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By Lauren Michele, May 15, 2012

Come see two of Governor Brown’s most recent appointees speak at the California Interregional Blueprint (CIB) Summit: Brian Kelly, Acting Secretary, Business, Housing and Transportation Agency, and Malcolm Dougherty, Director, Caltans.  If you have not registered for the Summit yet, please do so today!  Join us in-person in Sacramento, or on the Web, and help shape California’s future transportation system.

California Interregional Blueprint (CIB) Summit May 23, 2012 8:00 AM – 10:30 AM* CalPERS Auditorium, 400 P Street, Sacramento, CA

Seating is limited so register today at: http://bit.ly/CIBSummit

Caltrans is sponsoring the CIB Summit to share critical information about the long-term future of California’s transportation system and receive valuable feedback from you.  Take this opportunity to speak with representatives from State agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, regional transportation planning agencies, and the private sector.

Business Transportation and Housing Agency Acting Secretary Brian Kelly will share Governor Brown’s perspective as the Summit’s keyone speaker.

Leaders from key regional and State agencies scheduled to participate in panel discussions are:

• Gary Gallegos, Executive Director, San Diego Association of Governments
• Hasan Ikhrata, Executive Director, Southern California Association of Governments
• James Goldstene, Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board
• Sharon Scherzinger, Executive Director, El Dorado County Transportation Commission
• Malcolm Dougherty, Director, Caltrans
• Dan Richard, Chair, California High Speed Rail Commission
• Tim Schott, Executive Director, California Association of Port Authorities

Complete details on the Summit and the California Interregional Blueprint process are available on the Caltrans Web Site:

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/californiainterregionalblueprint/summit.html

After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email with directions to the workshop.  If you have questions, email Caroline Leary, Cambridge Systematics, at cleary@camsys.com or call her at 510-873-8700 (voice) or

711 (TTY). If you need physical accommodations or other assistance, please contact Caroline as soon as possible, but no later than two working days before the Summit.

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By Lauren Michele, May 8, 2012

For Jeremy Gray’s senior thesis project, a group of seniors at The Met Sacramento High School put together a bicycle repair facility/workshop to be housed at the downtown Sacramento public charter high school which was founded on a “project-based” approach to education.  They created the first youth-run bicycle collective in the Sacramento area and were in charge of getting the project started/funded, running and maintaining the site (which is centrally located adjacent to classrooms), and ensuring that other Metsters are able to take on the Bike Collective after they graduate.

Of the nearly 300 students at the Met, 100 bike to school and related internships in the community – less than a dozen are licenced drivers

By creating a place for students to learn about bikes through real work experience,  the students hope to promote bike-riding in the Met community. The also will be giving volunteer students community service hours and the opportunity to meet other bicycle enthusiasts.

STUDENT BIKE COLLECTIVE MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to teach Met Sacramento community members of all skill and knowledge levels about repairing and maintaining their bikes so that they may become more self-sufficient.  We are dedicated to providing helpful and lasting hands-on bicycle help to Metsters in an accessible and friendly environment.  Many Metsters rely on their bicycles for transportation, and we hope to create the collective to support them.

Jeremy Gray is also Policy in Motion’s first high school intern who is currently creating a full length film on a concept called “people-oriented development” (POD) and how we can create beautiful communities where people interact more and drive less. The firm’s Career Development Mentorship Program mirrors the “project-based learning” philosophy at the Met Sacramento High School – a dependent public charter high school located in downtown Sacramento that fosters community sustainability at its essence and the concept of “POD.”

Lauren Michele is a proud member of the Met community!

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By Lauren Michele, May 3, 2012

As part of a panel on greenhouse gas emission and vehicle miles traveled reduction strategies, Lauren Michele – Owner/Author of Policy in Motion – will be speaking Monday, May 7th at the 2012 Association of Environmental Professionals Statewide Conference

TDM? TCM? BMP? How Do You Spell VMT Relief?

Organizations use a range of transportation demand management (TDM) strategies, transportation control measures (TCMs) and Best Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce vehicle emissions. The panel will provide an overview of applicable statewide legislation, current research on effective strategies, how to incorporate strategies into CEQA documents, and real world implementation.

More about AEP: www.califaep.org

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By Lauren Michele, March 15, 2012

“People-oriented development” – POD – is about creating communities with access to affordable living near quality jobs, food, schools and health services. We can use the process of POD to foster sustainable communities while at the same time meeting California’s greenhouse gas reduction goals under AB 32 and SB 375. Check out the trailer for Policy in Motion: Growing Beautiful Communities and stay tuned for the August 2012 release of the film!

**Special thanks to filmmaker Jeremy Gray, Senior at the Met Sacramento High School**

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By Lauren Michele, February 7, 2012

You’re doing a good service to the field by helping them get established.  We need energetic blood!

