By Ed Somers
January 11, 2010

Continuing their dialogue with local government officials and organizations on the development of a new sustainable development agenda, the Obama Administration held a roundtable discussion in Washington (DC) on December 16. In addition to the Administration, the meeting was hosted by the Brookings Institution, The U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, and the National Association of Regional Councils.

Over the past year, the White House, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency have been coordinating a major policy review designed to promote and support sustainable development at the local level. All of these parties were represented at the December 16 meeting, including:

• Adolfo Carrion, Director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs

• Derek Douglas, Special Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs

• Ron Sims, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development

USCM Past President Louisville Mayor Jerry E. Abramson urged the group to consider the use of bonus funding to encourage true regional collaboration that leads to more sustainable transportation, infrastructure, workforce and housing development. And as for workable structures, Abramson said that the Administration should look at the former Empowerment Zone program and current Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) program funded by the Department of Homeland Security as models to break down silos and coalesce around a planning goal.

Some of the key discussion points during the session identified by Brookings included:

• How can federal funds better support the creation of quality regional plans, particularly in aligning the planning requirements between housing, transportation, environment, and economic development?

• Relatedly, regional capacity for integrated planning varies across the country. And regional planning is more complicated in highly-fragmented metro areas, with hundreds of local jurisdictions. How do federal efforts help boost the capacity of all regional entities, no matter the regional context they are in?

• What kind of organization or entity should be at the center/helm of a regional, sustainable communities planning and implementation? Should federal policies designate a lead entity or state preferences on the kinds of leadership and collaboration they would like to see?

• More than one-third of the 100 largest metro areas transcend state lines. How can federal policies ensure program coordination across state lines and across state-directed programs?

• Beyond HUD, DOT, and EPA, are there other key federal agencies or programs that should be part of sustainability and livability goals?

• How do MPOs or regional entities hold municipalities and others accountable for carrying out key elements of regional plans?

• What are the most critical federal and state funding flows that should be guided by regional plans?

• What are the best opportunities to sync up and align existing federal (and state) programs to help communities achieve sustainability principles, regardless of regional plans? (e.g., regional housing choice, transit-oriented development, large scale redevelopment/infill development, etc)

• In general, what reforms can the administration pursue now administratively? As part of FY 11 or FY 12 budgets? As part of the next round of NOFAs?

The roundtable served as a listening session for the Administration, similar to the USCM Fall Leadership Meeting in October 2009 in Seattle. Some of the outcomes are likely to be seen when the White House unveils its 2011 Federal Budget in early February.

The host organizations were requested to submit specific suggestions on the above listed questions to the Administration as soon as possible. Mayors who would like to share ideas should email them to esomers@usmayors.org.