EPA, HUD, DOT Mark Partnership for Sustainable Communities Second Anniversary (HQ)
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S.
Department of Transportation celebrated the second anniversary of
the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an interagency effort
to help communities nationwide improve access to affordable
housing, increase transportation options, and lower transportation
costs while protecting the environment and people’s
health.
Since announcing the partnership, the agencies have dedicated more
than $2.5 billion in assistance to more than 200 communities in 48
states to help meet housing and transportation goals while
simultaneously protecting the environment, promoting equitable
development, and addressing the challenges of climate change. Of
that funding, $238 million was focused on America’s rural
communities.
As part of the anniversary, the partnership highlighted the
resources available at http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/, a one-stop shop for best practices, grant
announcements, and accomplishments of the partnership.
The joint website serves as a resource to grantees, local
governments and American families seeking to incorporate the
partnership’s six livability principles into their community.
The website includes contact information for each agency’s
sustainability office, ongoing project updates for sustainable
community grantees around the country, and recent news and grant
information from the Partnership’s newsletter,
“Partnership in Action.”
“When EPA, HUD and DOT pool our
knowledge and our strategies in this Partnership, we’re
better equipped to build solutions that lower transportation costs,
reduce harmful emissions and improve our health and the health of
our environment," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "In the
first two years of this partnership, we have united our efforts to
strengthen communities across the country and we'll be working hard
to continue that record of success.
"I am pleased to be joined by my colleagues at DOT and EPA to
commemorate the second anniversary of the Partnership for
Sustainable Communities,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
“Through President Obama’s leadership, we are
continuing this unprecedented effort to help America’s rural,
urban and suburban communities realize their visions for building
more livable, walkable, and environmentally sustainable
regions.”
“Over the past two years, the Partnership for Sustainable
Communities has helped make America’s neighborhoods safer,
healthier and more vibrant,” said DOT Secretary Ray LaHood.
“Through our partnership with EPA and HUD, we will continue
to help communities provide affordable, efficient transportation
options that improve access to jobs and quality of life for all
Americans.”
In 2009, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P.
Jackson, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun
Donovan and U.S. Transportation Ray LaHood announced the
interagency partnership to help improve access to affordable
housing, provide more transportation options, and lower
transportation costs while protecting the environment and health of
communities nationwide.
This year, the partnership is continuing its work to provide
communities with faster, more streamlined access to its programs
and resources and is working closely with other federal agencies,
states, and local governments to ensure that partnership programs
use federal resources as efficiently as possible to meet the needs
of communities around the country. The partnership will help its
current grantees succeed by providing technical assistance and
tools, building capacity in federal field offices, and giving
grantees better access to local networks and resources, while using
the lessons learned to help future grantees.
In addition, the partnership will also continue to help cities,
suburbs, and rural areas use sustainable community strategies to
create jobs, generate economic growth, and encourage redevelopment.
With better transportation options, more housing choices, and a
healthier environment, communities can attract new jobs and
investment.