to be much more receptive to advancing policies that help you and then help all Oregonians and everybody by ensuring there's enough housing. Kol: What are some differences that you've observed between legislative and local regulatory environmental in the regulatory environment in LA Angeles versus Portland markets for residential construction? I hope that this isn't just a question that serves people who live in Portland or people who live in LA.But I think understanding from your vantage, how these two different jurisdictions operate legislatively and regulatory regulatory wise will help give some meaningful context for people who are doing it advocacy and understanding the culture of different building environments. Ezra: Yeah, absolutely and I'm gonna, I'm going to take a step out if that's okay. And kind of [00:27:00] compare Oregon and California generally. And this is to all of you, Californians Oregon took a tremendous step with its ADU regulations here in Oregon. There's no prohibition for putting condo maps on a lot. That includes an ADU. In California, that's explicitly prohibited. It's been in the law since day one. It's been carried over as this barrier strict of language that really has no solid basis in rationale. And so here in Oregon, we don't have that and the result has been something organic and really darn cool. And something that I'm, that I'm really thrilled about.And that's essentially the condoization of either attached or detached ADUs. So small scale housing that then can get put on the marketplace and sold at a point at a price point that is highly attainable to folks. So here in the city of Portland, I'll just give you an anecdotal example. We have a program, the government will subsidize you selling a [00:28:00] home to a family that makes less than the area, medium income as long as you sell it at a prescribed price point. And currently that price point is $405,000. They basically found that for a two income household of folks making less than the area, medium income, they can spend 30% of their income and afford a $405,000 mortgage. For the ADUs that are being condoised and sold -detached products, so they look exactly the same as a single family home. They just tend to be a little bit smaller, those ADUs are selling for a little over $310,000. So a hundred thousand dollars less than the prescribed price point for affordable housing is what you can buy. One of these ADUs for here in Portland, that's mindblowing, and that's something that should be available all over the country.California is missing out on a fantastic opportunity to allow [00:29:00] people to purchase ADUs as essentially starter homes and start building the equity and get the access to capital and tap into the tax code and all those benefits that are available for home ownership could be available to folks that purchase ADUs.And so I highly encourage you to speak with your legislators about fixing that last poison pill in the ADU regulations that exist in California. Come join us. Let's do things the Oregon way and let's make ADUs available for sale. Kol: So on the, on the flip side, what are some things that Oregon could learn from California? What are some lessons we should borrow ? Ezra: Geez, Kol, that one's tough. I, I don't wanna, I don't want to hate on my mind old state, but you know, honestly, California is just decades behind where we are hear in Oregon. The housing crisis there that's gripping California is so bad that they've seen a year after year lower and middle income [00:30:00] residents flee the state, I think California, you know, is likely to lose a congressional seat this year for the first time in forever. Because in large part, they've done such a terrible job. With allowing for the construction of new housing and the primary reason for this, there are a lot of factors. And I think the LA times story that came out several weeks ago, highlighting the, I think it was $1.1 million affordable units that were built down in Southern California.There, there, there are myriad reasons why building a so tough in California in any practitioner down there can attest to it. But the primary difference between California and Oregon is. Here, we're actually rational about our environmental regulations. We don't have secrets. What we've done in Oregon is essentially bake in the appropriate environmental regulations into our zoning codes by and large.So it's easy. A practitioner can kind of pick up a zoning map. They can understand where they can and can't build. They can [00:31:00] understand what mitigation measures need to be taken in order to help preserve and enhance the environments. And they can go and get their approvals and start building without having this, this sword of CEQA hanging over their heads.In California, you might go through that process. You might have dotted all of your T's and excuse me, dotted all of your I's and crossed all of your T's and then open yourself up to years and years of litigation based on some spurious argument that has zero rationale and is totally unrelated to your project in any way.I mentioned, I previously practiced in Los Angeles. There are a number of firms down there primarily based in San Bernardino County. That would file blanket appeals on any projects built in Los Angeles, solely as a mechanism to blackmail folks into giving them cash handouts. It's it's called a greenmail practice in Venice, California, wonderful community just South of, of Santa Monica, there were several residents, [00:32:00] well-known there, who would appeal every single project that went through solely as a mechanism to extort tens of thousands of dollars from the project applicants. Okay, that there's, there is no rational basis for doing any of that. CEQA does not have a demonstrable impact on enhancing the environment.I would welcome anybody to come here. Check out, see what Oregon is doing. See how well we preserve and enhance the environment there and put that up against CEQA or any other sorts of regulations like that, that leave open-ended litigation as a part of the land use process and cost, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars for even smaller scale projects.I'll give you one example, Kol, just to highlight how egregious this is my bread and butter. When I was a practicing attorney was medium-sized apartment buildings. Medium-sized for Los Angeles. I'm thinking a hundred to 200 units. Nothing. No, high-rises nothing insane like that. The attorney's fees on those [00:33:00] projects were unconscionable.And, and not because we charge high fees, we were extremely low priced compared to any of the competition. But because of this, this, this ever existing threat of litigation, applicants were forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce environmental reports that set essentially nothing. At the end of the day, our clients were building apartments buildings in places like Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles, where they were literally next to other apartment buildings.And yet for some absurd rationale, they were forced to spend close to half a million dollars. Having their attorneys review a document that said, 'We're building an apartment building next to other apartment buildings'. So I I'm, I'm gonna T I'm going to go out. I'm going to have a hot take your call. I'm going to say we shouldn't borrow things from California, California should be borrowing from Oregon, should be borrowing from States that are, that are taking a more rational approach to how to build housing.And if they do that, there'll be able to house some of the [00:34:00] millions of Californians that are having a very difficult time, even finding a home. Kol: Thanks. Thanks for that, that screed.. That was excellent. I do have one really specific last question before we transition to Q and a, which is on a couple of days ago, Eli Spievak was on, and I was asking him about what insights he had regarding condoization defect legislation. And I don't know what you're able to share about that, if anything, but w where did, where does that legislative matter stand right now within Oregon? Ezra: Yeah, that's a great question, Kol. You know, unfortunately the condo defect rules we have in place here are not industry standard. They're not best practices.They produce serious litigation threats, and they're the reasons that here in Oregon, condos are generally the last product to enter the marketplace during a boom and the first to exit during a bust. We unsuccessfully, tried to pass a piece of legislation in 2018 that would have brought Oregon and [00:35:00] line with some of our surrounding States. Would have kind of made the liability much more rational, would have allowed builders to cure defects that would have existed. And, and quite frankly, we were beaten by the trial attorneys. They are formidable down in the legislature. Thankfully we have some real housing champions, including speaker Kotek who brought forward HB 2001 in 2003 that I know you've talked about.And so she has been kind of very open, a very open door with us. We have been having a series of round table discussions with stakeholders, including the trial attorneys. I don't have any details at this time. We're hopeful that we'll be able to bring forward a reform package in the 2020 legislative session that will have broad based support across the political spectrum.Because just, just as we're starting to see an uptick in middle housing, we want to make sure that, that middle housing is available in both rental and for sale form and condo defect, litigation reform is an integral piece in helping us [00:36:00] achieve that. Kol: Thanks, Ezra. TransitionKelcy: Okay. So the first one I'm going to go with is Shanna Doherty's question. And this one's kind of up at the top here. How has LA and other cities dealing with infrastructure impacts as a result of new density from ADUs? Is this a true issue or more of a political issue? For example, I was told that the sewer and water capacity can not meet higher density density manifested from duplexes, triplexes, ADUs on a single family lot.Ezra: Yeah, I mean, I'm going, gonna, I'm going to just stop here. This is by and large red herring. You know, to, to, to pretend as if the addition of housing is somehow going to overwhelm Los Angeles or any jurisdiction for that manner is just absolutely false.And we know it's demonstrably false for two reasons. One, when you do large scale projects or even medium-sized projects in California, you have to engage in environmental analysis. And part of that analysis is determining kind of what the existing [00:37:00] capacities are. Even for smaller scale projects, you need to get a will serve letters from the appropriate service provider to ensure that they have the capacity.And importantly, new homes are responsible for paying the fees to those providers, to ensure that they're able to upgrade their capacity in a way that will accommodate housing growth over time. So not only do we do the analysis on a case by case basis and when we have updated community plans, do it at a a neighborhood or regional basis.But new housing pays its way. And the same goes for here in Oregon. People pay development, impact fees. We call them system development charges, but they're, they're the same thing as development impact fees. And those fees go to enhance infrastructure in a way that can accommodate your growth. I would also note that we're seeing things shift dramatically when it comes to transportation modes.So not only do we see more and more folks working from home, and this was occurring long before COVID-19 kind of came [00:38:00] onto the scene. But we're seeing working from home, being a huge part of the transportation ride share. But we're also seeing more and more folks use alternative forms of transportation whether that's ride sharing whether that is electric scooters here in Portland bike infrastructure is getting built out in a way that makes it much more seamless to get around via bicycle.These forums are changing all the time and they allow for us to have different expectations of what's what our infrastructure is going to provide for. I'll also note that in Los Angeles, in particular it folks oftentimes like to pretend that the impacts come from the housing. The impacts come from the people who live in the house, right?So traffic is bad in LA because there are lots of people living there and driving their cars. The parks are full because there's lots of people playing in them. Not because housing was built and importantly, in Los Angeles, in many jurisdictions along the West [00:39:00] coast, people come regardless of whether or not the housing was available. Kol in the 1990s, I had the pleasure of visiting Russia after the end of the cold war and in Russia they prohibit low-income residents or they did at the time from coming from the villages and living in Moscow. They didn't want a bunch of four people coming into the city and they would check people at train stations.And if they didn't like what they saw on your ID they tell you to get back on the train. We don't do that here in America. And I'm really thankful