The White House Blog: Urban Policy

3/12/2010 Urban Affairs Newsletter

Each week, please look out for the White House Office of Urban Affairs Newsletter, which provides information related to the Administration’s urban policy initiatives, funding opportunities, featured articles and upcoming events.

Top News

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson: “Environmental Protection is Good for Economic Growth” (Environmental Protection Agency): EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson discussed the agency’s seven key priorities and the strong connection between environmental protection and economic prosperity in a speech at the National Press Club on Tuesday. She urged attendees to “put to rest the notion that economic growth and environmental protection are incompatible.”

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan Visits Baltimore for a Site Visit to City Arts (National Endowment for the Arts): Development in Baltimore’s Station North Arts and Entertainment District moves forward thanks to $2.6 million in Recovery Act funding set aside for affordable housing development. Secretary Donovan spoke at the site of the City Arts development, a complex comprised of 69 rental units that will be targeted to low- and moderate-income artists, with 11 units reserved for non-elderly disabled persons from the Public Housing Waiting List. National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landsman attended the event, commended HUD on this project and noted that “the arts are a force of social cohesion, civic engagement, and economic revitalization.”

U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd Promises to Promote “Smart Growth” Housing Plans (Hartford Courant): On Monday, Senator Dodd (D-CT) “promised that he'll step up his work for a law to promote networks of affordable housing and mass transit.”  Flanked by staff from HUD, DOT and EPA, Dodd told an audience of 250 housing and transit advocates that the “country needs this $4 billion plan to help communities develop ‘smart growth’ plans.” 

Secretary Solis Announces Administration’s Support for Another $2 billion in Training and Youth Employment (Department of Labor): Secretary Solis testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on FY2011 Budget. She presented the department’s fiscal year 2011 budget request and highlighted why the funding is vital to the nation’s ongoing economic recovery. "This administration wants to ensure that investments in job creation will continue until the labor market fully recovers from the economic downturn," said Secretary Solis. "Workers and their families are hurting in these tough economic times. We know that job opportunities and economic security are of utmost importance to Americans."

Treasury Ass’t Secretary for Financial Institutions Michael S. Barr Testifies Before the House Financial Services Committee on the Ability of Community Development Finance Initiatives (CDFI’s) to Serve Lower-Income, Underserved and Minority Communities (Department of the Treasury): “As we seek an economic recovery that reaches communities across America, CDFIs are a critically important piece of our broader commitment to an inclusive recovery.  CDFIs provide capital, credit, and financial services to hard-to-reach communities and underserved populations.  In both rural and urban America, CDFIs are assisting the entrepreneurs and small businesses that are vital engines of economic growth.”

Featured

Mrs. Obama Takes on Childhood Obesity (White House): The First Lady has brought attention to America’s grocery-free zones, what she calls “food deserts,” that exist in both poor urban neighborhoods and sparsely populated rural areas. In an effort to make healthy food accessible to all Americans, President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget proposes $400 million in financing to help bring grocery stores to underserved areas and help small shops and corner stores carry healthier items.

Funding Opportunities

HUD Wraps Up the Sustainable Communities Listening Tour (Department of Housing and Urban Development): HUD officials seek input from community stakeholders on how to structure the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program so as to have meaningful impact on sustainable regional planning.  The final day for additional comments on the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program is today, March 12th. Please visit HUD’s website.

Investing in Innovation (i3) Program Funds Available (Department of Education): The Department of Education recently announced the availability of the grant application for the highly anticipated Investing in Innovation (i3) Program.  These grants will support local districts and nonprofit organizations—working in partnership with several districts and/or several schools—as they seek to implement educational innovations with promising or demonstrated effective outcomes for students. Competitive grants will be awarded to applicants with a record of improving student achievement and attainment to expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative practices that are demonstrated to have an impact on: improving student achievement or student growth; closing achievement gaps; decreasing dropout rates; increasing high school graduation rates; or increasing college enrollment and completion rates.

Energy Efficient Building Systems Regional Innovation Cluster Initiative:  Deadline May 6th (Department of Energy):  This is the first pilot project of the Interagency Regional Innovation Clusters Taskforce (Taskforce). The Taskforce has been charged with developing a model for coordinated federal and regional efforts that foster and use regional innovation clusters to develop sustainable and efficient models for attaining national strategic objectives including creating good jobs, increasing regional gross domestic product and promoting innovation in science and technology.

Drug Free Communities Support Mentoring Program Grants: Deadline April 23rd (Office of National Drug Control Policy): An estimated 15 new mentoring grants will be awarded (up to $75,000 per grant, per year) to drug and alcohol prevention community coalitions from across the nation.

Upcoming Events

March 15th —
WH Office of Urban Affairs Director Carrion will speak at the National League of Cities Diversity Breakfast.

WH Office of Urban Affairs Director Carrion will speak at a press conference at the Foreign Press Center on the World Urban Forum.

The Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau is hosting a series of webinars called “Why is Green Good for Women?” to discuss opportunities for women in green occupations and key reasons for women to seek employment or career advancement in green jobs, including examples from the field.

