A blog post from Matthew Yglesias of Think Progress, takes a look at how the DOT and HUD have created a high-level agency task force to better coordinate federal transportation and housing investments. The key strategies include giving American families more choices for affordable housing near employment; more transportation options in order to lower transportation costs, shorten travel times, and improve the environment; and safe, livable, healthy communities.
The task force's goal is to have every major metropolitan area in the country conduct integrated housing, transportation, and land use planning and investment in the next four years. To facilitate integrated planning, HUD and DOT seek, through HUD’s proposed Sustainable Communities Initiative which it will administer in consultation with DOT, to make planning grants available to metropolitan areas, and create mechanisms to ensure those plans are carried through to localities. DOT will encourage Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to conduct this integrated planning as a part of their next long-range transportation plan update and will provide technical assistance on scenario planning, a tool for assessing future growth alternatives that better coordinate land use, and transportation planning.
So, what do you think? Will an agency task force work? What should be included/avoided?
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