Throughout much of the U.S., the overall lack of affordable housing combined with ongoing problems in addressing older, obsolete, and rundown housing stock have created a housing crisis that is having an impact on the economic health of communities and on the quality of life for community residents and their families. As local governments struggle with how best to address these interlinked issues, it has become clear that traditional approaches to neighborhood and community planning are not producing the desired results for residents.

To address this, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched the Choice Neighborhoods Program. This comprehensive approach to neighborhood planning takes into account the economic and social needs of residents in public and assisted housing beyond those of their physical environment. With HUD funding, ICMA coordinated a study of three smaller cities (Salisbury, North Carolina; Suffolk, Virginia; and Norfolk, Virginia) that received funding from the Choice Neighborhoods Program.

Based on the study, ICMA prepared a report, Evaluating the Role of Local Government and Project Stakeholder Engagement in Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Planning and Implementation.

A History of Community Sustainability and Beginning the Elimination of Racial Redlining in the St. Louis Metro Area 1959 - 1975 describes this inner ring suburb of St. Louis’ remarkable achievements in sustaining a middle class (middle income) society while successfully creating a very racially diverse community starting in the early 1960s and still continuing today. Following and even before the UCity council resolution declaring the policy of equal rights to housing in UCity, the community had been demonstrating daily that black middle class families are as or even more willing to maintain their homes and yards in well maintained neighborhoods.  By the 1970s all residential neighborhoods were well maintained and have remained so for the next 40 years and most are multiracial. 


Also in the early 1970s UCity’s Delmar Boulevard and its business district, which extends from the city of St. Louis into UCity, started to and continues to flourish.  UCity had by then completed several renewal projects, and had succeeded in eliminating within its borders racial redlining by the federal government.  By 2007, its Delmar Loop was designated by the American Planning Association to be one of the ten great streets in America.  Thus, for at least the last 30 years, this community has sustained a healthy real estate market with property values within its entire 5.88 square miles appreciating with the national economy trends.

Obviously useful to city managers and other local government officials are the many described programs and techniques for preserving structures, landscaping, entire neighborhoods and the city itself.  The most effective of which has been the Occupancy Permit Program.  Already many cities in St. Louis County have installed such in order to preserve both their schools and city neighborhoods.  Also, in the late 1960s, Pasadena and other California cities adopted, and still use, the Occupancy Permit Program.

opowell@indiana.edu | http://www.authorhouse.com/

Christina Park and Orville Powell set out to look at some of the consequences of predicted population growth and identify connections to other large scale issues.  What they discovered in researching these topics is that it is not really about the answers, but about the questions. The questions that every city and town in America should be asking themselves.  The clock is ticking and we cannot wait any longer to begin addressing these issues.  It is time for local leaders to face these problems and begin the necessary discussions to look for ways to ensure a sustainable future for generations to come. Will you help save the planet?

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Mike.Conduff@TheElimGroup.com | 940-453-3116 (Mobile) | 940-382-3945 (Office) | www.TheElimGroup.com

• Do you care about the environment?
• Do you want your community to be a fiscally responsible leader in the sustainability movement?
• Good.  This book is for you!

From wall wart reduction to hybrid police cars to major projects like energy efficient street relighting, cities and counties all across the country are examining their energy use and carbon emissions and implementing solutions.  Many are doing it because it is the right thing to do.  Some are doing it as part of community wide citizen led initiatives.  Others are simply trying to save money any way that makes sense.

Bottom Line Green is our attempt to honor the leading edge communities and to encourage the rest.  In local government, where the reward for risk is small, few cities or counties want to be first, but almost all want to be first to be second.  For those of you who have been first – many thanks!  For those of you waiting to be first to be second – the time is now!  The trail has been blazed.  Being "green" and adding to the bottom line; saving the planet while saving money is an achievable reality.

With a foreword by ICMA Past President Michael Willis, this 2009 book was a trail blazer for many cities around the United States, Canada, and internationally. Co-written with Jim Hunt, past president of the National League of Cities and founder of Amazing Cities.