Recent Where We're Working Articles

Greentopia Futures Summit

Tue, 10 Sep 2013 20:28:14 -0400

Reconnecting America President & CEO John Robert Smith will be participating in the Greentopia Futures Summit in Rochester, NY, on Sept. 10. The summit is Rochester’s first business-to-business conference where forethought is not an afterthought. For more on the conference, visit Greentopia's website.

HUD TA Team Implementation Site Visit and Peer Exchange

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:44:18 -0400

Reconnecting America Project Manager Elizabeth Wampler will be participating in the Department of Housing and Urban Development Technical Assistance Implementation Site Visit and Peer Exchange in Seattle on July 9-11. The technical assistance program is part of HUD's Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities grant program.

Moving To Work

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:01:21 -0400

Reconnecting America's Abby Thorne-Lyman, director of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, and Reconnecting America Project Manager Elizabeth Wampler participate in a lunchtime forum at the SPUR Urban Center on June 11 in San Francisco. They will be joined by Vu-Bang Nguyen of Urban Habitat and Egon Terplan of SPUR for a discussion of how to encourage job growth near transit and improve job access via transit, particularly for low- and moderate-income workers.

APTA Rail Conference

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 16:11:13 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline will moderate a session at the American Public Transportation Association Rail Conference in Philadelphia on June 4. The session is entitled "Transit Oriented Development or Development Oriented Transit?"

(Re-)Emerging Economies Action Team Learning from Place Workshop

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:51:36 -0400

Program Director Catherine Cox Blair, with our CTOD partner the Center for Neighborhood Technology’s Stefanie Shull, will be leading the (Re-)Emerging Economies Action Team Learning from Place Workshop on June 4-5 at the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore. The (Re-) Emerging Economies Action Team (REEAcT) is a coalition of regions and communities that face slow or declining market sectors, high concentrations of poverty, fragmented governments, and limited capacity and resources. The effort is part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities funded by HUD, DOT and EPA.

Opportunities For Multimodal Transportation In MAP-21

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:38:33 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline will address the directors of the Kaiser Permanente Community Health Initiatives on May 21. The topic of her talk will be "Opportunities for Multimodal Transportation in MAP-21."

TOD Priority Market Framework

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:13:46 -0400

Elizabeth Wampler and Abby Thorne-Lyman will be in the Twin Cities to meet with the Advisory Group for the TOD Priority Market Framework. The Framework will be an implementation tool to assist the region in prioritizing investment along transit corridors based on market readiness for investment, existing infrastructure for TOD, and social characteristics that connect people to jobs. This project is being funded by the McKnight Foundation.

National Convergence Partnership

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:45:02 -0400

Reconnecting America Program Associate Bill Sadler will be attending the National Convergence Partnership Annual Meeting on May 1 in Washington, DC. Mile High Connects received a $190,000 Innovation Fund grant from Convergence to set up a grant fund, and Sadler is on the task force charged with setting up the grant. This meeting is a convening of new grantees.

Sacramento TOD Business Plan Work Session

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:37:37 -0400

Reconnecting America's Abigail Thorne-Lyman, the director of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, will be participating in a two-day TOD Business Plan Work Session in Sacramento on April 29-30. The purpose of the meeting will be to ensure a shared understanding of TOD, affordable housing, equitable TOD; understand current initiatives in the region around transit connectivity, compact growth, and equity, and other relevant concepts, and how they result to the objectives of this work; review current financing tools; and feed this information into next steps in the project.

California Community Foundation's Smart Growth and Sustainable Communities Initiative

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:18:32 -0400

Reconnecting America's Abigail Thorne-Lyman, the director of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, will be in Los Angeles on april 25 for a meeting of the California Community Foundation's Smart Growth and Sustainable Communities Initiative.

Housing California 2013 Annual Conference

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:38:39 -0400

Reconnecting America's Abigail Thorne-Lyman, the director of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, will be presenting the TOD University curriculum at the Housing California annual conference in Sacramento on April 17. Housing Californa produces the nation's largest annual conference on affordable homes and homelessness. More about the conference here.

American Planning Association Annual Conference

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:12:27 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline and Project Manager Elizabeth Wampler will be participating in the American Planning Association Annual Convention in Chicago on April 15. Wampler will be participating in a panel that answers the question "Can Kids Live Downtown." (The answer, of course, is yes.) Kline will participate in a panel entitled "The New Role of Local Transportation Financing." More about Kline's panel is available here. Information about Wampler's panel is available here. More about the convention can be found here.

Activity Centers Strategic Implementation Plan

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:34:49 -0400

Reconnecting America Program Associate Bill Sadler will be in Washington, DC, April 12, working with the Metro Washington Council of Governments and the Region Forward Coalition on a typology as part of their Activity Centers Strategic Implementation Plan. The Regional Activity Centers and Clusters have been developed by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments' Metropolitan Development Policy Committee as a tool to help guide land use and transportation planning decisions. In addition, local and regional planning and policy goals may recommend working to increase either the amount of employment or housing in the Centers or Clusters.

Investing In What Works For America's Communities

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:44:11 -0400

Reconnecting America Chief of Staff Allison Brooks will be among the speakers at an April 4 panel discussion of Ideas That Work, part of the Investing In What Works For America's Communities book project. Brooks' panel will provide on-the-ground perspectives from successful community development projects in the Los Angeles area and across the country. The programs featured reflect the book’s themes of combining people and place, integration across traditional “program areas,” collaboration across bureaucratic silos, connection of neighborhood to region, and entrepreneurship. Brooks' panel will provide the audience with solid illustrations of what makes these models successful and the challenges and opportunities to replicating and scaling these approaches. For more information, click here.

The Impact of Public Transportation on Real Estate Values

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:16:43 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline will be a panelist March 21 in a lunch briefing on the resiliency of residential real estate values located in areas well-connected by public transportation. The briefing is put on by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), and the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Financing Our Nation's Infrastructure Needs

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 06:00:00 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline will be a panelist at a forum exploring options for financing America's infrastructure that is being put on by Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, who represents Connecticut’s 3rd District. The forum will bring together a wide range of individuals with expertise in private finance, innovative government approaches to infrastructure development at the federal, state and local level, and labor and business initiatives to enhance America's infrastructure. Kline's panel will discuss Stakeholder Views on Infrastructure development. She will be joined by Tom Trotter, Legislative Affairs representative for the AFL-CIO; Janet Kavinoky, Executive Director of Transportation and Infrastructure for the US Chamber of Commerce; and Dr. William R. Buechner, Vice President for Economics and Research, American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

National League Of Cities Congressional City Conference

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 17:50:52 -0400

Reconnecting America President & CEO John Robert Smith will be participating in the National League of Cities 2013 Congressional City Conference on March 10 in Washington, DC. Smith will be on a panel discussion of implementation of MAP-21, the federal Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century transportationi spending legislation. More about the conference here.

