Grow Smart rallies a coalition to consider reforms that will safeguard the program's many benefits

Backers of the popular program include the business community, municipal leaders, preservationists and environmental and affordable housing advocates. Still, Rhode Island's nationally acclaimed historic tax credit program is once again a target due to the short term fiscal concerns of some state policymakers.

Since the program is widely recognized as one of the the most effective economic development and neighborhood revitalization tools in decades, Grow Smart is committed to working with its allies to propose reform measures that address state leaders' concerns while maintaining the tax credit program's many statewide economic, social and environmental benefits.

Our vast collection of historic buildings and the stimulus available to rehab them provide Rhode Island with one of the relatively few competitive economic advantages over our neighboring states. This is far too great an advantage to risk losing. [MORE]

View a summary of our Fiscal & Economic Impact Analysis of the tax credit program. Click HERE

The latest scorecard from the state's Economic Policy Council shows that Rhode Island is making strides in all key areas including growth in median income, job creation and employment opportunities for local residents.

It also highlights the need to put greater emphasis on the "Places Strategy" and touts the effectiveness of Rhode Island's historic preservation investment tax credit program for improving neighborhoods and making a market for further private investment. The EPC cites the program's success in stimulating $859 million in private investment as among the reasons to safeguard it for projects that serve the public interest by returning underutilized property to the tax rolls, revitalizing distressed neighborhoods and providing new mixed income housing and office space.

Download the 4-page scorecard (pdf)

Grow Smart helping to formalize and expand smart growth curriculum for statewide use

  View a 90-second video clip coutesy of ABC6 News

Under the direction of social studies teacher Ted Mitchell, students from the Knotty Oak Middle School wrapped up a 6-week town planning project by presenting their ideas to Coventry town officials. Among those listening were Town Council Pesident Thaddeus Jendzejec, Councilor Justin Pomfret and Planning Board members Russell Crossman and Scott Nelson.

Using the town's Comprehensive Plan, the students mapped out solutions for issues such as growth management, traffic, economic development, recreation and public safety. "They actually developed a lot of creative ideas that were discussed as part of a presentation by Grow Smart staffer John Flaherty", according to Mitchell.

This marks the second year that Grow Smart has participated in this project and is now collaborating with Mitchell and the Dunn Foundation to expand and formalize Mitchell's innovative curriculum for statewide use.

Read more from the Kent County Times article

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View the list of 3rd quarter funders

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What's the problem with New England towns? Why are they so tempted to spurn planning and approve strip malls, big boxes, oversized houses in big lots, even when their population is static? And why are they perennially so short on money?

In a compelling series of articles on topics such as growth management, property tax reform, education and energy policy, veteran journalists Neal Peirce and Curtis Johnson outline an argument for New England communities to let go of some home rule powers in favor of efficiencies that come with regional economies.

Read more about the series

Sierra Club Names America's Best New Development

Much of the development in the United States today is sprawling, low density, car-dependent "bigbox" or "strip-mall" construction, which produces more and more traffic and harms our land, air, and water. The Sierra Club believes there is a better way to build, and in doing so, to produce healthy neighborhoods, and livable communities.

By reinvesting in existing neighborhoods and creating more walkable, transit accessible places to live and work, a select subset of the nation’s development leaders are raising the bar for neighborhood design. By embracing conservation, green building techniques, and affordable housing, and by building on the assets we already have, these developments offer a path to a more sustainable future. Read More

Download 32-page Report (pdf)

Is your community considering how best to accommodate new growth in compact, mixed-use, transit-oriented locations that are best suited to accommodate it and that support efficient use of existing public facilities and services, minimizing congestion and environmental impacts?

The RI Statewide Planning Program is now accepting grant applications for land-use related planning and for implementation studies through February 24, 2006.

A total of $250,000 is being made available and will likely be awarded in amounts of $25,000 to $75,000 to 4-6 recipients. Among the eligible activities is the local identification and adoption of preferred "growth centers" or priority investment areas.

Download the application and instructions

Tuesday, January 24 (9:00a - 3:30p)

Saturday, February 4 (9:30a - 2:30p)

Thursday, February 23 (8:30p - 4:30p)

Saturday, March 11 (8:15a - 4:30p)

Excerpted from the keynote address of Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation at the January 11th Annual Meeting of the Providence Foundation

"I don’t know of another foundation in the U.S. that can match what the Providence Foundation has achieved. My hat is off to you for the vision represented in projects like the Capital Center, which has made such a huge difference downtown. And as for your incredible River Relocation project – in its boldness, its beauty and its transformative impact on the urban environment, there’s simply nothing else like it anywhere.

Preservation is a means of saving and celebrating the character that makes every community unique and livable – and livability is a key factor in determining which communities thrive and which ones wither. Robert Solow, Nobel Prize-winning economist at MIT, puts it this way: “Livability is not some middle-class luxury. It’s an economic imperative.”

So here’s my message to you, in a single sentence: As you’re creating a vision of Providence’s future, be sure to leave room for the preservation of Providence’s past."

Read the full text

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