Achieving and maintaining a middle-class standard of living require more than a good education and a well-paying job. Affordable housing in an environmentally sustainable community with access to transportation alternatives also improves the health and economic wellbeing of middle-class households. The Livable Communities Act would coordinate the housing, transportation, and environmental policies that can link good education and jobs with affordable and sustainable communities. The legislation establishes an Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities (OSHC) in the Department of Housing and Urban Development that is responsible for making planning grants to regional partnerships between state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and regional councils. OSHC will use the comprehensive planning grant to coordinate land use, housing, transportation, and infrastructure planning between jurisdictions and agencies; to identify potential regional partnerships; and to determine regional needs and develop regional plans to meet these needs. The sustainability challenge grant will be used to promote sustainable and location-efficient development and to execute the goals identified by regional plans.