Targeting Public Dollars for Sustainable Development examines how Pennsylvania officials are using an innovative approach to target public investments and choose wisely among competing proposals for state aid and infrastructure expenditures. 

Strategic investment decisions guided by principles reflecting a community's present and future interests underlie the "smart" in smart growth.  Pennsylvania has recently established a set of measures to help its funding agencies identify and pick projects that align with its economic and environmental goals -- the Keystone Principles and Criteria for Growth, Investment & Resource Conservation. 

An article by Yen Hoang and James McElfish of the Environmental Law Institute describes the implementation and impacts of the Keystone Principles and Criteria since their adoption in late 2005.  By integrating these measures into their project-scoring guidelines for grant and loans, Pennsylvania officials have been able to achieve a level of coordination not previously seen.  At Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development, the Keystone Principles and Criteria have helped evaluators to prioritize projects that target distressed areas and make efficient use of existing infrastructure. At the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, they have given substantially more credit to infill development, brownfield redevelopment, and projects supporting coordination among community partnership programs.  This experiment in smart investment can point the way to a new era of sustainability for Pennsylvania and serve as a blueprint for other states.

To read more, visit: http://www.eli.org/Program_Areas/land_biodiversity_pubs.cfm