Land Use For A Lifetime: Changing Demographics And Shifting Priorities

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:08:24 -0500

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline and Program Associate Bill Sadler will be participating in the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute’s 2013 Annual Land Use Conference, “Land Use For A Lifetime: Changing Demographics And Shifting Priorities” on March 8 in Denver, CO.

Kline will be discussing Reconnecting America’s recent report “Putting Transit to Work in Main Street America” during a session titled “Born In A Small Town.”

Sadler will be a participant in a session on “Best Practices for Creating Equitable, Sustainable Communities Near Transit.”

More information about the conference is available here.

Transforming a Community through Transportation

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:58:24 -0500

Reconnecting America President & CEO John Robert Smith will be in Charleston, WV, on Feb. 28 as the featured speaker at a Charleston Area Alliance Think Tank on Transforming a Community through Transportation. A popular forum for exploring emerging issues and improving our community, this series features speakers addressing a range of topics including: economic and community development relationships and tools, sustainability, branding, tourism, and revitalization.

Rocky Mountain West Urban Leadership Symposium

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:37:57 -0500

Reconnecting America Program Associate Bill Sadler will facilitate a workshop on “Transportation & Infrastructure” at the Rocky Mountain West Urban Leadership Symposium in Denver on Feb. 27. The Downtown Denver Partnership' third Rocky Mountain West Urban Leadership Symposium is a day-long event designed to bring elected officials, business executives, and civic leaders together to explore common challenges and opportunities that influence urban policy in the Rocky Mountain West region. The Symposium will consist of a series of presentations and panels by inspiring experts, followed by facilitated break-out sessions between participants to encourage innovation, engagement and collaboration within their respective cities and across the region.

Twin Cities TOD Strategic Action Plan

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:55:55 -0500

Program Associate Elizabeth Wampler will be in Minneapolis on Feb. 25 for Think Tank 2, which will be exploring the Metropolitan Council's TOD Strategic Action Plan. This is the second of three working sessions that Reconnecting America is coordinating with the Met Council, the MPO and transit agency in the Twin Cities, to help them create a TOD Strategic Action Plan to guide the agency to play a defined role in implementing TOD in the Twin Cities region.

Financing TOD and Infill Supportive Infrastructure Peer Exchange

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:26:03 -0500

Reconnecting America Program Director Catherine Cox Blair and Policy Associate Sasha Forbes will be in Miami on Feb. 26 for the Financing TOD and Infill Supportive Infrastructure Peer Exchange. The day-and-a-half-long event provides technical expertise from national practitioners on value capture, public-private partnerships, joint development and other innovative financing mechanisms such as tax-increment financing for TOD. The event will provide an opportunity for HUD/EPA Sustainable Communities Partnership grantees to share case studies and best practices from their own regions.

Los Angeles Transit Corridors Cabinet

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:48:25 -0500

Reconnecting America's Abigail Thorne-Lyman, who is the director of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, will be in Los Angeles on Feb. 20 for an LA THRIVES meeting on the new Los Angeles Transit Corridors Cabinet.

Atlanta TOD Collaborative

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:42:53 -0500

Reconnecting America Chief of Staff Allison Brooks and Program Director Catherine Cox Blair will be in Atlanta on Feb. 11 to attend a meeting of the Atlanta TOD Collaborative. The Atlanta TOD Collaborative is an eight-member partnership of non-profits and government agencies aimed at removing barriers to, and advancing incentives for, equitable transit-oriented development (TOD) in the Atlanta region, while increasing public understanding and awareness around the benefits of TOD. For more information, visit the Atlanta TOD Collaborative website.

US High Speed Rail Association Summit

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:08:42 -0500

Reconnecting America President & CEO John Robert Smith will be participating in the US High Speed Rail Association Summit on Feb. 11 in Washington, DC.

"This summit brings together an amazing line-up of top business leaders and government officials who are working to bring high speed rail to America" said Andy Kunz, USHSR President & CEO. "We are excited to be working with the visionaries and leaders pushing for major improvements to the nation's transportation networks."

For more information on the association and to view the agenda for the Summit, visit the USHSR website.

Small Town: Transportation Success Stories from Rural America

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:27:21 -0500

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline will be presenting Reconnecting America's report, "Putting Transit to Work in Main Street America," at a session entitled “Born in a Small Town: Transportation Success Stories from Rural America” on Feb. 7 at the New Partners for Smart Growth conference. Small city and rural America has public transportation needs that are just as compelling as those in big cities. Aging populations, young people, disabled citizens, working families and other people who want transportation choices are working together as never before to make public transportation happen. Federal and state government resources have become available for small-town and rural transit, and communities are leveraging this investment to great success. Kline will be among panelists discussing small city and rural transit success stories from around the country, with an emphasis on why and how success happened so that the lessons learned can be applied in other communities.

The three-day conference includes nearly 100 sessions, tours, networking activities, special events and specialized trainings and workshops. It will also include continuing education credits for several disciplines (including landscape architects, architects, AICP planners, and attorneys).

An interactive online engagement platform has also been created in conjunction with the conference, created and sponsored by MindMixer. EnvisionSustainableCommunities.com is powered by the ideas of engaged people from across the nation, and will provide forum for communities to share their success stories of overcoming challenges, implementing smart growth practices and creating more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous communities, now and into the future. While this tool is connected to the New Partners Conference, anyone interested in sustainable communities can participate, share and be part of this online conversation.

The registration deadline is Jan. 18. Visit the conference web site at www.NewPartners.org to register, get more program and event details, and information on making hotel reservations.

Sustainable Neighborhoods, Thriving Residents: Strategies for Building Equitable Communities

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:21:59 -0500

Reconnecting America Program Associate Bill Sadler will be participating in a preconference session on Sustainable Neighborhoods, Thriving Residents: Strategies for Building Equitable Communities at the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference on Feb. 6. This workshop will explore how low-income, minority, tribal, and other overburdened communities are integrating land use and economic development strategies to renew their neighborhoods and build residents’ skills and wealth. Representatives from community-based organizations, local and regional planners, economic developers, and businesses will share how they’re working together to address health and environmental concerns, provide more housing and transportation options, promote wellness, increase access to opportunities, train workers, support local businesses, build on community assets, and develop strategies for growth that uplifts all residents. Interactive training sessions will teach participants about tools and approaches that integrate land use and economic and workforce development to revitalize underserved communities. The event will conclude with reflections by federal and other leaders on how their organizations will support equitable development in the year ahead.

