Next Week: Cleveland Housing Webinar, Atlanta Regional Housing Forum

For those working in the housing field or interested in housing issues, two great educational opportunities will be taking place next week.

The first event is an exciting webinar, sponsored by Enterprise Community Partners, on the efforts of two local community development organizations in Cleveland, Ohio to combat foreclosures, vacancy and neighborhood blight in a post-Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) world.

The webinar will take place on Tuesday, December 4 from 2:00-3:30 p.m.

For more information and to register, click here. A description of the webinar is below:

The city of Cleveland has been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. In many neighborhoods home prices have fallen by more than half since 2005 and nearly 16,000 properties sit vacant and blighted. The availability of HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funding provided a brief but welcome solution to some of these problems. However, with that resource fading, what is the way forward in a post-NSP world? Now, more than ever, creative vacant housing redevelopment strategies are needed to reverse decline and rebuild damaged markets. This webinar will highlight the approach of two local community development organizations, Slavic Village Development and the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, who are experimenting with novel approaches to housing renovation that requires little or no subsidy. Joined by Frank Ford from Neighborhood Progress Inc, this discussion is sure to offer inspiration for organizations across the country as we retool to face similar challenges in our own neighborhoods.

The second event is the next Atlanta Regional Housing Forum, a quarterly gathering of nonprofit, business, governmental, educational and grassroots organizations to discuss matters related to affordable housing and the related topics of transportation, land use and more. The forum is sponsored by the Home Depot Foundation and is organized by ANDP and ARC.

This month’s meeting deals with the urgent issue of veterans’ housing and will take place on Wednesday, December 5 at 9:30 a.m. in the Ballroom of the Loudermilk Center for the Regional Community in downtown Atlanta. The forum is open to all, and there is no fee to attend, but registration is requested. It is also requested that attendees bring canned food items to the forum for donation to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

For more information and to register, visit http://www.atlantaregionalhousing.org/forum/index.htm. A description of the forum is below:

According to the Veterans Empowerment Organization (VEO), 2,000 veterans already reside on the streets of Atlanta. Simply providing shelter is not the answer to our homeless veteran problem. We are indebted to the service of these veterans and we need to provide an environment where they can thrive in our society. With thousands of veterans returning to Georgia and the US from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (OEF/OIF) over the next several years, the number of veterans in urgent need of housing and other support is expected to increase. By planning ahead and preparing the necessary supportive services and housing options, we can, working together as a regional team, minimize homelessness and solve it as it becomes apparent in the region.

Join us as we learn about the work of the Atlanta Regional Rapid Response team. The Atlanta Regional Rapid Response team was formed to respond to the VA’s national challenge for metro areas to house 100 homeless vets in 100 days. The Atlanta team met and exceeded the national challenge by housing 138 veterans in less than 100 days! Atlanta’s effort was featured on a national webinar hosted by HUD The team includes representatives from the VA, HUD, DeKalb Housing Authority, Decatur Housing Authority, Atlanta Housing Authority, United Way, Project Community Connections, and the Office Mayor Reed. This regional team is now focused on its goals for 2013 to house 300 more homeless vets with VASH vouchers by December, 2013.

Agenda

9:00 a.m. – Registration

9:30 a.m. – Welcome & Introductions – Bill Bolling, Atlanta Community Food Bank

9:35 a.m. – Addressing Veterans Housing Issues – Heather Pritchard, The Home Depot Foundation

9:45 a.m. – Panel Discussion – The panel will present information on current efforts to connect Atlanta area veterans to quality, affordable housing through VASH and other initiatives. Invited panelists include:

Leonard Adams, President and CEO, Quest35 Housing

Doug Faust, Executive Director, Decatur Housing Authority

Susan Lampley (Invited) – Project Officer, Innovation Delivery Team, Office of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed

Jenifer Turner Reid – Deputy Network Homeless Coordinator, Veterans Administration (VA)

11:45 a.m. – Adjourn

CNU Atlanta Winter Luncheon: Wednesday 12/5 at 12 p.m.

CNU Atlanta will hold its Winter Luncheon next Wednesday, December 5 from 12:00-2:00 p.m.

The program will feature a thought-provoking presentation on the concept of the Master Street Plan, by Doug Allen of Georgia Tech, Paul Knight of Historical Concepts, and David Green of Perkins+Will.

The cost is $40 for CNU members and $50 for non-members.

For more information and to register, visit http://www.cnuatlanta.org/cnu-atlanta-winter-luncheon. A description of the presentation is below:

Comprehensive plans today are operating with only 50% of their legal machinery; they are implemented primarily through zoning ordinances and land use maps alone. However, this is not what was originally intended. Originally, zoning had a critical and necessary partner: the master street plan.