for that. And what that means is the fact that folks are going to come to cities, whether or not the housing is available for them. And they'll find a way, and whether that's couch surfing or sleeping in their cars or doubling up in ways that are not optimal from a habitation standpoint, the people will be here.The best thing that we can do is build the housing to accommodate those folks. And if we do that, we'll actually be able to collect the dollars necessary to build out and enhance the infrastructure that will make it better for everyone [00:40:00] doing the opposite is absolutely the wrong approach. Kelcy: Thank you. This one I thought was interesting, cause I haven't heard of this before.Maybe you or Kol can answer this. A city that created a guide for bringing existing outlaw or unpermitted ADUs into compliance. Is that, are you either of you familiar with anything like that? Kol: I am. I'll speak to that. So this is a really kind of a long topic and a really interesting topic. And I can't go into all, all of my thoughts on it right now, but what I will say is there, there has been some limited degree of success in, I think Marin County in California for an amnesty program.But I think more importantly if we look at the, the, the number of legalizations of properties in of ADUs in California . If we look at the number of properties in Los Angeles that have [00:41:00] become legal permitted ADUs in the last couple of years, What we see is that approach of just simply having pretty good ADU regulations at large has really been what's fostered a lot of legalizations, it's not an amnesty program per se.So so I think the lesson that, that I would like to kind of put out there is not that it's, I don't personally, I'm not of the belief that an amnesty program is necessarily, it's not a bad idea, but I think it involves a lot of staff time to come up with the mechanisms to do that. And I think the lesson should be that rather than focusing on amnesty of preexisting unpermitted structures, that would have a hell of a time meeting, structural code, planning and zoning code and habitable current habitable building code.It's better to just. Make it easier overall to build permitted ADUs and that will enable more people to, you know, legalize, you know, legalize our [00:42:00] ADU if it can do so. It's not, again, that it's a bad idea to do amnesty, but it involves a lot of staff effort. And and I think the reward that you get is ultimately a fairly nominal number of units becoming legal.And when they become legal, all it means from my vantage as an ADU advocate is you've made them put some more money into bringing up this structure to meet current building code in some way, shape or form, which just takes a really affordable albeit unpermitted unit and putting it into a slightly more expensive permitted unit.So it actually hasn't increased the housing stock at all. In fact, you've eliminated some really affordable housing stock now. A city, can't say that a city can't say, well, you should just continue to live in an unpermitted ADU. But I just question whether it's a fundamentally flawed approach to be focusing on amnesty when, when there's so much [00:43:00] opportunity for new ads to be brought to the fold by simply reducing the threshold of of making permitted ADUs at large.Kelcy: Thank you.Kol: Yeah. Yeah. I'd say two more, Kelsey. Okay, great. Kelcy: There's a couple that are dealing that are curious about the construction defect laws. So Ezra have you been involved in lobbying for the construction defect laws? And are you familiar with those and can you address construction defects? Ezra: Yeah. And I think that we touched on this a little bit before. But, but thanks for the question again. Yes again construction defects specifically related to, to condoization, but more broadly is something that the HBA is working on at the state level. We hope to have. As I mentioned before, a new bill brought forward in 2020 that is going to be able to pass muster.The big [00:44:00] opponents here are the trial attorneys. So if you're a trial attorney, I'm wagging my finger at you stop standing in the way of construction, defect reform. But we hope to work collaboratively with them and get something advanced in, in the 2020 legislative session. Kelcy: Great. Excuse me.Thank you. So this one, I'm kind of piecing together a little bit. It's from Dan Curry, and he's interested to hear if you your take on the current environment of COVID-19 having any power to make a case at the state level, in many States that don't already have kind of the state level of legislation that favor ADUs and missing middle housing.Can you speak to that? Ezra: Sure. I mean, I think we're, we're all kind of thinking of channeling Rahm Emanuel here about not letting a good crisis go to waste. But I think it's, I think it's more fundamental than that. The value of a good set of ADU regulations exists far beyond the crisis that we're in right now.So many [00:45:00] metropolitan areas in our country are unaffordable to the people that live there. And the processes that we have in place to allow for the building of new homes continues to fail, to meet the needs of our residents. Full-stop. ADUs should be legal across the country. The process should be by right.They should be allowed to be of a size that can accommodate a growing family. They should be allowed in all areas. They should be allowed next to all types of housing and all of the old paradigm that we use to determine where housing should and shouldn't go. And what types of housing should be in those places.Really, we need to start thinking about throwing that out the window completely. We need housing in this country. We desperately need housing in this country. And the only way that we're going to achieve that is if we start to rethink the kind of rules and processes that we have in place. To allow for new housing to get built full stop.So yes, I think now is a perfect time to advance progressive [00:46:00] ADU legislation. I think once we're out of COVID 19 is a perfect time to advance progressive ADU legislation. I think when it's cold outside, it's a perfect time when it's warm outside, whether it's winter, whether it's summer, I don't care where you are in this country, we should all be working to advance progressive ADU legislation that allows for more housing to get built and more areas that will be accessible to more people.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 47 °F, and today you can expect cloudy skies with highs in the 60s. We might see some rain move in late this evening through tomorrow morning. Heck, if we can miss most of the rain scattered about here and there, the next couple of days look great.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,063 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 10 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 103 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 43, Henrico: 41, and Richmond: 19). Since this pandemic began, 1,187 people have died in the Richmond region. Of note, the Governor will hold a media briefing today at 2:00 PM to “Provide updates on the Commonwealth’s response to COVID-19 and vaccination program.” You can stream it live over on VPM’s YouTube. New guidance? Fewer restrictions? More info about when we’ll see the Johnson & Johnson bars on the vaccine received graph tick upwards? Find out this afternoon!Over on the doughnut side of the house, if you present your vaccine card at a Krispy Kreme they’ll give you a free doughnut every day until the end of the year. I know some folks have an issue with this, but, like, I’m not going to think too hard about it. Doughnuts are great. Additionally, from their FAQs: “if you have made the personal decision to not receive the COVID vaccine, please visit us on Mondays, 3/29/21 – 5/24/21, to receive a free Original Glazed® doughnut and a medium brewed coffee to get your week off to a good start.”I’ve been noodling my way through the Mayor’s proposed budget and Capital Improvement Program (PDF), and I wanted to highlight two things from the latter.First, the Mayor has proposed creating a “Complete Streets” project (p. 53) and has funded it between $7–8 million a year for the next five years—totaling $39.4 million. Complete streets are, to quote Smart Growth America, “designed and operated to prioritize safety, comfort, and access to destinations for all people who use the street, especially people who have experienced systemic underinvestment or whose needs have not been met through a traditional transportation approach, including older adults, people living with disabilities, people who cannot afford or do not have access to a car, and Black, Native, and Hispanic or Latino/a/x communities.” With that definition in mind, one thing that worries me about this year’s CIP is that the new Complete Streets project combines the previous “Citywide Traffic Calming, Pedestrian Safety Crossing Improvements, Sidewalk Projects, Streets, Sidewalks, and Alley Improvements, Traffic Control Installation, and Transportation Projects” into a single project without really laying out how that money will be spent. Additionally, the intro to the CIP describes the Complete Streets project as “funding in street completion throughout the city; funding sidewalks, curb & gutters, pedestrian crossing, and paving.” Paving? How much of this fund will go towards paving and how much toward sidewalks, bike lanes, pedestrian safety projects, and traffic calming? I’d hate for money that was once earmarked for projects that prioritized safe transportation access for vulnerable Richmonders to get spent on routine paving projects.Second, the proposed Enslaved African Heritage Campus project (p. 30) is estimated to cost $38 million, of that, $15 million (about 40%!) will go toward a parking facility. This project is not fully funded in this CIP, with only $28 million of the $38 million allocated over the next five years. However, the plan is to put $15 million towards the project in FY24, which I assume fully funds whatever 665-space parking structure they intend to build. I don’t know enough about the details, but almost half of a project spent on parking in a location adjacent to the Pulse and the train station? I’d like to learn more!A quick City Council update: RES. 2021-R017, which kicks off the rezoning of the western part of Broad Street, passed on last night’s consent agenda. Also, I wanted to point out this thread from @RVADirtcovering Council’s discussion on ORD. 2020–257. This ordinance allows the sale of an RRHA-owned property to the Better Housing Coalition for redevelopment into affordable, multi-family housing (aka apartments). I didn’t listen to the entire conversation, which you can do here, but it sounds like a glitch in the deed or title or some other piece of paper left an opening for classic NIMBY complaints to oppose denser, affordable housing in Jackson Ward. This paper ended up passing with Councilmembers Jordan and Larson voting against. Scrub forward to around 1:40:00 to hear Councilmember Jordan’s comments. I don’t love her vote on this, but it’s useful to hear her talk through some of the complexities of this particular situation.A couple weeks back I mentioned RVA Rapid Transit’s Transit Talk series when they hosted GRTC’s CEO Julie Timm. They’ve got a recording of that talk up, and you should go listen to it! Learn about zero fares and if that’s a long-term possibility in Richmond.Tonight, at 6:00 PM, you can hop on a virtual meeting about the City’s potential/proposed resort casino (or call in here: 804.316.9457). I’m not sure what they’ll cover, but the title of the meeting is “proposal videos.” Your guess is as good as mine!I asked for folks to send me rally-type things in support of our Asian neighbors, so thank you to a reader for pointing out this Stop the Hate Rally (Facebook) tonight from 5:00–6:00 PM at Short Pump Park (3329 Pump Road) hosted by the Asian American Society of Central Virginia.This morning’s longreadWhy McConnell Gets Away With FilibusteringThis is a great filibuster recap—both the practicals and politics of it. If we want to change anything, including our country’s absurd gun violence laws, we’ve got to get rid of the filibuster. Thankfully, over the last few days, there’s been the smallest movement in that direction.McConnell was saying that certain legislation Obama wanted to pass could have gotten bipartisan support, which Americans would have then seen as affirming its general goodness. But McConnell didn’t want that legislation to pass, or Americans to draw that conclusion. Fingerprints is the most revealing word. It makes clear that what mattered to him was that Obama would take the blame. For Republicans, the filibuster was a win-win-win: It sharply reduced the range of issues that Democrats could advance; it ensured that even bills that got through were subject to withering attacks for months, dragging down public support; and it produced an atmosphere of gridlock and dysfunction for which Democrats would pay the price.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayCertainly no one’s putting these in their ears…

