With Adolfo Carrion Jr. appointed as a "cities czar" and federal stimulus dollars flowing to urban sustainability projects, the Obama Administration aims to concentrate development to boost "environmentally and economically viable neighborhoods."
The approach taken by the Obama Administration involves encouraging multiple agencies to work together on multi-pronged strategies and to seek out examples of local innovation. For example,
"In Kansas City, stimulus funding has galvanized a project called the Green Impact Zone...Stimulus funding will be used to weatherize the 2,500 homes in the community. Block grants from the Energy Department will be used to hire residents and train them to do energy audits. Meanwhile, the local power company will build a 'smart grid' in the area, using $25 million in stimulus money and $25 million of its own. More than $30 million, mostly from the Transportation Department, will be used to build a 13-mile rapid-transit line through the community to downtown that will feature solar-powered stations and buses that run on biodiesel fuel. There also will be job training in environmental cleanup and community policing funded by various agencies."
Read the full story: Obama Sets Sights on Urban Renewal
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City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello