Our Infrastructure Needs Your Voice
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Lost in the shuffle of the holiday season, Congress has been busy working behind the scenes with President-Elect Obama to draft an economic stimulus infrastructure bill. Knowing that the need for smart growth policy never sleeps, 10,000 Friends has been ensuring that Pennsylvania's congressional delegation understands the potential of this legislation to impact the future of our state and the nation.
We have held meetings with elected officials and staff members to talk one-on-one about the transportation investment principles we outlined in last month's e-update. It is imperative that we use any infrastructure funding to fix what we have and to fund projects with multiple payoffs. We also need to have a set of principles to prioritize projects, and we must recognize the link between land-use and transportation infrastructure.
At 10,000 Friends, we are feeling confident that some elected officials are hearing the message, but we need your help to ensure that these principles are part of the bill's final language. If we let our voices be heard, elected officials will listen to us. Now is the time to contact your representative and senators. Call, write and email them today! Contact information for Congress can be found here.
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Gary Hack To Chair Commonwealth Awards Jury
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 Planning for the 2009 Commonwealth Awards, scheduled for June 9, is well underway. As we continue to develop the event, we hope that you will be submitting your own projects or nominating smart growth leaders for an award. Entries must be postmarked no later than April 3, 2009.
We are pleased to announce that esteemed urban designer Gary Hack will be presiding over the awards jury. Gary is the Paley Professor of City & Regional Planning and former dean of the School of Design, University of Pennsylvania. He practices and writes about large scale urban design, and has prepared plans for over 30 cities in the US and abroad.
Gary Hack has served as principal urban designer for many projects, including: the planning of the East Riverfront in Detroit; the urban design of the Hwa Shan cultural district in the center of Taipei, Taiwan; the urban design and planning of the redevelopment of Prudential Center in Boston. He was a member of the Studio Libeskind team that won the competition for the World Trade Center redevelopment in New York, and oversaw the preparation of the urban design guidelines for the project.
We are pleased to announce the Participation of Gary Hack in the 2009 Commonwealth Awards. The expertise that he brings to the project is sure to add to the event. We are currently working with Gary to assemble to complete jury.
For more information, including entry details, please visit the Commonwealth Awards website.
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Many Organizations Agree on Infrastructure Stimulus
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 When you reach out to your elected officials, know that there are other voices in the chorus calling for strategic investment and accountability in infrastructure stimulus. T4America, the national coalition of grassroots organizations advocating for transportation reform, and the Brookings Institution, a leading policy organization, have both taken a stand on how the money from an infrastructure stimulus package should be spent.
With the Washington buzzword "shovel ready" (projects that are beyond the design stage and ready for implementation) popping up across the media, many policy-makers may be forgetting the long-term benefits that infrastructure projects can bring if they are conducted strategically. Thanks to the work of T4America and the Brookings Institution, the importance of infrastucture's long-term benefits is part of the discussion.
On December 10, the Brookings Institution unveiled a white paper outlining how to leverage infrastructure spending. Their policy is driven by three points that are sure to be familiar 10,000 Friends affiliates: fix what is broken and build out green infrastructure; ensure states, metropolitan areas, and localities have a role in programming funds; and demand transparency and accessible information. Similar principles have been advocated by 10,000 Friends and T4America.
Yesterday, leaders from the Brookings Institution are holding a public presentation of recommendations to the president-elect on ways to maximize our infrastructure investment. Be sure to mention their recommendations when you reach out to your elected officials.
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Good Reading
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 Despite the great strides that we all have made to improve Pennsylvania communities, more work is needed to realize our cities' and towns' full potential. To help in this effort, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) has released a Community Revitalization Desktop Guide packed with valuable information. In straight-forward language, the guide gives local officials the information they need to make the best use of the programs offered by DCED. The guide is designed as a blend of step-by-step instructions for community revitalization and case studies of success across the state. While reading up on these revitalization tools, be sure to explore all of DCED's new interactive website and the valuable information it contains.
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To find your legislator and get copies of introduced legislation, visit the State General Assembly website. As always, thank you for staying connected to 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania. Please contact us if you have questions or would like more information.
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| 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania |
 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania works as an alliance of organizations and individuals committed to promoting land use policies and actions that will enable Pennsylvania to strengthen its diverse urban, suburban and rural communities. Through a diverse coalition focused on a positive agenda, we seek proactive solutions and options for local, regional and state leaders. Visit our website. | |