The numbers are staggering, saddening, maddening. From 2010-2019, 53,435 people were killed by drivers while walking. That’s up 45% from the previous decade. In 2019, the last year for which we have complete data, 6,237 people were struck and killed...the equivalent of more than 17 per day. The years from 2016-2019 were the four deadliest years in nearly three decades. And early numbers indicate that 2020—a year in which driving was down 13% due to the pandemic—actually saw an increased death rate. What’s going on? With so much money and lip service (“Safety is our top priority”) paid to safety, why do these numbers so consistently go the wrong direction? For more than a decade, our friends at Transportation for America have been analyzing the data and drawing attention to the epidemic of pedestrian deaths. Their latest report, Dangerous by Design 2021, describes the ten-year increase in deaths as “a failure of our government at nearly all levels.” And they urge policymakers to reconsider or abandon an approach that simply isn’t working: Many states and localities have spent the last ten years focusing on enforcement, running ineffectual education campaigns, or blaming the victims of these crashes, while often ignoring the role of roadway design in these deaths. Meanwhile the death count has continued to climb year after year. States and localities cannot simply deploy the same playbook and expect this trend to change—they need a fundamentally different approach to the problem. They need to acknowledge that their approach to building and operating streets and roads is contributing to these deaths. We are pleased to welcome Beth Osborne, the Director of Transportation for America, to this week’s episode of The Strong Towns Podcast. Before joining Transportation for America, Osborne served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation. She also worked in multiple congressional offices, served as the policy director for Smart Growth America, and as the legislative director for environmental policy at the Southern Governors’ Association. In this episode, Strong Towns president Chuck Marohn talks with Osborne about the Dangerous by Design 2021 report, about how engineers and policymakers know what it takes to #SlowTheCars and reduce deaths, and about why they yet fail to act on it. They discuss the need to make behaving safely the easiest thing to do, and the mixed message we send drivers about pedestrian safety. And they discuss the good news/bad news about bipartisanship around this issue, whether to be optimistic about a Mayor Pete D.O.T., and what local leaders can do right now to make their own streets safer. Additional Show Notes: Dangerous by Design 2021 Transportation for America Smart Growth America COVID and the Curb Dangerous by Design Webinar (March 25) Beth Osborne (Twitter) Charles Marohn (Twitter) Strong Towns content related to this issue: “Pedestrian Deaths Are Up 45% in the Last Decade. When Is Enough Enough?” by Daniel Herriges “What Can We Hope For from a Mayor Pete D.O.T.? (Podcast) “This Will Change How You Hear Traffic Reports,” by Daniel Herriges “The Most Important Pedestrian Safety Document You've Never Heard Of,” by Angie Schmitt & Mike McGinn “Now Is the Time to End Traffic Fatalities. Here's a Simple Plan to Do It.” by Charles Marohn “Have Coronavirus Shutdowns Prompted an Epidemic of Reckless Driving?” by Daniel Herriges

