Letter from the Editor - May 2006

Getting Smart! May 2006

8 May 2006

Find out what's in this issue of Getting Smart!

Dear Smart Growth Network Member,

When hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit in 2005, millions of Americans offered their help. Among them were professionals affiliated with the smart growth field. Planners, architects, local government officials, Realtors, developers, preservationists, environmental specialists, and community rebuilding advocates and experts--and many others--came down to the Gulf Coast to help the devastated communities rebuild in sustainable, equitable ways. Home-grown smart growth expertise played a major role too, as local citizens and officials came up with their own visions for the future of their communities.

In this issue of Getting Smart!, we share two perspectives on "smart" rebuilding after a disaster. Congressman Earl Blumenauer, a longtime champion of livable communities, offers principles to guide the recovery effort. And Peter Brink, vice president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, describes the importance of historic buildings as vital building blocks for community revitalization. This newsletter also offers a variety of resources related to planning safer, more sustainable, communities, as well as links to some important efforts still underway by smart growth practitioners.

In this newsletter we also continue our series of articles on winners of the 2005 Awards for Smart Growth Achievement. This issue's article focuses on Baldwin Park, a new community built on a former military base in Orlando, Florida.

Thanks for reading this issue of Getting Smart!

Best regards,

Dan Emerine
Editor