The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have created the Governors’ Institute on Community Design, modeled on NEA’s highly successful Mayors’ Institute for Community Design. The Governors’ Institute will initially hold up to four workshops annually, each tailored to the needs and goals of a state. Workshops will bring together the governor and his or her cabinet to meet with nationally renowned experts in design, planning, transportation, housing, schools, land use, and the environment. The cross-disciplinary sessions will result in recommendations on state and regional design strategies. Former governors Parris Glendening of Maryland and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey, who co-chair an advisory council to Smart Growth America, will spearhead the Institute. Whitman and Glendening were well-known proponents of smart growth as governors. Former Maine Gov. Angus King, another proponent of smart growth, will take part in workshops. Republican Whitman, Democrat Glendening, and King, an independent, highlight the bipartisan nature of the Institute.