EMC
United States
Environmental
Agency
                                 Office of Busmes
                                 and Community
                                 Innovation (2121)
EPA 240-R-00-002
September 2000 """V
http://www.epa.gov/livablecommunities/
Developing  f
  ometown  US
                                   ^V

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DEVELOPING FOR THE  FUTURE:
HOMETOWN  USA
                        DEAR READER:

                        I am pleased to share this report, Developing
                       for the Future: Hometown USA—Innovative
                        Community Projects Supported by EPA Grants,
                        because I believe in the important work com-
                        munities are doing to protect local environ-
                        ments and the quality of life of their citizens.
                        To successfully address pressing problems such
                        as tailpipe exhaust and polluted stormwater
                        runoff, communities must have the resources
                        and capacity needed to create innovation and
                        change. EPA is supporting communities across
                        the country, such as those profiled here, as they
                        demonstrate innovative approaches to envi-
                        ronmental and public health protection—
                        approaches that create environmental benefits
                        and more livable communities by preserving
                        open space, creating new transportation
                        options, and revitalizing under-used and
                        abandoned brownfield sites. As environmental
                        leaders, they set examples and offer lessons
                        learned from immediate experience that can
                        benefit other community efforts in the future.

                        Americans are increasingly recognizing the
                        effect that development patterns and decisions
                        have on  environmental quality  and overall
                        quality of life. As a result, through increased
efforts to protect open space, through record
numbers of new transit projects, through
expedited permitting for downtown redevel-
opment, communities are seeking new ways
to grow. And they are succeeding—finding
development strategies that serve the econo-
my, community, and environment. EPA sees
this as a positive trend and is committed to
supporting livable community initiatives in
as many strategic ways as possible. The Brown-
fields demonstration projects, Regional  Geo-
graphic Initiatives, watershed protection
partnerships, and many other EPA programs
provide important elements of this approach.
Within these pages you will find examples of
our partnerships with communities specifi-
cally in support of environmental  protection
through livable communities initiatives.

I am proud to say that EPA grants and partner-
ships helped support all the community projects
cited in this report. By highlighting these com-
munity accomplishments, we hope to encour-
age still further innovation by communities
looking to preserve environmental  quality and
livable neighborhoods for future generations.

Sincerely,
Carol M. Browner

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CONTENTS
    Protecting and Restoring Watersheds
    and Airsheds
17  Sustainable Ranch Lands Project (Idaho)
18  Fish for the Future (Southwestern Oregon)
20  Acid Mine Drainage and Art Project
    (AMD&ART) (Pennsylvania)
22  Protecting Water Resources with Land
    Use Planning (Holliston, Massachusetts)
24  Land Conservation as a Watershed
    Protection Strategy—Four Case Studies
                           Introduction
                       4   Community Project Profiles
    Going Green Through Building
    and Lending Practices
26  "Green Advantage" Certification Pro-
    gram (Loudoun County, Virginia)
27  Location-Efficient Mortgages (Chicago,
    Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco)
                           Foundations for a Green Future:
                           Planning and Priority-Setting
                       6   Envision Utah
                       8   Alliance for Green Development
                           (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
                       10  Living Free, Developing Sustainably-
                           Minimum Impact Development
                           (New Hampshire)
29  Update on Community Grant Funding
    Opportunities—EPA's Innovative Com-
    munity Partnerships Initiative

30  Appendix: Examples of EPA-
    Supported Community Initiatives,
    By State
                           Revitalizing Urban Environments
                       12  Smart Growth Here!
                           (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
                       14  Repairing Older Suburbs (Los Angeles
                           Metropolitan Area)
                       15  Reclaiming Nine-Mile Run Site
                           (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
                       The map used in the cover illustration and in selected details throughout this publication is courtesy of the
                       AMD&ART Vintondale Project, a community effort assisted by: T. Allan Comp, Ph.D., Project Director and Historian;
                       Robert Deason, Hydrogeologist; Julie Bargmann, Landscape Designer; Stacy Levy, Sculptor; AmeriCorps
                       Members; and the people of Vintondale.

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INTRODUCTION
                        In a trend that continues to build, citizens
                        across the country are joining forces locally to
                        address environmental issues that affect their
                        health, natural resources, and the quality of
                        life in their communities. Groups of people are
                        taking action on local problems such as aban-
                        doned waste sites, loss of wetlands, poor air
                        quality, and environmental justice concerns.
                        They are forming initiatives with missions
                        ranging from restoring a watershed to reclaim-
                        ing a blighted neighborhood to preserving or
                        revitalizing whatever is special about a place—
                        such as a historic waterfront. The trend is a
                        positive one, and the U.S. Environmental
                        Protection Agency (EPA) is committed to
                        supporting environmental management and
                        problem-solving at the community level.

                        It is useful to look at this community-level
                        trend over the last decade from two perspec-
                        tives. First, citizens today are better informed
                        about environmental issues than in the past,
                        and they expect to play a more prominent
                        role in decision making. The notion of pub-
                        lic "right-to-know" has become mainstream
                        since Congress passed the Emergency Plan-
                        ning and Community Pvight-to-Know Act in
                        1986. People have become accustomed to
living in the age of information. Accordingly,
they are asking for more and better environ-
mental information, and getting it. If people
understand the environmental problems in
their communities, they are better equipped,
as community stakeholders, to participate in
solving them. That's why EPA is providing
more access to more data than ever before—
because widely disseminated environmental
knowledge clearly encourages citizen stew-
ardship, and brings environmental results.

Second, from EPA's perspective, it became
clear during the last decade that solving the
country's remaining and emerging environ-
mental problems—such as polluted runoff,
the unintended environmental consequences
of unplanned growth, global warming, and
the loss  of biological diversity—will require
more options than the traditional regulation
and enforcement  effectively used to control
industrial discharges into air and water. It
will also require more than action by EPA
alone. (For further discussion, see EPA's
April 2000 report, Innovation at the Environ-
mental Protection Agency: A Decade of
Progress, EPA 100-R-00-020,  available at
—click on "pub-
                           Introduction

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                                             • '
Soaring Public Demand
for Environmental
Information
One indication of the rising
demand for information is
the dramatic increase in
electronic traffic on EPA's
Web site since it was estab-
lished 6 years ago—from
136,000 monthly "hits" in
November 1994 to 70.6 mil-
lion in November 1999.
                        lications"—or by calling 513 891-6561.) That's
                        why EPA is working increasingly in partner-
                        ships with communities, businesses, and oth-
                        ers, and developing a larger inventory of tools
                        to make environmental protection work bet-
                        ter and smarter for the 21st century. The
                        terms sector-based and community-based
                        environmental protection have been used to
                        describe a wide range of industry-based and
                        community-oriented initiatives where EPA
                        provides leadership or support in some form
                        (see  and
                        ).
80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

 0
                                                           70.6
                                                        million
                            11/94  11/95  11/96  11/97  11/98  11/99
Community grants are part of that expanding
inventory of tools and initiatives. This grow-
ing inventory also includes EPA's Brownfields
Initiative, which helps communities clean up
and restore abandoned industrial properties,
bringing them back into productive use (see
). It includes
a host of new monitoring and reporting proj-
ects to give citizens more up-to-date informa-
tion about local environmental conditions.
An example is EPA's collaboration with the
U.S. Geological Survey, the National Oceano-
graphic and Atmospheric Administration, and
the Department of the Interior to bring "real-
time" environmental reporting projects to 85
U.S. cities. It also includes EPA's participation
in the Smart Growth Network for sharing
information (),
such as  the latest research on development
patterns, transportation, and air quality, and
updates on state initiatives to counter the
unintended environmental consequences of
unplanned development.

Because local problems and priorities vary
widely from community to community, indi-
vidual grants to communities are a particular-
ly effective tool for promoting environmental
                            Introduction

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protection and community revitalization. The
projects profiled in this booklet range from
"Envision Utah," a statewide effort to help
Utahns make conscious growth decisions to
protect the fragile environmental resources that
make Utah a desirable place to live; to turning
a former steel slag landfill into a public green-
way, as part of an initiative to revitalize down-
town Pittsburgh's urban environment; to
developing and testing a "location-efficient
mortgage" program as an incentive for tran-
sit-oriented living and commuting in Chica-
go, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

The purpose of this report is to highlight
some of the noteworthy accomplishments
that communities have achieved, using EPA
community grant funding as "seed money."
Geographical diversity and a representative
range of project goals were among the con-
siderations for making project selections for
the extended profiles, but given so many
valuable projects, the selection is partly arbi-
trary. In addition to 13 extended profiles, an
appendix table summarizes community grant
awards by state. For convenience, communi-
ty project profiles have been grouped into
four categories, as indicated  below, based on
their primary focus. Yet many of the com-
munity projects have overlapping elements
of two or three  categories, so the categoriza-
tions are not definitive:
•  Priority-setting and planning for a greener
   future
•  Revitalizing urban environments
•  Protecting and restoring watersheds and
   airsheds
•  Going green  through lending and build-
   ing practices.

The definitive consideration is this: The projects
highlighted in this report are all innovative in
ways that can best be achieved through strong,
but flexible EPA-community partnerships.
Aiming for Excellence—Encouraging
Community Stewardship

Strategically encouraging community
stewardship is a top priority for EPA—a
commitment reflected in actions the
Agency publicly announced last sum-
mer. The following are two of 10 priority
actions highlighted in EPA's July 1999
report Aiming for Excellence: Actions to
Encourage Stewardship and Accelerate
Environmental Progress (EPA 100-R-99-
006):

Action: Build leadership capacity in
communities to participate in local envi-
ronmental problem-solving.
Objective: We will help communities
make decisions about issues that
improve public health and their local
environment by developing environ-
mental management tools, offering
technical assistance, and providing
facilitation for dialogue on environmen-
tal issues. We'll also include community
representatives in Agency decisions
about programs or policies that directly
affect them.

