October 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 34

advocacy update continued from page 31

Connecting Policy with Legislation
Members of Congress are recognizing
that citizens want resources and funding to help them make their communities more livable. As a result, a surprising
number of bills promoting livable sustainable communities has been introduced in this session. One of the most
important of these bills for parks and
recreation is the Urban Revitalization
and Livable Communities Act (HR 3734),
sponsored by Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ).

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The Livable Communities Act encourages
comprehensive planning at the local and regional
levels 73 and would provide funding and resources
to address congestion, affordable housing, landuse, and economic development needs, including
protection of rural areas and green space.

The Urban Revitalization and Livable
Communities Act (URLC), which now has
more than 130 bi-partisan co-sponsors,
would provide grants to states and localities to create, rehabilitate, and maintain
community parks and recreational facilities in urban areas across the country. In addition, the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) would be
directed to give priority to projects that
promote physical activity and which connect children and community residents
to the outdoors, connect people to public transportation, and include safe biking
and walking trails or routes. Project preference would include projects with environmentally beneficial components such
as " sustainable landscape features, "
increased tree canopy coverage, improved storm-water management practices, and improved green infrastructure.
A similar bill to URLC is taking shape
in the Senate, titled the Reinvesting in
America's Parks Act (REVAMP), soon to
be introduced by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). The REVAMP Act would
provide federal assistance grants (to
be matched by local funds) to rehabilitate and develop urban parks and

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community recreational infrastructure.
Economically distressed communities
could use these grants to improve existing or construct new recreational facilities and infrastructure, plant trees,
improve safety in communities and provide healthy options for at-risk children.
Another important bill for parks and
recreation is the Livable Communities
Act, S. 1619, which was introduced in the
Senate this session by Sen. Christopher
Dodd (D-CT). This bill also contains several provisions that could provide funding
and resources to parks and recreation. It
is, however, of particular interest because
the sponsor is retiring from Congress at
the end of this term and there is speculation that the Senate will look favorably
on passing one of his signature bills. The
House version of the Livable Communities Act, H.R. 4690, was introduced by
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO). There may
be an opportunity to pair REVAMP in the
Senate and URLC in the House with the
respective House and Senate versions
of the Livable Communities bills, thus
improving chances for passage of legislation that will include significant new
funding specifically for urban parks.

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often ranked in top tier of the most desirable attributes of livable communities.
Kate Rube, policy director for Smart
Growth America, a national nonprofit coalition of organizations, says, " We have
seen some really successful models
around the country of communities that
have come together to meet serious challenges-congestion, loss of open space,
urban decay, and other problems facing
their communities. Some of these challenges are related to how they manage
growth, or the reverse-how they deal
with the loss of population and upkeep of
hugely expensive infrastructure that is no
longer necessary or affordable. "
" There are dozens of examples of cities and communities that have begun to
undertake comprehensive planning efforts to address their future needs to
make their communities livable and sustainable, " Rube says. " Good examples
of planning and implementing strategies
for livable communities can be found in
Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Chattanooga, New York City, and in smaller communities like Cache Valley, Utah, and
Driggs, Idaho. The key to their success
so far, " she says, " is that they are willing
to stop working in silos and look comprehensively at what their long-term vision
for the future is. "
" More and more citizens are participating in planning at the community and
regional level, " says Roxanne Blackwell,
federal governmental affairs manager
for the American Society of Landscape
Architects. " They want to be involved in
the direction of their communities. They
want to see more green space, walking
trails, open spaces. "

October 2010 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2010 - Parks & Recreation