New Updates on SCRC - 04/11/2013

Developed by the Office of Policy Development and Research in partnership with HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities (OSHC), the Sustainable Communities Resource Center (SCRC) is a section of huduser.gov dedicated to providing you with information that supports local and regional strategies, with an emphasis on sustainable housing and planning.

New on SCRC

Grantee Spotlight: Planning for Livable Military Communities
Tarrant County, Texas is home to Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (NAS Fort Worth JRB), a military base that has remained a source of community pride since the early 20th century. The airbase is also one of the largest employers in the county, with over 11,000 active, reserve, and civilian workers. In addition, NAS Fort Worth JRB presents important challenges for Tarrant and its adjacent counties, including safety, affordable housing, transportation access, and land-use compatibility between military and residential uses. Read More

Green Infrastructure Aims to Reshape Philadelphia
In 2012, the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania adopted a landmark program that could change the direction of infrastructure investments made in CSO-affected communities across the country. Informed by years of watershed-based planning, the Philadelphia Water Department’s (PWD’s) Green City, Clean Waters program deploys green infrastructure strategies as the primary tool for addressing CSOs and spurring sustainable urban redevelopment. Read More

Energy-Efficiency Program Targets Affordable Housing Preservation
Residents of New Hampshire are burdened with some of the highest home heating costs in the country. The number of heating degree days in the state exceeds the national average, and nearly 50 percent of households depend on fuel oil to heat their homes, compared with approximately 6 percent nationally. These factors place thousands of assisted affordable units in the state at risk of being converted to market-rate apartments as rising utility costs make the developments more costly to operate and maintain. In an effort to help preserve the state’s affordable housing stock, the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority introduced the Greener Homes program in 2011 to lower property owners’ operating costs through energy-efficiency improvements and technology-modernization projects. Read More