WASHINGTON – US DOT Launches Every Place Counts Design Challenge. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced the Every Place Counts Design Challenge, which aims to raise awareness about existing transportation infrastructure barriers and identify innovative solutions to reconnect communities to jobs, healthcare, education, and other essential services. The Challenge will bring together mayors and tribal leaders, working with designers, architects, engineering and planning experts to compete to receive on-site technical assistance with transportation planning and conceptual design from experts in the field.

The Every Place Counts Design Challenge builds on Secretary Foxx’s efforts to highlight the long-lasting impacts of transportation decisions on communities across the country. Last month, Secretary Foxx launched a national dialogue on the legacy of transportation infrastructure projects that divided neighborhoods, cut off residents from economic centers, and left communities with limited transportation and mobility options.

“This Challenge asks communities to reimagine how they can be better connected, and empowers them to design innovative transportation projects that serve everyone that lives there,” said Secretary Foxx. “We are excited to work with thought leaders who share our focus on designing a 21^st century transportation network that is built by, for and with the communities impacted by them.”

Applicants must register their interest in participating by May 20, 2016. Final applications must be submitted to USDOT by June 3, 2016 at 5:00pm Eastern Time.

To qualify, applicants must assemble a “community team” of elected officials, transportation professionals, and a cross-section of community residents, as well as provide a descriptive narrative of a transportation infrastructure challenge that limits access to social or economic centers and other essential services, and finally, explain their goals for entering the Every Place Counts Design Challenge. Applicants must also submit Letters of Support from entities and jurisdictions that are currently impacted by the infrastructure challenge; this can include letters of support from the State Department of Transportation, community groups, transit agencies, port authorities, MPOs, or other political subdivisions of State or local governments. USDOT will select four finalists who will receive a two-day ‘community vision’ design session in their city in July 2016. USDOT intends for design sessions to enable finalists to better engage in federal transportation planning, programming and funding programs. Secretary Foxx will host a national virtual town hall on May 11, 2016 to discuss the integral role that transportation plays in connecting people to opportunity. During the Town Hall conversation Secretary Foxx will also share his vision for the Every Place Counts Design Challenge. Participation in the Town Hall is not a requirement for submitting an application. To learn more about the Every Place Counts Design Challenge or to register, visit www.transportation.gov/opportunity/challenge.

Source: US DOT; Feature Image: A man walks on a highway in north Houston. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

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