New Assistance for
States on Growth Issues Announced
July 15, 2005
Responding to a growing number of requests
from states for assistance in managing growth, three former
governors with a long history of promoting smart
growth--Christie Whitman (New Jersey--also former EPA
Administrator), Parris Glendening (Maryland) and Angus King
(Maine)--joined EPA and the National Endowment for the Arts in
announcing a new Governors' Institute on Community Design. The
Institute is intended to support governors' leadership in good
community design and sound planning.
"States have always been laboratories for
innovation," said Gov. Whitman. "Through the Governors'
Institute we hope to inspire a new level of innovation that will
make our communities economically stronger, healthier, and more
attractive places to live and work."
The Institute, funded by EPA and the National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will be jointly administered by two
organizations with extensive experience in helping states
address development and related quality-of-life issues--the
Smart Growth Leadership Institute and the National Center for
Smart Growth Research and Education, both at the University of
Maryland.
"Many governors want to address housing,
transportation, health or other issues related to land use and
development, but need the tools to do so," said Gov. Glendening.
"There are many examples of successful community design. Our
goal is to share those strategies with governors and their
staffs."
EPA and the NEA are each providing $200,000 to
launch the Institute. EPA's funding is being provided through
its national water and smart growth programs. EPA's Smart Growth
program encourages development that protects environmental
resources and human health, expands economic opportunity, and
creates and enhances places that people love.
"There is no substitute for strong, consistent
and determined leadership to create great places that people
will love for generations," said Gov. King. "We hope that
through the Governors' Institute, we can equip state leaders
with the strategies that can produce real change."
Joining the governors in today's announcement
were EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles
and NEA Chairman Dana Gioia.
"Air and water quality, Brownfields, water
infrastructure and wetlands protection are all linked to how and
where we grow," said Grumbles. "Working in collaboration with
states, we will enhance our understanding of the implications of
growth. Thinking strategically, the participating governors will
help their states' dollars go farther while protecting and
preserving their environment."
The Governors' Institute builds on the NEA
Mayors' Institute on City Design (MICD), which since 1986 has
brought mayors and designers together to generate ideas on
better city planning. The MICD has graduated more than 675
mayors, and resulted in many specific physical improvements from
restored waterfronts to downtown revitalization projects.
Through the Governors' Institute, the NEA hopes to inspire state
leaders to capitalize on their roles as chief state "designers"
to identify innovative design approaches that improve the way
people live in cities, suburbs, and countryside.
"The NEA has a positive track record of
encouraging stewardship in public design at the urban, rural,
and now at the state level," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia.
"Through the Governors' Institute, we will offer governors key
resources to help them address regional and statewide design
issues."
In the coming year, the Institute will conduct
up to four workshops to pair governors and their cabinets with
top planning experts to identify strategies that spur smarter
development -- development that serves the economy, public
health and the environment. Other forms of assistance that will
be available to governors include ongoing advice on technical
issues and a publication listing a range of policy options to
consider.
Source: EPA July 15, 2005
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