A 30-point Livable Communities Initiative to offer more choices to communities seeking to improve their quality of life was announced today by Vice President Al Gore. The initiative is based on a report from a White House task force set up last August. Its announcement today could help counter charges by Texas Governor George W. Bush, Gore's Republican opponent in the race for President, that Gore emphasizes federal regulations over local rule. Gore will discuss the initiative today at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Seattle, Washington.
Local mayors are some of the strongest supporters of local control over planning decisions.
The initiative represents a package of policy actions plus a set of voluntary partnerships with 15 communities across the country. The plan includes expanding transportation choices, creating parks, protecting the environment, increasing public safety, and investing in education. It covers areas from revitalizing cities, to reducing congestion, to protecting farmland. Some of the 15 targeted communities already have livability initiatives of their own. Here, at the Presidio National Park, a former Army base in San Francisco, a ground mounted solar system is a refueling station for the park's electric vehicles.