HUD, in conjunction with other federal agencies, should be given the authority and resources to provide new flexible funding to multi-jurisdictional, multi-sectoral partnerships to use in designing and implementing regional approaches to community, economic, and affordable housing development. Funding would be provided to cooperative partnerships of government, business, community, and institutional representatives from multiple jurisdictions within a region that can and have agreed to take quick action in adopting regional approaches. The funding should (1) overcome the hesitancy of localities to sacrifice their limited, piecemeal resources to inter-jurisdictional work; (2) enable cities and counties to respond to their sustainable development needs in the manner they see best; (3) enable regional partnerships to secure the capacity with staff, technology, technical assistance, and more needed to accelerate concrete collaborations; (4) partially cover the costs of implementing regional initiatives; and (5) create lessons that can be shared with other regions facing similar challenges, such as in providing affordable housing. This initiative would make a solid statement to the nation that the federal government views bottom-up, cooperative, inter-jurisdictional, and inter-sectoral partnerships as a critical tool for addressing existing development and embracing the sustainable development opportunities of the next millennium.