New Partners for Smart Growth Conference

February 2, 2012 - February 4, 2012
San Diego Sheraton Hotel & Marina, San Diego, CA

Come visit us at booth No. 17.

HDR is the largest Corporate Sponsor, the Sustainability Advisor and will be participating in the following sessions.

"Sustainable Return on Investment (SROI) An Interactive Demonstration"

Saturday, February 4, 10:15- 2:15 p.m.

Accredited by: PDH 2.0

Speakers:

  • Christopher Behr, LEED AP, Principal Economist, HDR Decision Economics
  • Adhir Kackar, Policy Analyst, Office of Sustainable Communities, U.S. EPA
  • Cynthia E. Winland, Crescent Consulting, Inc. (invited)
  • Robin Kirschbaum, PE, LEED AP, Stormwater Lead, HDR Engineering
  • John F Williams, SVP National Director, Sustainable Development, HDR, Inc.

President Obama's Executive Order 13514 entitled -Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance- has put a new emphasis on transforming the U.S. economy via intensified investments in a 'green' economy. The purpose of this session is to introduce the Sustainable Return on Investment framework and explain how it can be used as a tool to help promote sustainable investment strategies from an objective and transparent perspective. This presentation will describe how SROI has been applied in dozens of settings for projects with an aggregate value in the billions of dollars to supplement traditional performance measures in order to help organizations integrate sustainability into their current decision-making process. The presentation will also feature an interactive element where we duplicate an actual SROI client workshop to demonstrate in real time how the SROI process can assist in making optimal sustainable decisions.

"Emerging Practices and Policies in Transit-oriented Development"

Friday, February 3 at 3:30-5:30 p.m.

Accredited by: CM2.0 and PDH/HSW 2.0

Moderator: 

David Taylor, CNU, National Director, Sustainable Transportation Solutions, HDR, Inc.

Speakers:

  • Elizabeth Wampler, Program Associate/Data Analyst, Reconnecting America
  • Sharon Pugh, Federal Transit Administration
  • Susan Baldwin, Senior Regional Planner, San Diego Association of Governments

TOD is emerging as an integral part of building sustainable, walkable, transit-supportive places. This panel provides an overview of the TOD state-of-the art, followed by an overview of TOD at the regional scale. Regional planning for TOD is a growing field in the US - meaning looking beyond the station. The panel will discuss the emerging TOD best practices in three U.S. locations at the regional scale. Next is a set of station case studies that relate to the regional/corridor construct and begins to address implementation. The fourth feature of the panel is a review of FTA's new Joint Development Guidance, as one means of assisting in the development process. A local transit agency representative will provide a response to the FTA Guidance. Taken as a while, the session provides a comprehensive overview of TOD and the ability to impellent it.

"Development-Oriented Transit: Innovative Economic Tools and Models"

Saturday, February 4 at 1:45 - 3:15 p.m.

Accredited by: CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5

Speakers:

  • Daniel Hodge, Principle Economist, HDR / Decision Economics
  • Martina Haggerty, Principal Planner, City of Providence, RI

In the beginning of the 21st Century, cities across the country have started to build transit not only to address transportation challenges, such as congestion, but also as an economic development tool to improve the livability of cities, grow their tax bases and attract jobs.

This workshop highlights innovative approaches for development-oriented transit, offering examples of how communities use unique tools and analyses to affect land use strategies, implementation, and financial plans in a fiscally constrained environment.

Viewed as economic development projects, the potential development impacts of streetcars can be directly linked to property value capture analysis to support a funding strategy. With limited federal, state and local public sector resources to provide capital dollars or operations funding, TIF and special assessment districts are two specific tools for implementation. The panel will examine specific examples from Atlanta, Charlotte and Rhode Island.

Event Website

For more information and registration, visit Newpartners.org.