[OKC] FW: EPA-HUD-DOT Partnership for Sustainable Communities

Thu Jun 18 11:43:43 PDT 2009

  |OPEI News: EPA-HUD-DOT Partnership for Sustainable Communities                                                                            

  EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, DOT Secretary Ray LaHood and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan Announce Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities, Partnership sets forth 6 ‘livability principles’ to coordinate policy                          

  Release date: 06/16/2009                                                                                                  

  Contact Information: EPA: Brendan Gilfillan, Gilfillan.Brendan at epa.gov, 202-564-2081 
			     DOT: Olivia Alair, Olivia.Alair at dot.gov, 202-527-2601 
			     HUD: Melanie Roussell, Melanie.N.Roussell at hud.gov, 202-564-2081                                                

  WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray     
  LaHood and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan today announced an interagency Partnership for   
  Sustainable Communities to help improve access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower              
  transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide. Testifying together at a Senate Banking, 
  Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing chaired by U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Secretary LaHood, Secretary     
  Donovan and Administrator Jackson outlined the six guiding ‘livability principles’ they will use to coordinate federal    
  transportation, environmental protection, and housing investments at their respective agencies.                           

  Earlier this year, HUD and DOT announced an unprecedented agreement to implement joint housing and transportation         
  initiatives. With EPA joining the partnership, the three agencies will work together to ensure that these housing and     
  transportation goals are met while simultaneously protecting the environment, promoting equitable development, and        
  helping to address the challenges of climate change.                                                                      

  DOT Secretary LaHood said, “Creating livable communities will result in improved quality of life for all Americans and    
  create a more efficient and more accessible transportation network that services the needs of individual communities.     
  Fostering the concept of livability in transportation projects and programs will help America’s neighborhoods become      
  safer, healthier and more vibrant.”                                                                                       

  “As a result of our agencies’ work, I am pleased to join with my DOT and EPA colleagues to announce this statement of     
  livability principles” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “These principles mean that we will all be working off the same  
  playbook to formulate and implement policies and programs. For the first time, the Federal government will speak with one 
  voice on housing, environmental and transportation policy.”                                                               

  “It’s important that the separate agencies working to improve livability in our neighborhoods are all pointed in the same 
  direction. We’re leading the way towards communities that are cleaner, healthier, more affordable, and great destinations 
  for businesses and jobs,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “This partnership provides a framework to guide         
  decisions that affect all communities. This way, investments of financial and human resources by any one of our agencies  
  will meet shared goals and confront significant challenges we all face together.”                                         

  The Partnership for Sustainable Communities established six livability principles that will act as a foundation for       
  interagency coordination:                                                                                                 

  1. Provide more transportation choices.                                                                                   
  Develop safe, reliable and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our       
  nation’s dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote public health.       

  2. Promote equitable, affordable housing.                                                                                 
  Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races and ethnicities to increase  
  mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.                                                       

  3. Enhance economic competitiveness.                                                                                      
  Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities,     
  services and other basic needs by workers as well as expanded business access to markets.                                 

  4. Support existing communities.                                                                                          
  Target federal funding toward existing communities – through such strategies as transit-oriented, mixed-use development   
  and land recycling – to increase community revitalization, improve the efficiency of public works investments, and        
  safeguard rural landscapes.                                                                                               

  5. Coordinate policies and leverage investment.                                                                           
  Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding and increase the accountability  
  and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as    
  locally generated renewable energy.                                                                                       

  6. Value communities and neighborhoods.                                                                                   
  Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods – rural,   
  urban or suburban.                                                                                                        

  More information on Interagency Partnership:                                                                              

  http://www.epa.gov/opei/ocmp/dced-partnership.html                                                                 