When he was running for president, Barack Obama promised to "re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account." He hasn't rebuilt the transportation funding system from scratch, but his administration has inserted "smart growth" principles into at least one program — Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grants under the economic stimulus bill passed earlier this year.

First, some background about "smart growth."

Three federal agencies — the Transportation Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency — have begun working jointly toward creating what the administration has termed "more livable communities," a concept considered similar to "smart growth." The principles underlying this concept include minimizing traffic congestion and commuting times and providing transportation options beyond the automobile, all of which can keep housing and transportation costs low for residents and make the most efficient and cleanest use of land and other natural resources.
 
"Creating livable communities will result in improved quality of life for all Americans and create a more efficient and more accessible transportation network that serves the needs of individual communities," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on June 16, 2009. "Fostering the concept of livability in transportation projects and programs will help America"s neighborhoods become safer, healthier and more vibrant."

The impact of these ideas on transportation funding is clearest in TIGER grants. These grants, provided for under Title XII of the stimulus bill, will make $1.5 billion available through Sept. 30, 2011, for highway, bridge, railway and port projects. They are to be awarded on a competitive basis for projects that are deemed to have "a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area or a region." Among those eligible for the grants are state and local governments, transit agencies, port authorities, metropolitan planning organizations and multijurisdictional applicants.

Several criteria will play a role in determining which projects are funded, including economic stimulus impact, the contribution to longer-term U.S. economic competitiveness, improvements to safety — and "livability" and "sustainability." The Transportation Department defines livability as "improving the quality of living and working environments and the experience for people in communities across the United States." It defines sustainability as "improving energy efficiency, reducing dependence on oil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and benefitting the environment."

Such principles will not play a role in the decisions for all federally funded transportation projects. But their use in determining how $1.5 billion is spent on TIGER grants represents a major step toward fulfilling President Obama's promise. We rate it as In the Works.