The Senate is on the cusp of moving an important bill forward that would help cities and towns across the country integrate housing with a safe, clean and smart transportation system. The Livable Communities Act, sponsored by Senator Christopher Dodd, is due to be voted on by the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in what’s called a “mark up” next Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.

A map of the Chicago Transit Authority system. Note: a version of this post was also published on the National Journal’s Transportation Experts blog. This country is in desperate need of innovation. We are still mired in a recession triggered by a collapse in real estate that was driven in no small part by the [...]

Does it really require an “assault on the automobile” to begin to change the government polices that literally drove us into abject oil dependency? That’s the underlying question in a fascinating cover story in Congressional Quarterly this week. Reporter Kathryn Wolfe looks at the challenges facing the Obama administration’s efforts.

Earlier this week, we hosted 15 of our partners from rural areas across America for a two day “fly-in” focusing on the transportation needs of rural areas and small towns. We hosted a briefing at the Capitol in the morning and then these partners from all over the country, from Virginia to California, took the [...]

Despite featuring organizations from a wide range of backgrounds, this month’s Social and Economic Equity Caucus yielded a great deal of agreement on policy. The event, sponsored jointly by Transportation for American and Policy Link, brought a mix of labor, faith-based, environmental, civil rights, health and other groups to Washington to address the need for [...]

Is “livability” a valid proposition for big metropolitan areas alone? Some in Congress seem to think so, but we suspect that arises from a misreading of the term. Recently, some members of Congress have expressed concern that this initiative applies only to urban areas. The truth is that rural towns and smaller cities have just as much – and very likely more – need for funds to help create smart plans and to fund innovative projects than metro areas.

President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget is a step forward for transportation options and livable communities and contains $1 billion in programs and grants to help turn this positive vision into reality. It is gratifying that Obama chose to boost funding on transportation and livability as other programs face cuts. His team understand that investing in the neighborhoods and communities of tomorrow can both create jobs and lay the foundation for future prosperity.

James Corless, director of Transportation for America, released the following statement in response to Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Dodd’s (D-CT) introduction of the Livable Communities Act:

“Livable and Sustainable Communities” might not be at the top of the list of what one would expect to hear from the person in charge of how the Federal government spends our tax dollars on all forms of transportation — ports, railroads, highways, interstates, sidewalks, bike lanes and more — but that’s exactly what Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood named as a primary goal for DOT.

We noticed an encouraging announcement from Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on his blog this morning, following on the heels of yesterday’s post (highlighted on the Streetsblog Network). Yesterday, he said “we are absolutely committed to more livable, sustainable communities by reducing congestion, by building housing near transit, by supporting all modes of transportation.”