The NCAA announced today that the men’s college basketball Final Four competition will be held in Houston in 2016. At that time, the Toyota Center, Root Memorial Park, Reliant Stadium, The University of Houston, Texas Southern University, and Rice University - and their basketball courts - will be accessible via light rail. The NCAA also announced that the competition will be held in New Orleans, Atlanta, Arlington, TX, and Indianapolis in the years 2012 through 2015.

Journalist and food activist Mark Winne will talk about his new book Closing the Food Gap, an account of the widening of America’s food gap since the 1960’s, the various strategies - community gardens, food banks, and farmers’ markets - that communities have used to narrow the gap created by an industrialized food system, and the worsening food-related health crisis among less affluent Americans who cannot afford to participate in the local, organic food movement. Winne sees the food inequity issue as a matter of social injustice, and his book presents his ideas for making healthy, local food available to everyone.

“Closing the Food Gap reveals the chasm between the two food systems of America— the one for the poor and the one for everyone else. Mark Winne offers compelling solutions for making local, organic, and highly nutritious food available to everyone.” - Jane Goodall, PhD, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event. RSVP or for further information contact wendy.natt@houstontomorrow.org or call 713.523.5757. The lecture and reception are free and open to the public.

Thursday, December 4, 2008
Reception: 6:30
Lecture: 7:00 - 8:30 pm
United Way Community Resource Center
50 Waugh Drive
Houston, TX

This event is made possible through the sponsors of the 2008 Food and Sustainable Prosperity Conference that we held on September 4th in partnership with the Houston-Galveston Area Council, Urban Harvest, and Texas Sea Grant.

Thank you to our sponsors:

Kevin and Evelyn Shanley
Gulf Coast Economic Development District
Gulf Coast Small Business Finance Corporation
The City of Clear Lake Shores
North Montrose Community Garden
Last Organic Outpost

Transportation funding initiatives receive strong support at polls
Nationwide, 72% of the major transportation funding measures on November ballots this year were approved, about double the rate at which initiatives are usually passed, according to the Center for Transportation Excellence (CFTE), a nonpartisan policy research organization that supports public transportation. Read the rest of this entry »

President-Elect Barack Obama is creating the first White House Office of Urban Policy. The creators of Walkscore.com have set up an online forum for individuals to vote and give feedback on what they think should be the top priorities for Obama’s new urban policy team. Read the rest of this entry »

“The bills are coming due” on 200 years of fossil fuel use
If the nation is going to make any difference in slowing climate change, then President Elect Barack Obama (and we) must act quickly, boldly, and decisively on becoming a world leader in this challenge, says environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben in an article on Worldchanging.com. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2008 Transportation Safety Conference - organized by the Texas Transportation Institute’s Center for Transportation Safety (CTS) - will be held in Houston on November 17-19.

“Traffic safety and planning experts, law enforcement, medical professionals and legislators will gather to discuss the wide-ranging issues related to traffic deaths and injuries. This first-of-its-kind statewide conference is co-hosted by the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).”

CTS encourages community leaders, safety professionals, and anyone interested in transportation safety issues to attend. Go to the Texas Transportation Institute’s website for full program details or Contact Jessica Franklin at jessica-franklin@tamu.edu or 979.845.5817. Online registration is no longer available. Registration will be available on-site at the Houston Hobby Airport Marriott.

November 17-19
Houston Hobby Airport Marriott
9100 Gulf Freeway
Houston, Texas

The Transportation Policy Council (TPC) of the Houston-Galveston Area Council will meet on Friday, November 21, to hear public comments and form a resolution for approval of amendments to the 2008-2011 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and the 2035 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). Alan Clark of the Houston-Galveston Area Council will also discuss the 2010-2013 TIP development plan,

The meeting is open to all interested persons. Address any comments and/or questions regarding the TPC to Alan Clark, Director of Transportation Planning, at 713.993.4585 or by email to alan.clark@h-gac.com.

View the tentative meeting agenda.

Friday, November 21, 2008
9:30 am
3555 Timmons Lane
H-GAC Conference Room A, 2nd Floor

Survey findings show some US cities to rank among the worst
According to the annual United Nations’ State of the World’s Cities report for 2008/2009, cities in countries around the world, including the US, are becoming increasingly unequal, as social, economic, and health disparities create unstable and unsafe urban areas. Read the rest of this entry »

Transit is one component, but it’s mostly the character of the place that increases values
The “places” planners and developers create around transit stations has a much greater impact on housing real estate values than transit itself, according to Marilee Utter, president of Citiventure, a Denver real estate company that specializes in transit-oriented development properties (TODs). Read the rest of this entry »

State’s DOT Smart Growth Initiative encourages transit-oriented development
The historic town of Collingswood, NJ, a once-prominent bedroom community of Camden and Philadelphia at the turn of the last century, has “capitalized on [its access to] mass transit” and transformed itself into a walkable, affordable, “transit village,” and - once again - a much sought-after place to live, according to an article in the New York Times. Read the rest of this entry »