. "5 INSTITUTIONALIZING SUSTAINABILITY." Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Lessons from the Atlanta Metropolitan Region: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2011.
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Pathways to Urban Sustainability: The Atlanta Metropolitan Region - Summary of a Workshop
regional actors could determine the particular pathway and correct course as needed.
John Frece, director, Office of Sustainable Communities, EPA, described how the agency has recently partnered with the DOT and HUD to jointly address issues they now recognize as being connected. The interagency “Partnership for Sustainable Communities” has organized itself around a core set of livability principles:
“Provide more transportation choices. Develop safe, reliable, and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote public health.
Promote equitable, affordable housing. Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races, and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.
Enhance economic competitiveness. Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers, as well as expanded business access to markets.
Support existing communities. Target federal funding toward existing communities—through strategies like transit oriented, mixed-use development, and land recycling—to increase community revitalization and the efficiency of public works investments and safeguard rural landscapes.
Coordinate and leverage federal policies and investment. Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding, and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy
Value communities and neighborhoods. Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban, or suburban” (EPA, 2011a).
Mr. Frece added that EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities is focusing on three major goals. The first is to change the conversation to embrace sustainability as a central principle, not an optional add-on. The
