new post: “Missing Priorities…”

A new post up at Rooflines.org on the missing priorities of the new HUD/DOT Sustainable Comunities Initiative:

At a US House of Representatives hearing last week on “Livable Communities, Transit Oriented Development, and Incorporating Green Building Practices into Federal Housing and Transportation,” HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced an new partnership. A joint task force, the “Sustainable Communities Initiative,” will address the intersection of transportation and housing affordability.

While any genuine effort to address housing affordability is welcome, this new HUD/DOT task force is particularly exciting because it reflects a new understanding of the complex issues that confront metropolitan regions and the sometimes surprising ways they intersect. Encouraging smarter planning, expanding the definition of affordability, and researching the livability of communities work in tandem to increase the use of public transportation, decrease our carbon footprint, reduce urban sprawl, enable the smarter use of regional resources, and improve affordable housing options for families. In short, this is one of those rare initiatives that seem to naturally align a multitude of interests.

Read the full post…

 

profile up on generationCONNECT

The brand new site generationCONNECT’s goal is “to become the voice for Chicago’s young social change advocates.” I had the pleasure of being interviewed by site co-founder Venita Griffin a few weeks ago and am excited to say that both the site and my profile/interview are now live: genconnectonline.org/smart-moves/

 

what NOLA needs

New Orleans has been called “the city that care forgot”. In many ways, this unfortunate moniker is true. Until now, my memories of local politicians and politics center around scandals, controversy, and missed opportunities. That changed when, a few weeks ago, I learned that James Perry was considering a run for mayor.

I first met James at the National Fair Housing Alliance’s 2006 conference in Washington D.C. We quickly bonded over our passion for fair housing and love of music and I’ve considered him a friend ever since. He is a passionate advocate, leader, and thinker whose expertise in housing would benefit New Orleans enormously. For a city still grappling with the destructive effects of Katrina while confronting a massive foreclosure and credit crisis, James is uniquely situated to take the reigns.

Visit his website at www.JamesPerry2010.com to learn more, tell him what you think NOLA needs, and make a contribution.

 

vote for my sis!

My sister Emily is a fantastic make-up artist and a member of the Sephora Pro Beauty Team. Check out her video below and then head over to www.facebook.com/sephora and give her your vote! The winner gets a feature in Allure magazine and their own column on Beauty and the Blog.

 

incredible honor

Change.org’s Social Entrepreneurship blog named me one of “Five Social Innovaters Who Would Make MLK Proud”:

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stands among the giants of history. The story of the preacher who helped change a nation is a core piece of our American heritage. And it’s not hard to feel as though this year’s celebration of King’s legacy is just a little bit more special; that in some small way a piece of his dream is coming true in front of our eyes.

Yet for how far America has come, inequity and injustice persist, even if they look very different than they did in King’s day. Today will be filled with wonderful and moving tributes to his memory, but I can’t help but feel that the best way to honor MLK’s legacy is to embody his spirit in our action. To that end, here’s a list of five social innovators I think Dr. King would be proud to know.

Justin Massa, founder of Movesmart.org
More than forty years after the 1968 Fair Housing Act, American neighborhoods are still often segregated by race and ethnicity. This segregation impacts everything from access to education to crime rates, and remains an important social challenge. Justin Massa founded MoveSmart.org in order to “foster economic and racial integration” by unlocking data about neighborhoods…

Maybe the coolest part of this is that Pres. Barack Obama was also on the list. Any time someone puts you on a list of five people and our new president is one of them, you know it is incredibly flattering.