The registration deadline is Jan. 18. Visit the conference web site at www.NewPartners.org to register, get more program and event details, and information on making hotel reservations.

Move LA’s Annual Conference At Union Station

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:32:12 -0500

Reconnecting America Chief of Staff Allison Brooks will be attending Move LA's 5th Annual Transportation Conversation on Feb. 1 in Los Angeles.

Move LA's mission is to build a broad constituency that will advocate for the development of a comprehensive, diverse, robust, clean, and financially sound public transportation system for Los Angeles County and champion strategies to accelerate its implementation.

Topics to be discussed during the daylong conversation:

Big Picture Politics of Money for Transportation: What’s the next step to accelerating Measure R? Among the proposals on the table are: America Fast Forward Bonds, 55% voter threshold, Vehicle License Fee, cap and trade funds, and a National Infrastructure Development Bank.
Making the Transit Revolution in LA Real and Fair: What are the tools we need to make the transit revolution real and fair in LA County? Lots of ideas are being talked about in the post- CRA era including new ways to use tax increment financing, cap & trade funds, development standards and other strategies to increase housing opportunities for core transit users and to facilitate walking and cycling.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Transit Corridors Cabinet: Several Cabinet members – the general managers of transportation, housing, planning and public works — will present their plans over the next six months for making the city more friendly for people taking transit, walking and cycling. A panel of advocates, developers, planners and academics – and the audience — will respond.

Activity Centers Strategic Implementation Plan

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:34:49 -0500

Reconnecting America Project Director Chris Yake and Program Associate Bill Sadler will be in Washington, DC, Jan. 24-25, working with the Metro Washington Council of Governments and the Region Forward Coalition on a typology as part of their Activity Centers Strategic Implementation Plan. The Regional Activity Centers and Clusters have been developed by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments' Metropolitan Development Policy Committee as a tool to help guide land use and transportation planning decisions. In addition, local and regional planning and policy goals may recommend working to increase either the amount of employment or housing in the Centers or Clusters.

Innovations in City Transportation

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:33:41 -0500

Reconnecting America Presicent & CEO John Robert Smith will preside over a session at the Transportation Research Board's 92nd Annual Meeting on Jan. 16. In the session, Innovations in City Transportation, three transportation leaders from the country's largest cities discuss their innovations and how they are using changes in transportation services and projects to compete with other world-class cities. Among the presenters is Reconnecting America Board Member Janette Sadik-Khan, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation.

Transit-Oriented Development & "Complete Community"

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 15:00:56 -0500

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline will make a presentation during the regularly scheduled meeting of the Silver Spring Transportation Management District Advisory Committee on Jan. 10. Kline will discuss how to create better communities, with a focus on transit-oriented development and defining what makes a "complete community."

Regional Opportunity Atlas, Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Restoration

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:57:26 -0500

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will be in Tallahassee, FL, Dec. 13 to discuss "Regional Opportunity Atlas, Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Restoration" at the Tallahassee City Hall Commission Chambers. Discussions are underway to revive the defunct Amtrak commuter rail line in Tallahassee, and redeveloping the station near Florida A&M's campus. Amtrak Gulf Coast Connector's Sunset Limited was discontinued in late 2005 after Hurricane Katrina destroyed many of the tracks.

Transit-Oriented Development And 'Complete Communities’

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:43:27 -0500

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline will address the Friendship Heights Transportation Management District Advisory Committee on Dec. 11. Kline will make a presentation entitled "Transit oriented development and ‘complete communities’."

Investing in What Works for America’s Communities Launch Event

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:48:45 -0500

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will participate in a panel discussions on "Ideas That Work" in Washington, DC, on Dec. 4.

The discussion is part of a program put on by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Low Income Investment Fund, and the Citi Foundation to showcase ideas that are captured in a new book, Investing in What Works for America’s Communities. The book includes essays from experts in a variety of fields who provide dozens of examples of innovative interventions that are transforming neighborhoods around the country. Smith and Reconnecting America Chief of Staff Allison Brooks contributed a chapter for the book.

Smith's panel will highlight organizations that have demonstrated success with comprehensive and integrated approaches to community development. Appearing with Smith will be Shirley Franklin of Purpose Built Communities, Angela Blanchard of Neighborhood Centers Inc., and Jeff Edmondson of the Strive Network.

American cities to Millennials: Don't leave

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 10:47:40 -0500

Reconnecting America Chief of Staff Allison Brooks was interviewed by USA Today reporter Haya El Nasser for her article "American cities to Millennials: Don't leave."

Grocery stores, child care and other services near transit. The young have been flocking to cities partly because they can walk to work or take mass transit. They still want that, but it can be daunting when they have kids in tow and need to take a bus to the grocery store and a subway to the day care center.

"The first thing to know is where the gaps are," says Allison Brooks, chief of staff for Reconnecting America, a national organization that works to link transportation and community development. She's co-author of the group's recent report, Are We There Yet? Creating Complete Communities for 21st Century America.

Brooks has worked with the city of Denver to map where day care centers, preschools, grocery stores and jobs are in relation to public transit stops. She has found more willingness among local leaders to cooperate in the face of this demographic transformation.

The availability of city data that are easily accessible to citizens has given residents everywhere more input in governing. ...

"We have to help people live easier lifestyles, healthier lifestyles and more affordable lifestyles," Brooks says. "There is real interest in creating these environments. Cities want to keep these people. They spend money."

The Fruitvale Transit Village in Oakland opened in 2004 with a library, a charter school, a senior center and housing near the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station and has become a national model for integrating transit and services.

Brooks, who lives in Oakland and has a 3-year-old, has no intention of leaving the city where 20% of schools are charter, she says. "I can walk to a BART station. I can ride my bike to downtown Oakland," she says. "Even if we decide to send her to private school, we're not going to move out."

Read the full article here.

HUD Sustainable Communities Convening

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:21:47 -0500

HUD is gathering all of the grantees from its Sustainable Communities grant program for a three-day convening in Washington, DC, to share lessons learned, spotlight success stories and receive feedback on grant activities to date. As a Capacity Building grantee, Reconnecting America staff Catherine Cox Blair, Abby Thorne-Lyman, Chris Yake and Sasha Forbes will be attending and presenting on implementation tools and strategies for creating more livable and sustainable communities in the grantee regions. These presentations will include sessions on affordable housing tools to prevent displacement and using typologies in corridor and regional planning.