Action: Provide "smart growth" support
to states, tribes, and communities to
help them find local solutions to livabili-
ty issues.
Objective: Because community develop-
ment patterns have a  great impact on
environmental conditions and overall
quality of life, we will support and
encourage smart growth decisions by
individuals, communities, businesses,
and state, tribal, and local governments.

For the full Aiming for Excellence report
online, see 
(click on "publications") or to obtain
hard copies, contact EPA's National Ser-
vice Center for Environmental Publica-
tions at 513 891-6561.
4   Introduction

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COMMUNITY PROJECT PROFILES

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Foundations for a Green Future: Planning and Priority-Setting
                       Envision Utah
ENVISION
A farintTiMlp |'ar Qu
                  U TAH
When the Envision Utah partnership con-
vened in 1996, no one disputed its starting
premise—that continued rapid growth is
going to be part of Utah's future. Facts and
trends such as these continue to support that
premise:
         The population of Utah, which
         passed the 2 million mark in 1996,
         is growing at more than twice the
         national average.
• Nearly 80 percent of Utah's population
  resides in the Greater Wasatch Area—the
  narrow corridor stretching for 100 miles
  north and south of Salt Lake City on both
  sides  of the Wasatch Mountains.
• Population in the Greater Wasatch Area is
  projected to grow to 2.7 million by 2020,
  and to 5 million by 2050.

Envision Utah—a nonpartisan partnership
that includes state and local government offi-
cials, business leaders, developers, conserva-
tionists, landowners, academicians, church
groups,  and other citizens—is not about try-
ing to slow or stop growth. It's about manag-
ing growth in ways that preserve Utah's
unique and beautiful environment. The
Envision Utah partnership has engaged
                         "EPA's CHALLENGE GRANT made possible
                         dozens of public meetings, the development of
                         a Quality Growth Strategy for the Greater
                         Wasatch Area, and dissemination of better
                         growth choices to hundreds of thousands of
                         Utahns through a major media campaign in
                         partnership with local media partners."

                         —STEPHEN HOLBROOK, Executive Director,
                         Envision Utah
                                               v^m

Utahns in a democratic process of imagining
possible growth scenarios, choosing the
growth scenario they prefer, and developing a
strategy for implementing the preferred sce-
nario. The primary goal of Envision Utah is
to help Utahns make conscious growth deci-
sions to preserve what they most value about
where they live. A secondary goal is to create
a process that might be adapted by other
communities or regions.

The Envision Utah partnership made use of
baseline information gathered on Utahns'
values and what they most wanted to preserve
or change in the face of rapid growth. The
Envision Utah process has two phases. EPA
community grants have helped support work
related to both Phase 1 (visioning) and 2 (strat-
egy and implementation). Phase 1 (1997-99)
accomplishments include the following:
• A baseline computer model that projects
  the effects of Utah's growth over the next
  20 to 50 years if existing trends continue.
• A series of public workshops in spring and
  summer 1998 throughout the Greater
  Wasatch Area, which collected data and
  opinions from citizens on how to shape
  future development. Topics explored
  included land use, transportation, and
  open space preservation. Public input from
  these workshops was then used in develop-
  ing four alternative growth scenarios.
• A wide-reaching public awareness, educa-
  tion, and mass media campaign to encour-
  age citizens to express their preferences
  and to increase public understanding of
  challenges and options.
• Development of a preferred growth sce-
  nario (see box)—a vision for Utahns'
  future, and their children's future, to guide
                       6   Community Project Profiles

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Graphic depiction of growth
scenario favored by a majori-
ty of Utahns.
                         Utah's Preferred Growth Scenario

                         During its visioning phase. Envision Utah
                         developed four growth scenarios, termed
                         Scenarios A through D, for public consid-
                         eration. The scenarios form a continuum:

                         Scenario A depicts how the Greater
                         Wasatch Area would develop if the pat-
                         tern of dispersed development occurring
                         in some communities in the late 1990s
                         were to continue. New development
                         would primarily take the form of single-
                         family homes on large suburban lots.
                         Most development would focus on con-
                         venience for auto users, and transporta-
                         tion investments would support auto use.

                         Scenario B shows how the region would
                         develop if state and local governments
                         followed  their 1997 plans. Development
                         would continue in a dispersed pattern,
                         much like it has for the past 20 years, but
                         would not be as widely dispersed as in
                         Scenario A. Transportation investments
                         would support auto use.

                         Scenario C shows how the region might
                         develop if Utahns chose to focus much of
                         their development in walkable communi-
  businesses, residents, and government
  bodies well into the 21st century.

In 1999, Envision Utah moved into its strat-
egy and implementation phase. Having cho-
sen a preferred growth scenario, Utahns were
asked to participate in the development of a
Quality Growth Strategy for implementing
the scenario. Like Phase 1, this second phase
has stressed informed public involvement in
a bottom-up decision making process. A
multi-year Quality Growth Strategy has
emerged from this democratic process. Along
with protecting environmental resources and
transportation options Utahns consider
ties with nearby opportunities to work,
shop, and play. Communities would
accommodate a portion of new growth
within existing urbanized areas, leaving
more undeveloped land for open space
and agriculture. New developments
would be clustered around a town center,
with a mixture of retail services and hous-
ing close to a transit line. These communi-
ties would be designed to encourage
walking and biking, and would contain a
wide variety of housing types, allowing
people to move to more or less expensive
housing without leaving the community.

Scenario D shows how the region might
develop if Scenario C were taken a step
further, focusing nearly half of all  new
growth in existing urban areas.

At a series of 47 town meetings, and in a
growth questionnaire made available on
the Envision Utah Web site and in local
newspapers, Utahns were asked to vote
for their scenario preferences. Question-
naire responses and town meeting results
both indicated a majority preference for
Growth Scenario C (see illustration).

                       7   Community Project Profiles

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Foundations for a Green Future: Planning and Priority-Setting
                        essential to their quality of life, the strategy
                        includes tactics for protecting the environ-
                        ment while accommodating short-term
                        growth spurred by the upcoming 2002 Win-
                        ter Olympics—as  well as longer term growth
                        expected to come  from resulting worldwide
                        exposure.

                        The Envision Utah partnership is continuing
                        its outreach and education activities in 2000
                                            and beyond to build consensus support for
                                            the Scenario C Quality Growth Strategy.

                                            Envision Utah has drawn praise as "the first
                                            stirrings of a 21st century politics of democ-
                                            ratized development in which citizens are
                                            asked to choose for themselves" (Neal Peirce
                                            in The Washington Post). It provides a useful
                                            model for regional planning. For more infor-
                                            mation, see .
                       Alliance for Green Development
                       ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO
Kate Hildebrand of Consensus
Builders facilitates a strategic
planning meeting convened
by Albuquerque's Alliance
for Green Development.
Albuquerque, New Mexico. With its limited
water supply and ecologically fragile natural
environment, this fast-growing city in the dry-
lands Southwest is  committed to preserving
its natural resources and the quality of life of
its citizens, despite growth-related pressures.
Recent trends such as rising housing costs
and increasing per-capita energy use from coal
have prompted an  initiative to encourage
greener building and development practices.

With support from an EPA community
grant, the city has created the Alliance for
Green Development to bridge divisions over
land and water  use issues and provide a deci-
sionmaking forum for community planning
and resource protection. All those local con-
stituencies that  have a stake in housing
development are represented in  the Alliance,
a public/private partnership that includes
builders, a smart growth group called 1,000
Friends of New Mexico, affordable  housing
advocates, proponents of green development,
and financial institutions, among others.

                                                                     "GREEN DEVELOPMENT is an important
                                                                      strategy for improving the quality of life in
                                                                      neighborhoods."
                                                                      —MICHAEL BRASHER, Albuquerque City
                                                                      Council President
One of the early steps taken by the Alliance,
even before its first public meeting, was to
consult community leaders on green devel-
opment and brownfields redevelopment
questions. The views expressed by communi-
ty leaders (see box) were then shared at the
first public meeting, held March 29, 2000.
The Alliance has held five public strategic
planning meetings.  It recently completed a
5-year strategy for changing traditional
development and energy use patterns and
promoting growth that better serves the
environment and the human community.

As part of its 5-year plan, the Alliance is on
schedule for the following milestones:
                        8  Community Project Profiles

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  Designing and implementing a marketing
  and education campaign to heighten public
  awareness of the need and opportunities
  for green development. (By end of 2000)
  Overcoming institutional obstacles by
  implementing green standards and pro-
  posing changes  to city regulations . (By
  end of 2000)
                                         •  Developing financial incentives to encourage
                                            innovative green remodeling. (By July 2001)
                                         •  Laying the foundation for a pilot green
                                            development project that demonstrates the
                                            financial incentives package. (By June 2002)

                                         Each of these milestones is a step toward
                                         greener development in Albuquerque. But
                                             traditional building materials, such as
                                             adobe and strawbale—the forerunners
                                             of today's green building materials.
                                             Potential obstacles to green development
                                             in Albuquerque include: few financial and
                                             regulatory incentives; limited knowledge
                                             among development professionals and
                                             trade industry representatives; not
                                             enough commercially competitive
                                             green products, and New Mexico's rela-
                                             tively low level of capital and wealth.
Community Leaders' Views on Green Development and Brownfields

Albuquerque's Alliance for Green Devel-
opment spoke with selected community
leaders who had previously expressed
interest in "green development" and the
redevelopment of brownfield properties.
According to the Alliance's working defini-
tion of the term, green development is
(1) affordable, (2) emphasizes redevelop-
ment and infill (development within exist-
ing cities and towns that can save public
money by taking advantage of existing
infrastructure), (3) promotes products and
processes that increase the livability of
neighborhoods, (4) uses environmentally
friendly building materials (engineered
lumber, recycled materials, cellulose insula-
tion), and (5) conserves water and energy.

