Agenda 21 & Partnering Organizations

Industry professionals must provide leadership in our fragmented real estate industry OR government (at all levels including the UN) will dictate how we build, where we build, and what we build.

 

The paradigm shift from entrepreneurship to government directed visions has occurred. Housing is the last of our “manufacturing” industries that emotionally and financially affect people and their communities – everyday! The very fabric of our country is being tested. The momentum of change is well funded and structured for wide spread promotion at the local level!  

 

Read about some of the organizations and their policy statements ---- Do your own homework and YOU be the judge!

 

We must start with smart growth since many of the smart growth principles are guiding our real estate development patterns. I have highlighted several goals which are clearly taken from Agenda 21 policies and programs:

 

•      Create Range of Housing Opportunities and Choices

•      Create Walkable Neighborhoods

•      Encourage Community and Stakeholder Collaboration

•      Foster Distinctive, Attractive Communities with a Strong Sense of Place

•      Make Development Decisions Predictable, Fair and Cost Effective

•      Mix Land Uses

•      Preserve Open Space, Farmland, Natural Beauty and Critical Environmental Areas

•      Provide a Variety of Transportation Choices

•      Strengthen and Direct Development Towards Existing Communities

•      Take Advantage of Compact Building Design

DID YOU KNOW?

In 1996, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency joined with several non-profit and government organizations to form the Smart Growth Network (SGN). The Network was formed in response to increasing community concerns about the need for new ways to grow that boost the economy, protect the environment, and enhance community vitality.

The Network's partners include environmental groups, historic preservation organizations, professional organizations, developers, real estate interests; local and state government entities.

American Farmland Trust

American Institute of Architects, Communities by Design

American Planning Association

American Public Health Association

American Society of Landscape Architects

Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

Center for Neighborhood Technology

Congress for the New Urbanism

Conservation Fund

Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance

Enterprise Community Partners

Environmental Finance Center Network

Environmental Law Institute

Florida Department of Health

Forterra

Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities

Institute of Transportation Engineers

International City/County Management Association (ICMA)

Local Government Commission

Local Initiatives Support Corporation

National Association of Counties

National Association of Development Organizations

National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals

National Association of Conservation Districts

National Association of Realtors

National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education

National Multi-Housing Council

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Trust for Historic Preservation

Natural Resources Defense Council

Northeast-Midwest Institute

Project for Public Spaces

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Scenic America

Smart Growth America

State of Maryland

Surface Transportation Policy Project

Sustainable Community Development Group Inc

Trust for Public Land

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Forest Service

Urban Land Institute

Virginia Tech Metropolitan Institute and Urban Affairs & Planning Program

As you know the non-government organizations listed above survives on membership dues, government grants, private funding, etc. These groups “lobby” government officials and guide their membership toward their own platform of policies and initiatives.

What group or trade organization elevates real estate development issues and our industry as the PRIME reason for their existence?

Our real estate development industry is influenced everyday by federal legislation without a primary voice offering alternatives.

 

DID YOU KNOW?

The following bills were introduced in Congress but both were directed back to committees. This doesn’t mean the bill is dead but most likely modified. And the legislation will most likely be reintroduced again and again!

 

S.1619 (111^th): Livable communities Act of 2009

Introduced August 6, 2009 (111^th Congress, 2009-2010)

 

S.1621 (112^th): Livable Communities Act of 2011

Introduced September 22, 2011 (112^th Congress, 2011-2013)

 

Let’s take a look at the Livable Communities Act of 2009 considered the foundation in which to build upon:

 

‘‘Livable Communities Act of 2009’’ In this act, the legislation defines:

 

LIVABLE COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘livable community’’ means a metropolitan, urban, suburban, rural, or neighborhood community that—

 

(A) provides safe and reliable transportation choices;

 

(B) provides affordable, energy-efficient, and location-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races, and ethnicities;

 

(C) supports, revitalizes, and encourages the growth of existing communities and maximizes the cost effectiveness of existing infrastructure;

 

(D) promotes economic development and economic competitiveness;

 

(E) preserves the environment and natural resources;

 

(F) protects agricultural land, rural land, and green spaces; and

 

(G) supports public health and improves the quality of life for residents of and workers in the community.

 

Both of the proposed bills mirror “smart growth” goals and objectives. However, the FEDERAL approach includes: Energy-efficient and Location-efficient housing choices

There are other well-established organizations with similar initiatives and combined with resources of federal agencies , the pendulum may never return back to a balanced norm!  The following groups and programs are taken directly from their websites.

