On Monday, President Obama gave an impassioned speech on urban policy (watch or read full speech here) that included a continued push for more livable communities built around accessible transportation options.

"For too long, federal policy has actually encouraged sprawl and congestion and pollution, rather than quality public transportation and smart, sustainable development."

These are the words of a president that understands that "...housing, transportation, energy efficiency -- these things aren't mutually exclusive; they go hand in hand. And that means making sure that affordable housing exists in close proximity to jobs and transportation. That means encouraging shorter travel times and lower travel costs. It means safer, greener, more livable communities."

President Obama also lauded praise on the DOT/HUD/EPA Sustainable Communities Partnership and promised that those departments will be out learning from innovative cities and regions.

And while President Obama did not explicitly mention the link to climate change, his Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood did yesterday in a presentation to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (read LaHood's summary or the full transcript (pdf)).

His core message: "if we want to reduce transportation carbon emissions, we need to reduce the amount of driving we do." Secretary LaHood then plugged the need for more transportation choices, better land-use planning, and more coordinated public policy across departments.

He also made a request for the Senate energy/climate bill. "We [the U.S. Department of Transportation] would be particularly pleased if the final legislation gave the Department better tools to integrate climate change considerations into the transportation planning, financing, and implementation process and to facilitate system improvements. Failing to recognize the connection between transportation and climate change will likely jeopardize our ability to achieve our GHG reduction goals."

Secretary LaHood and President Obama are correct--our federal policy needs to support more transportation choices and better land-use planning AND that change should start with the climate/energy bill. The Senate should follow their lead and significantly expand on what the House American Clean Energy and Security Act does related to transportation. (See more details on this topic in this month's Energy Policy Insider.)