Report: SCD Activities at the
2013 APA National Conference

Call for newsletter articles

We want your original articles, research summaries, letters, suggestions, workshop listings, best practices, and other content for our quarterly Division newsletter! Material must be relevant to the practice of sustainable community planning, community-based environmental stewardship, or related topics. We are mainly looking for original content that is 2,500 words or less, especially if you’re including graphics or pictures.

The deadline for the Summer 2013 issue is NEXT WEEK. If you're planning on submitting something please contact Newsletter Coordinator Christopher Ryan at christopher@relocalizations.com for further details.

Sustainability News and Resources

This month’s issue of Michigan Planner (from the Michigan chapter of APA) focuses on tools and resources surrounding Food Innovation Districts.

Presentations from the inaugural National Adaptation Forum are now available. The Forum took place in Denver in April and included presentations and training events on a variety of aspects of climate change adaptation, including:

• Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District: “Milwaukee's Climate Change Initiatives"

• Institute for Sustainable Communities: “The Southeast Florida Regional Climate Compact: A Case in Regionalism.”

• Natural Hazard Mitigation Association:  â€œResilient Neighbors Network: Peer-to-peer sharing to create safe, secure, and sustainable communities”

• Local Governments for Sustainability: “Bridging the Divide: Cities, Insurance, and Finance”

On June 13,  Mayor Bloomberg proposed significant changes to New York City's building code to better prepare the city's built environment for the increasing threats of rising seas and extreme storms.

A grant-funded project in Washington DC aims to transform neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River by using a $3 million Community Challenge Planning Grant to expand and sustain affordable housing options, foster entrepreneurship, and support small businesses.

EPA has published a guide that provides information for local governments related to designing and implementing energy management programs for water and wastewater facilities.

Brookings recently published a study that details the economic benefits of walkability, and argues that lenders, developers, planning agencies, and private foundations should  all find ways to incorporate walkability into standards, assessments, and plans.

Smart Growth America published a study that compares the costs and benefits of a smart growth scenario to a more traditional suburban development model for several scenarios, with the smart growth benefitting public finances nearly every time.

If you're not already a member of the APA Sustainable Communities Division, please join today! Membership gets you plugged in to our projects, gives you access to our quarterly newsletter, and supports our mission to push sustainability to the forefront of planning.

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• Submit an event or announcement for our next e-Bulletin.

• Catch up on our previous e-Bulletins and activities in our archive.