Louisiana Smart Growth Summit

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:45:35 -0500

Reconnecting America's Abigail Thorne-Lyman, the director of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, will be speaking at the Lousiana Smart Growth Summit in Baton Rouge on Aug. 27. The Louisiana Smart Growth Summit is an annual convening in downtown Baton Rouge of elected officials, engaged citizens and local, national, and international experts in community planning and growth. The 2012 summit will focus on the smart economics of Smart Growth.

Learning About Transit-Oriented Development

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:03:22 -0400

Reconnecting America Chief of Staff Allison Brooks will be in Vancouver,BC, to continue the series of workshops introducing Arup employees, through their Arup University program, to the concept of transit-oriented development. This part is facilitated by Patrick Condon at the University of British Columbia. Through lectures, discussions, and site visits, participants in the workshop will learn about the different efforts going on in the Bay Area coordinating land-use, investments and public policy in order to support compact, walkable, mixed-use development in neighborhoods with high-quality public transit.

Designing Cities: Leading the Way to World Class Streets

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 14:22:03 -0400

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will be in New York on Oct. 24 for the Designing Cities: Leading the Way to World Class Streets conference put on by the National Association of City Transportation Officials. Smith will be participating in a panel discussion on the topic of Getting Value from TOD. More about the conference.

McGraw Hill Construction Business Builders Forum

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:03:13 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline will participate in a panel discussion at the McGraw Hill Construction Business Builders Forum on Oct. 23 in Washington, DC. The panel will explore the implications of the new federal transportation bill and discuss how future infrastructure needs will be met.

Learning About Transit-Oriented Development

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:03:36 -0400

Reconnecting America is hosting a four-day workshop in the Bay Area to introduce Arup employees, through their Arup University program, to the concept of transit-oriented development. Through lectures, discussions, and site visits, participants in the workshop will learn about the different efforts going on in the Bay Area coordinating land-use, investments and public policy in order to support compact, walkable, mixed-use development in neighborhoods with high-quality public transit.

Rail~Volution 2012

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 13:19:24 -0400

Reconnecting America and the Center for Transit-Oriented Development will be participating in a number of sessions at Rail~Volution 2012 in Los Angeles during Oct. 14-17. A listing of Reconnecting America and CTOD sessions is available here.

Next American Vanguard

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 13:14:32 -0400

Reconnecting America Program Associate Bill Sadler will be in St. Louis on Oct. 10 as part of the the 2012 Next American Vanguard Class. Sadler is one of 43 people selected from nearly 200 applications by Next American City for this year’s class. Next American Vanguard Class members were chosen for their bright ideas for cities, experience in the field and ambition for the future. Read more here.

Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 13:38:31 -0400

Reconnecting America President & CEO John Robert Smith is the keynote speaker for the 2012 Annual Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance luncheon and meeting Oct. 9 at the Union Station City Stage. A news report about the speech is available here.

Thinking Outside the Farebox: Creative Approaches to Financing Transit Project

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 12:44:48 -0400

Reconnecting America President & CEO John Robert Smith will be participating in Transportation for America's traveling "Thinking Outside the Farebox: Creative Approaches to Financing Transit Project" project. With local sponsors, Transportation for America is holding workshops on federal transit financing in a post-earmark era, bringing together high level officials from the U.S. Department of Transportation, national transportation financing experts, and leaders from other regions with transit success stories. Workshops will be held in St. Petersburg, FL (Sept. 19), and Seattle, WA (Oct. 4). These events are open to the public. For more information, contact Russ Brooks with Transportation for America at russ.brooks@t4america.org and 202-955-5543 x211.

Downtown Mobile Alliance

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:56:16 -0400

Reconnecting America President & CEO John Robert Smith will give the keynote talk at the luncheon meeting of the Downtown Mobile, AL, Alliance on Oct. 3. The Downtown Mobile Alliance is a non-profit organization established to facilitate the work of the Downtown Mobile District Management Corporation and Main Street Mobile, Inc. Established in August 2006, the Alliance is a membership organization designed to create more exposure for downtown redevelopment efforts, both within the downtown community and throughout the city at large.

American Public Transportation Association Annual Meeting

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 13:36:36 -0400

Reconnecting America Chief of Staff Allison Brooks will attend the 2012 American Public Transportation Association Annual Meeting in Seattle Sept. 30-Oct. 1. Brooks will be a panelist in the session on Planning Partnerships for Livable Communities. Session description: "As communities, regions, and states look to improve their “sustainability” and “livability” through coordinated transportation, land use, housing and environmental programs, productive organizational partnerships among service providers and stakeholder interests are essential. With the transportation element, transit agencies need to be engaged with regional organizations in order for transit plans and programs to be fairly considered in funding decisions. The partnerships between public transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and elected officials and stakeholders working together to develop sustainable transportation long-range plans and short-range programs will be the focus of the session. In addition, panel members will discuss institutional arrangements, transit-oriented development, street design, economic development, urban circulators, and financing that support livable communities, and other sustainable outcomes, including the prominent challenges experienced, strategies used to overcome those challenges, and suggested areas of need for technical assistance and capacity-building."

Amtrak Civic Conversation

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:51:23 -0400

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will attend the Amtrak Civic Conversation in St. Paul, Minn., on Sept. 26.As part of the Great American Stations project, Amtrak hosts Civic Conversations in an effort to inform communities about station renovation and build partnerships with those working to revitalize the stations Amtrak serves.

Transit-Oriented Development Rating Systems

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:53:42 -0400

Reconnecting America Project Director Chris Yake will be in Boston to work on Transit-Oriented Development Rating Systems. The Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University and the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD) are partnering, with the support of the Barr Foundation, to develop a “rating system” for equitable transit-oriented development. This project is scheduled to be completed by November 2012.

TOD Strategic Action Plan

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 12:40:19 -0400

Program Director Catherine Cox Blair and Project Director Chris Yake will be in Minneapolis on Sept. 11 for a two-day think tank session exploring the Metropolitan Council's TOD Strategic Action Plan.

LA THRIVES “Big Table” conversation on Transit Oriented Development

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:10:20 -0400

Reconnecting America's Abigail Thorne Lyman, the director of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, will be in Los Angeles on Sept. 7 for a discussion with LA THRIVE on "What is your Vision for Equitable TOD in Los Angeles?" The conversation will focus on three areas: Maximizing Transit Ridership, Planning TOD and Equitable TOD. Reconnecting America recently completed a report on affordable housing in Los Angeles and the potential displacement that new transit may bring. Starting in July California Community Foundation is funding an “equity atlas” with Reconnecting America that will be both (1) a process to develop strategies to use the Measure R build out to provide greater access to essential services, schools, affordable housing, schools and health care, and (2) a visual summary of demographics, education, health, housing needs and other indicators in relation to transit.

