Building ONE America
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Transcript of Building ONE America
Building ONE
America www.buildingoneamerica.org
CHANGING THE RULES OF THE GAME
White House Forum on First Suburbs, Sustainability, Inclusion and Economic Growth
July 18, 2011A presentation by
David RuskBuilding One America
4100 Cathedral Avenue, NW #610Washington, DC 20016
(202) [email protected]
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ONEAmerica State law
& Federal dollars
have created the “Geography of Opportunity”
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ONEAmerica State law determines
• How and where local governments are organized• What revenue sources and powers
they have
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Billions of Federal dollars shape what gets built wherefor whose benefit …and at whose cost
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For decadesFederal “urban policy”
may have targetedcentral cities…
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But for decades Federal dollarshave promoted
sprawling new development in exclusive outer suburbs.
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the streetcar-era, post-WWII suburbs and the older metropolitan towns – have been neglected
and today they are struggling.
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The current political reality:No increase in Federal money
to help the First Suburbs
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We don’t need to increase the deficit to
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Change the “rules of the game.”
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Alter how Federal funds are allocated:
• To promote & reward diversity• To promote & reward Smart Growth• To promote & reward cooperation and
regional planning• To leverage state and local investment
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Federal leverage (2009)
• $145 billion in HUD-DOT-EPA grants-in-aid• $214 billion in tax subsidies for housing• $700 billion in FHA-guaranteed mortgages• $5.1 trillion in Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
mortgage portfolio
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Not all suburbs are the same • First Suburbs are economically and
racially diverse, but with rising numbers of low income families• First Suburbs have small, shrinking
or stagnant tax base
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Result: The First Suburbs have low tax
bases and high school costs - Lower opportunity
communities
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Economically & racially exclusive Growing regional job centers Large commercial tax bases High performance schools, good local
services, and lower tax rates
Higher opportunity communities
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Changing “rules of the game”starts with mapping the
“Geography of Opportunity” for any region
(example: Municipal Opportunity Index for Philadelphia region)
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Factors for aMunicipal Opportunity Index
• Jobs 35% Schools 35%
Tax Base 10% Neighborhoods 20%
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• 23 maximum opportunity towns 37 high opportunity towns 43 medium opportunity towns 59 low opportunity towns 75 minimum opportunity towns 1 central city (Philadelphia)
238 cities, boroughs, and townships
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Let’s eliminate rural townships that are not part of Philadelphia or Pottstown
Urbanized Areas to focus on true First Suburbs
and to emphasize need for farmland preservation/anti-sprawl policies to protect
rural communities.
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3 BIG CHALLENGES facing First Suburbs:
• Job sprawl• Too much affordable housing• Low performing schools
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Two guiding principles for changingFederal rules of game
to stabilize & strengthen First Suburbs:
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FIRST:
Use regional opportunity mapto allocate more federal dollars to
medium, low, and minimum opportunityFirst Suburbs that are the most
environmentally sustainable and racially & economically inclusionary.
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SECOND:Use regional opportunity map
to shape Federal policies and incentivesto slow/stop suburban sprawl
and diversify high and maximum opportunity suburbs that are still
racially & economically exclusionary.
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But that’s notwhat has been happening…
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Fueled by Federal highway funds, in 95 out of 98 largest metro areas, percentage of regional
jobs located more than 10 miles from downtown increased. By 2006, more than 45%
of all jobs located more than 10 miles out
(67% in metro Philadelphia)
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Outer suburbs’ exclusionary practices & HUD housing voucher policies
make First Suburbs’ homes and rentals only choice for low/moderate income families
that are “moving up & out.”
Affordable Minimum Opportunity Towns by current HUD housing voucher rent limits
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#1 Ridley Chester City Sharon HillSchwenksville East Greenville AldanHatfield Eddystone Marcus HookWest Pottsgrove Parkside Clifton HeightsAmbler Green Lane Darby TownshipUpper Frederick Lansdowne Chester TownshipPottstown Bridgeport CollingdaleRidley Park Glenolden Lower ChichesterUpper Darby Yeadon TrainerRed Hill Folcroft East LansdowneNorristown Upland MillbourneProspect Park Norwood #37 ColwynDarby Boro
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Current HUD housing voucher Fair Market Rent (FMR) limits
shut low-income families out of19 of 25 largest job centers
in Delaware and Montgomery counties.
