HUD, DOT, and EPA Form Partnership to Forward Sustainable Communities

Unprecedented partnership indicates a new activism regarding issues important to the landscape architecture profession. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Transportation (DOT), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have announced a new partnership to help American families in all communities—rural, suburban, and urban—gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and a healthy environment. “This is an even stronger indication that the new administration and these agencies are serious about issues that are important to the landscape architecture profession,” said ASLA Executive Vice President and CEO Nancy Somerville. At a meeting of the Smart Growth Partners hosted by the EPA on June 17, Marcia Mulkey, acting associate administrator of the EPA’s Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovations, portrayed the partnership as evidence of the administration’s commitment “to active governing around the issues of smart growth and sustainability.” 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, HUD, and EPA have created a high-level interagency partnership to better coordinate federal transportation, environmental protection, and housing investments and to identify strategies that: provide more transportation choices promote equitable, affordable housing increase economic competitiveness support existing communities leverage federal investment enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban, or suburban Among the HUD/DOT/EPA partnership’s goals: enhance integrated planning and investment provide a vision for sustainable growth redefine housing affordability and make it transparent redevelop underused sites develop livability measures and tools align HUD, DOT, and EPA programs undertake joint research, data collection, and outreach Find a more detailed announcement online at http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2009/dot8009.htm.