DOT, HUD, and EPA Form Interagency Partnership

The U.S. Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Environmental Protection Agency have joined forces to create an interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities to help improve access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide.

The partnership has outlined six “livability principles” that will act as a foundation for interagency coordination:

1. Provide more transportation choices. Develop safe, reliable, and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote public health.

2. Promote equitable, affordable housing. Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races, and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.

3. Enhance economic competitiveness. Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services, and other basic needs by workers, as well as expanded business access to markets.

4. Support existing communities. Target federal funding toward existing communities to increase community revitalization, improve the efficiency of public works investments, and safeguard rural landscapes.

5. Coordinate policies and leverage investment. Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding, and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.

6. Value communities and neighborhoods. Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban, or suburban.