— Office of the Secretary, United States Department of Transportation

Policy in Motion’s “Career Development” Mentorship Program is designed to mentor youth, college students and emerging professionals with an interest in public policy and sustainability planning into careers in transportation or urban planning. The program leverages Sacramento as a learning ground by engaging Mentees in the firm’s current local/state/federal policy research and transportation planning projects. It is designed as a work exchange where students provide project and research support for hands-on learning in business development and policy implementation,  as well as personal mentorship into career networks around California’s Capitol. Aligning with Policy in Motion’s vision for fostering the growth of “PODs” – people-oriented development — this program seeks to mentor budding leaders in the field of sustainable transportation planning and policy.

YOUTH IN MOTION

Jeremy Gray is a senior at the Met Sacramento High School.  With the Met, he has worked at several internship sites which have shaped his interest in film making.  He collaborated with teens and made a documentary on state health insurance through the state organization California Voices.  He was the boom microphone operator on the set of A Cure for the Dead, a miniseries from Misfire Productions.  During the summer of 2011, Jeremy worked on an entry for the Sacramento Film and Music Festival’s 10 x 10 Film Festival.  He co-created the film with Noah Damiani, winner of the festival’s Emerging Filmmaker award.  Currently, Jeremy is starting a youth-run bicycle collective at the Met as his Senior Thesis Project.  As Policy in Motion’s Media Intern, he will be applying his filmmaking skills and interest in sustainable communities towards creating a Policy in Motion Documentary to be released August 10, 2012.

UNDERGRAD STUDENTS IN MOTION

EVELYN :: Local Planning Intern

Evelyn Garcia is currently a senior at UC Davis majoring in Community and Regional Development and minoring in Education.  Evelyn served on advisory board as a liaison for Redwood City’s downtown revitalization efforts and worked closely with City government officials in hopes of bridging the gap between youth and adults in the community.  She mentors independent studies high school students in Sacramento in pursuing higher education and preparing for college admissions through a UC Davis organization called Success Through Educational Mentoring (S.T.E.M.) She is actively involved in her Latina community in promoting professional and educational development while also promoting the advancement of Latinas in higher education to young middle school and high school girls all over the Davis, Woodland, and Sacramento area.  Through Policy in Motion she hopes to gain proper guidance and skills in order to develop her interests within community development and urban planning. As a Local Planning Intern for Policy in Motion she provided support for the Solano County Transportation for Livable Communities Plan Update which focuses on the relationship between transportation and land use through the promotion of smart growth development and sustainable transportation projects in Solano County.

FORMER STUDENTS IN MOTION

AMANDA :: Policy Research Intern

Amanda Bradshaw is currently completing a dual-degree in Latin American studies and urban planning at Columbia University in New York City.  She received a B.A. in economics and a B.A. in international development studies from the University of California, Berkeley. During her undergraduate career, she served as a research assistant for a U.S. Economic Development Administration-sponsored study which assessed labor markets within California’s green economy, as well as a study conducted by the Transportation Sustainability Research Center. As a graduate student, Amanda’s research interests include environmental and transportation planning, especially as they pertain to North and South America. In January 2012 she will begin conducting research in Brazil for her thesis which focuses on Brazilian environmental governance and urban reform. As a Policy Research Intern at Policy in Motion during Summer 2011, Amanda provided research support for the a Caltrans statewide planning project – California Interregional Blueprint – focusing on the implementation of AB 32, SB 375, and SB 391.  Additionally, she provided significant editing contributions to Lauren Michele’s new book, “Policy in Motion: Transportation Planning in California after AB 32.” Amanda is currently completing her M.S. research in São Paulo, Brazil where she is comparing the state environmental policy approaches taken in California and São Paulo — Amanda expresses that her Policy in Motion internship has been the most impressive component to her resume reviewers.

MINDY :: Green Business Intern

Melinda (Mindy) Bacharach is a recent graduate from the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning. During her time at UC Davis, Mindy studied abroad in Cambridge England and participated in the University of California DC internship program where she interned at Governor Schwarzenegger’s Washington DC Office. She is now looking forward to a new chapter in life where she will utilize her college experiences and education to pursue a career in environmental policy. It is her goal to attend business school in the future with an environmental policy emphasis. As Policy in Motion’s Green Business Intern over Summer 2011, Mindy learned about the financial and structural operations of a small business through her involvement in the Solano County Transportation for Livable Communities Plan Update overseen by the firm’s principal/owner, Lauren Michele.  Mindy is now working for the California Department of Transportation Headquarters as a Transportation Planner for the Division of Transportation System Information in the Office of Data Analysis and GIS — she was told that her Policy in Motion recommendation review during the interview process was a critical component in the decision to hire her.

