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The newest intercity rail system in the country

Since it opened earlier this year, the Florida Brightline that connects Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach has been the only privately owned, operated and maintained passenger rail system in the United States.

Creating the system took collaboration with the Federal Railroad Administration, the State of Florida, and regional economic partnerships, not to mention billions of dollars in private capital.

Now, they’re planning to do it again in California. Earlier this week Brightline announced plans for a new system connecting Southern California to Las Vegas. It will be only the second privately funded passenger rail system in the United States.

Join us at Capital Ideas 2018 to learn how they plan to do it, and about the role states can play in making projects like this happen.

Rusty Roberts, Vice President of Government Affairs for Brightline, will be one of the featured speakers at Capital Ideas.

Roberts will share lessons from the Brightline’s work in Florida, ways they are adapting in California, and tips any state leader should know about making innovative projects like this possible.

This session will be just one of the many great conversations in store for Capital Ideas 2018, all about the role states can plan in new mobility frontiers.

We hope you’ll join us in Atlanta in December.

Join us for the only national conference about arts, culture and safer street design

Smart Growth America’s arts and culture team and National Complete Streets Coalition, now in partnership with the Urban Land Institute, invite you to the only national conference focused on the intersection of arts, culture, and building safer, complete streets.

On April 3 and 4, in Nashville, TN, Intersections will bring together planners, artists, engineers, public health advocates, and many others to collaborate and find practical ways to integrate arts and culture to create streets that are not only safe for everyone, but also better reflect the unique character of their communities.

The arts and culture connection to Complete Streets

We believe that everyone in America—no matter their age, ability, income, or race—deserves the option to live somewhere affordable, convenient, beautiful, and safe. Our arts & culture team funds pilot projects, supports local and regional partners, and conducts research that shows that art and culture play a crucial role in supporting this vision by providing an organizing force for residents, business owners, and other stakeholders to work towards strengthening neighborhoods, by revealing the authentic character of communities, and by connecting citizens with decision makers to collectively pursue smart, equitable policies and projects.

Whether you’re an artist or an engineer, join us in Nashville to learn more about these vital connections.

The brand new conference website makes it easy to access everything you need to know about Intersections, with new speakers being added regularly. Registration is open, and you can purchase a ticket at the discounted rate of $195 (regularly $250) from now until 11:59 p.m. EST on January 31st by using the promo code: new year_new intersections.

In partnership with the Urban Land Institute

To bring this conference to the next level, we are partnering with the Urban Land Institute to expand conference offerings and explore how to transform vehicle-dominated commercial corridors to better serve those who live, work and travel along them. ULI will bring expertise gained through their Healthy Corridors project to understand the common issues facing commercial corridors that impact the social determinants of health, and how these corridors can be transformed to become safe, healthy,vibrant, mixed-use places.

Full agenda coming soon

The conference will start at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 3rd with registration and breakfast and end at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 4th. Both days will be held at the Music City Center in Nashville, TN. 

Speakers and panel sessions are being added regularly to the website. Click here to learn more about experts, advocates and practitioners from around the country who will be at the conference. The agenda will be packed with two full days of interactive panels, and breakout discussions about cutting-edge Complete Streets, healthy corridors, and creative placemaking research, ideas and practices.

See you in Nashville!

Thank you to our sponsors: