Sustainable Communities: Live Event with HUD, DOT and EPA Leadership

Whitehouse.gov held a live online event on July 15th at 2pm EDT/11am PDT on sustainable communities. All of the questions were submitted and chosen by Planetizen readers.

1 minute read

July 8, 2010, 10:45 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

The Partnership for Sustainable Communities is a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help improve access to affordable housing, increase transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide. Representing the agencies, we have: Speakers:

  • Shelley Poticha, Director for the Office of Sustainable Housing at HUD
  • Beth Osborne, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at DOT
  • Tim Torma, Deputy Director of the Office of Sustainable Communities at the Environmental Protection Agency
  • And moderated by Derek Douglas, Special Assistant to the President on Urban Policy at the White House.
"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

Mamdani behind a microphone, in front of a snowbank

Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge

A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.

1 hour ago - CNN

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

2 hours ago - Grist

People board a bus in Seattle.

Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion

Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.

3 hours ago - KOMO News

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Write for Planetizen