Updating The Los Angeles Housing Department 5-Year Consolidated Plan

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 20:38:43 -0400

Reconnecting America's Abigail Thorne Lyman, the director of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, will be in Los Angeles with Enterprise Community Partners to provide technical assistance to the Los Angeles Housing Department as it updates its 5-year consolidated plan. Reconnecting America and Enterprise are providing this service as part of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's OneCPD Integrated Practitioner Assistance System, which provides technical assistance for HUD’s Community Planning and Development grantees that is comprehensive, assessment based and focused on measurable outcomes.

Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Summit

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 13:17:16 -0400

Reconnecting America President & CEO John Robert Smith will be addressing the Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Summit in Mobile, Alabama, Aug. 15-16. Smith is the former Mayor of Meridian, Mississippi, and a long‐time leader on behalf of passenger rail. He is co‐chairman of Transportation for America, a former Chairman of Amtrak’s board, and a former member of the transportation committees of the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, as well as former co‐chairman of the National Forum on the Future of Passenger Rail.

State Public Transportation Partnership Conference

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:04:30 -0400

Policy Associate Sasha Forbes will address the American Public Transportation Association's State Plublic Transportation Partnership Conference in Chicago on Aug. 16. The conference agenda emphasizes best practices and programs of state associations and state DOTs as well as federal, state and local partnerships for public transportation. The topic of Forbes' talk is "Putting Transit to Work in Main Street America." More information about the conference is available here.

Typology for Transit-Oriented Development

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 13:21:28 -0400

Reconnecting America Project Director Chris Yates and Program Associate Bill Sadler spoke to the Gulf Regional Planning Commission on Aug. 14-15 about TOD and the benefits of doing a typology exercise to prioritize development opportunities near transit in the region. It was a two-day workshop that included a tour of the Mississippi Gulf Region (Gulfport/Biloxi), a 3-hour workshop with transportation stakeholders in the region and a work session with GRPC staff to talk about their transportation planning efforts and how they could promote TOD in the region, as well as what tools were available to help them implement it. This was a project funded through the EPA Building Blocks technical assistance program. Reconnecting America is part of the Livability Solutions team that offered free technical assistance to communities interested in using our team’s tools to overcome a specific planning challenge in their region.

Sustainable Placemaking for Everyone

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 16:56:58 -0400

Reconnecting America Program Associate Bill Sadler has a blog post at the American Planning Association's Sustaining Places blog. "The case for sustainable places has largely been made, but how do we ensure that all populations benefit from the increased access to opportunity that these communities can provide?" asks Sadler in "Sustainable Placemaking for Everyone."

Using Housing and Transportation Measures to Plan and Invest in Community Development

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 16:15:02 -0400

Reconnecting America will be co-sponsoring a workshop on Aug. 3 in Denver focused on community development decisions using combined housing and transportation cost measures. The workshop will examine tools planners, elected officials, developers and funders in the Denver region can use to more effectively target their housing and transportation investment and development decisions. In addition to Reconnecting America, Denver sponsors of the workshop include the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Denver Regional Council of Governments, Enterprise Community Partners, Mile High Connects, Urban Land Conservancy, Urban Land Institute Colorado, and US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Region 8.

Transportation Procurement As A Win-Win for Local Economies And Communities

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 15:01:40 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Director will be participating in a panel discussion of "Procurement as a Tool for Boosting Local Economies and Job Creation" on July 26 as part of an invitation-only one-day seminar on "Transportation Procurement As A Win-Win for Local Economies And Communities." The gathering is co-hosted by Surdna Foundation, LA Alliance for New Economy (LAANE) and the Brookings Institution. Annually, billions of public-private partnership funds are invested in new transportation projects and the maintenance of existing infrastructure in the US; however there are knowledge and practice gaps related to identifying and leveraging transportation purchasing dollars to achieve a broad range of community benefits. Meeting organizers are seeking early stage strategy development regarding ways to increase, improve and better integrate transit manufacturing and local economic development in the US.

Rail~Volution Steering Committee

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:45:51 -0400

Reconnecting America Chief of Staff Allison Brooks will be in Minneapolis on July 17 for the final meeting of the Steering Committee in pulling the program for the conference together in Los Angeles in October. For more information about the Oct. 13-17 2012 Los Angeles Rail~Volution conference visit the website RailVolution.org

The Looming Crisis In Mass Transit

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 12:07:20 -0400

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith is quoted extensively in the July / August issue of Saturday Evening Post in the article “The Looming Crisis In Mass Transit.”

Smith's quotes from the article:

Over the past 50 years America made massive public investments in its highways—hundreds of billions of dollars in the interstate system alone. And largely because of that investment, cities and suburbs have grown into sprawling, disconnected clusters, largely dependent on the automobile. But America is changing, and it’s time to rethink the way we travel. “We have to change that and give people more options,” says John Robert Smith, president of Reconnecting America, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., that advises local leaders on transportation planning. …

In America, not so much. “We are 30 to 40 years behind Europe and Asia,” said Smith, who adds that the big push for mass transit will have to come from state, city, and county governments and filter up to the federal level. … What occurred in Normal is known as transit-oriented development or TOD, in which public investment in transit stations leverages private development. TOD initially was a big parking lot next to a light rail station—a place where commuters parked their cars and boarded a train—but the concept has been expanded to retail centers, theaters, and condos and apartments, explains Smith.

Before he became director of Reconnecting America, Smith was mayor of Meridian, a small city in Mississippi that built an impressive, retro-looking rail-bus station with the aim of revitalizing its downtown and creating an attractive stop for the Crescent, the long-distance train running between New York City and New Orleans.

Meridian partnered with developers to designate historic and arts districts within walking distance of the station. Many vintage buildings were beautifully restored and some became repurposed as restaurants, shops, galleries, and apartments.

“Development around stations is a key to a successful transit system,” says Smith. “We have to be cognizant of streetscapes, walkability, and biking, too—really thinking about how people use these forms of transportation.”

The intermodal hubs in Normal and Meridian were built with federal grants and other government funds. Private developers typically piggyback with government spending but don’t fund transportation projects on their own. The risk is too great; the time horizons too long.