 

Sustainable Cities

Intelligent traffic solutions, green buildings, water management, and smart grid infrastructure are just a few of the technologies helping to steer today’s urbanization toward sustainability

 

For a real-world look at how our solutions can be implemented today,

 "Smarter Neighborhoods, Smarter City". This report contains detailed recommendations on how to help America's largest urban area - the City of New York - plan for more sustainable growth.

 

HUD, DOT, EPA

On June 16, 2009, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined together to help communities nationwide improve access to affordable housing, increase transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment.

The partnership agencies incorporate six principles of livability into federal funding programs, policies, and future legislative proposals.

Livability Principles

Provide more transportation choices.
Develop safe, reliable, and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote public health.

Promote equitable, affordable housing.
Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races, and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.

Enhance economic competitiveness.
Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers, as well as expanded business access to markets.

Support existing communities.
Target federal funding toward existing communities—through strategies like transit-oriented, mixed-use development and land recycling—to increase community revitalization and the efficiency of public works investments and safeguard rural landscapes.

Coordinate and leverage federal policies and investment.
Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding, and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.

Value communities and neighborhoods.
Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban, or suburban.

HUD, DOT, and EPA are implementing the Livable communities Act without the legislation being passed by Congress! These agencies are devoting dollars and manpower promoting livability principles at the local level.

 

National League of Cities  - The Sustainable Cities Institute

The Sustainable Cities Institute is NLC’s centerpiece initiative to catalyze, inform, celebrate and support local governments as critical leaders in advancing and strengthening comprehensive approaches to sustainability.

The Sustainable Cities Institute aims to give guidance and information to local governments that want to pursue sustainability – in their own operations as well as across the communities where they govern. This commitment to sustainability will challenge local leaders to find the best long-term solutions for balancing environment, equity and economy. To implement these solutions local government leaders will need to prepare their communities for change.

 

Sustainable Cities Collective

World’s best thinkers on the urban futures sponsored by Siemens! Did you know the company has created the Siemens Sustainable Community Awards?

 

HUD

The mission of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities is to create strong, sustainable communities by connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation, and helping to build a clean energy economy.

 

From Moyers & Company website

The federal government has been slow to enact meaningful reforms to combat climate change. Fortunately, some local legislators have stepped up and are leading the way. Here are 10- American cities with innovative sustainability initiatives.

1. Portland heads most lists of America’s greenest cities.

2. San Francisco Bay Area is also home to nearly 700 LEED-certified building projects, and over a thousand more projects under development.

3. Seattle - Mayor Mike McGinn recently pledged not to invest Seattle’s money in fossil fuel companies, and is putting pressure on those who oversee the city’s pension funds to do the same.

4. Minneapolis has over 160 miles of bikeways, 85 miles of which don’t run alongside a road, Minneapolis is among America’s greener large cities   5. Austin Green Choice program — which enables Austin residents to pay more of their electric bills in exchange for energy from green sources — has been the most successful program of its kind nine years running. Austin is also literally one of America’s greenest cities, with over 19,000 acres of parkland — or about 30 square miles — covering more than 10 percent of the city.   6. Eugene 7. New York City 8. Salt Lake City 9. Grand Rapids 10. Philadelphia

The Center for Sustainable Organizations (CSO) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation created in 2004

 

The Sustainable Community Development Institute (SCDI) is a nonprofit (501-c-3), international development organization incorporated in Washington, D.C., with its home office in California.  SCDI is dedicated to improving people’s lives through deriving sustainable benefits to communities from environmentally and socially responsible development projects.

 

The Community Revitalization Alliance, working on behalf of 50 organizations and institutions in 20 states, is hosted and managed by Sustainable Community Development Group, Inc. Groups and the institutions in the Alliance are leaders in problem-solving and implementing innovative rural and urban strategies and projects. Their work epitomizes place-based best practices.

 

 

The Sustainable Community Initiatives  - Our mission is to promote and develop collaborative community projects and public education programs that enhance economic opportunities and connect businesses, institutions, and people more fully to their communities, the natural environment, and to each other.

The list continues and continues and continues! It is clear that a philosophy at the federal level doesn’t have to be supported by the people. Government and your tax dollars can promote any agenda with or without the consent of the majority.

  

Next Week:

International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) founded in 1990.

“ICLEI is an international association of local governments as well as national and regional local government organizations who have made a commitment to sustainable development.”

Is your local community a member of ICLEI? Next week, it is time to open your eyes even more!