Key points emphasized by community
leaders in telephone conversations with
Alliance members include:

•  Green development can reduce human
  impact on the natural environment. It
  can reduce urban sprawl and cut water
  and energy consumption.

•  The Albuquerque region is a likely mar-
  ket for green building products and
  services for reasons including the
  propensities of local people in the
  homebuilding industry. The region has
  a distinctive environmental character
  and a unique landscape that many peo-
  ple want to protect. It has a history with
                                             Key issues the Alliance for Affordable
                                             Green Development should address
                                             through strategic planning include:
                                             spreading knowledge of new products
                                             and services, finding ways to promote
                                             green products and services, and
                                             addressing water and energy costs.

                                             The most important things for the Alliance
                                             to achieve would be: a good strategic
                                             plan (with specific actions, responsibili-
                                             ties, and a timeline); successful nurturing
                                             of the green development industry; and
                                             a measurable increase in the number of
                                             green developments.

                                                   Brownfields-related issues that shoul
                                             addressed through the Alliance include:
                                             ensuring that brownfields are clear of
                                             health hazards, establishing priorities
                                             among brownfield properties, and target-
                                             ing opportunities for their redevelopment.
9   Community Project Profiles

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Foundations for a Green Future: Planning and Priority-Setting
                       greener development patterns, although
                       important, are not the whole picture. Albu-
                       querque will also be redeveloping a number
of its brownfields, an effort supported in part
by a recent grant from EPA's Brownfields
Program.
                       Living Free, Developing Sustainably-
                       Minimum Impact Development
                       NEW HAMPSHIRE
                       The state motto of New Hampshire, "Live
                       free or die," goes back to Revolutionary War
                       days. Last year,  the New Hampshire Com-
                       parative Risk (NHCR) project, with support
                       from an EPA community grant, launched a
                       statewide partnership effort called Living
                       Free, Developing Sustainably—Minimum
                       Impact Development. The project name puts
                       an upbeat twist on the state's historic motto.

                       The project itself builds  on the achievements
                       of two previous statewide efforts, both sup-
                       ported in part by EPA community grants.
                       The first was a risk-ranking/priority-setting
                       exercise in which a private/public partner-

                         "OuR DESIGN FIRM is in  the business of pro-
                         viding 'healthy' interior environments to our
                         clients. This project is the perfect vehicle to
                         raise peoples awareness of the possibility of
                         doing things differently, and better. The prac-
                         tice of holistic design will become the norm in
                         the near future, and the information being
                         accumulated and the practices being illustrated
                         by this program will enable new adherents to

                         —BILL JOHNSON, Vice President of Business
                         Development, H. L. Turner Group, Inc.
ship came together to study and rank the
risks posed to New Hampshire's environ-
ment and quality of life. That risk-ranking
partnership included a 55-member Public
Advisory Group and 150 scientists, public
health experts, and economists who provided
assistance. The second was a similar private/
public partnership initiative to develop a set
of Recommended Voluntary Management
Practices for forestry. Those recommended
practices are now being used to sustainably
manage New Hampshire's forests.

Two top-priority issues identified by the
1994-1997 risk-ranking effort are:
•  Sound land use.
•  Efficient use of energy, natural resources,
   and materials.

In light of those priorities,  the partners of the
Minimum Impact Development project—
which include developers, realtors, bankers,
engineers, environmentalists, planners, scien-
tists and regulators—are working to promote
good development. The local motto for the
project is aptly descriptive—"Maintaining
the New Hampshire Advantage." On the
model of the voluntary forestry management
practices already in use in New Hampshire,
the project will identify voluntary develop-
                       10  Community Project Profiles

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ment practices that minimize air, land, and
water pollution, energy use, and habitat loss.
Recommended practices will be tailored to
site selection and design; residential, com-
mercial, and industrial buildings, landscaping
and grounds; and to neighborhood scales.

In addition, indicators  are being created to
measure and describe the diversity of density
in a continuum across towns, regions, and
the state. Indicators will also be used to
measure success, over time, in maintaining
that diversity of density so essential to New
Hampshire.

New Hampshire's voluntary practices for
minimum impact development—and related
indicator sets—will be  published in manual
form in 2001. Of course, the voluntary prac-
tices and indicators will help protect the
state's environment and natural resources
only if they are widely used. That's why,
before final publication of the manual, the
proposed practices will be widely publicized,
and public comments will be solicited and
taken into account. Then publication will be
followed by extensive public outreach to pro-
mote the voluntary practices and the indica-
tors across New Hampshire.

So what do the people of New Hampshire
stand to gain if the state's developers widely
adopt minimum impact development prac-
tices, and the forthcoming indicators really
do catch hold? They stand to gain a lot—
better protection of New Hampshire's envi-
ronment and their own quality of life. And
once specific, easily understood indicators
are agreed upon, citizens  can readily track
whether, and to what extent, development is
evolving toward the minimum impacts
required to preserve the environment and
quality of life in their state.
11  Community Project Profiles

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Revitalizing Urban Environments
                        Smart Growth Here!
                        MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
Miller Park Construction
The new Miller Park baseball
stadium on the West End of
the Valley.
Junked cars, abandoned and underutilized
industrial facilities, accumulated trash, noxious
odors, and contaminated soil and groundwa-
ter: Milwaukee's Menomonee River Valley,
historically the industrial hub for the city
and state,  is a vast brownfield. Jobs and
development have fled to Milwaukee's sub-
urbs, leaving the Valley impoverished and
contaminated. But imagine what this 1,500-
acre region could become if groups of people
joined forces to clean it up, restore natural
habitat, and turn it into a community asset.
Milwaukee's Smart Growth Here! Project,
supported in part by an EPA community
grant, envisions just such a future for the
Menomonee River Valley.

In an important milestone for the Smart
Growth Here! Project, 134 design profes-
sionals from local architectural, engineering,
environmental, real estate, and planning firms,
and the School of Architecture and Urban
Planning at the University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee volunteered to  participate in a
2-day design charrette (defined as an inten-
sive group effort to produce an architectural
                 I
   k
design or other project). Their purpose was
to generate specific design scenarios for revi-
talizing the Menomonee Pviver Valley. The
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (October 21,
1999) covered the event under the headline,
"Designers look at gritty valley, and see a
grand vision." (See design sketches on page
13). The vision calls for a mixed-use develop-
ment that will restore and preserve natural
assets such as the river, bluffs, and wetlands
while attracting new private sector investors.
It includes industry, commercial office build-
ings, housing, greenbelts, community gar-
dens, and more. The design outcomes of the
charrette are being assembled into a publica-
tion for release in late August 2000.

Recent infrastructure developments include a
new, artistic bridge spanning the East Valley
and the Hank Aaron State Trail running the
length of the Valley. For the first time since
the turn of the century, these developments
will reconnect the Valley to adjacent neigh-
borhoods  by accommodating cars, buses,
bicycles, and pedestrians.

Other achievements include:
•  Developing the information base for iden-
   tifying environmental, economic, and
   social indicators that will provide an easily
   understandable way to measure impacts of
   development in the Valley and progress
   toward Smart Growth Here! goals.
•  Using Smart Places spatial analysis soft-
   ware linked to a Geographic Information
   System (GIS) to simulate environmental
   and development scenarios based on real-
                        12 Community Project Profiles

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              -:•
           '    ,
Top: Proposed vision for the
East Valley. Middle: Pro-
posed mixed-use housing
for the East End of the Valley.
Bottom: A proposal by one
of the Urban Design Teams
for providing new access to
the Valley floor and minimiz-
ing the land area devoted to
parking lots.
The CM &St. Paul Railroad
in the late 1800s and early
1900s. The railroad was
the major employer in Mil-
waukee, and many workers
lived in the surrounding
neighborhoods.
   istic information gathered through the
   "benchmarking" effort just described.
•  Ensuring sustainability of the Smart
   Growth Here! Project, by assisting in the
   creation of a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit eco-
   nomic development corporation, called
   the Menomonee Valley Partners, Inc.
   (comprised of business, community and
   government leaders), to focus efforts on
   the sustainable redevelopment of the Val-
   ley. In addition, the project has facilitated
   the creation of a Business Improvement
   District (BID)  for the Valley businesses
   where self-assessed tax dollars will further
   redevelopment improvements.

But is it really cost-effective to clean up and
redevelop a blighted inner city area like the
Menomonee Pviver Valley? A cost-benefit
analysis will provide specific information on
that question.

The $200,000 community grant from EPA
has already helped Milwaukee leverage more
than $1  million in additional funds and in-
kind contributions to the Smart Growth
Here! effort.  In addition, with support from
 "THE SIXTEENTH STREET Community Health
  Center and the EPA grant it received played a
  crucial role at a crucial time. We were able to
  create a business improvement district, form an
  independent nonprofit development corpora-
  tion, and hold a design charrette where profes-
  sionals donated their very valuable time. Now
  it is possible to see a prosperous future for the
  Menomonee Valley, with thousands of new manu-
  facturing jobs—Ultimately, all of Milwaukee
  will benefit from a turnaround in the Valley."