“It’s said that government exists to provide for people what they cannot provide for themselves. That is the nature of transportation,” Smith says. “The moment you step off your property for a trip to the store or doctor or to go to school, you are on public infrastructure.” …

Some politicians say the ongoing recession and mounting state and federal deficits make mass transit investment a luxury the country cannot afford, but Smith points out that America has invested in transportation during its most challenging periods—the Transcontinental Railway after the Civil War and the interstate highway system after World War II when the country was deeply in debt.

“And each time America prospered,” Smith says. “It’s no different this time. We will not move this economy forward without investment in reconnecting all of our citizens.”

Read the full article: The Looming Crisis In Mass Transit

Under New Bill, America’s Transpo Loan Program Ignores National Goals

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 14:39:25 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline is quoted in Streetsblog Capitol Hill post discussing recent changes in the federal transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program.

“By removing those selection criteria, they’ve basically turned the federal government into a bank,” said Sarah Kline, director of policy for Reconnecting America, “instead of an entity with national policy in mind.” . . .

“The federal government essentially has no control over what kind of projects get built,” Kline said. “As long as you come in with an application that is technically eligible and meets the credit-worthiness, it’s not clear to me that the federal government can say, ‘No, this is not the kind of project we want to fund; we’re looking for things that are innovative; this is not innovative.’”

Read the blog post: Under New Bill, America’s Transpo Loan Program Ignores National Goals

Workshop on Integrated Spatial Development in Practice

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:56:29 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline will be addressing the workshop on Integrated Spatial Development in Practice on June 27 at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC. The workshop aims to learn from local efforts on Transport Oriented Development (TOD). Kline and the other participants will share their knowledge on TOD efforts, with emphasis on way of making value capture function, for spatial development that is coordinated, attractive, and livable. Speakers will focus on topics related to: the state of TOD practice around the country and some of the innovative financing tools in communities, cases from Portland, Oregon, and Arlington County, Virginia. The workshop is part of the bank's flagship Eco2 Cities initiative “Ecological Cities as Economic Cities" or "Eco2." In this initiative, the city-based integrated approach, is emphasized as a key conceptual element. Having space developed in an integrated way – with transport guiding land development – is particularly important for guiding cities to sustainable pathways. More information is available here.

Bottineau Corridor Typology Workshop

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:00:00 -0400

Reconnecting America Program Director Catherine Cox Blair and Program Associate Elizabeth Wampler will be participating in a Bottineau Corridor Typology Workshop on June 19 at Brooklyn Park, MN, City Hall. The development of a typology for station areas is the next phase in the Bottineau Boulevard Station Area Pre-Planning Study. By characterizing station areas based both on quantitative measures and qualitative knowledge, typologies help identify when and where planning and implementation activities are needed. The Bottineau Typology will:

Lay the groundwork for station area planning
Create a shared understanding of how stations areas interact and compare to one another
Define a consistent terminology for station areas, which can be used in future planning and funding proposals
Describe where market pressures are likely to occur and require planning interventions
Identify the type and timing of planning and implementation activities

Making Sense of the 1 Cent

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:47:21 -0400

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will address the Civic League of Regional Atlanta on June 12 in a conversation about people, places and possibility, with emphasis on how to overcome community development challenges to create better communities for all. More information on the event is available here.

Seattle Transit Community Typology

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:49:21 -0400

Reconnecting America's Abigail Thorne Lyman, Director, Center for Transit-Oriented Development, and Reconnecting America Project Director Chris Yake will be in Seattle June 11 for a work session with Growing Transit Communities and the Puget Sound Regional Council. Participants in the session will be working on the creation of a typology framework.

2012 APTA Rail Conference

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 11:16:29 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline will be in Dallas, June 5-6, for the American Public Transportation Association 2012 Rail Conference. On June 5, Kline will be moderating a panel on "Mobility Management for Sustainable Communities." On June 6, she will be participating in a panel discussion on "Station-Area Planning." More information on the conference is available here.

Tennessee Obesity Task Force

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:01:55 -0400

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will give the morning keynote address on May 29 at the Tennessee Obesity Task Force gathering in Nashville.

Community Transportation Association Expo

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:25:41 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Associate Sasha Forbes will be addressing the Community Transportation Association Expo in Baltimore on May 24. Forbes will be discussing Reconnecting America's new report, "Putting Transit to Work in Main Street America: How Smaller Cities and Rural Places Are Using Transit and Mobility Investments to Strengthen Their Economies and Communities." More about the conference.

PCRG’s Second Annual Community Development Summit

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:14:09 -0400

Reconnecting America and Center for Transit-Oriented Development staff will be attending the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group’s Second Annual Community Development Summit in Pittsburgh on May 24. The conference attracts more than 500 individuals from across the country to explore new ideas in organizational development, community planning, land recycling, affordable housing, transit-oriented development, and neighborhood revitalization.

LA Thrives: Transit, Housing, Resources and Investment for a Vibrant Economy

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:54:18 -0400

Reconnecting America's Abigail Thorne Lyman, Director, Center for Transit-Oriented Development, will be attending LA THRIVES: Transit, Housing, Resources and Investment for a Vibrant Economy in Los Angeles on May 18. Reconnecting America is a member of the LA THRIVE collaborative, which is committed to equitable TOD that prioritizes investments in the production and preservation of affordable homes, protects the social fabric of neighborhoods, and allows residents to walk, bike and take transit to shops and services.

Los Angeles Affordable Housing Preservation Summit

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:28:45 -0400

Abigail Thorne Lyman, Director, Center for Transit-Oriented Development, will unveil the Los Angeles Affordable Housing Preservation in Transit-Oriented Districts study at the Los Angeles Affordable Housing Preservation Summit, May 16. This study defines transit-oriented districts with the greatest need and opportunity for preservation of affordable and vulnerable housing over the next five years.

2012 Rural Community Conference

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:45:03 -0400

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will be attending the 2012 Rural Community Conference in Bozeman, Montanna. He will give the conference-closing speech on the topic of community revitalization. The Future of Rural conference will be held May 15-16 at the Montana State University campus. More information here.

Livability and Planning Workshops

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:32:20 -0400

Reconnecting America's Policy Director Sarah Kline will be participating in the Federal Transit Administration's Livability and Planning Workshops on May 15 and 16 in Washington, DC. On Tuesday, Kline will be discussing the Center for Transit-Oriented Development's upcoming FTA-sponsored booklet, TOD 205: Families and Transit-Oriented Development. On Wednesday, she will address a workshop on Working With Federal Grantees.

