Transportation Livability Hub

Sustainable Communities Partnership - Oregon Community Dialogue

The Regional and Division Administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency, Housing and Urban Development and Department of Transportation are working with the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC) to convene a one-day, statewide, community dialogue to discuss their joint Partnership for Sustainable Communities today (June 30, 2010) at Willamette University.

Attendees represent a balanced representation of subject (transportation, housing, environment), geography (statewide, regional, local), and sector (public, private, academic, NGO).

The purpose of the event is to “increase awareness and understanding of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities; to receive input from state, regional, and local participants about opportunities and needs to inform our efforts; and, to catalyze an enhanced level of participation throughout Oregon.” The meeting will include presentations by the Administrators and workshop discussions facilitated by the National Policy Consensus Center.

OTREC's Feedback to USDOT Strategic Research Direction

In January 2010, the USDOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration issued a request for public comment regarding their Strategic Research Direction, Research Priority Areas and Performance Metrics To Guide Departmental Strategic Plan for Research, Development and Technology Activities (2010—2015). OTREC and our partners crafted a three part response that identified barriers and ways to research innovation, including:

• Broadening federal match for University Transportation Centers (UTCs);
• Embracing the cross-modal perspective on transportation;
• Better tracking of how research is implemented;
• Increasing the role of national university transportation centers; and
• Making better linkages between research groups.

In regards to the key priorities, areas that could be further emphasized and perhaps not fully captured in the key priorities as currently stated included:

• Resiliency in the face of climate change & natural disasters;
• Considering equity issues across all priorities; and
• Recognizing active transportation as a mode.

To view the full OTREC memo, go to: http://otrec.us/RefDocuments/RDT_OTREC_Final.pdf

HUD Unveils Office of Sustainable Housing & Communities at PSU

OTREC was honored to be a part of Secretary Shaun Donovan's unveiling of the new Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. The office will be led by Shelley Poticha.  To coincide with the unveiling, Secretary Donovan led a forum on Sustainability alongside Governor Ted Kulongoski, with prepared remarks from Senator Jeff Merkley & Representative Earl Blumenauer. He stated that, "Everyone wants to be like Portland" and that the new direction is a part of understanding that the US is "not a path that is sustainable." Part of the new direction includes rediscovering central cities, access to light rail, and commuter rail. At the event were Assistant Professor Nico Larco who spearheads research relating to sustainable suburbs, John MacArthur who is leading efforts around electric vehicle readiness in Oregon, and Hau Hagedorn OTREC Research Program Manager.

President's Budget Reflects Monetary Committment to Sustainable Communities

President Obama's fiscal year 2011 budget contains great support for the HUD-DOT-EPA interagency partnersip for sustainable communities. A couple of noteworthy highlights include: 

• $527 million for the Department of Transportation to help communities become more livable and sustainable;
• $150 million for the Housing and Urban Development's role in developing and supporting the Sustainable Communities initiative;
• $27 million for the Environmental Protection Agency Healthy Communities Initiative; and
• $20 million for new DOT livability office and technical assistance grants.

The American Planning Association also provides a great overview of the federal FY 2011 budget highlighting specific programmatic items supporting the interagency sustainable communities programs.

FTA Perspective on Regional Implications of the Federal Livability Initiative

Rick Krochalis, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Region X Administrator, recently kicked off the Center for Transportation Seminar Series on January 8th with a presentation on the Regional Implications of the Federal Livability Initiative. The presentation touched on the federal interagency partnership in addition to FTA's involvement in the effort. Smart growth and transit-oriented development are not new concepts.  With growing congestion, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, needs for maintaining a state of good repair on existing transportation systems in addition to a growing and aging and population in the United States; transit is playing a key role in helping address these issues.The seminar was followed with with a roundtable group discussion with TriMet and local partners; and meeting with faculty and students highlighting transit-related research. You can download the podcast or view the seminar if you missed the presentation.   Livability is also the theme for the winter transportation seminar series.