| The brand new Champions Corner is a one-stop resource for local elected officials, decision makers, and stakeholders who want to improve access to activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations in their communities. Visitors with all levels of Complete Streets expertise can find helpful resources to expand their understanding of Complete Streets policies, procedures, and design. Check it out: Champions Corner
The Champions Corner is the public face of our Champions Institute, where 20 local elected leaders are getting serious hands-on training from our team of experts to become champions in their communities for Complete Streets and more active, healthy people. One of the Institute participants, Nick Palumbo, an alderman for the City of Savannah, GA, just shared with us that he publicly announced this week that the city will pursue a robust Complete Streets ordinance in the year ahead. Great news! The hard work is ahead in Savannah but this is precisely the kind of progress that we hope to see from these Champions Institute members. While the Institute is a small, closed group, absolutely anyone who is interested in advancing Complete Streets in their community can learn more in the Champions Corner, which is open to the public. Announcements Transit agencies: apply for our Arts & Transportation Rapid Response program before Monday (12/21)
We’re still accepting applications for the second round of the Arts & Transportation Rapid Response, an initiative for transit agencies looking to creatively and quickly address pandemic-related transportation challenges. This is the second round of our unique project that pairs artists with transportation agencies to solve difficult problems created by COVID, and this round will exclusively pair artists specifically with transit agencies. Applications are due by 12/21
Undoing the damage of “urban renewal”
So-called “urban renewal” initiatives of the 1950s and 1960s resulted in new interstates that razed housing and ripped through neighborhoods, displacing more than a million Americans during the first two decades of the federal interstate system. These projects deliberately targeted communities of color and particularly Black neighborhoods, wreaking havoc on their health and local environments for decades. Our colleagues at T4America released an exciting new proposal to begin undoing that damage with federal transportation dollars. Transportation Camp 2021, online!
With public transit and passenger rail in fiscal crisis, cities and towns redesigning their streets to accommodate social distancing, and a new president preparing to take office, we need TransportationCamp DC more than ever. Join this annual unconference online on Saturday, January 16th to discuss the fight for better transportation in our new pandemic world. Looking back on Minnesota and Washington State DOTs’ inaugural artists-in-residence
Earlier this month, we brought together the artists and agency staff involved in the nation’s first ever artists-in-residence at state departments of transportation to reflect on the inaugural year of the program. Speakers shared their reflections on the residencies, how they coped with the current pandemic, lessons learned, and plans for the future of these novel programs. Just released: Don’t miss the Great Real Estate Reset
The real estate industry is failing to fully address persistent segregation by race and income, pent-up demand for more attainable housing, destabilized regional housing markets fueled by climate change, and other converging trends. It’s time for a real estate reset. Read this new in-depth research project from Smart Growth America and the Brookings Institution about the trends that are converging, and how the industry needs to adapt or risk becoming an engine of inequality. |