  —JOHN STIMAC, Chairman of the Menomonee
  Valley Business Association and President of
  Stimac Bros.  Corporation, a dealer in industrial
  scrap metal and a second-generation Menomonee
  Valley business
two separate EPA Brownfields program
grants, young adults near the Menomonee
Pviver Valley are being trained in brownfields
remediation work, and the city of Milwaukee
is undertaking a groundwater characteriza-
tion study for the Valley—a further econom-
ic boon to the community.
                         13 Community Project Profiles

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Revitalizing Urban Environments
                        Repairing Older Suburbs
                        LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN AREA
                        (AZUSA, BREA, CULVER CITY, MONTCLAIR/POMONA, AND RIVERSIDE)
The Village@lndian Hill
Pomona will convert a
1950s shopping mall into an
urban neighborhood with
commercial and residential
buildings clustered around
an education and transit
center. Public plazas and
parks will be included.
Inner-city downtowns are not the only urban
areas to decline as new jobs and development
have moved to outer suburbs. In Los Angeles
and other metropolitan areas, many older
suburbs have lost much of their former pros-
perity and are experiencing environmental
and social problems along with economic
difficulties. Disappearing jobs, a shortage of
affordable or adequate housing, abandoned
or near-abandoned strip malls, little-used
shopping centers with vast parking lots, and
aging infrastructure are some of the econom-
ic ills experienced by these "inner ring" sub-
urbs. Built in the post-World War II era, they
tend to be auto-dependent, with few other
transportation options. Their environmental
problems include air and water pollution, and
not enough green space to provide wildlife
habitat or absorb runoff. They also include
brownfield sites requiring remediation.
                                                           '
 "THE EPA CHALLENGE GRANT offered us essen-
  tial support to create a feasible plan for reusing
  an aging, economically obsolete regional shop-
  ping center. Our conversion of Plaza Azteca
  into the Village@Indian Hill is now serving as
  a centerpience for the revitalization of this
  long declining post war suburban area. It has
  also demonstrated how addressing deficiencies
  in public education facilities can stimulate eco-
  nomic revitalization."

  —PATRICK LEIER,  Superintendent of Schools,
  Pomona, CA
The Local Government Commission (LGC)
and the Congress for the New Urbanism
(CNU), with support from an EPA commu-
nity grant, have joined forces to work with
five older Los Angeles suburbs to develop
and demonstrate strategies for improving
conditions in their communities. The sub-
urbs are Azusa, Brea, Culver City, Mont-
clair/Pomona, and Riverside. In particular,
this work is focusing on two suburban chal-
lenges where there are almost no national
models  to follow:
• Retrofitting commercial streets and
  transportation corridors, such as former
  strip  malls.
• Revitalizing older suburban downtown
  areas so that they are environmentally and
  economically healthy, and socially attractive.
                        14  Community Project Profiles

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The role of the LGC and GNU is not to set
priorities or prescribe solutions for these
communities. Rather, they are helping the
communities help themselves by: creating a
support network to facilitate communication
among the five demonstration communities,
providing tools and technical assistance, and
working with the communities to document
their progress.  Tools include Geographical
Information System (GIS) software to help
the communities understand the outcomes
of different revitalization scenarios. Technical
assistance ranges from helping communities
define technical problems to alerting them to
potential barriers they may need to address,
such as incompatible zoning codes or lack of
financing for infrastructure or public facilities.

While the communities' project plans vary
widely, both Brea and Montclair/Pomona are
stressing increased transportation options
where car-dependency has been the tradition.
Brea has a three-part project: revitalizing a
somewhat isolated neighborhood known
simply as "Neighborhood Four," converting
an abandoned rail corridor to a pedestrian
and bicycle trail linking Neighborhood Four
to the rest of Brea, and making better shuttle
transit available to the community. The
Montclair/Pomona project has proposed a
new commercial village that will include a
major educational center, and is working on
pedestrian improvements, especially along
routes to and from the new schools under
construction in Pomona. If these projects are
successful, these communities will become
more livable places where children can walk
to school, and bicycle travel and public tran-
sit will become viable options.

With help from LGC and GNU technical
experts, Azusa is working on design and
transportation issues while bringing citizens
into the process of updating its General Plan.
Updating the General Plan  is not an end in
itself. It is a means to achieve smarter urban
design, improved land use, and better traffic
circulation, in ways that citizens support
because they helped with planning.

The experience and lessons  learned by these
five Los Angeles suburbs will published in a
"how-to"guide for other older suburban
communities,  forthcoming  by August 2001.
Reclaiming Nine-Mile Run Site
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA
As many steel plants closed down, Western
Pennsylvania was left with thousands of
brownfields—abandoned industrial sites that
are difficult to redevelop because they are
contaminated or perceived to be so. Many of
these sites are on prime riverfront property in
Pittsburgh and along the Monongahela Pviver.
The city of Pittsburgh is working to reclaim
these sites and revitalize its neighborhoods in
order to attract people back to the central
city. By doing so, Pittsburgh hopes to restore
some of the population and tax base it has
lost to new developments that have sprawled
into the Allegheny County countryside.
15  Community Project Profiles

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Revitalizing Urban Environments
Above: On the south-facing
slope of the Nine-Mile Run
site, surface soil tempera-
tures as high as 140 degrees
Fahrenheit were recorded
on barren slag free of mulch
or leaf litter. Right: Despite
severe drought, some oat
plants survived with the help
of wet wood fiber hydro-
seeding mulch.
The largest of Pittsburgh's brownfields is the
Nine-Mile Run site, so named for the stream
that runs through it, emptying into the
Monongahela. The site is a former landfill
for slag from steel-making. On this 238-acre
area—the largest undeveloped parcel in the
city—city planners envision an extended
public park and a new, compact urban devel-
opment. But first, an industrial wasteland
must be restored to a healthy landscape.

With support from an EPA community
grant, the city of Pittsburgh is testing new
techniques for re-vegetating (greening) the
slag slopes and stream  valley envisioned as an
extension of Frick Park out to the Mononga-
hela River. Monitoring of Nine-Mile Run
test plots is ongoing through late summer
2000, and EPA will receive a final report at
the end of the year. The aim of this study is
to develop specific, low-cost methods for
effectively growing vegetation on steep slag
slopes that are now largely barren. Once
demonstrated as viable, these methods will
be used as an alternative to more drastic,
expensive steps, such as regrading the slopes
and importing cover soil.
 "THE MIRACLE OF FRICK PARK is that even the
  Nine-Mile Run Valley, where the slag heaps are
  being revegetated, is a haven for wildlife. I've
  seen more mockingbirds in the stream valley next
  to the slag than anywhere else in this state."
  —JACK SOLOMON, Nine-Mile Run Task Force

In addition to turning an unsightly slag pile
into a greenway, a covering of green vegeta-
tion will significantly reduce or stop wind and
water erosion from the slopes, and improve
the quality of water runoff. If Pittsburgh can
successfully transform the Nine-Mile Run
brownfield site into parkland  that reaches to
the Monongahela, this extension of Frick
Park will be a significant cornerstone in
rebuilding livable neighborhoods in the cen-
tral city.

The results of this work will be shared with
the towns of McKeesport and Duquesne,
which face similar challenges of turning slag
sites into usable landscapes.
                        16 Community Project Profiles

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Protecting and Restoring Watersheds and Airsheds
                        Sustainable Ranch  Lands Project
                        IDAHO
Above: Upper Paradise site
in Idaho after just one sea-
son of time-controlled graz-
ing. Herders moved cattle
every day to better use the
range and avoid trampling of
streambanks and overgraz-
ing. As a result, compared
to a year ago, the stream
has narrowed so that it is
closer to its original width
and streamside vegetation
is beginning take hold.
Right: The ranching com-
munity helps restore the
Blackfoot River by planting
trees along the banks. The
trees help control river bank
erosion.
                    Conventional ranching
                    practices have been hard
                    on the environment and
                    hard on ranchers, many
                    of whom are struggling
                    to keep their operations
                    going. Through the
                    Sustainable Ranch
                    Lands Project, the
                    Corporation for the
Northern Rockies and its partners are demon-
strating innovative, common-sense ranching
practices that are better for the environment,
and better for ranchers' economic viability.
Support for this work,  which will create a
transferable model for innovative ranching
practices, has come from an EPA community
grant, Natural Resource Conservation Ser-
vice and Bureau of Land Management fund-
ing, and other public and private sources.

The Sustainable Ranch Lands Project
expands on a predecessor effort, the Black-
foot Watershed Project. By promoting ranch-
ing practice reforms within a limited area of
state and private lands, the  predecessor proj-
ect significantly improved conditions in the
Blackfoot River corridor and upland grazing
lands. However, this earlier effort was  able to
influence ranching practices in just a limited
sphere. The Sustainable Ranch Lands  Project
and the model it is working to perfect are
intended to have a much wider impact.
Ranchers own most of the private lands in
the region and hold grazing leases on much
of the public land. Not only do ranching
practices affect conditions on both private
and public lands, but ranch failures often
mean lost open space and wildlife habitat if
lands are divided up for other uses.

