1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Sustainable Communities Act of 2019 . 2. Sustainable communities initiative (a) Authority The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (in this section referred to as the Secretary ) shall, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, carry out a Sustainable Communities Initiative to improve regional planning efforts that integrate housing and transportation decisions, and increase the capacity to improve land use and zoning. (b) Regional integrated planning grants (1) Authority Under the Sustainable Communities Initiative under this section the Secretary shall, to the extent amounts are made available for grants under this subsection pursuant to subsection (f), provide Regional Integrated Planning Grants to support improvements in and coordination of metropolitan-wide housing, transportation, energy, and land use planning activities. (2) Competition; grantees Grants under this subsection shall be awarded on a competitive basis to regional, multijurisdictional organizations and consortia in metropolitan areas. The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Transportation in evaluating applications for such grants. (c) Community challenge planning grants (1) Authority Under the Sustainable Communities Initiative under this section the Secretary shall, to the extent amounts are made available for grants under this subsection pursuant to subsection (f), provide Community Challenge Planning Grants to foster reform and reduce barriers, including through the reform of existing building codes and zoning ordinances, to achieve affordable, economically vital, and sustainable communities and discourage inefficient land use patterns. (2) Competition