U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, left, and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, right, visited Seattle today (Thursday, February 4), to address the 9th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference. They were joined by Environmental Protection Agency Assistant Administrator Mathy Stanislaus, below. 
The President proposed $527 million in his budget for an ambitious new livability initiative at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Its Office of Livable Communities will be a focal point for initiatives such as expanding transit in low-income neighborhoods. It will fund a grant program to help state and local transportation agencies provide more transportation choices that spur economic development.
The New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, taking place Feb. 4-6, is the premier national smart growth conference, bringing together experts from a wide range of disciplines to discuss transportation, housing and urban development, public health, equitable development, environmental protection, and other topics. The partnership agencies are working together more closely than ever before to meet the president’s challenge to coordinate federal policies, programs, and resources to help urban, suburban, and rural areas build more sustainable communities.
The New Partners for Smart Growth Conference is managed by the Local Government Commission, in partnership with EPA, DOT, and other public and private sponsors.
More about the Partnership for Sustainable Communities
More on EPA’s Smart Growth Program
More information on HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities
