Halloween is the perfect time to assess the walkability of your neighborhood. Use the links below for ideas about what to look for and ways to make your neighborhood more walkable 365 day a year.
You're among the 3,417 civic leaders,
state & local officials, development professionals,
journalists and visionary citizens getting the latest
news, happenings and trends in the smart growth
movement from Grow Smart
Rhode Island.
New national report finds that smarter
growth is key to taming climate change
Rhode Island report documents continued increase in
vehicle miles traveled and emissions
The growing demand for conveniently located housing
in walkable, accessible, compact neighborhoods has
been well-documented, but according to recently
released research, meeting that demand could
significantly reduce the growth in the number of miles
Americans drive, shrinking the nation's carbon
footprint while giving people more housing choices.
In
Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development
and Climate Change, a comprehensive
review of dozens of studies, published by the Urban
Land Institute, the researchers conclude that urban
development is both a key contributor to climate
change and an essential factor in combating it.
"The findings of the Urban Land Institute study are
important", notes Scott Wolf, Executive Director of
Grow Smart RI, "because they underscore the
opportunity for state and local government to use
incentives and targeted investments to promote
compact, mixed-use development that reduces the
need for auto travel."
Click HERE to read Grow Smart's
entire news release.
Grow Smart launches Case Studies Series
to show smart growth in action
Hearing about how smart growth can revitalize
centers, conserve open space and protect the
environment is one thing. Seeing how it actually
works in real life is something altogether different.
That's why with several innovative projects now in the
ground, Grow Smart decided to showcase first-hand
how these projects came together and how
smart growth can fit into our neighborhoods.
The Case Study Series will provide tangible,
diverse and ongoing local examples of smart growth
for people who are interested in better understanding
the concept. It's also a chance to celebrate the
designers, developers and municipalities who are
making smarter growth happen from Woonsocket to
Westerly.
The case studies will also be featured in future
workshop series offered by the Grow Smart RI
Land-Use Training Collaborative. New case studies
will be added regularly to the series and we invite
readers to nominate potential case studies using the
form below.
Click
HERE to browse Case Studies and download
form for case study nominations
Upcoming workshops help cities, towns
get ahead of the development curve
The Grow Smart RI Land-Use Training Collaborative
is accepting registrations for two upcoming programs.
Design Strategies for
Mixed-Use Development,
a one-night workshop, will be offered on
November 7 in Newport and again on
December 11 in North Smithfield.
Making Good Land-Use
Decisions, the
Collaborative's three-part workshop for municipal staff
and officials, will take place November 29,
December 6 and December 13 in
Cumberland. (Note: anyone who attended a previous
Land-Use Decisions workshop and missed a
session can sign up to make up the missed
session.)
A complete description of the workshops, list of
presenters, brochures and registration information
are available by clicking
HERE.
Rhode Island, Connecticut towns selected
for 'Village Innovation Pilot' program
Exeter, RI and Killingly, CT will receive targeted
planning assistance
The Borderlands Project, a joint initiative of the
Rhode Island Economic Policy Council and
The Nature Conservancy, has announced that
Exeter, RI and Killingly, CT have been selected as the
two towns for its "Village Innovation Pilot" program.
The Pilot will address the challenge of how to create
new economic and community opportunities while
protecting what makes these towns unique. Over the
next 18 months, the Pilot will bring economists,
designers, planners and others to support the two
towns and their citizens as they work through a
three-phase process of visioning, research and
implementation. Grow Smart Rhode Island's Sheila
Brush serves on the Advisory Group for the initiative.
The estimated value of this technical assistance is
more than $200,000.
The Borderlands Project is looking to hire a
Coordinator for its Village Innovation Pilot. The Project
Coordinator will be the public face of the Pilot and will
play an instrumental role in ensuring a successful
process in the two Pilot towns. It will be a contract
position starting in December 2007 and running
through May 2009. For more information on this
position, click HERE
Quonset Gateway Project Update
The State Planning Council, at its September meeting,
determined that the revised plan for the Quonset
Gateway project, which was submitted by New Boston
and the Quonset Development Corporation,
substantially conforms with the State Guide Plan.
While clearing the way for the project to move ahead,
the SPC's letter of determination
also noted a number
of specific elements of the revised plan that should be
looked at further.
Grow Smart Executive Director Scott Wolf testified at
the SPC's September meeting, acknowledging
improvements contained in the revised plan for the
Quonset Gateway but expressing continued concern
about the amount of single-story retail space,
including two big box stores, and the amount of
surface parking in the plan.
The original Gateway plan, submitted last winter, was
rejected by the State Planning Council. Grow Smart
had testified before both the North Kingstown Town
Council and the State Planning Council to voice
opposition to that plan and list specific concerns.
The revised plan addresses a number of Grow
Smart's concerns. It locates two two-story office
buildings along the Post Road at the front of the
Gateway, provides for future expansion of the daycare
center, incorporates transit stops and additional
sidewalks in its design, and re-sites and enlarges the
other office buildings planned for the Gateway.
In addition to the revisions, the QDC also offered
seats on the Quonset Design Review Committee to
Kevin Flynn, Rhode Island Associate Director of the
Division of Planning, and Jon Reiner, Director of
Planning for North Kingstown.
CALENDAR Highlights:
Click here to let us know if you would like your
land-use/water resources related conference or
workshop listed on our CommunityConnectionRI
Calendar.
Initiative aims to support good models of sustainable
design and site development that promote
investment in urban, town and village centers
Rhode Island Housing has issued a request for
proposals (RFP) for up to five models of "Keepspace
Communities". KeepSpace Communities are those
where neighbors meet, people work, children play.
The competitive program is designed to help address
the deficit of affordable housing, while stimulating a
shift toward efficient, less auto-dependent growth and
development.
The resources being made available are intended to
foster mutually beneficial partnerships among
developers, municipalities, realtors and lenders.
Municipalities, public or private developers, and
for-profit and nonprofit entities are therefore eligible to
apply.
Click HERE
for additional information on KeepSpace
Communities, including a full definition, and to view
the RFP, or contact either
Thursday, November 1, 2007
(9:30a - 2:30p)
