Archive for May, 2009

The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) sponsored a video contest and the clever+profound winner is Built to Last

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGJt_YXIoJI&feature=player_embedded]

Here’s an interview I did with Don Borut, Executive Director of the National League of Cities, at the Green Cities Conference in Portland, Oregon. Points of interest include rating the success of the conference as a “grand slam home run,” noting that sustainability is the new lens through which cities are starting to look at themselves, displacing economic growth and growth for its own sake, and Don’s statement that sustainability is fundamental to the NLC.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsU1Izmuig8&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00]

Patrick Konopnicki has a question:

As Director of Career and Technical training for Virginia Beach I am trying to help train a green workforce. Can anyone point me to curriculum in this arena as these seem to be 21st century skills for all students and adults i.e. sustainability etc.

Please put your suggestions as a comment so everyone can see them.

by Ken Moore, MD
Alderman at Large
Franklin, Tennessee

The City of Franklin, Tennessee has long been recognized as a desirable place to live because of its respect for history, its vibrant economy, and its educational excellence.

Just this year it was recognized by the National Historic Trust as a “top twelve” destination in America; Southern Living Magazine also rated Franklin one of the top ten in the nation for best small town, and Business Week Online named our city the best in Tennessee to start a small business.

However, with the associated rapid growth, issues of a lag in infrastructure and congestion have become more of an issue.

continue

A program in Philadelphia is the most successful in the US at preventing foreclosures, according to Acorn’s description in its new report on the program, Road to Rescue: How the Philadelphia Model Can Reduce Foreclosures Across the Country

An excerpt: Almost a year into its existence, the Philadelphia Foreclosure Diversion Program, a pre-foreclosure mediation process that is preventing more than three in four owner-occupied foreclosures, has proven to be the best model in the nation.  Other jurisdictions are following suit and adopting mediation programs, which are less successful because they are not mandatory, lack effective community outreach, are difficult for homeowners to access, or do not make effective use of housing counselors.  As President Obama called for in his foreclosure speech in February, the federal government must invest in successful foreclosure prevention programs at the local and state level as a necessary complement to the Administration’s foreclosure plan.

This report provides a detailed review of the Philadelphia program and its successes, as well as other less effective mediation programs, and analyzes the positive impact on local economies of adopting successful mandatory mediation programs.