Road to Resilience: Using Transportation to Revitalize Cities

Wed, 09 May 2012 17:57:54 -0400

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will participate in the Reinventing Older Communities: Building Resilient Cities conference in Philadelphia May 9-11. The former mayor of Meridian, Miss., will appear on a panel entitled "Road to Resilience: Using Transportation to Revitalize Cities," which will explore the role transportation plays in expanding access to jobs and affordable housing, as well asattracting new development and amenities to the areas it serves. Joining him on the panel will be Lee Sheehy, Program Director of Regions and Communities, McKnight. The moderator will be John Moon, Assistant Director of Capital Formation, Living Cities. More information here.

Central Corridor Funders Collabortiave

Wed, 09 May 2012 15:26:22 -0400

Reconnecting America Program Director Catherine Cox Blair will be in Twin Cities on May 5 to attend the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative's annual stakeholders event.

Live/Work/Walk: Removing Obstacles to Investment

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:36:49 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Director Sarah Kline will be attending the the invitation-only roundtable disucssion focusing on the challenges and opportunities for removing regulatory barriers to financing Live/Work/Walk and mixed-use development types. Led by the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) in partnership with the Urban Land Institute, Center for Neighborhood Technology, LOCUS/Smart Growth America, National Association of Realtors, National Town Builders Association, National Association of Home Builders, and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, discussions will focus on horizontal mixed-use rental properties and market demand for Live/Work/Walk development in urban and suburban areas. The goal of the roundtable is to generate concepts for new real estate financing approaches, "asset classes," underwriting standards, and secondary markets for Live/Work/Walk investments. More information on LiveWork/Walk

APA National Conference

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:22:29 -0400

Reconnecting America Chief of Staff Allison Brooks will be participating in panel discussions on preservation of affordable housing and housing for older Americans in high access locations near transit at the American Planning Association's annual conference in Los Angeles on April 17, Abigail Thorne-Lyman, the director of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, will lead a multimodal tour -- walking, biking, transit -- of the Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley.

Twin Cities TOD Advisory Committee meeting

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:12:40 -0400

Reconnecting America Policy Associate Elizabeth Wampler will be in Minneappolis on April 17 and 18 for the local TOD Advisory Committee meeting. The TOD Advisory Committee brings together a collection of public agency representatives, regional non-profit advocacy groups, the business community, foundation staff and others that represent a growing network of groups proactively engaged in supporting transit-oriented development in the Twin Cities. Read more about the committee here.

Housing California 2012 Annual Conference

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:57:34 -0400

Reconnecting America Chief of Staff Allison Brooks will be participating in a panel discussion of TOD financing tools at the 2012 Annual Housing California Conference in Sacramento on April 11. The panel, "Fresh Financing Tools to Support Affordable Homes and Equitable Transit-Oriented Development" will discuss tje omplex new partnerships between nonprofit community development organizations, government, philanthropic foundations, and community and private lenders who are merging to provide much-needed financing for mixed-income, transit-oriented development in regions around the United States. Funds created by these new partnerships are innovative tools in addressing the unique set of challenges posed by transit-oriented development, including limited land supply and higher costs in transit-rich areas, the need for higher-risk and more-patient capital, and local land-use and policy support for workforce housing and mixed-use development.

Creative Placemaking Summit

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:06:44 -0400

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will be participating in a creative placemaking summit hosted by MassINC in Lowell, Mass., on April 11. The summit will explore how small to midsize cities can use arts and culture as a revitalization strategy. Smith will be touching on his experience as mayor of Meridian, Miss., and transportation's critical role in shaping the built environment in ways that facilitate urban vibrancy.

How station area typology can drive decisions

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:50:48 -0400

Reconnecting America Project Director Chris Yake will be discussing "How station area typology can drive decisions" at the March 29 Futurewise's Transit-Oriented Communities Brownbag Series in Seattle. From the organization's website: "Futurewise's Transit-Oriented Communities: A Blueprint for Washington State publication and the Seattle Planning Commission's Seattle Transit Communities report are the first two attempts at typology in the region. And right now the Puget Sound Regional Council is in the midst of its own typology process to evaluate the north, east, and south corridors of the light rail extensions. There couldn't be a better time to discuss station area typology and its potential impact . We have a stellar line-up of presenters." More information here.

Funders’ Network 13th Annual Conference

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:14:38 -0400

Reconnecting America Chief of Staff Allison Brooks and Center for Transit-Oriented Development Director Abigail Thorne-Lyman will be making presentations at the March 28 Funder's Network annual conference in Seattle. The conference will offer a mix of networking and active learning opportunities in a setting that fosters in-depth dialogue about the most complex issues facing communities, whether metropolitan areas or smaller towns and rural areas. More information here.

Facelift Project for Hollywood Stirs Divisions

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:42:29 -0400

Reconnecting America's Abigail Thorne-Lyman, the director of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, was interviewed as part of a New York Times article on Los Angeles efforts to develop a comprehensive urban plan.

“We’re seeing a significantly growing demand for this kind of development,” said Abigail Thorne-Lyman, director of the Center of Transit-Oriented Development with Reconnecting America, a nonprofit transportation advocacy group. “L.A. has been behind the curve in accommodating households near transit.”

She praised city officials for the project and for pushing to expand transit and the use of bicycles. “L.A. has the single largest transit investment coming in the country right now,” she said. “Plus, L.A. has an amazingly visionary bicycle plan.”

Read the full article

Collaborative Governance And Democratic Practices

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:42:17 -0400

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will join former Reconnecting America President and CEO Shelley Poticha, now the Director for Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for a discussion of lessons learned in the fields of collaborative governance and democratic practices at the Policy Consensus Initiative board of directors meeting March 23 in Washington, DC. More details about PCI and its board are available at www.policyconsensus.org

National Bike Summit

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:34:05 -0400

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will be attending the League of American Bicyclists' National Bike Summit in Washington, DC, March 20-22. The league is pushing back against congressional efforts to turn back the clock on decades of progress toward creating a more bicycle-friendly America.

Community Resiliency and the Built Environment: Innovations and Policy Issues in Montana

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:17:01 -0400

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will participate in a webinar discussion of the article he and Gene Townsend, Mayor of Three Forks, wrote for the Montan Policy Review. (Read the article here.) Each week the Montana Policy Review: Extended Conversation has been hosting an author from its Fall 2011 issue. All webinars will be recorded and archived on the MSU Local Government Center website.

Active Living Research Annual Conference

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:18:33 -0400

Reconnecting America Program Associate Bill Sadler will be in San Diego on March 12-14 for the Active Living Research Annual Conference. He will be making presentations on Reconnecting America's upcoming Are We There Yet? report and on the Equity Atlas being prepared for Mile High Connects. More information on the conference is available here.

