Transportation and Housing Toolkit - Free Regional Training Sessions in March 2012

From the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission

"How Inclusive is Your Community?
It’s easy to overlook the needs of many in our community when those needs are different than our own. This workshop will provide tools for planners to use to assess their locality, highlight common barriers to inclusive communities, and present possible changes to ordinances and processes to serve all residents. The presentation will include an overview of the Transportation and Housing (THA) Toolkit, a step-by-step review of the new standardized assessment tool, results of case studies in the six localities in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District, and approaches to incorporate inclusive principles and considerations into the day-to-day operations of planning departments.

* This event is approved for 3.0 CM credits for AICP members.

Cost: Free. Registration is required to reserve lunch.
To register call (434) 979-7310 x210 or
email register@tjpdc.org"

Events:
March 9 –Wytheville
March 13 – Williamsburg
March 21 – Warrenton

All Events from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Click to download (Printable Invite )

Strong Cities, Strong Communities Fellowship Program Twitter Town Hall TOMORROW 2/28

On February 28 at 3:00 p.m. EST, the US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Donovan and Assistant Secretary Poethig will host a Twitter town hall to launch the Strong Cities, Strong Communities Fellowship Program. The event will be streamed live on HUD’s website.

The Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech is pleased to be partnering with the German Marshall Fund (GMF) and Cleveland State University (CSU) for HUD’s SC2 Fellowship Program. Read more about this program.

Derek Hyra Elected Chair of the Board of Commissioners for the Alexandria Redev & Housing Authority

Derek Hyra, associate professor in Virginia Tech’s Urban Affairs and Planning Program, has been elected to a one-year term as chair of the board of commissioners for the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority, a public agency that provides affordable housing in the City of Alexandria. Hyra, who lives and works in Alexandria, Va., has served as a commissioner of the Authority since 2009 and became vice chair in 2011.

Read more

Wed Aug 17: Sustainable Communities Grant Program Webinar

We're glad to share this announcement from PolicyLink:

Wednesday
August 17, 2:00-3:00 pm EDT

Sustainable Communities Grant Program: Making Equity in Housing, Transportation, and Jobs the Heart of Your Region's Application

"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has recently announced its second year of Sustainable Communities funding to allow regions to plan for strengthening their economies. The $65 million HUD-DOT-EPA Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grants and the $28 million HUD-DOT Challenge grants are an important and new opportunity to make this happen. Please see the Notice of Funding Availability. Pre-applications are due August 25th, with full applications due September 26th. A key success factor in the creation of sustainable regions is planning for greater economic and social inclusion of communities, workers, and places that have been left behind.  

Join PolicyLink, HUD, and leading regional planners to discuss best equity practices to drive planning and investments in housing, health, environment, transportation, and other infrastructure needs. And learn about the PolicyLink 2011 Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Guide to help build best practices for addressing equity into a winning application and planning process. The guide also highlights successful applicants from the 2010 grant rounds.

Speakers:

• Dwayne Marsh, Senior Advisor, HUD Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities
• Jeff Taebel, Director, Community and Environmental Planning, Houston-Galveston Area Council
• Tracy Reich, Director, Community Programs, Impact Capital, Seattle Washington

Moderator:

• Kalima Rose, Director, PolicyLink Center for Infrastructure Equity

We look forward to having you on the webinar." 

Tues July 19 Sustainable and Inclusive Housing Prize Initiative and Learning Summit

Please join APA, HUD, the State Department, the Government of Brazil’s Ministry of Cities, and Ashoka Changemakers for a free event at the National Building Museum honoring the 11 finalists from the Sustainable and Inclusive Housing Prize Initiative. The Learning Summit will consist of interactive panel discussions from 9:30am to 4:00pm with an Awards Ceremony from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. CM Credit is pending.

To register, go to:

http://www.huduser.org/portal/SIHPI/index.html

More information:
In support of U.S. President Barack Obama's Energy and Climate Partnership for the Americas (ECPA), Ashoka's Changemakers, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of State, the American Planning Association and the Brazilian Ministry of Cities, and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, launched a global collaborative competition - Sustainable Urban Housing: Collaborating for Liveable and Inclusive Cities.

Eleven finalists from around the globe reached the final phase of the competition in February 2011 after being vetted by a panel of expert judges. Three diverse entries emerged as winners of the competition through the global public voting stage: Developing Real Estate for Squatters and Tenants of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina; Zero Waste, Sustainable Architecture, Renewable Energy: Unlimited Source of Renewable Materials for Sustainable Housing, Brazil; and Green Development Zone, USA.

These innovative solutions lift up ideas to provide sustainable, energy efficient housing and communities in a way that unleashes economic opportunities for the urban poor, and builds smarter, cleaner cities around the world. Please join us as we celebrate the finalists, the winners and the end to the competition and begin the next phases of this exciting initiative with a host of exciting panels, speakers and engaging discussion to find solutions to our rapidly urbanizing world.