Widespread Support for Livable Communities Act

Community Transportation Association of America
National Association of Development Organizations
National Association of Regional Councils
CTAA participated in a Congressional briefing about livability for rural communities. In a letter to the Senate Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development, CTAA, along with Consortium partners NADO and NARC, and Transportation for America, the National League of Cities, and the National Association of Counties, expressed their support of the principles embraced in the Livable Communities Act (S. 1619), which will “promote[] regionally-based and locally-driven efforts to better integrate transportation, housing, environmental, land use and economic development initiatives.” However, the letter did not express an endorsement of the Act.

The Livable Communities Act provides new incentives and resources for local leaders to craft and implement comprehensive regional sustainable development strategies. The legislation is a major step forward in recognizing that pressing community issues such as economic competitiveness, environmental stewardship, housing affordability and access, transportation mobility and quality of place are often regional in nature and require a comprehensive and coordinated approach. These issues are of universal concern to communities regardless of shape, size, scale or location. Our nation’s small urban and rural communities have as much opportunity to benefit from implementing regional strategies for sustainable development as our largest metropolitan communities.