Nick Oyler, bikeway and pedestrian program manager for the City of Memphis, makes a return visit to Memphis Metropolis to talk about pedestrian safety. This past week, Smart Growth America issued its Dangerous by Design 2021 study, which found that pedestrian deaths due to traffic accidents continue to increase nationally. Moreover, the study found that Memphis was the third most dangerous city for pedestrians, with pedestrian deaths up around 75 percent since 2019. In the show, Nick explains the connection between street design and pedestrian safety, why COVID and driver distraction have contributed to the rise in fatalities, and how dedicated funding for pedestrian infrastructure could help change the trajectory. And, why his team created a special map to help memorialize the lives of Memphis pedestrians that have been lost. Links Dangerous by Design 2021 Bike-Ped Memphis Memorial Map

On Thursday, February 18, Brookings’s Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking, in partnership with Smart Growth America, hosted an event focused on The Great Real Estate Reset, examining the forces that pushed the industry toward this moment and the tactics to address it. Representative Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) opened the program with keynote remarks, followed by a panel of local leaders discussing practice and policies the real estate industry and the public sector must adopt to successfully meet the moment. https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-great-real-estate-reset-rethinking-how-and-what-we-build/ Subscribe to Brookings Events on iTunes, send feedback email to events@brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. To learn more about upcoming events, visit our website. Brookings Events is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

One promise of civ-gov tech is that it helps optimize democratic government, particularly in the cities where most people live. This panel explores how well that promise is being kept and how to improve things if it's not. SPEAKERSAmanda Brink is a Wisconsin-based political operative with over 12 years of experience in the field. A utility infielder, happy to assist with campaign management, overall strategy, fundraising, organizing, operations, compliance, digital, press, training, recounts, logistics, advance, and more. Former O.F.A., H.F.A., Tony for WI, Burns for W.I., Dems in Philly, D.N.C., WisDems, Raj for Madison, and more. Currently working for Organizing Empowerment, helping organizations put relationships back into organizing. Michelle Kobayashi M.S.P.H. is the Senior Vice President for Innovation for Polco/National Research Center. She began her career as a research analyst for the City of Boulder in 1989 and then helped to found National Research Center (N.R.C.) in 1995. Michelle has 30 years of experience conducting research, surveys, and policy studies for local, state, and federal government. She has authored numerous journal articles, book chapters, and books on research techniques and trained hundreds of government and non-profit workers on evaluation methods, survey research, and uses of data for community decisionmaking and performance measurement. Last year, N.R.C. and Polco, a tech company providing a digital engagement platform, merged, creating new opportunities for Michelle to modernize her survey work and the methods she uses to bring residents and stakeholders' voices into local governing. Micah L. Sifry is the Founder and President of Civic Hall, curator of the annual Personal Democracy Forum, and editor of Civicist, Civic Hall's news site. From 2006-16 he was a senior adviser to the Sunlight Foundation, which he helped found. Micah currently serves on the boards of Consumer Reports and the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science. He is the author or editor of nine books, most recently Civic Tech in the Global South (co-edited with Tiago Peixoto) (World Bank, 2017); A Lever and a Place to Stand: How Civic Tech Can Move the World (PDM Books, 2015), with Jessica McKenzie; The Big Disconnect: Why the Internet Hasn't Transformed Politics (Yet) (OR Books, 2014); and Wikileaks and the Age of the Transparency (OR Books, 2011). In 2012, Micah taught "The Politics of the Internet" as a visiting lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School. From 1997-2006, he worked closely with Public Campaign, a non-profit, non-partisan organization focused on comprehensive campaign finance reform, as its senior analyst. Before that, Micah was an editor and writer with The Nation magazine for thirteen years. He is the author of Spoiling for a Fight: Third-Party Politics in America(Routledge, 2002), co-author with Nancy Watzman of Is That a Politician in Your Pocket? Washington on $2 Million a Day (John Wiley & Sons, 2004), co-editor of Rebooting America, and co-editor of The Iraq War Reader (Touchstone, 2003) and The Gulf War Reader (Times Books, 1991). MODERATORJoel Rogers is the Sewell-Bascom Professor of Law, Political Science, Public Affairs, and Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also directs COWS, a national resource and strategy center on high-road development that also operates the Mayors Innovation Project, State Smart Transportation Initiative (with Smart Growth America), and ProGov21. Rogers has written widely on party politics, democratic theory, and cities and urban regions. Along with many scholarly and popular articles, his books include The Hidden Election, On Democracy, Right Turn, Metro Futures, Associations and Democracy, Works Councils, Working Capital, What Workers Want, Cites at Work, and American Society: How It Really Works. Joel is an active citizen as well as an academic. He has worked with and advised many politicians and social movement leaders and has initiated and helped lead several progressive N.G.O.s (including the New Party [now the Working Families Party], EARN, W.R.T.P., Apollo Alliance [now part of the Blue Green Alliance], Emerald Cities Collaborative, State Innovation Exchange, and EPIC-N (Educational Partnership for Innovation in Communities Network). He is a contributing editor of The Nation and Boston Review, a MacArthur Foundation Fellow, and identified by Newsweek as one of the 100 living Americans most likely to shape U.S. politics and culture in the 21st century.