 

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By Lauren Michele, January 18, 2012



Time: February 10,2012 , 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Location: 1065 Kemper Hall, UC Davis

Speaker:  Ms. Lauren Michele, Principal/Founder of Policy in Motion

Title: Policy in Motion: Transportation Planning in California after AB 32

Follow these steps to view a seminar remotely live:

• On Friday at 1:30 p.m., log into this web site
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• Enter your name and Enter Room.
• Wait a few moments to be accepted into the meeting room. Your name will appear as a guest as long as you are logged into the seminar.

Abstract: While state and federal actions have been taken to set new requirements for vehicle efficiency and fuels, tackling travel behavior policies that reduce vehicle-miles-traveled and improve transportation network management is needed if California is to reduce its transportation sector’s 38 percent contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. California’s unique democracy and global economy is unparallel to any other union. The State is setting new policy directions for sustainable living through transportation planning, but outdated regulatory frameworks must be aligned with supporting paradigm shifts if California is to move forward in a truly unified vision for people-oriented development and transportation. In a time where both state and federal efforts are pointing toward sustainable planning, Lauren Michele covers five key topics that are necessary for policymakers and practitioners to understand in order to implement sustainable transportation solutions at all levels of government:

• The Four Circles of GHG Reduction Strategies from Travel Behavior:
  categorizes the existing literature on GHG reduction ranges from land use and transportation strategies into four major themes
• Planning Theory and Frameworks in California: analyzes how environmental review frameworks, funding structures, and the land use/ transportation planning process work at the local, regional, state, and federal levels
• Implementing SACOG’s Blueprint and Metropolitan Transportation Plan: reveals what aspects of California government need policy reform in order to successfully implement SB 375′s ”Sustainable Communities Strategies” through an analysis of SACOG’s Blueprint process, successes, and challenges
• Recommendations for New Policy Frameworks in California: contains suggestions for statute changes, agency actions, and framework reforms that support AB 32, SB 375, AB 857, and SB 391 objectives
• Creating a Federal Framework for Integrated Planning: provides recommended language for evolving federal climate/energy bills and the transportation reauthorization to support GHG reduction through the planning process

Biographical Sketch: Since the passage of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act in 2006 (AB 32), Lauren Michele – Principal/Owner/Author of Policy in Motion, has worked with government agencies and varied stakeholders from the local to federal level on crafting and implementing transportation plans and regulatory frameworks which work toward community sustainability and people-oriented development. A graduate of ITS-Davis and analyst with the Institute’s Urban Land Use and Transportation Center, Ms. Michele’s background extends from working as a local transportation planner in California’s capital city to a federal climate policy analyst in Washington D.C. Her research and strategic analyses have been shared with the Federal Highway Administration; State of California Department of Transportation, Air Resources Board, Energy Commission, Strategic Growth Council, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, Assembly and Senate; as well as regional and local transportation planning agencies developing integrated land use and transportation sustainability plans pursuant to Senate Bill 375 (Steinberg, 2008). Her recent book, ‘Policy in Motion: Transportation Planning in California after AB 32 was released on August 10th of 2011, including a foreword by Dr. Daniel Sperling. ”This book examines California’s transportation planning initiatives since AB 32, with a nuanced eye toward the State’s particular rules, laws, politics, and institutions. Lauren Michele provides insights and lessons for policymakers and practitioners-in California and elsewhere-as they strive to create more sustainable communities and transportation systems.”– Dr. Daniel Sperling; Director/Professor, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.

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By Lauren Michele, November 30, 2011

Applied Solutions Webinar: 2012 Federal Sustainability Policy and Funding Outlook

Date: December 8, 2011

Time: 9am Pacific/Noon Eastern

In 2011, local governments have seen concerted efforts in the U.S. House of Representatives to slash and cut important federal sustainability programs that benefit cities and counties. In efforts toward deficit reduction, Congress has sought to eliminate funding for renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean vehicles, smart growth, green infrastructure and more. This federal investment is critical to local efforts to reduce energy use, curb greenhouse gas emissions, improve air and water quality and decrease vehicle miles traveled. As communities have demonstrated, federal sustainability funding enables cities and counties to leverage additional public and private dollars, and helps to create new jobs and economic growth.

As local governments prepare for 2012, several key questions should be asked:

• What types of federal sustainability funding will be available, and how can localities prepare to be competitive?
• What types of technical assistance will be available from EPA, DOE, DOT and other federal agencies?
• What federal sustainability policies are likely to be debated in Congress, and how will they impact cities and counties?

This webinar will last approximately one hour, and there is no cost to participate.

Speakers include:

Supervisor Valerie Brown, Sonoma County, California

Supervisor Brown will discuss the value of a local government voice at the federal level.

Michelle Wyman, Executive Director of Applied Solutions

Ms. Wyman will give an introduction to the Applied Solutions Webinar Series.

Andrew Seth and Matt Ward, Climate Communities

Mr. Seth and Mr. Ward will identify opportunities for cities and counties to support local priorities with federal sustainability funding next year, and provide an overview of the federal sustainability policy landscape in 2012.

Click here for more information and to sign up for the webinar.