March 16th  —
WH Office of Urban Affairs Director Carrion will speak at the National League of Cities General Session, alongside Secretary Vilsack, Administrator Mills, and Secretary Locke.

WH Office of Urban Affairs Director Carrion will speak at NDN on the Census, Housing and Education.

March 17th —
WH Office of Urban Affairs Director Carrion will speak to the National Recreation and Parks Association.

March 18th —
WH Office of Urban Affairs Director Carrion will speak at the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council annual meeting..

March 22nd-24th —
The Economic Development Administration will host the 2010 EDA Philadelphia Economic Development Regional Training Conference at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. This year’s event is themed "Building Strong Economies through Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness." 

3/05/2010 Urban Affairs Newsletter

Each week, please look out for the White House Office of Urban Affairs Newsletter, which provides information related to the Administration’s urban policy initiatives, funding opportunities, featured articles and upcoming events.

Top News

President Obama Speaks on Jobs, Energy and Strengthening the Economy (Coastal Courier.com): President Obama spent the day in the Savannah area on Tuesday speaking to Georgians about the challenges they face and listening to their ideas for working together to turn the economy around. At Savannah Technical College, the President met with leaders of an innovative job-training initiative that puts at-risk students through a combined GED/construction program and prepares them for quality jobs in the construction industry. At a town hall meeting that followed a tour of the facilities, President Obama promoted the “Cash for Caukers” program, which rewards homeowners who make their homes more energy efficient, and acknowledged the work of Youth Build and Savannah Tech in preparing students for the clean energy construction jobs of the future.

Vice President Biden Announces States Meet Deadline to Put 100 Percent of Recovery Act Highway Dollars to Work (Department of Transportation): On Monday, at a Recovery Act construction site outside Orlando, Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that every state and the District of Columbia met the March 2nd Recovery Act deadline to “obligate” 100 percent of their highway Recovery funds.  Once funds are obligated to a project, contracts can be bid upon, workers can be hired, equipment and supplies can be purchased and work can begin on construction projects that create jobs and drive economic growth.  Every state met the target by February 26th, putting a total of $26.6 billion to work on some 12,000 highway projects nationwide.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Announces $1.1 Million Grant to Create Jobs, Strengthen Economy in Attala County, MS (Economic Development Association): On March 1st, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced a $1.1 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant to Attala County, Miss., to help build a business incubator facility as part of the Kosciusko-Attala County Technology, Training and Jobs Center. The project is expected to create 382 jobs and generate $19.6 million in private investment, according to grantee estimates.

HUD Announces $13 Million in Grants to Protect Thousands of Children from Lead Paint and Other Hazards in Their Homes (Department of Housing and Urban Development): The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded more than $13 million in grants to 25 local projects to conduct a wide range of activities that include eliminating lead and housing-related hazards in thousands of homes; training workers in lead and healthy homes interventions; supporting research to improve home safety efforts; increasing public awareness; and evaluating outreach on controlling housing-based hazards. A complete project-by-project summary of grants can be found on HUD's website.

Featured

Stimulus in Action: Federal Officials Tour Oakland Sites (InsideBayArea.com): WH Office of Urban Affairs Director Adolfo Carrion traveled to Oakland, CA with HUD Deputy Ron Sims and U.S. Minority Business Development Agency Director David Hinson to meet with local officials and community leaders and tour stimulus projects that are saving jobs and creating opportunities for Oakland residents.

Funding Opportunities

More than $1.1 Million in Grants for Community-Based Drug Prevention Coalitions (Office of National Drug Control Policy): The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is announcing the availability of more than $1.1 million for new Drug Free Communities Support Mentoring program grants. An estimated 15 new Mentoring grants will be awarded (up to $75,000 per grant, per year) to drug and alcohol prevention community coalitions from across the nation.

Upcoming Events

March 5th: Director Adolfo Carrion will speak at the County Executives of America annual legislative conference in Washington, D.C.

March 8th: Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes, WHOUA Director Adolfo Carrion, and WHOUA Associate Director Alaina Beverly will speak at the National Association of County Officials’ (NACO) Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.

March 10th: The White House Office of Urban Affairs will join Next American City in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the launch of the magazine’s 26th issue.

March 11th: U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) seeks your input on the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program! A webcast Listening Session will stream live on March 11th from 1:00-2:00pm and is open to everyone. A full list of events can be found on HUD’s website.

Alaina Beverly is the Associate Director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs

Announcing the White House Urban Affairs Website

I’m happy to announce that today we launch the White House Urban Affairs website. This effort is an important addition to our ongoing conversation on the Future of America’s Cities and Metropolitan Areas. We have already met with many urban stakeholders, elected officials, and academics; and we’ve been around the country visiting places that are on the cutting edge of urban innovation. But today we are establishing a more direct relationship with you - the American people. You are the ones that are innovating every single day – you are the innovators. You tackle government bureaucracy with creativity and leadership; you overcome a slow economy with public-private partnerships; and you turn distressed neighborhoods around with determination, hope and, above all, hard work.