Grassroots and grasstops advocacy might sound like opposites, but they’re really more like complements. Doing grassroots organizing the right way can help set you up for success in influencing grasstops advocates.  In this episode, Joe and Martín explain this symbiotic relationship and how to leverage your organization’s membership to execute a coordinated grassroots-grasstops campaign. Joe interviews Smart Growth America’s VP of Land Use and Development Christopher Coes, who divulges some of his secrets to effective grassroots-grasstops integration.Resources Grassroots vs. Grasstops AdvocacyHow to Be an Awesome Grassroots OrganizerGrassroots Strategies: Relationships MatterConnect with us!If you have campaign questions or want to learn more, reach out to us using the contact information below.The Campaign Workshop: Twitter: @cmpwrkshpInstagram: @TheCampaignWorkshopEmail: marketing@thecampaignworkshop.comJoe FuldTwitter: @joefuldInstagram: @joefuldMartín Diego GarciaTwitter: @gmartindiegoInstagram: @gmartindiego

On this week’s Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, shares with you a rich conversation about "What Does Equity in Smart Growth Really Mean?” On Friday, October 23rd, the Smart Growth Network hosted this conversation between Calvin Gladney, President and CEO of Smart Growth America and a national thought leader on equitable and sustainable community revitalization, and Andre Perry of the Brookings Institution and author of Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities. Gladney and Perry examine the current state of built environments and the policies that have historically affected the lives of people of color and look to the future to explore the potential for positive change. Learn more at http://smartgrowth.org As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! airs on FORward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at http://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at http://appalatin.com

