new Fed office connecting housing, transportation and sustainable development

The word "silos" is most often used to talk about grain or
coal, not the federal government. But in the case of transportation and housing
-- two sectors that accounted for more than 43 percent of the nation's carbon emissions in
2008 -- Washington's
siloed approach of divided, blindered policymaking could put wheat farmers to
shame.

The Obama administration is starting to break down those
barriers between agencies, asking the Department of Transportation (DOT), the
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to take an all-hands-on-deck approach to smart growth.
Dubbed the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, the effort aims to provide
federal support for localities that want to offer more walkable neighborhoods
and cleaner commuting options than the car.

Urban Biofilter Project Plants Bamboo Forests to Clean up Brownfields

When i lived in Ft. greene our neighbor's back yard was OVEERRUN, and i mean OVERRUN with bamboo.  it was crazy. so i know this would work in bklyn. 

Bamboo forests are beautiful things — especially when they are cleaning urban air, soil, and water AND shielding communities from industry and heavily trafficked areas. Urban Biofilter creates bamboo forests on brownfields that are fed with wastewater. The harvested Bamboo then creates income in areas that are otherwise neglected through sustainable bamboo harvesting and timber production.