The President knows that government doesn’t have all the answers. He knows that the best solutions come from you in places like Auburn Gresham in Chicago, South Lake Union in Seattle, and the small city of Flagstaff, Arizona - just to name a few. We know there are many more out there and we want you to share them with us.

This website is guided by the principles articulated in the President’s Executive Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government:

• Transparency promotes accountability;
• Participation strengthens decisions; and,
• Collaboration enables other to help.

Here’s how the website works: on our Initiatives page, you get a glimpse of the work we are doing to align Federal urban policy, like our Urban Tour and our Inter-Agency working group on urban policy. At our Innovation and Ideas page, you’ll have a chance to submit your ideas and best practices. And of course, you can find my staff and I blogging on the work that we’re doing, and you can learn more about our office in the About Us section.

In the coming weeks and months we will continue to update and improve our site so that we are able to have a productive and efficient conversation on the Future of America’s Cities and Metros.

Adolfo Carrión, Jr is the Director of the Office of Urban Affairs and Deputy Assistant to the President

A Community on the Cutting Edge of Science

Two weeks ago, the National Conversation on the Future of America’s Cities and Metropolitan Areas took us to Seattle, Washington to see the city’s marriage of economic development and livability. Joined by Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ron Sims, Assistant Secretary of Economic Development for the U.S. Department of Commerce John Fernandez, and NIH Director for the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences Dr. Robert Croyle, we toured the South Lake Union neighborhood.

Left to right: Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Assistant Secretary John Fernandez, Adolfo Carrion, and Ron Sims meet with kids that are taking advantage of SBRI’s Bioquest education program. October 14, 2009. (by Alaina Beverly)

In the past five years, over 2.7 million square feet of space has been constructed at South Lake Union for the biotech and life science industry, placing Seattle at the forefront of medical innovation. This neighborhood, combined with mixed-use and affordable-housing development and public transportation solutions, showed us how regional economic development initiatives can include and foster smart growth.

Our day began with an overview of the South Lake Union neighborhood at the Vulcan, Inc. Discovery Center. There we learned of Mayor Greg Nickels’ successful efforts since 2002 to recruit biotech and life science organizations. Why? Good jobs. These businesses provide high-wage jobs and like to locate close to one another to foster collaboration. In short, biotech businesses make good “regional innovation clusters.” In Seattle’s case, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington (UW) were early biotech anchors that helped to attract other biotech businesses. 

I especially enjoyed our stop at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI), a leader in infectious disease research. There we received presentations on the work of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, UW Medicine and the Washington Global Health Alliance. All of these “heavyweight” research and global health institutions are housed in a 60-block radius, sharing ideas, students, facilities and often clientele.

The reason the visit to SBRI was special is because we got to talk to high school students who are taking advantage of SBRI’s Bioquest education program. The aim of Bioquest is to inspire the next generation of scientists by allowing teenagers to get hands-on experience in a lab and meet working scientists and researchers. Dr. Robert Croyle found it particularly rewarding to see kids benefiting from the over $86,000 in Recovery Funding that was awarded to SBRI to expand the Bioquest program, offering college credit to high school seniors.

Left to right: Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Adolfo Carrion, and Deputy Secretary Ron Sims outside the Bart Harvey Senior Residential Development. October 14, 2009. (by Alaina Beverly)

But South Lake Union is not just about science, collaboration and commercialization. It is about community. During our walking tour of the neighborhood, we visited the Bart Harvey residence for low-income seniors. The six-story building has an enviable array of amenities—a library room with a computer lab, community meeting space, offices for case management and support services, and a green roof that provides a  panoramic view of the Seattle skyline – my favorite though, a rooftop herb garden.  We spoke to one resident who expressed her love for her new home. She said, “I am comfortable here. We have everything at our fingertips. Maybe it’s just me, but I love to go up to the garden on the roof and watch the planes touch down.” 

Sharon Lee, Executive Director of the Low Income Housing Institute explained, “We need to make sure low-income people can live in middle-class neighborhoods not only in distressed communities.We have changed the look of low-income housing. Not only is it well designed, it’s green.”

We topped off the day with an important policy discussion about the qualities that define a successful regional innovation cluster, the role of the federal government in supporting that type of development, and lessons learned from the South Lake Union experience. Ada Healy, Vice President of Real Estate for Vulcan, Inc., the key local private sector partner noted, “This group came together because of extraordinary leadership, coordination, and cooperation from the Mayor’s Office, the Gates Foundation, the non-profit community, government, and business. There was an atmosphere of trust and a commitment to not just create offices where people work from 9-to-5, but real communities.”  

Assistant Secretary John Fernandez explained that the Economic Development Administration is looking to “create a bridge” to encourage innovations that reach beyond the center and positively affect the whole region.”

Our trip to Seattle showed us that smart, coordinated planning can attract a cluster of businesses to a neighborhood and spur regional economic development, and train the next generation of scientists, provide housing for seniors, and create a more livable community. Thanks, Seattle!!

Adolfo Carrión, Jr. is Director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs and Deputy Assistant to the President