Chicago region answers Obama’s call for innovative ways to support sustainable metropolitan development

October 23, 2009
1 comment

(Chicago) … At the Metropolitan Planning Council’s (MPC) 2009 Annual Luncheon in September, MPC President MarySue Barrett moderated a panel discussion with U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, HUD’s Shelley Poticha, and White House Office of Urban Affairs Director Adolfo Carrion, about the administration’s plans to support sustainable metropolitan development. Chicago was the first stop on their nationwide “listening tour,” and they left town with a slew of ideas presented in a preview copy of Advancing Livability Principles: Federal Investment Reforms Lessons from the Chicagoland Experience.

The final version of the paper, released today, was drafted by MPC in partnership with the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and Regional Transportation Authority. The report outlines MPC and partners’ collective ideas for putting the Obama administration’s joint-agency Livability Principles to work. The Livability Principles are the cornerstone of the Sustainable Communities Partnership, a multiagency program created to align HUD, DOT and EPA’s priorities and investments to support more sustainable development.

The paper also highlights several successes in the Chicago region that can serve as models for nationwide implementation of federal investment policies that are goal-oriented, right-sized, and coordinated.

The Advancing Livability Principles paper is the most recent step in MPC and its partners’ ongoing effort to advocate for federal investment reform. Over the coming months, staff and volunteers will take the paper on the road, meeting with local, regional, state, and federal policymakers and community stakeholders.

For more information, please contact Mandy Burrell Booth, Metropolitan Planning Council assistant communications director, at 312 863 6018 or mburrell@metroplanning.org.

More resources:

Visit MPC’s web site for a copy of Advancing Livability Principles: Federal Investment Reforms Lessons from the Chicagoland Experience.

Listen to a complete audio recording of the “listening tour” stop in Chicago, at Chicago Public Radio’s Chicago Amplified web site: http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=37122# .

Read MPC President MarySue Barrett’s perspective on the “listening tour” stop in Chicago and next steps on the path to reform, at Citiwire.net.

Keywords

federal investment, FIRe, Housing, metropolitan development, Obama, reauthorization, Regional development, regional planning, Sustainable Communities Partnership, sustainable development, Transportation, Urban development

Comments

1. Maria from IefLQzvV on October 4, 2012

While they might live in any of the suburban areas (New Jersey, Long Island, Westchester), the tacpiyl image is that of one of the Westchester suburbs, such as Rye or Harrison. The area is quite affluent and professional, although not necessarily filled with mansions. Another possibility is one of the nice Northern New Jersey suburbs, such as Madison. Figure a town close to a commuter train station from where the professional could get into the city in under an hour.