By Angela Carter, Register Staff

HARTFORD — Thinking of housing as a solution, experts at a forum Wednesday shared policy ideas on how more mixed-income living units near transportation hubs could conserve energy and help make housing affordable.

“Density clearly supports smart transportation choices and it reduces energy use,” said Shelby Mertes, chief policy analyst for Hartford-based Partnership for Strong Communities, the host organization for the event.

A briefing memo compiled by Mertes and distributed to participants encourages coordinated public policies that encourage dense, mixed-income and mixed-use developments near transit systems. Such areas could help reverse the outflow of workers age 25 to 34 from the state, preserve land and promote walkable communities where commercial and retail establishments are supported by residents.

The memo points to green-building principles that were incorporated in units designed for the Guilford Housing Authority, which are expected to significantly lower monthly utility costs.

Julie Fagan of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Dara Kovel of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and state Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Joan McDonald all cited an apartment development at 360 State St. in New Haven as an example of how housing, transportation and environmental protection can be successfully linked.

“We conceived the project so that it would,” 360 State St. developer Bruce Becker said during the event. “That’s very gratifying.”

The 500-unit building offers a recycling room on each floor, high-efficiency lighting, electric car charging stations, bicycle storage, Energy Star appliances and an energy use Web page with remote programming for each apartment. It sits across the street from the State Street train station, with service to New York City, and is within walking distance of stores, restaurants, museums and employers.

The Wednesday forum, held at The Lyceum Resource and Conference Center, was the second in a series of five discussions related to the theme, “Housing: The Hub of Public Policy 2010.”

Fagan said Americans have been driving longer distances between work and home, which strips family time. Continued...

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“We have to work with other states at a national level to get to the heart of the problem,” Becker said. “It’s a national issue.”

Contact Angela Carter at 203-789-5752 or acarter@newhavenregister.com.

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