The Sustainable Ranch Lands Project has
two broad goals. The first is to protect open
space, water quality, wildife habitat, and bio-
diversity, and restore the overall health of
overgrazed rangelands and streambank areas
in the Blackfoot Watershed (eastern Idaho).
The second is to make ranching more eco-
nomically viable by introducing—and moti-
vating ranchers to adopt—sustainable
practices, primarily through peer-to-peer
training within the local ranching communi-
ty. The project is on track to achieve the fol-
lowing specific objectives by 2001:
•  Improve the health of seven miles of the
   Blackfoot River, segments of four of its
   tributaries, their streamside environments,
   and the upland rangelands of the Black-
   foot Watershed.
•  Double the number of ranchers using sus-
   tainable ranching methods in the North-
                        17  Community Project Profiles

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Protecting and Restoring Watersheds and Airsheds
                           ern Rockies. Such methods include low-
                           stress herding practices, as opposed to
                           uncontrolled grazing practices.
                        •  Boost participating ranchers' economic via-
                           bility by reducing operating costs 15 per-
                           cent, increasing production capacity 50
                           percent, and effecting a 5-percent premium
                           on the sale of sustainably produced beef
                        •  Disseminate information about the eco-
                           logical and economic benefits of sustain-
                           able ranching to  ranchers throughout the
                           Northern Rockies.

                        There is good news from the field. Indica-
                        tions are that participating ranchers have cut
                        their production costs by nearly 15 percent,
                        primarily by reducing use of fossil fuels,  fertil-
                        izers, herbicides, and other chemicals. Project
                        coordinators have also created a Predator
                        Friendly Project, which certifies wool raised
                        without killing predators and markets the
                        wool products under the "Predator Friendly"
                        label. And just last February, one of the pro-
 "THE EPA GRANT has allowed us to use herders
  to learn some things about the migrating
  habits of the cattle on upland areas. It has also
  been critical, in this drought year, to use the
  herders to move the cattle off the riparian
  (streamside) areas on public land and place
  them on private lands during part of the heat
  of the summer, to keep them from damaging
  the creeks. Then, as the weather cools, we
  move the cattle back on the Eastern Idaho
  allotments. With the use of the herders, we
  have been able to keep the cattle moved up
  and away from the stream banks in critical
  watershed areas."

  —KEN WIXOM, President of the Eastern Idaho
  Grazing Association

ject's predator-friendly ranching partners was
honored by Time magazine as a "Hero for the
Planet"—one of 35 chosen worldwide for
their efforts to protect wildlife.
                        Fish for the Future
                        SOUTHWESTERN OREGON
                        Salmon fisheries in the Pacific Northwest,
                        once hugely abundant, have declined precip-
                        itously. Many species of salmon are formally
                        listed as threatened or endangered under the
                        Endangered Species Act. Many others are
                        being considered for listing. The future of
                        these salmon species depends on the success-
                        ful restoration and protection of the water
                        quality in their formerly rich spawning habi-
                        tats in Oregon's streams and rivers.
With support from an EPA community
grant to the South Coast Watershed Council,
Southwestern Oregon's Fish for the Future
Project is demonstrating a comprehensive
watershed approach to salmon habitat
restoration that works across property
boundaries. The project is unusual in that it
is coordinating activities on both privately
owned and public lands, doing so through a
network of partnerships that includes farm-
ers, ranchers, other private property owners,
                        18  Community Project Profiles

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Fish for the Future works
with landowners to help
ensure quality fish habitat
and clear waters in the
Northwest for generations to
come. Photo by Deb Smith.
state agencies, and timber companies. The
project encompasses nine key watersheds in
southwest Oregon's Curry County: Floras
Creek, Sixes River, Elk River, Euchre Creek,
Lower Rogue River, Hunter Creek, Pistol
River, Chetco River, and Winchuck River.

The project has five activity categories—easily
remembered because the first letters of the
first words in the five categories add up to
"FISH'N." Following are highlights of accom-
plishments in each of these areas since January
1999, when Fish for the Future was launched:

Farmers and ranchers
• Assisted ranchers with fish passage prob-
  lems on their properties by removing cul-
  verts that were blocking fish from
  swimming upstream, and replacing cul-
  verts with railroad flatcar bridges. As a
  result, approximately two miles of spawn-
  ing and rearing habitat were opened up.
• Farmers and ranchers participating in the
  project are in turn teaching others in the
  community about the benefits of water-
  shed restoration. As a result, several addi-
  tional landowners have signed on to
  construct protective fencing of streams on
  their properties. Six miles of fencing have
  been installed, and 25,000 young native
  conifers have been planted. Both actions

 "IT'S BEEN EXCITING FOR ME to watch the
  riparian area of my ranch spring back to life
  with help from Fish for the Future. There are
  more plants and trees, more fish, more
  macroinvertebrates—just a wealth of diversity
  and beauty on my place now."

  —BOB POMMARANE, Curry County Oregon
  Rancher and Farmer
                                                                       help protect streamside areas and reestab-
                                                                       lish vegetation, thereby protecting fish
                                                                       habitat and improving water quality by
                                                                       reducing temperature.

                                                                     In-stream habitat improvements
                                                                     • Made habitat improvements on several
                                                                       streams: Indian Creek, Beaver Creek, Jack
                                                                       Creek, Four-Mile Creek, Farmer Creek,
                                                                       and Crystal Creek. These improvements
                                                                       include placing woody debris in streams to
                                                                       help control the flow of sediment as well
                                                                       as to create pools, add complexity to
                                                                       stream flow, and trap gravel for salmon
                                                                       spawning.  Near these improvements, there
                                                                       has been increased spawning of salmon.
                                                                     • Along with habitat improvements, water
                                                                       quality is being monitored, primarily for
                                                                       temperature and pollutant load, which
                                                                       affect fish habitat.

                                                                     Schools
                                                                     • Staged watershed symposium, where student
                                                                       work was showcased in water quality, salmon
                                                                       biology, riparian (streamside) vegetation,
                                                                       erosion control, and other related topics.
                                                                     • Began program to get every creek and
                                                                       river in Curry County adopted by a local
                        19  Community Project Profiles

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Protecting and Restoring Watersheds and Airsheds
                          school (students then plant trees, pick up
                          litter, and sample water quality).
                        •  Students are actively participating in
                          restoration projects and collecting data. For
                          example, while working on an in-stream
                          habitat improvement project, one high
                          school student found a positive correlation
                          between woody debris deliberately placed
                          to create pools for salmon spawning and
                          both the diversity of species and number
                          of macroinvertebrates present in the stream.

                        Human resources
                        •  Sponsored classes for local citizens on top-
                          ics such as best management practices for
                                              pasturelands (e.g., how to reduce need for
                                              artificial fertilizer, improve soil productivi-
                                              ty, reduce erosion, and protect streamside
                                              areas) and how long-term weather patterns
                                              relate to ocean productivity and salmon
                                              populations. More than 100 citizens have
                                              attended "Watershed Stewards" class, and
                                              due to the popularity of this pilot pro-
                                              gram, it will be offered again in 2000.

                                            Nature-based tourism
                                            •  Enabled five fledgling local eco-tourism
                                              companies, which help educate visitors on
                                              watershed issues, to market their services
                                              on the Internet and in print.
                       Acid Mine  Drainage  & Art Project (AMD&ART)
                       PENNSYLVANIA
Vintondale youth and
AMD&ART staff in front of
the sign they erected for the
AMD&ART Remediation Park.
In Appalachian coal-producing areas, thou-
sands of miles of streams have been contami-
nated with acid mine drainage. Its orange
sediment precipitate is deadly to stream life
                         Ml   lATHDN
                              -)N -    N:  ;
and affects everything that depends on the
stream ecosystem—including human com-
munities. An EPA community grant provid-
ed startup funding for the Acid Mine
Drainage & Art (AMD&ART) Project,  so
called because of its artful design of stream-
side treatment systems.

"We are reclaiming the damage by creating
treatment systems that do more  than clean
the orange out of the water," explains project
director Dr. T. Allan Comp. Referring  to the
holistic approach of the project, he talks about
"transforming environmental liabilities into
community assets." In other words, the acid
mine drainage treatment systems address
issues broader than water contamination,
helping to revitalize whole communities.
                       2O Community Project Profiles

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Vintondale resident Jessica
Colangelo digs a hole for the
Remediation Park sign.
 "THE AMD&ART PROJECT shows how acid
  mine water drainage can be treated using a
  natural process, laid out in an artistic land-
  scape design.. .adjacent to the already popular
  Ghost Town Trail. About 75,000 visitors a year
  use the rail-trail for biking, hiking, horseback
  riding, or just walking, and many will stop and
  take a look at the treatment process—In addi-
  tion, plans call for construction of a communi-
  ty park adjacent to the treatment site, which
  will tie the community to the project even
  more. What a positive outcome! I have hopes
  the bicycle business will benefit, as will the
  whole town. We have many concerned residents
  volunteering time and money and working
  with AMD&ART to see this project through."

  —DAVID J. ROBERTS, Owner, Trailside Bicycle,
  Vintondale, Pennsylvania

The impact of acid mine drainage on com-
munities can be pervasive. As Dr. Comp says,
"Businesses will not come  to a town with
bad water. Tourists are alarmed by the orange
streams and may not return. Residents can't
swim or fish in the rivers, much less drink
the water." Using an interdisciplinary
approach that stresses public participation,
AMD&ART designs streamside treatment
systems that use "passive treatments"  such as
settling ponds, constructed wetlands, and
limestone channels. But AMD&ART doesn't
just create treatment systems—the larger site
surrounding  the remediation system typically
includes active and passive recreational sites,
interpretive trails and overlooks, and historic
exhibits for the community.

