Lisa Hymas has a fascinating look at the anti-sprawl effort championed by Mitt Romney during his time as Governor of Massachusetts, which became the model for a key Obama “smart growth” initiative — the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
Apparently, President Obama looked to Mitt Romney's time as Governor of Massachusetts for policy lessons on more than just health care. As Hymas reports, "As governor of Massachusetts, Romney actively fought sprawl and promoted density. He ran on a smart-growth platform: 'Sprawl is the most important quality-of-life issue facing Massachusetts,' he said in 2002...After winning, Romney swiftly set about remaking state government to encourage smarter land use."
The result of this effort was the creation of Massachussets' Office for Commonwealth Development, "a 'super-secretariat' or umbrella office for state agencies dealing with transportation, housing, energy, and the environment. It made sure the agencies were all pulling in the same direction toward smart-growth goals - concentrating development in town centers, constructing housing near transit stations, fixing existing roads instead of building new ones."
Hymas tracks the ways in which the Obama administration followed Romney's lead in establishing the cross-agency Partnership for Sustainable Communities to incentivize local communities to embrace smart growth; how the GOP has attacked the program and Smart Growth policies in general; and attempts to answer the question "Where's Mitt now?"
FULL STORY: Romney, once an anti-sprawl crusader, created model for Obama ‘smart growth’ program
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Hurricane Sandy Has Something to Say About Climate Change
The silence on climate change during the presidential debates was deafening. With Hurricane Sandy disrupting the final week of the campaign, Mother Nature is having the last word.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
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Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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