News

In This Issue:

• Federal policy update – the Continuing resolution showdown continues; take action!
• Press strategies: SGA staff resource
• Please link to us and Share our *New* Coalition badge
• Featured Member: Livable Communities Coalition Launches Fair Share for Transit Campaign
• Upcoming Conference: “2011 Transit Initiatives and Communities Conference” – Are you interested in attending?
• Regional Plan Association announces Regional Assembly “Innovation and the Global City” on April 15
• NEA grants available for public art/placemaking

Federal Policy Update – The Continuing Resolution showdown continues; Take Action!

Negotiations continue on the final funding levels to be included in the Continuing Resolution (CR) for the rest of fiscal year 2011. The House and Senate continue to negotiate funding levels for specific programs. It looks like the final negotiated CR will include a $33 billion across the board cut to programs. Smart Growth America will continue to advocate for removal of the policy rider included in H.R. 1 to prohibit funding for the Partnership for Sustainable Communities to move forward. As these negotiations continue it is important to remind your Senators and member of Congress of the importance of continued funding for the Partnership. Please check out SGA’s Partnership for Sustainable Communities Advocacy toolkit – including guides to planning an in-district meeting, making phone calls to your Senators and plenty of other Partnership information – and take action today! We will provide an update on appropriations work in our next email update on 4/18/11 (or sooner if anything big happens).

Press strategies: SGA staff resource

Smart Growth America has added another member to our staff. Abigail Gardner is now SGA’s press secretary and she wants to know more about what kind of press and media you’re generating or would like to generate. Please add Agardnersmartgrowthamericaorg to your clips list, if you have one, or to share any great press you have gotten recently. Also, if you would like to discuss press or message strategy, please feel free to use Abigail as a resource for anything from developing talking points to targeting media lists.

Please link to us and Share our *New* Coalition badge

SGA’s brand new website contains a list of all coalition member organizations with links to your websites. Now that we have a brand new website, look and logo, we’d love if you could update your website accordingly. We’ve created a ‘Proud Member of Smart Growth America’ logo that you can upload to your website and link to our homepage.  The logo comes in 3 sizes: 200, 300, and 500px. If you need additional assistance with the graphics, please contact Alex Goldschmidt. Also, if you’re not already a friend of Smart Growth America online, be sure to follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook. We’ll follow you back!

Featured Member: Livable Communities Coalition Launches Fair Share for Transit Campaign

Congratulations to the Livable Communities Coalition (LCC), an SGA coalition member working in Metro Atlanta on launching a brand new “Fair Share for Transit” campaign! From SGA’s blog post on the launch: “Atlanta is in the process of identifying major transportation projects in the region for the next decade, and Fair Share for Transit wants to make sure transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects are included. LCC Executive Director Ray Christman explained these transportation choices will help Atlanta economically: ‘We have to invest now in transportation alternatives that will boost the region’s economic competitiveness, help attract good jobs and improve the region’s quality of life’.” Read more here.

Upcoming Conference: “2011 Transit Initiatives and Communities Conference”

Registration is now open for the “2011 Transit Initiatives and Communities Conference” – the only national conference devoted to understanding the role of ballot measures in improving transportation choices and  investment, and providing advice on how to achieve success at the ballot box. Please let us know if you are interested in attending this conference. You can email Neha Bhatt.

Title: 2011 Transit Initiatives and Communities Conference
Location: Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark – St. Louis, Missouri
Date: June 20-22, 2011
Find more information here.

Regional Plan Association announces Regional Assembly “Innovation and the Global City” on April 15

• When: Friday April 15, 8am – 4pm (followed by a cocktail reception)
• Where: Waldorf-Astoria, NYC
• Why: Cities around the world are competing for economic growth, limited natural resources, and the ability to provide a high quality of life. How can Greater New York remain competitive on the world stage? Confirmed speakers include Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy, Harvard University Professor Ed Glaeser, London School of Economics Professor Richard Burdett, and Siemens Managing Director Barbara Kux.
• More information: www.regionalassembly.org.

NEA grants available for public art/placemaking

The National Endowment for the Arts just launched funding guidelines for Art Works, an update to the existing Grants for Arts Projects category, and Our Town, a new grant opportunity that supports creative placemaking projects in communities across the United States. Our Town is designed to fund innovative projects in which communities, together with their arts and design organizations and artists, are looking to create livable, sustainable neighborhoods with enhanced quality of life, increased creative activity, distinct identities, a sense of place, and revitalized local economies.  A pilot program, the Mayors’ Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative, funded 21 projects last year.

NEA Design Staff will also be conducting a series of webinars on the new Art Works and Our Town guidelines.  To view the schedule and register for a webinar, visit NEA’s website.

OUR TOWN OVERVIEW

• Funding up to 35 grants ranging from $25,000 to $250,000
• Formal Application Deadline is April 25, 2011
• Local government entities and non-profit design or cultural organizations in partnership are eligible
• Complete Guidelines at http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/OurTown/index.html
• Contact ot@arts.gov or 202-682-5091 for more information.