In Vintondale, Pennsylvania, along the South
Branch of Blacklick Creek, construction is
beginning on a passive treatment system that
                         21  Community Project Profiles
                                                                      has a new community park as part of its
                                                                      design. The 1997 EPA startup grant enabled
                                                                      the planning and design work for this
                                                                      demonstration project to go forward. Since
                                                                      then, 13 agencies and organizations have
                                                                      made financial contributions to this project,
                                                                      and many other agencies and individuals are
                                                                      contributing time, materials, and support. A
                                                                      second demonstration project, in the Dark
                                                                      Shade Creek watershed, has spawned a
                                                                      brownfields revitalization effort for the
                                                                      watershed as a whole. A recently awarded
                                                                      demonstration grant from EPA's Brownfields
                                                                      Program is funding an inventory and assess-
                                                                      ment of all the abandoned mine discharges
                                                                      and other sources of industrial contamina-
                                                                      tion within the 28-square-mile watershed,
                                                                      community participation efforts, and initial
                                                                      design work for possible remediation efforts.
                                                                      This is the first brownfields assessment and
                                                                      revitalization effort in a watershed historical-
                                                                      ly dominated by coal mining.

                                                                      Spinoffs of the AMD&ART project include
                                                                      the "Stream Team," a network of volunteers

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Protecting and Restoring Watersheds and Airsheds
                       who do stream monitoring work in the Kiski-
                       Conemaugh River Basin. The Stream Team,
                       founded in 1998 by two AmeriCorps mem-
                       bers, recruits and trains volunteers to monitor
                       streams and collect data. The data are then
                       analyzed free of charge by the Pennsylvania
                       Department of Environmental Protection.
                       The results are used by agencies, the
                       AMD&ART project, and the Dark Shade
                       brownfields project to plan remediation
                       strategies for acid mine drainage discharges.
                                           In another spinoff, the Office of Surface
                                           Mining and the National Endowment for
                                           the Arts noticed the success of the
                                           AMD&ART project, and liked what they saw.
                                           The agencies are funding two planning proj-
                                           ects, one in Ohio and one in Kentucky, that
                                           will use the AMD&ART concept to address
                                           acid drainage contamination—with addi-
                                           tional sites to be selected next year.
                       Protecting Water Resources With Land Use Planning
Flow Monitoring
CRWA Senior Engineer Nigel
Pickering demonstrates flow
monitoring in the Charles
River. The Holliston project
is designed to address low-
flow problems in the river,
caused when aquifers are
highly stressed.
                       HOLLISTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Located in central Massachusetts' fast-grow-
ing Interstate 495 corridor, Holliston, a town
of 14,000 people, lies in the headwaters of
two river systems: the Charles and the Sud-
bury-Assabet-Concord. Consequently, land
use decisions made in Holliston, as in other
headwaters towns, can affect downstream
communities and the region as a whole.

More immediately, land uses in Holliston
affect the town's own drinking water supply
and its capacity for wastewater management.
The town depends on local underground
aquifers (water stores) for its water supply.
Onsite septic systems provide all wastewater
treatment. Currently, Holliston has a septic
system failure rate of 30 percent—a cause for
concern. (Small lots, a high groundwater
table, and local soil conditions are cited as
contributing factors.) Future growth and
development, if not managed judiciously,
could exacerbate  existing problems  and add
new ones. How, then, can Holliston manage
                       22  Community Project Profiles
                                                                  growth and development to safeguard both
                                                                  the quality and quantity of its water
                                                                  resources:
                                                                  The Charles River Watershed Association
                                                                  (CRWA), with support from an EPA commu-


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  "ASSISTANCE FROM the Charles River Water-
  shed Association, supported by the EPA grant,
  is helping bring to fruition the town of Hollis-
  ton's efforts to protect its water supply by
  adopting sound development and land use
  practices. This work, together with the town's
  comprehensive wastewater management plan-
  ning, is instrumental in defining Holliston's
  long-term growth, character, and environmen-
  tal preservation  over the next 20 years."

  —ROSEMARY BLACQUIER, Sewer Project
  Administrator, Town of Holliston

nity grant, is working with Holliston to
develop the  information and tools needed to
help protect local water resources through
land use planning. Holliston has traditionally
allowed industrial development in areas that
are connected to the town's drinking water
wells—a pattern that could jeopardize the
water supply. The tools and information
being developed through CKWA's collabora-
tion with  Holliston will provide the town
with a framework for evaluating the environ-
mental impacts of development patterns.
The work has these basic components:
•  Comprehensive wastewater management
   planning  to identify alternatives for waste-
   water treatment (town of Holliston),
   including a sewer system for those parts of
   town where septic systems were failing.
•  Geographic Information System (GIS)
   analysis by CKWA to answer key ques-
   tions. For example, how much rain-repel-
  lant impervious surface—parking lots,
  roads, rooftops—exists in Holliston?
  What lands need to remain as open space
  in order to allow rainwater to percolate
  down to ground water—a process called
  aquifer recharge?
• Hydrologic (water budget) analysis by
  CRWA to answer questions about the
  water cycle, as altered by current and
  future development. How much water
  does Holliston use now? In future scenar-
  ios? What portion of rainwater filters
  down to ground water? Or runs off into
  streams and rivers? What development
  and water use/wastewater treatment sce-
  narios would result in replenishing the
  aquifer? In depleting  it?
• Land use tools developed for considera-
  tion by the Holliston Planning Board.

Holliston has completed its comprehensive
wastewater management planning and has
identified its wastewater treatment sites.
CRWA has completed its GIS and hydrologic
analyses. Open space remaining in the town
has been prioritized based on its comparative
importance for protecting water stores and
preserving wildlife habitat. Tools and analyti-
cal data are scheduled for presentation to the
Holliston Planning Board in October 2000.
If the comprehensive wastewater plan and
other recommendations are put in place,
Holliston will restore aquifers and instream
flow so that they will be very close to historic
norms.
23  Community Project Profiles

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Protecting and Restoring Watersheds and Airsheds
                       Land Conservation as  a Watershed Protection Strategy-
                       Four Case Studies
                       Since passage of the Clean Water Act in
                       1972, federal regulations have effectively
                       controlled industrial and sewage discharges
                       into U.S. waterways, resulting in cleaner
                       waters nationwide. Yet much remains to be
                       done to protect our water supplies. The
                       biggest threat to clean water today is polluted
                       runoff, sometimes called "nonpoint-source"
                       pollution because it doesn't originate from
                       any single point of discharge, such as a facto-
                       ry or sewer pipe. Instead, polluted runoff
                       absorbs oil from roadways and parking lots,
                       pesticides and fertilizers from farms, lawns,
                       and golf courses, and sewage leaked from
                       septic systems, and deposits these  into the
                       nearest stream or river.

                       According to EPA's own estimate, 40 percent
                       of the country's waterways now have degrad-
                       ed water quality. Experts inside and outside
                       of government agree that solving pervasive

                         "THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY and environmen-
                         tal groups found something to agree on. There
                         was a growing understanding in our business
                         community, particularly the high-tech sector,
                         that quality of life—the fact that Austin is a
                         pleasant place to live—is an important lure for
                         their employees and helps keep the economy


                         —GRANT GODFREY, staff attorney for Austin's
                         Save Our Springs Alliance, on the popular
                         support behind the city's land-protection ini-
                         tiatives to protect drinking water and provide
                         flood control and recreation
runoff problems requires holistic watershed
management, with plans and strategies tai-
lored to individual watersheds. So, to
advance watershed management, EPA is
working with a variety of public and private
partners and using a combination of regula-
tory and nonregulatory tools.  One important
nonregulatory tool is information—properly
analyzed and presented,  and shared with
communities that can use it.

To promote access to key information, EPA
recently provided grant funding support for
The Trust for Public Land to assemble and
publish four community case  studies where
land conservation is helping preserve water
quality. In these communities, buying land
to protect water quality is part of a broader
"smart growth" effort to lessen the impacts of
development. The case studies are:
• Austin, Texas, where  pressures from rapid
  development have prompted the city to
  look for ways to protect water quality in
  the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer, a
  major drinking-water source.
• Barnegat Bay, a 450-square mile coastal
  estuary located mostly in New Jersey's
  Ocean County, which provides critical
  wildlife habitat and draws crowds of sum-
  mer vacationers from New Jersey, Pennsyl-
  vania, and New York. To protect the rich
  natural beauty that has made Ocean Coun-
  ty the fastest-growing in New Jersey, and to
  protect the drinking water wells that resi-
  dents rely upon, the county is looking to
  land conservation as an effective way to
  manage the  Barnegat Bay watershed.
                       24 Community Project Profiles

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                           Mountain Island Lake, a pristine source
                           of drinking water for Charlotte, North
                           Carolina, and environs. As development
                           along the lakeshore and tributary streams
                           increases pressures on lake water quality,
                           effective watershed management is more
                           important than ever.
                           Indian River Lagoon, a 155-mile long
                           estuary along Florida's east coast that has
                           been part of EPA's National Estuary Pro-
                           gram since 1991. Cooperating partners are
  working to protect the estuary's threatened
  marine and terrestrial ecosystems through
  strategic land conservation.

The case studies and lessons to be learned
from them are published in Building Green
Infrastructure: Land Conservation as a Water-
shed Protection Strategy. The report is avail-
able from The Trust for Public Land in hard
copy and online. See 
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Going Green Through Building and Lending Practices
                       'Green Advantage" Certification Program
                        LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA
Floorplans like the one at
right will feature such envi-
ronmental attributes as pas-
sive solar heating, natural
cooling, and daylighting.
Illustration copyright 1999
Ensar Group, Inc.
                        Envisioned as an alternative to traditional devel-
                        opment, the EcoVillage of Loudoun County is
                        an innovative project now under construction.
                        The EcoVillage is specifically designed to serve
                        environmental and community-building
                        goals—reflected not only in the design of the
                        overall site and individual buildings, but also
                        in its location near a commuter train station.