The master street plan is a physical map that specifies the future, public rights-of-way of the city. In a literal sense, just as the construction of a house requires a set of drawings, the master street plan is the blueprint of the city. For thousands of years, cities used the master street plan to control their growth before zoning ordinances began to dominate the city planning profession in the 1920s.

What happened to the master street plan? And how can its re-discovery pose a possible solution to suburban sprawl? This luncheon will focus on these and other questions at the intersection of law, city planning, and urban design.

This luncheon is divided into three parts with three separate, All-Star speakers:

Doug Allen will begin with a brief, historical survey of the master street plan. He will define its role within the development of cities over time. Important legal documents, including the 1928 Standard City Planning Enabling Act, will be presented along with the events that eventually led to the master street plan’s demise.

Paul Knight will reveal the many benefits of adopting a master street plan while emphasizing walkability, adaptability, sustainability, and economy. He will discuss how it successfully operated in places like Savannah, Philadelphia, and New York. The effectiveness of the master street plan will be directly compared to the zoning-dominated model of development.

Finally, David Green will close with a discussion on the master street plan in a contemporary light. How can the master street plan operate within today’s legal and political constraints? Can it operate? What steps have been taken in this direction, if any?

There will be time for questions and further discussion following the presentations.

ARC/USDOT Webinar Recording Now Available Online

Further to a previous Land Matters post, ARC recently participated in a webinar with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center as part of the Transportation Planning Information Exchange webinar series.

A full recording of the webinar is now available online at https://connectdot.connectsolutions.com/p5s40qedjaa.

TitledEffective Practices in Planning for Livable Communities at Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), the webinar featured representatives of four major MPOs and explored their innovative programs that promote livability. The webinar followed up on a 2010 peer exchange held in Atlanta, and speakers included Dan Reuter of ARC; Doug Johnson of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC); Sandy Misiewicz of the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC); and Karla Weaver of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).

Reminder: LCI Applications Due by 5:00pm Tomorrow, Nov. 16

Following up on a previous Land Matters post, this is a reminder that LCI applications are due tomorrow, Friday, November 16^, by 5:00 p.m.

Visit http://www.atlantaregional.com/land-use/livable-centers-initiative/application for additional information and application documents and instructions.

 

City of Atlanta Recycling Events TOMORROW, November 15

From a recent Midtown Patch article:

In celebration of America Recycles Day on Thursday 11/15, the City of Atlanta Department of Public Works will host a one-day textile recycling event at the front entrance to City Hall, 55 Trinity Avenue.

See here for other America Recycles Day events in and around Atlanta in coming days.

The textile recycling event is for city residents and employees and will take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Some of the items accepted include:

• Clothing, Shoes, Belts

• Bedding (sheets and pillow cases) and Towels

• Stuffed Toys

• Carpet and Fabric Scraps

Other City of Atlanta recycling drop-off locations for:

Cardboard (large amounts):

• Lakewood Substation, 128 Claire Drive, SE

• Liddell Substation, 1540 Northside Drive, NW

Electronics:

• Hartsfield Facility, 2175 James Jackson Parkway NW, 404-794-2422. Residents may drop off electronic appliances such as televisions, microwaves, computers, monitors, and fluorescent bulbs.

Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. You must be a city resident and show proof of residency. Other resources include: www.CARTLANTA.ORG, www.earth911.com, and www.dca.state.ga.us.

Thursday’s downtown recycling event comes just a few weeks after Mayor Kasim Reed announced that the City had been awarded a $25,000 grant to engage volunteers in the city’s recycling initiative. The grant came from Cities of Service, a bipartisan coalition of mayors committed to using service as a strategy, with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Atlanta is one of 18 U.S. cities to be awarded a grant to support mayors who are harnessing the power of volunteers in a strategic way to address problems in their communities.

“As mayor, I see civic engagement and volunteerism as an integral part of our city’s rich and diverse heritage,” Mayor Reed said in a news release.

The Cities of Service model focuses on “impact volunteering” – volunteer strategies that target community needs, use best practices, and set clear outcomes and measures to gauge progress. Dozens of cities across the nation have adopted the model since its introduction in 2009.

Using this approach, New York City has coated more than 4 million square feet of rooftops to reduce carbon emissions by 745 metric tons, Nashville has upgraded more than 240 homes to increase energy efficiency and help the city recover from historic floods, and Pittsburgh has removed 20,000 pounds of litter to revitalize its neighborhoods.

Atlanta’s $25,000 grant will go towards educating and mobilizing a community-wide volunteer team that will work with at least 6,500 citizens to improve their recycling habits, increase the percentage of households recycling and reduce the tonnage of valuable recyclables that would otherwise end up in landfills.

Piece by Piece Webinar on “Visitability” Set for November 14 at 1:30 p.m.

Please mark your calendars for a unique webinar on Wednesday, November 14 at 1:30 p.m.,hosted by Piece by Piece, ARC’s Aging Services Division, and Enterprise Community Partners.

Webinar Description

Basic Home Access (“Visitability”) is a movement to change home construction practices so that virtually all new homes — not merely those custom-built for occupants who currently have disabilities or those designated  for older people — offer a few specific features making the home easier for mobility-impaired people to live in and visit. Visitability is a critical element to creating lifelong neighborhoods where people can age in place and are not forced to leave their home due to an unanticipated mobility impairment. It is a stunning fact that of new houses built in 2000, 60% will have a resident with a long-term, severe mobility impairment at some point during the lifetime of the house itself (Journal of the American Planning Association). Basic home access is surprisingly affordable, and broad visitability policies have already been put in place in some locales.

As Housing and Community Development professionals and planners, it is critical that we understand the concept of visitability. This is particularly important as we consider not just new construction but the growing inventory of foreclosed and vacant properties requiring rehab for future use.

The presenter will be Eleanor Smith, founder and president of Concrete Change. As the leader of Concrete Change, Eleanor was awarded the 2011 Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and Goizueta School of Business, for the organization’s work promoting affordable, accessible integrated housing.

Please RSVP to Marisa Ghani at mghani@atlantaregional.com by November 9.

To log into the webinar, visit https://enterprisecommunity.webex.com/enterprisecommunity/j.php?ED=207461437&UID=506098962&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D. Once you follow the link and sign in to the event, the dial-in information for your phone will appear. Please log in via computer first and then follow the dial-in instructions that appear in your web browser. This is to ensure that you enter the correct caller ID, which will ensure that the audio on your phone is in sync with the video on your computer.

For those who plan to dial in and listen to audio only:

Call-in number: 1-866-469-3239

Meeting code: 653 211 302

ARC Partnering with FHWA, FTA, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center for November 13 Webinar

ARC is proud to announce its upcoming participation in an exciting webinar on November 13, hosted jointly by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center as part of the Transportation Planning Information Exchange webinar series.

Entitled Effective Practices in Planning for Livable Communities at Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), the webinar will feature representatives of four major MPOs and will explore several innovative MPO programs that promote livability. The webinar is a follow-up to a 2010 peer exchange held in Atlanta.

The webinar will take place on November 13, 2012 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET. Participants will be eligible to receive 1.5 American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification maintenance (CM) credits.

Speakers will include:

• Dan Reuter, Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC)
• Doug Johnson, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) – San Francisco Bay Area
• Sandy Misiewicz, Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC) – Albany, NY
• Karla Weaver, North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) – Dallas-Fort Worth

To register, visit https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/webconference/web_conf_learner_reg.aspx?webconfid=25327.

Registration is free, but space is limited. Once registered, participants will receive an email with instructions on how and where to access the web room. For general questions on livability or registration issues, please contact Shana Baker at shana.baker@dot.gov or Andrew Breck at andrew.breck@dot.gov.

Full Session Description:

In August 2010, staff from seven nationally recognized MPOs convened at ARC in Atlanta for a multi-day peer exchange on effective practices for MPOs in planning for livable communities. Also in attendance were representatives of transportation agencies at the federal and state levels as well as organizations involved in health and livability research and advocacy. The event was sponsored by the Transportation Planning Capacity Building (TPCB) Program, which advances the state of the practice in multimodal transportation planning nationwide. TPCB is a joint initiative of FHWA and FTA. To further the emerging field of livability planning, peer exchange participants shared information on their experiences testing new methods, approaches, and strategies for integrating transportation and land use. Most of these efforts were tied to livability programs created by these MPOs. A report detailing the peer exchange is available online at http://www.planning.dot.gov/Peer/Atlanta/atlanta_2010.pdf.

This webinar will follow up on the 2010 peer exchange and update participants on several of the livability programs highlighted during the 2010 event. Presenters from four of the MPOs that were part of the exchange—ARC, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco Bay Area), the Capital District Transportation Committee (Albany, NY), and the North Central Texas Council of Governments (Dallas-Fort Worth)—will report on recent developments, implementation actions taken, and results achieved within their programs over the past two years that further the overall goal of transportation and land use integration. Speakers will provide new updates and answer participants’ questions on topics such as funding structure, planning process, project prioritization and selection, implementation, and evaluation in relation to their livability-focused programs.

The webinar will target seasoned, professional planners involved in transportation and land use, particularly those working for or partnering with MPOs and other regional planning agencies across the country. Webinar participants will come away from the session with new tools, information and ideas to help them implement livability programs at the regional level.