In this episode, Kevin is joined by a trio of folks from Smart Growth America: Vice President for Economic Development Chris Zimmerman, Deputy Director of Economic Development Jeri Mintzer, and visiting Director of Research Michael Rodriguez. We discuss Smart Growth America's fiscal sustainability research and its implications for communities of all sizes, as well as some things the group would like to see all levels of government doing differently to build a stronger foundation for the communities of tomorrow. --The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Find more about this and other episodes (and our blog) at verdunity.com/go-cultivate.You can also find us on social media. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedInAnd if you haven't yet, sign up for our weekly email digest. It's not lame! (Each week we collectively curate a list of the things we read that caught our attention. Then we hand-package your copy, spank a first-class stamp on that baby, and drop it right in your email inbox.) Sign up here!Join us (and your peers!) in the Community Cultivators Network.(This episode features music from No Money and Custodian of Records.)verdunity.com/podcast/episode-74

This is the first in a series of newsletters and newscasts about community engagement in the area around Charlottesville. I’ve spent the last thirteen years very close to many different processes, and my goal with this newsletter is to bring you information every single day about what’s going on. *Over the weekend, there were three consecutive days where more than 800 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Virginia, That brings the cumulative number of cases to 70,670, with a reported 1,966 deaths. The 7-day percent positive metric for all testing encounters has risen from 5.9 percent on July 5 to 6.6 percent on Sunday. Meanwhile the Thomas Jefferson Health District reported 35 new cases on Sunday and 29 new cases on Saturday for a cumulative total of 1,208. There were also reports of outbreaks at two area long-term care facilities. Nationwide, there were 62,918 new cases reported in Virginia, for a total of 3.2 million. (Virginia Department of Health COVID-19 page) A forecast model produced by the University of Virginia estimates that 495,799 cases of COVID-19 have been avoided since May 15 due to physical distancing and other measures. That comes from the July 10 update produced by the UVA Biocomplexity Institute, which also states that the novel coronavirus now has a reproduction rate of 1.124. That’s an indicator of how the disease spreads, and numbers above 1 raise concern. (July 10 update)*The community of Forest Lakes opted to close their outdoor pools on Friday, July 10 "out of an abundance of caution, due to an indirect exposure of the COVID virus." That's according to an email sent out by the Forest Lakes Community Association. They said the pools would reopen after being sanitized. Charlottesville City Hall will reopen on a limited basis beginning on July 10 for in-person transactions with either the Commissioner of Revenue's office or Treasurer's office. However, you'll need to make an appointment to do so. (press release) *Moving on to Community Engagement news, Albemarle County has hired a Washington D.C. firm to help conduct a new round of analysis of the future of the area around the Rio Road and U.S. 29 intersection. Smart Growth America will "review and provide comments on a draft, form-based code for the Rio29 area and/or provide hypothetical design scenarios for properties in the study area." Supervisors adopted a master plan for the Rio-29 area in December 2018, and that included a recommendation to update the zoning ordinance to allow for creation of a "vibrant and diverse mixed-use community with interesting character and a human-scale built environment." Supervisors heard an update on the plan earlier this month.  *A child care center that failed to get approval from Albemarle Supervisors for a new home on Pantops has purchased land on East Market Street in downtown  Charlottesville. An LLC associated with Our Neighborhood Child Development Center has purchased the site of the former ABC Preschool on East Market Street for $1.325 million. That's about 20 percent below the 2020 assessment. ABC Preschool closed its doors last October five years after opening in a new building. In May, Supervisors deadlocked 3-3 on a request to build in the flood plain to allow for the Our Neighborhood center to move to a location on Stony Point Road. *And that’s it for the July 13 edition of the Community Engagement newscast, picking up from our last such event from late January 2019. The world has changed a lot since then, and I’m putting myself in a position to help bring you information to help get you through these times. Please consider supporting my Patreon account with a modest monthly donation so I can keep going and get my eye back on the world around us. I’m Sean Tubbs, and thanks for listening. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Intro to the 5 S tool and 8 steps to policy analysis followed with an overview of Smart Growth as presented on Smart Growth America's website. https://smartgrowthamerica.org/our-vision/what-is-smart-growth/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stephen-st-peter/support

In this show, we catch-up on things after the Holidays. The Lake Rising Team enjoys "Story Time" with Sean who presents a great article by Smart Growth America called "Building a Family-Friendly City". The team talks about the challenges of being a family friendly community as Florida continues to grow so rapidly.

MassINC recently held the Seventh Annual Gateway Cities Innovation Awards & Summit at the DCU Center in Worcester. Today’s episode brings you a highlight from the gathering—the morning keynote delivered by Christopher Coes, Vice President of Land Use and Development at Smart Growth America. Chris masterfully take on the theme of this year’s event with what he calls his “4 Crazy Ideas to Catalyze TOD in Massachusetts.”

Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition have released their 2019 Dangerous by Design Report. Mayor Soglin and City staff will discuss the report and Madison’s ranking. Mayor Soglin also provided an update on the recent winter storm.

Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition have released their 2019 Dangerous by Design Report. Mayor Soglin and City staff will discuss the report and Madison’s ranking. Mayor Soglin also provided an update on the recent winter storm.

With regulations only just released last week, opportunity zones have excited developers, policymakers, and growth advocates alike. But what sort of opportunities do they really offer the Gateway Cities? Will development continue to focus on Boston and Cambridge’s “tier-one” markets, or will real estate investors be incentivized to build in cities far outside the Boston bubble? We asked Christopher Coes of Smart Growth America and Elijah Plymesser of LOCUS to find out. Tune in to the most recent episode of Gateways, where co-hosts Ben Forman and Aimee Weeden chat about the potential effects of the opportunity zones in our Gateway Cities, the newly bipartisan mindset of transit-oriented development policy, and the state of fine dining along the waterfront in their most recently-visited Gateway City: New Bedford.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening is President of Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute and the Governor’s Institute on Community Design. He was the Governor of Maryland from 1995-2003 and instituted the first state-level smart growth policy package. His work has played a massive role in the growth of the concept across the country. He continues to look […]

Kaid Benfield thinks lovability is an under-recognized element of sustainability, because it’s the places that we love that we’ll fight for, invest in, and defend. He should know, because he’s been working in the field for over 30 years. He started his career as a litigator, and eventually he went on to direct the Sustainable Communities and Smart Growth program, and to co-found the LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system, as well as Smart Growth America. During this time, he wrote over a thousand posts about land planning, sustainable development, and creating places that work for people. His most recent book is “People Habitat: 25 Ways to Think about Greener, Healthier Cities.” This podcast is a production of DeepRoot Green Infrastructure, LLC (www.deeproot.com). For more information about Kaid, visit www.placemakers.com. Music: Broke for Free, “If”, Podington Bear, “Lost And Found,” Love Is Not”

Mayor Soglin, Madison Traffic Engineer David Dryer, Lieutenant Trevor Knight, and Officer Deanna Reilly from the Madison Police Department Traffic Section will meet with the media to discuss a recently released report from Smart Growth America outlining the Pedestrian Safety Index (PDI) of the largest 104 cities in the United States. They will additionally discuss options the City can consider to improve Madison’s ranking.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015 As news arises of drought, harmful algal blooms, and chemical spills across the nation, we are regularly reminded of the need to protect drinking water in our cities and communities. Every day, land use decisions affect future drinking water supplies, either intentionally or inadvertently. By protecting sources of drinking water through regular planning activities and practices like green infrastructure, we can build resilient, healthy, and beautiful communities. The Source Water Collaborative formed in 2006 with the goal to combine the strengths and tools of a diverse set of member organizations to act now, and protect sources of drinking water for generations to come. As a member of the collaborative, APA works with partners like the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, Smart Growth America, and many others to help communities across the nation protect sources of drinking water. Rachel Carlson is an environmental protection specialist in the Drinking Water Protection Division, Office of GroundWater and Drinking Water, U.S. EPA. She assists with geospatial analysis and outreach in a variety of projects to protect sources of drinkingwater and participates in the Source Water Collaborative, a group of 26 national organizations including APA that are dedicated to protectingsource water. Jim Taft is executive director of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, which supports the efforts of drinking water program administrators in states, territories, the District of Columbia, and the Navajo Nation as they implement the provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Representatives from Smart Growth America share the methodology and findings of a Fiscal Impact Analysis they developed for the Pioneer Neighborhood on Madison's Westside.

This week, Smart Growth America brought us the bad news: More than 47,000 people died while walking between 2003 and 2012. Most are killed on high-speed arterial roads. A disproportionate number are elderly or racial minorities. Paris brought us the antidote: The city is lowering its default speed limit to 30 kilometers, or about 18 miles, per hour. Speeds are already set at that level in about a third of the city's streets. That's good policy, and one cities around the world should be following. Meanwhile, the New York Times informed us that while housing is crawling out from the rock it's been hiding under since the bust, the new construction boom is almost entirely made up of multi-family housing -- a major shift from the single-family rut we've been stuck in for decades. In this episode, Jeff and I process all of that and more. Find holes in our analysis in the comments. And don't miss an episode: Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher or by signing up for our RSS feed. And lastly, our spring pledge drive ends on Sunday and we haven't yet hit our goal of reaching 400 donors. Donate today! We're grateful for your support!

Thursday, June 20, 2013——The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America, held a briefing to discuss national and local trends in the adoption of Complete Streets policies and how they can be incorporated into fiscally-sound federal transportation policy to support the creation of safer streets in communities across the country. More than 500 jurisdictions at the local, regional, and state levels are now using Complete Streets policies to plan, construct and operate streets that safely accommodate all users – including transit riders, bicyclists, pedestrians of all ages and abilities, and drivers. These policies are helping to build stronger local economies, attract businesses, and support healthier and safer communities. The Safe Streets Act of 2013, introduced by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Rep. David Joyce (R-OH), illustrates how federal policy can support local efforts to address roadway safety.