News

Arts-Oriented Development Encouraged through New Sustainable Communities Grant Programs

Last week, HUD and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released two
Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs): $100 million in grants available
through HUD’s Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program, and
up to $75 million in grants available through a joint HUD and DOT
Sustainable Communities Challenge Grant Program.

Under both programs, arts
organizations are eligible to partner with state and local governments,
metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), transit agencies, philanthropic
and non-profit organizations and other eligible applicants to develop
consortia grant proposals.

"The arts are a natural component to furthering this Administration’s
commitment to creating more livable, walkable, environmentally sustainable
communities," said HUD Secretary Donovan. "They can play a key role as a
partner that is able to enhance the unique characteristics of communities
and increase our economic competitiveness through supporting creativity and
innovation."

"The arts are creative placemakers," said NEA Chairman Landesman. "We are
able to work alongside federal agencies like HUD to help create places where
people want to live work and play, both today and in the future."

Both programs build on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an
innovative interagency collaboration, launched by President Obama in June
2009, between the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to provide more sustainable housing and transportation choices for
families and lay the foundation for a 21st century economy.

Guided by six
Livability Principles, the Partnership is designed to remove the traditional
silos that exist between federal departments and strategically target the
agencies’ transportation, land use, environmental, housing and community
development resources to provide communities the resources they need to
build more livable, sustainable communities.

This is the first time that HUD and the NEA have co-convened the arts and
creative sector on a national level around funding opportunities, and it
demonstrates the Obama Administration’s commitment to changing the way the
federal government operates by working more collaboratively across federal
agencies and making smarter investments. The Sustainable Communities
Regional Planning Grant Program is the first HUD Notice of Funding
Availability (NOFA) that explicitly contains language encouraging the arts
community to participate in the consortia submitting applications.

You might find it
worthwhile to listen to the archived webcast. Here is the webcast link —

http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/webcasts/archives

(choose "Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities/National Endowment
for the Arts, July 7, 2010")

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.