                        EcoVillage Institute, Inc., a nonprofit organ-
                        ization, assisted in the design and develop-
                        ment of this new community. In addition,
                        applying some of the ideas generated through
                        the Loudon project, the institute is creating a
                        special program for training and certifying
                        builders and contractors in  techniques for
                        constructing environmentally sound com-
                        mercial and residential development. The
                        institute's work to develop and test this
                        "Green Advantage" training and certification
                        program is being supported by an EPA com-
                                           "Tnis is A TOP NOTCH EXAMPLE of environ-
                                           mentally sensitive, conservation-oriented resi-
                                           dential development in one of our nations
                                           fastest growing counties. The effort to share
                                           the lessons and techniques learned here with
                                           other communities across the country through
                                           the Green Advantage Certification initiative is
                                           extremely worthwhile."
through
dative is
                                           —TAMAR DATAN, Vice President, The Nature
                                           Conservancy, and Director & CEO, Center
                                           for Compatible Economic Development

                                         munity grant. Specifically, the program is
                                         being developed for builders and related pro-
                                         fessionals; for site work contractors, such as
                                         excavators; and for developers and other real
                                         estate professionals. The EcoVillage develop-
                                         ment site is being used as a "living laborato-
                                         ry" to field test the program. Green elements
MASTER
BEDROOM  ,
1lYx14V
                        26  Community Project Profiles

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in use on site range from organic landscaping
and wetlands preservation to energy-efficient
building design strategies (such as passive
solar heating, natural cooling, and daylight-
ing) and healthy building materials that pro-
tect indoor air quality. Building materials
include recycled and renewable products.

In addition to being tested at the EcoVillage
site, some aspects of the Green Advantage
program are being pilot tested in Florida in
summer 2000. The pilot testing will occur in
tandem with the University of Florida's
"Build Green and Profit" training work-
shops, offered throughout the state.

Plans are underway to make the Green
Advantage training and certification program
available nationwide, once the testing process
is complete. The EcoVillage Institute has
joined forces with the Nature Conservancy,
Science Applications International Corpora-
tion (SAIC), and the University of Florida to
launch the program nationwide in 2001. A
Green Advantage Web site will offer the
option of online training and certification.
Location-Efficient Mortgages
CHICAGO, SEATTLE, LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO (COMING SOON TO PORTLAND, OR)
In nearly every city across the country, there
are compact neighborhoods where it's easy to
walk to shops, schools, and other services. In
addition, these neighborhoods are usually
well served by transit, so that families who
live there tend to walk, bike, and take public
transit—rather than use  a car for every trip
they take. Many households in these "loca-
tion-efficient" neighborhoods own fewer cars
than similar households in a conventional
suburban development. They also drive their
cars less and spend a smaller amount of the

 "A COUPLE JOINTLY EARNING $6o,OOO and
  buying into Chicago's transit-rich  Edgewater
  neighborhood, for instance, would qualify for a
  home selling for $212,218	Under traditional
  guidelines, the limit would be $158,364."

  —CHICAGO TRIBUNE EDITORIAL, June 4, 2000
household budget on transportation.

Because these location-efficient neighbor-
hoods are generally very desirable places to
live, the cost of buying a house is higher than
for a comparable house in a conventional
suburban development. As a result, when
looking to buy a house, many people decide
to live at the edge of our metropolitan areas,
where they can afford a bigger  house. On the
face of it, the choice seems economically
advantageous. The problem is that the
cheaper house on the edge comes with
expensive transportation because everyone in
the family has to drive or be driven every-
where. The household has to own more cars,
drive them more, contribute more to air pol-
lution through the added emissions of more
vehicle miles travelled, and spend more
money on transportation than  they would in
a location-efficient community.
27  Community Project Profiles

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Going Green Through Building and Lending Practices
Illustration courtesy of
the Institute for Location
Efficiency
What if a family attracted to a location-effi-
cient neighborhood could take the money
they save on transportation by living there
and buy a better house in that neighbor-
hood? Then they could invest more money
in a nicer home in a great neighborhood,
rather than spending it on a car. That's what
families are doing in four cities across the
country, thanks to a new FannieMae pilot
loan program called the location-efficient
mortgage (LEM). In addition to boosting
borrowing power and increasing family
wealth, LEMs can also:
• Increase home purchases in urban neigh-
  borhoods and slow sprawl.
• Boost public transit ridership.
• Support neighborhood business, recre-
  ation and arts.
• Reduce household energy consumption.
• Improve regional air quality.

The LEM program was developed by Chica-
go's Center for Neighborhood Technology,
the Natural Resources  Defense Council, and
the Surface Transportation Policy Project in
cooperation with FannieMae. Funding for
LEM research and implementation was pro-
vided by EPA, the Department of Energy,
the Federal Transit Administration, and pri-
vate foundations. The  partners in the LEM
program are looking to simplify the model-
ing and mapping requirements that are need-
ed to issue LEMs and hope to expand the
                                                                   use of LEMs to more cities across the coun-
                                                                   try. If that happens, more families in more
                                                                   cities will be able to afford homes in loca-
                                                                   tion-efficient neighborhoods of their
                                                                   choice—a win/win situation for families and
                                                                   for the environment.

                                                                   For more information on location
                                                                   efficient mortgages, see .
                       28 Community Project Profiles

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UPDATE ON COMMUNITY GRANT
FUNDING  OPPORTUNITIES
                       EPA's Innovative Community
                       Partnerships Initiative

                       On May 18, 2000, EPA announced its selec-
                       tion of 11 innovative community projects as
                       pilots for its new Innovative Community
                       Partnership (ICP) grants initiative. Overall
                       funding of $4.4 million for ICP grants has
                       been proposed in the President's Fiscal Year
                       2001 budget, and EPA plans to launch the
                       full initiative by early next year. EPA expects
                       to use ICP grants to support communities'
                       efforts to solve their environmental problems
                       and make their communities more livable
                       places to live, work, raise families, and par-
                       ticipate in community life.

                       To promote environmental protection and
                       cleaner, more livable communities, EPA will
                       use ICP grants as tools for encouraging local
                       innovation, smart growth, cross-media envi-
                       ronmental approaches, and community part-
                       nerships working to achieve measurable
                       results. Broadly speaking, EPA expects to
                       give priority consideration to ICP project
                       proposals in the following areas:
                       •  Restoration and protection of community
                          watersheds and airsheds.
• Integrated community planning for envi-
  ronmental results.
• Environmentally responsible redevelop-
  ment and revitalization.

If the program is funded, EPA will be working
with stakeholders on the final design of its ICP
grant criteria and application process. Stake-
holders include business leaders, local and
state government officials, nongovernmental
organizations,  rural area representatives, and
transportation planners. Feedback from ICP
pilot grant recipients will also be taken into
account in the  ultimate design of the program.

Examples of activities funded in the ICP's
pilot stage include the following:
• Developing  a learning network for business
  leaders engaged in the smart growth dialogue.
• Helping a community or communities
  achieve their vision of smart growth and
  better environmental quality through bet-
  ter planning, modeling, and community
  involvement.
• Conducting a workshop on infill develop-
  ment for communities, developers, local
  government, and the financial community.
• Building capacity to provide rural areas
  with access to information, training, and
  technical assistance.
• Developing/providing technical assistance,
  information, and training to help communi-
  ties achieve their vision of transit-oriented
  development and better environmental
  quality.
• Developing a better understanding of the
  benefits of combining brownfields redevel-
  opment with transportation planning.

For more information on the proposed pro-
gram and on established EPA community
grant programs, see .
                       29 Update on Community Grant Funding Opportunities

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APPENDIX:  EXAMPLES  OF
EPA-SUPPORTED  COMMUNITY
INITIATIVES,  BY STATE
                           Note: The projects listed in this table represent the
                           Sustainable Development Challenge Grant Program,
                           the Innovative Community Partnership pilots, and
                           related programs supported by the Office of Business
                           and Community Innovation. Projects are listed under
                           the grantee's home state.

                           ALASKA

                           Sitka Tribe of Alaska—Sitka
                           Demonstrate how sustainable forestry practices can
                           both provide new jobs and lead to reduced erosion,
                           habitat conservation, and air and water quality
                           benefits.

                           Akiachak Native  Community—Akiachak
                           Reduce groundwater contamination and protect
                           wildlife habitat by implementing a comprehensive
                           waste management program that promotes recycling,
                           composting, and waste reuse.

                           Native Village of Venetie—Venetie
                           Demonstrate the viability of using renewable wind
                           power as an alternative to diesel-powered generators to
                           provide fuel for native villages and improve air and
                           water quality.

                           ARIZONA

                           White Mountain Apache  Tribe—Whiteriver
                           Train tribal members to identify and preserve tradi-
                           tional reservation land use practices that reduce pollut-
                           ed runoff and ensure long-term environmental quality.
Arizona-Mexico Border Health Foundation—Tucson
Train residents in environmental technologies that
reduce polluted runoff and hazardous waste.

Arizona State University—Tempe
Create neighborhood development designs for desert
southwest that incorporate smart growth principles
and achieve air and water quality benefits.

ARKANSAS

National Center for Appropriate Technology—
Fayetteville
Improve water quality by educating poultry farmers on
best management practices to prevent contaminated
runoff.

