News

In this issue:

• SGA Coalition Call Thursday, November 29th at 4:00 p.m. EST – Conference Call # (712) 432-0111 Code: 668783#
• Federal Policy Update
• Join Smart Growth America at a briefing and reception for the 2012 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement Recipients – Wednesday, December 5, 2012
• Smart Growth America will provide free technical assistance to 22 communities
• SGA Coalition Member Survey
• National Endowment for the Arts is accepting applications for Our Town grants – due January 14, 2013
• Submit your nominations for the 2013 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence – Nominations due Dec. 10
• Registration is now open for the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference February 7-9, 2013

SGA Coalition Call Thursday, November 29th at 4:00 p.m. EST – Conference Call # (712) 432-0111 Code: 668783#

The agenda will include an in depth look at the fiscal cliff and how it may affect smart growth programs as well as an update on our EPA TA work and more.

Federal Policy Update

Negotiations to avert the fiscal cliff will dominate the lame duck session of Congress. Both the White House and Congress are seeking a grand bargain in the lame duck but the solution may end up being a multi-step solution with legislation to avert the immediate fiscal cliff passing this year and comprehensive tax reform considered next Congress.

At the beginning of January significant increases in taxes and decreases in spending at the federal level are scheduled to take effect. In addition to the $1.2 trillion in spending cuts over the next ten years that are scheduled to go into effect on January 1st there are a number of tax provisions that are set to expire at the end of the year. Specifically, the payroll tax cut, the Medicare physicians’ reimbursement fix, the Bush tax cuts and unemployment insurance. The spending cuts have been triggered by the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the Super Committee) failing to identify $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction evenly over 2013 to 2012. The automatic spending cuts are split between defense and non-defense discretionary spending. In 2013 this would result in $38.6 billion in cuts across all discretionary programs. If the spending cuts go into effect, a number of programs important to promoting smart growth would be subject to a cut in funding of approximately 8.2% in 2013.

All in all, if Congress lets all the tax cuts to expire and the spending cuts to kick in it would result in a fiscal contraction equal to $661 billion in 2013. Specifically, $535 billion on tax increases and $126 billion in spending cuts. It is estimated that if the President and Congress cannot come to an agreement, the fiscal concentration caused by going over the fiscal cliff would shave approximately 4% of real gross domestic product growth and send the economy back into a recession.

Finally, Treasury estimates the debt ceiling will need to be raised just after the first of the year. As a result, President Obama would like an increase the debt ceiling to be included in any negotiations on the fiscal cliff.

Join Smart Growth America at a briefing and reception for the 2012 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement Recipients – Wednesday, Dec. 5

Join Smart Growth America as we honor the work being done around the country to make communities great. The briefing will highlight the five communities being recognized and will discuss the economic, social and environmental impacts these projects have had. This year’s awardees are:

• Lancaster, California: BLVD Transformation Project
• Denver, Coloado: Mariposa District
• Brattleboro, Vermont: The Cooperative Building
• Portsmouth, Virginia: Destination Portsmouth

In addition, this year’s Honorable Mentions are the Northwest Gardens in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; The Larkin District in Buffalo, New York; and the Bay Area Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing Fund in San Francisco, California.

The briefing will feature remarks by and a panel discussion with representatives of each award recipient community, as well as Smart Growth America President and CEO Geoffrey Anderson. A hosted reception will follow.

Please RSVP by noon on Wednesday, December 5. If you have any questions, please contact Jeri Mintzer.

Smart Growth America will provide free technical assistance to 22 communities

Each year, Smart Growth America makes a limited number of technical assistance workshops available to interested communities for zero cost which is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Sustainable Communities under its Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program. This competitive award gives communities a chance to understand the technical aspects of smart growth development through a one- or two-day workshop on a subject of their choosing.

The 22 communities selected to receive assistance this year exhibited strong interest in and need for smart growth tools, and clearly demonstrated a commitment from local business, community and political leaders to implement local smart growth solutions.

Smart Growth America’s 2013 free technical assistance recipients are:

SGA Coalition Member Survey

National Endowment for the Arts is accepting applications for Our Town grants

On October 11, 2012, the NEA posted guidelines and application materials for Our Town, the agency’s primary creative placemaking grants program. Pending availability of funding, grants will range from $25,000 to $200,000.

Our Town will invest in creative and innovative projects in which communities, together with their arts and design organizations and artists, seek to:

• Improve their quality of life;
• Encourage greater creative activity;
• Foster stronger community identity and a sense of place; and
• Revitalize economic development.

Organizations can submit applications until January 14, 2013.

Submit your nominations for the 2013 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence – Nominations are due Dec. 10

An excellent urban place involves the interplay of process, place and values. Processes may be inclusive, innovative or participatory. Places may be grandiose or modest; new or historic, but must be well designed, and must demonstrate positive contributions to their neighborhoods and cities. Values guide the inevitable tradeoffs involved in bringing a project to life. The Rudy Bruner Award seeks to illuminate the complex process of urban placemaking, so that it may be strengthened to better reflect the balance between form and use, opportunity and cost, and preservation and change.

Established in 1987, the Rudy Bruner Award seeks to promote fresh and innovative thinking about cities, and to encourage us all to demand excellence in our urban environments. The Award is distinguished from other award programs by its broad eligibility criteria, the multi-disciplinary Selection Committee, and the detailed on-site evaluation of each finalist. Each award cycle is documented in in-depth case studies of the winners, and in a distillation of the Selection Committee discussions.

The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence is given to five winning projects in each biennial award cycle.

• One Gold Medal Winner receives $50,000.
• Four Silver Medal Winners are awarded $10,000 each.
• The winning projects may use prize money in any way that benefits the project.
• All winners are promoted by the Bruner Foundation and are included in a book published by the Foundation.
• All winners will be featured in award ceremonies and in a media outreach effort.

Learn more about the Rudy Bruner Award and how to apply.

Registration is now open for the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference February 7-9, 2013

This year, the New Partners Conference makes its way to America’s heartland—Kansas City, Missouri. The program will span three full days with optional pre-conference events scheduled for Wednesday, February 6th and post-conference events scheduled for Sunday February 10th. The main program will kick off on Thursday morning, February 7th, and continue through Saturday afternoon. The schedule includes a dynamic mix of plenaries, breakouts, implementation workshops, specialized trainings, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and coordinated networking activities. It will also feature exciting tours of local model projects in and around the greater Kansas City region. Learn more and register on the New Partners website.