Senators Propose $4 Billion for Transit-Oriented Development Grants

Elana Schor of Streetsblog brings us this story on Congress’ new plan for funding transit-oriented development.  Senator Chris Dodd and others presented the bill that would give $4 billion in grants to cities that want to improve TOD, bike and pedestrian transport, and other green transportation projects.  Part of the purpose of this legislation is to aid the Sustainable Communities efforts of HUD, the EPA and DOT.  The grants would be administered by an office within HUD.  There are two parts of this initiative.  Schor writes:

The first, slated for $400 million over four years, would help states and cities implement regional plans that integrate sustainable housing, transportation, and community development.

The second, slated for $3.75 billion over three years, would assist localities in making their plans materialize, from affordable housing to bike-ped access. Both grant programs would need to be separately funded through appropriations bills, but authorizing the spending is a crucial first step.

The house has yet to come up with a comparable bill, but hopefully this will help strengthen some of the efforts of this administration to create more sustainable communities.

In the Works: Senate Bill to Promote Sustainable Development

Elana Schor of Streetsblog brings us this article on what Congress is doing to facilitate TOD and other smart planning programs.  She says that this “kumbaya movement”–where Transportation, HUD, and EPA have put aside their differences to accomplish shared goals–are working with Senator Dodd of the Banking panel to “provide incentives for regions to plan future growth in a coordinated way that reduces congestion, generates good-paying jobs, meets our environmental and energy goals, protects rural areas and green space, revitalizes our Main Streets and urban centers, creates and preserves affordable housing, and makes our communities better places to live, work, and raise families.”  EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said, “Pedestrians are a good indicator species for a healthy community.  We’re all about building a healthy community of pedestrians.”  And HUD secretary Shaun Donovan presented his plans for an affordability index, which would include the monetary and environmental costs of transportation along with the actual real estate value of a home.  These are all great things.  Now we just need to hope that they can actually make it through both chambers of Congress and actually become law.