That’s the issue of access to good and growing job supply.
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What about the issue of access to high performing schools?
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High performing schools invariably have low percentages of low income students (as
measured by those qualifying forFree And Reduced-price Meals,
or “FARM”).
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FARM percentages by MOI category
Maximum opportunity towns 5%High opportunity towns 7%Medium opportunity towns 12%Low opportunity towns 21%Minimum opportunity towns 41%Philadelphia Public Schools 77%
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HOUSING POLICY ISSCHOOL POLICY
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SCHOOL POLICY ISHOUSING POLICY
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Number of “Red Zone” schools
are steadily increasing in First Suburbs
because of housing policies
and infrastructure-driven
regional growth patterns
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Change “Rules of the Game” to:
•Revitalize central cities •Diversify outer suburbs/stop sprawl•Invest heavily in First Suburbs that are already developed and diverse
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•Reform housing policies
•Target infrastructure investment
•Reform school funding to reward diversity
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Montgomery County, MD’s
mandatory inclusionary zoning policy has produced 12,500 affordable units
for very low-income families integrated with 90,000 market-rate units in
250 mixed income neighborhoods.
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•New Jersey’s Mt Laurel decision and Housing Reform Act of 2008
•All 566 municipalities required to have regional “fair share” of affordable housing; no escape clauses
•20% of all state-assisted housing developments must be affordable (5% for extremely low-income)
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Federal housing policiesmust reinforce state and local initiatives
to create economically integrated neighborhoods and to prevent
concentrations of low-income families.
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Example of a Federal housing policy reform:
HUD’S SMALL AREA FAIR MARKET RENTBY ZIP CODE PILOT PROGRAM
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REMEMBER:
Affordable Maximum Opportunity Towns by current HUD housing voucher rent limits -
None!
Affordable Maximum Opportunity Towns with Fair Market Rent by ZIP code
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#1 Upper Providence Whitemarsh
Whitpain Upper Gynedd
Lower Merion (not yet) Chadds Ford
Montgomery (not yet) Radnor
Upper Merion #10 Lower Gwynedd
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Example of Federal housing-transportation reform
HUD-DOT-EPA
PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
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SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE (SCI)
$150 million in FY 2010$100 million in FY 2011
No Congressional guidelines ($145 billion in total grants)
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SCI grantees should be required or incentivized:
– Regional opportunity mapping
– Mixed-income housing, particularly in higher opportunity towns
– Regional mobility programs to assist low-income families to move from lower opportunity to higher opportunity towns
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• regional opportunity mapping5 pts
• inclusionary housing in hi opportunity towns 5 pts
• regional housing mobility program5 pts
• job and tax-base increases in First Suburbs 7 pts
• better transit access between First Suburbs and major regional job centers
3 pts
HUD-DOT-EPA could also reward through providing bonus points in grading
discretionary SCI grants:
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Multi-county Portland Metro citizen-elected regional government plans and enforces anti-sprawl Urban Growth
Boundary requires higher-density, mixed-income housing
development shifted Federal funds from highways to First
Suburb light rail system
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Transportation Opportunities Act of 2011
•National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund•Fix It First priority for highway and bridge investments•Directs more funding to First Suburbs infrastructure •Should promote MPO reform•Should link DOT funds to Smart Growth and economic integration
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“Money Follows FARM Child” formula
rewards greater diversity moots “fiscal zoning” stabilizes First Suburbs tax rates
Examples:–New Mexico (1972)–Pennsylvania (2008)–New Jersey (2008)
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Investing in First Suburbs is investing in sustainability, inclusion and in our economic future
State/Federal reforms need strong grassroots support First Suburbs have more members of Congress, more
independent voters, and more competitive districts First Suburbs are where bi-partisan civil civic debate takes
place everyday First Suburbs are a unifying force in our metro regions
and…
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…when organized, First Suburbs are more powerful
than the sum of our many parts