Congressional City Conference

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:21:09 -0400

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will be attending the National League of Cities' Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C., March 10-14. The conference offers local officials opportunities to hear from respected national figures, network with other city leaders, participate in innovative workshops, learn new skills and lobby on Capitol Hill.

How to team up to build around transit stations

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:21:40 -0500

Better! Cities & Towns has published a lengthy article on the Feb. 14 webinar "Making Joint Development Work: the Federal, Transit Agency and Business Perspective"

How to team up to build around transit stations

The Smaller Places Summit

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:54:54 -0500

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will be attending the "Smaller Places Summit: Creating Prosperous & Sustainable Rural Communities," March 5-7, in Knoxville, Tenn. The Smaller Places Summit is a unique training opportunity that will bring together teams from 15 smaller, rural places that currently have grants through the US Housing and Urban Development Sustainable Community Initiative. The event is designed to accelerate the efforts of these grantees to build more economically vibrant, resilient, and sustainable communities across the United States.

A Holistic Approach to TODs

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:30:00 -0500

Jeff Wood, Reconnecting America New Media Director and Chief Cartographer, will address the Urban Planning Coalition Speaker Series at San Jose State University on Feb. 28. Speaking about a "Holistic Approach to TOD," Wood's presentation will touch on parcel, district, corridor, and regional scales; why TODs matter to regional development and transportation coordination; and policy implications of TODs. More information is available here.

High Speed Rail Summit

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:11:30 -0500

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will be attending the 2012 High Speed Rail Summit in Washington, DC, Feb. 28-29.

Will Gridlock in Congress Mean Gridlock for Americans?

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:46:34 -0500

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith moderated a discussion of pending federal transportation legislation with North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Gene Conti; Steve Heminger, Executive Director of Bay Area Metro Transportation Commission, and member of the congressionally chartered National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission; and Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett.

A recording of the teleconference can be heard here.

The teleconference was put on by Transportation for America. Smith is co-chair of the organization, which was cofounded by Reconnecting America and Smart Growth America. The Transportation for America campaign is a coalition of more than 500 members, including business, housing, environment, development, labor, health, aging and transportation interests to focus on the next federal transportation bill.

If passed, proposed House legislation would significantly:

Threaten funding for road and bridge maintenance
Eliminate funding for safe walking and biking, including programs like Safe Routes to School that are small, yet life-saving initiatives for communities
End dedicated funding for public transit through the Highway Trust Fund – a provision that was introduced by Ronald Reagan and has enjoyed a long history of bipartisan support

More specifics on the bill and reasons for growing levels of opposition available here.

Enterprise Green Communities in Dallas

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:21:08 -0500

Reconnecting America Program Director Catherine Cox Blair will be participating in Enterprise Green Communities in Dallas on Feb. 27-28. The 2012 Enterprise Green Communities National Summit focuses on bringing the benefits of green to all affordable housing. The goal is to have participants leave the Summit with a shared understanding of what is working, what is needed and the role we each play in making green and affordable housing one and the same. More information.

Twin Cities Central Corridor Working Group

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:42:25 -0500

Reconnecting America Program Director Catherine Cox Blair will be in Minneapolis on Feb. 22, for a meeting of the Central Corridor working group.

Transforming Communities

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:30:00 -0500

Policy Associate G. Sasha Forbes was invited Feb. 22 to address a Transforming Communities class at American Univeristy in Washington, DC, on topic of transportation equity and affordable housing. The class is part of the university's Washington Semester Program. The Transforming Communities track focuses on community and urban social change.

Connecting Communities: Investing In Quality Growth

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:44:08 -0500

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will be speaking in Eugene, Ore., Feb. 16 at the "Connecting Communities: Investing in Quality Growth" seminar. The event seeks to discuss the challenges and opportunities that face communities in regard to development and revitalization. Quality growth can spark a richer social, economic, cultural, and more healthy, and vibrant community.

This trip "In The News":

2012 SWTA Annual Conference and EXPO

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:55:19 -0500

Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith will be attending the 2012 South West Transit Association Annual Conference and EXPO on Feb. 14 in Denver.

House Puts Transportation in Partisan Crossfire

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:10:12 -0500

The Feb. 8 Miller-McCune article by Emily Badger, "House Puts Transportation in Partisan Crossfire" quotes Reconnecting America President and CEO John Robert Smith.

There is a long history in Washington of bipartisan bills around which otherwise squabbling politicians could always join together while singing “there is no such thing in America as Democratic bridges or Republican highways.”

“Some of your longest serving senators and congressmen are not proud of the dysfunctional quality of the government at this time,” said John Robert Smith, the president of Reconnecting America and a former 16-year Republican mayor of Meridian, Mississippi. “They remember a time when they could craft a deal on transportation if they never agreed on anything else.”

And again:

Despite voters’ clamor for choices in every corner of the country, the stereotype persists in Washington that trains are for blue urbanites and roads for rural red states (which is to say nothing of bike riding).

“Sometimes I’ll be with a senator talking about public transit and its importance, and he’ll say, ‘Well, I don’t have any public transit in my state.’ I say if you have a van that takes your veterans to the capital for all of their free health care, that’s public transit,” Smith said. “There are elected officials who think when we say ‘public transit,’ we mean the metro system in either Washington, Chicago, New York, or San Francisco. And they fail to realize that how we move the elderly and veterans and those who are less-than-abled — all that is public transit.”

Don’t even get Smith started on what will happen as the baby boomers age.

“You don’t want us all on the interstate highway system,” he said.

Read the full article.

New Partners for Smart Growth Conference

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:44:14 -0500

Reconnecting America Program Director Catherine Cox Blair and Program Associate Elizabeth Wampler as well as Center for Transit-Oriented Development Director Abigail Thorne-Lyman will be attending the New Partners for Smart Growth conference in San Diego, Feb. 2-4. Reconnecting America is co-sponsoring the 2012 conference.

The 11th annual New Partners for Smart Growth conference is a national, multi-disciplinary smart growth gathering presented by the Local Government Commission. Appealing to many different disciplines, the conference will draw an audience of local elected officials, city and county staff, landscape architects, developers and builders, planners, transportation professionals, public health professionals, architects, bankers, realtors, urban designers, parks and recreation professionals, advocates for social and environmental equity, school superintendents, board members and facilities staff, advocates for older adults and youth, bicycle and pedestrian advocates, labor representatives, environmentalists, crime prevention professionals, and all others committed to building safer, healthier, and more livable communities everywhere.