1. 1 Report on Megaregions Forums Petra Todorovich Director, America 2050 National Leadership Meeting October 19, 2009 Library of Congress Washington, D.C.

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3. 3 Megaregion Priorities: Building Blocks of a National Plan High-speed rail Seaports, airports, and goods movement Energy transmission and generation Water infrastructure and protection

4. 4 Megaregion Forums to Set Priorities Washington, May 9, 2008 New York, April 17, 2009 Northeast: Feb 2007 and Mar 2008 National Launch in D.C.: May 08 Great Lakes: Nov 2008 Northern California: Dec 08 Piedmont Atlantic: Mar 09 & Aug 09 Central Florida: May 09 Southern California: Jun 09 Texas Triangle: Sep 09

5. 5 Chicago November 17, 2008

6. 6 Great Lakes water quality and resources management Climate change impacts and response High-speed rail A economic revitalization strategy for the megaregion

7. 7 Sacramento Dec. 2 2008

8. 8 California fiscal crisis Goods movement and port development Bay Delta water management / flooding risk Revenue options for infrastructure finance Jobs in the Central Valley

9. 9 Atlanta March 23, 2009 Water supply and interstate competition High-speed rail & goods movement Six-university research consortium

10. 10 Charlotte August 11, 2009 Follow-up Summit among Mayors Focus on: HSR Road infrastructure Open space conservation Organizational structure

11. 11 Florida May 8, 2009 Link between Tampa and Orlando Moving on from SunRail defeat Diversifying the economy Joint advocacy for HSR

12. 12 Los Angeles June 19

13. 13 Los Angeles June 19 Financing infrastructure (bonds must be backed by revenues.) Water infrastructure and resources management Implementing the Smart Grid Sighting infrastructure projects How to get things done!

14. 14 Houston, Sept. 24-25 Building consensus on high- speed rail route Managing growth in a state with no zoning Next steps on regional visioning efforts Best practices approaches in green infrastructure, food security, energy efficiency

15. 15 Northeast Climate and Competitiveness Summits 2007-2008 Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative State renewable portfolio standards NE Regional Landscape Conservation

16. 16 Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility Coalition of chambers of commerce, civic organizations Focus on Amtrak authorization and appropriations Advocacy for NE interests in surface transportation bill Union Station Press Conference Oct 2008 Northeast Summit Mar 2007 Reception in U.S. Capitol Apr 2008

17. 17 General Principles: High-Speed Rail Long-term commitment and dedicated revenue source Will work best if integrated in regional transit Equity impacts & role in economic development Legislative opportunities: Shaping DOT approach; funding in surface transp. bill

18. 18 General principles: Water Resources Storm water management in Portland: Flickr/ La Citta Vita Natural systems approach Quantify benefits of distributed, multi-benefit solutions Full cost pricing Watershed approach to management Leg: Water Protection and Reinvestment Act (HR 3202)

19. 19 National grid & smart grid technology Demonstration projects Challenge of sighting transmission & generation Transportation-land use- climate change connection Role of cities in efficiency General principles: Energy

20. 20 Livable Communities California SB 375 –Coordinate land use, transportation, climate S. 1619 Livable Communities Act –Competitive grants for capacity building to do regional plans and TOD –Entities must work across borders H.R 2724 National Transportation Objectives –Energy efficiency, safety, climate stability, access, economic competitiveness, public health –Sets specific targets

21. 21 Strong national vision Funding tied to meeting goals and objectives Reform procurement and regulatory processes Remove perverse incentives/ break silos The Federal Role

22. 22 Visualize the Future Left: Futurama at the 1939 World’s Fair; Above: California High-speed Rail visualizations (Image: NC3D)

23. 23 Key infrastructure priorities Most promising areas for megaregion collaboration Next steps in each megaregion Legislative Opportunities U.S./State Megaregion Break Out Discussions

24. 24 www.America2050.org www.rpa.org