HUD Funds Sustainable Communities

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has provided $95.8 million to fund sustainable community planning and economic development throughout the U.S. Twenty-seven communities and organizations will receive the grants, which fall into two categories. Community Challenge grants support upgrades to pedestrian or transit infrastructure as well as local code changes aimed at spurring investments in existing buildings, mixed-use development, or affordable housing. Regional Planning grants focus on larger-scale regional efforts to make integrated improvements to transit infrastructure, land use, and economic development. Recipients include both rural and urban communities and organizations—from the Hopi Tribe in Arizona, which is planning a new community on the Hopi Reservation, to the City of Boston, which will acquire land to build transit stations in low-income neighborhoods along an existing commuter rail line. For more information, see www.hud.gov.