CALIFORNIA

Institute for Sustainable Forestry—Redway
Develop a network of forest industry consumers to
share business practices that protect habitat  and
improve water quality.

Yuba Watershed Institute—Nevada City
Implement a forest management plan to protect water
quality and ensure long-range viability of timbering
operations in the Inimim Forest.

Justiceville/Homeless USA—Los Angeles
Demonstrate techniques for creating urban  open space
that reduces runoff and encourages materials reuse.

San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners
Prevent polluted runoff through strategic restoration
of urban habitat.

Local Government  Commission—Sacramento
Coordinate demonstrations of "suburb repair" in five
older suburban communities in the Los Angeles metro
area, reducing air emissions and polluted runoff. Par-
ticipate in the Partners for Smart Growth Conference
and publish an infill  guide and report. (See page 14.)

University of California—Davis
Develop tools for development options that conserve
natural resources and wildlife habitat, and protect
environmental quality.

University of California/California Department of
Health Services—Los Angeles
Conduct research on urban form, criteria for walkable
neighborhoods, related environmental impacts, and
children's health.
                           3O Appendix: Examples of EPA-Supported Community Initiatives, By State

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Chemical Strategies Partnership—San Francisco
Create a transferable pollution prevention model for
reducing chemical use in electronics manufacturing.

Association of Bay Area Governments—Oakland
Develop alternate growth projections showing corre-
sponding improvements in air quality for use in Bay
Area transportation funding decisions.

Global Green USA—Venice
Analyze opportunities for environmental improve-
ments in shopping mall siting and construction; pro-
duce a report on green construction of shopping malls.

Congress for the New Urbanism—San Francisco
Develop a guidebook on how to build higher density
communities that are marketable and meet consumer
demands and improve environmental quality. Research
and develop a guidebook for design of brownfield and
infill redevelopment. Develop and distribute a series of
fact sheets that identify economic alternatives and
transportation options and demonstrate air and water
quality benefits of smart growth in urban areas.

COLORADO

Upper South Platte Watershed Protection
Association—Larkspur
Reduce polluted runoff and protect drinking water
through a decision-making framework that incorpo-
rates the economic value of ecological resources.

The Partnering Institute—Larkspur
Develop solutions to give local urban Rotary Club
members easier access to green choices that will reduce
water and energy consumption, improve groundwater
and surface water quality and reduce agricultural waste.

High Plains Partnership for Species at Risk/
Western Governors' Association—Denver
Build consensus for projects that achieve water quality
improvements through environmentally sensitive
range and wildlife management practices.

Denver Regional Council of Governments
Develop a multi-modal transportation plan that will
increase transportation choices and improve  air quality
in the Denver metro area by 2020.

Sustainable Futures Society—Conifer
Demonstrate air and water quality benefits of a commu-
nity that uses state-of-the-art energy and water efficien-
cy systems,  preserves green space, and uses an adjacent
wetland for water pretreatment and wildlife habitat.
DELAWARE

Naamans Creek Watershed Association—Arden
Restore urban green spaces to help reduce stormwater
runoff and improve surface water quality.

Delaware Department of Transportation—Dover
Develop a workbook and Web site to help communi-
ties preserve farmland, improve air quality, and protect
water quality through Delaware's Corridor Capacity
Preservation Program.

DISTRICT  OF COLUMBIA

Sustainable Community Initiatives
Help prevent groundwater pollution by training com-
munity residents in techniques to reuse and resell sal-
vaged construction waste.

Trust for Public Land
Conduct and publish case studies of land conservation
as a tool for water quality protection. (See page 24.)

National Association of Counties/US Conference of
Mayors Joint Center for Sustainable Development
Develop a newsletter and the "Joint Center Report."
Provide best practices and technical assistance to cities
and counties for integrated environmental manage-
ment. Create a local government primer on smart
growth tools that protect natural resources.

National Association of Counties
Develop a video conference for county commissioners
on watershed protection and the link between land
use, transportation, loss of farmland and open space,
and water quality protection.

National Association of Home Builders
Research Center
Research and disseminate information on resource
conservation in the building industry and provide
technical assistance to 10 communities on the poten-
tial for deconstruction at specific sites within each
community.

CONCERN,  Inc.
Create a sustainable communities network Web site,
which includes the smart growth network Web site as a
subpage and provides information on the environmental
benefits of smart growth. Update case studies illustrat-
ing environmental benefits of community sustainability.
31  Appendix: Examples of EPA-Supported Community Initiatives, By State

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National Association of Local Government Envi-
ronmental Professionals
Produce a report identifying barriers to brownfield
redevelopment and opportunities to overcome them
through business involvement.

National Association of Local Government Envi-
ronmental Professionals and The Silicon Valley
Manufacturing Group
Protect air and water quality by facilitating partner-
ships between business and local government to
achieve environmentally responsible development.

Surface Transportation Policy Project
Research and report on current development patterns
and their impacts on land use and costs (two reports).

Urban Land Institute
Support three annual smart growth conferences, as well
as workshops, exhibits, and a four-part museum exhibit.

Northeast/Midwest Institute
Research federal and local government programs that
encourage or discourage brownfields redevelopment;
hold a conference on research findings. Conduct a
workshop to help communities use infill strategies
encouraging brownfields redevelopment, lower air
emissions, and reduced urban runoff.

Global Action Plan for Earth
Research and facilitate implementation of household
level environmental improvements, including outreach
in several neighborhoods.

International City Management Association
Provide education on the environmental benefits of
smart growth for ICMA members and other partners
in the Smart Growth Network through videos,
primers, and newsletters.

National Neighborhood Coalition
Produce a report identifying neighborhood smart
growth principles and highlight best practices and
expected environmental results.

National Governors' Association
Support a smart growth conference emphasizing the
linkage between smart growth and environmental ben-
efits for governors and their staff. Develop a "toolbox"
for governors that includes information on the con-
nection between open space, air and water quality, and
how air and water quality improvements can be real-
ized through redevelopment and revitalization.
Environmental Defense Fund
Support educational activities and technical assistance
on transportation and air quality issues in Baltimore,
Maryland, and New York, New York.

American Farmland Trust
Support the review of cities' efforts to protect environ-
mental quality by mapping important conservation
lands for strategic acquisition. Produce a report on
open space preservation efforts in nine cities.

Natural Resources Defense Council
Analyze the environmental impacts of New Urbanism
and produce a report contrasting the environmental
impacts of different neighborhood forms.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development—Paris, France
Develop innovative financial tools to implement alter-
native development plans that preserve green space in
member countries.  This will combine studies of differ-
ent European countries, Australia and Japan with
North America, and develop comparative analysis of
urban policy.

Association of Metropolitan Planning
Organizations
Improve air quality by helping Metropolitan Planning
Organizations integrate smart growth approaches in
their formal transportation plans.

FLORIDA

University of Florida, Center for Construction and
Environment—Gainesville
Turn a brownfield property into an urban green space
capable of treating stormwater runoff in the Sweetwater
Branch Watershed.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium—Clearwater
Restore natural mangroves along Florida coast to
improve water quality, eliminate invasive exotic
species, and demonstrate water quality benefits
through an education project.

GEORGIA

Coastal Georgia Greenway—Savannah
Develop a comprehensive planning process to protect
water quality by preserving 450 miles of connected
open space and natural resource lands in coastal Georgia.
32 Appendix: Examples of EPA-Supported Community Initiatives, By State

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Northeast Georgia Regional Development Center—
Athens
Develop a conservation design manual that quantifies
the impact of development on water quality, wildlife
habitat, energy consumption, and loss of natural
resources.

HAWAII

City of Honolulu
Support the city's efforts to promote sustainable eco-
nomic development through land use and conserva-
tion practices that reduce polluted runoff, pesticide
use, and air emissions.

Hawaii Forestry Communities Initiative—Hilo
Reduce polluted runoff and restore native habitat
through rainforest reforestation on the Hamakua
Coast of Hawaii.

Na Moku Aupuni O Ko'alau Hui—Ke'anae
Demonstrate how natural filtration systems can be
used to treat effluent from aquaculture operations.

IDAHO  (and MONTANA)

Corporation for the Northern Rockies—
Livingston
Develop a cost-saving sustainable ranching strategy
that protects water quality in the Blackfoot Watershed.
(See page 17.)

ILLINOIS

Port Authority of the City of St. Paul
Demonstrate how industrial facilities can coexist in
areas with sensitive environmental features,  such as
wetlands, without causing environmental harm.

Growth Management Institute—Chevy Chase, MD
Facilitate smart growth meetings in the Peoria Tri-
County area that foster discussion of transportation
alternatives and other environmental benefits.

Center for Neighborhood Technology—Chicago
Conduct research, mapping, application, modeling,
and market test of the location efficient mortgage
(LEM) concept, which promises significant air quality
benefits. Refine system of land use consolidation to
spur environmentally sensible redevelopment  of infill
and brownfield property. Research opportunities for
low impact redevelopment in south Florida, away
from sensitive wetlands and watersheds.  (See page  27.)
INDIANA

Purdue University—West Lafayette
Produce a GIS-based model, accessible on the Inter-
net, showing water impacts of development patterns.

IOWA

Iowa Department of Natural Resources—
Des  Moines
Demonstrate how communities can achieve cost sav-
ings from improved energy efficiency and use those
savings for programs that reduce waste, improve water
quality, and promote green business.

Central Iowa Council of Governments—
Cedar Rapids
Create environmental benefits and affordable housing
by rehabilitating older buildings.

KANSAS

Kansas Rural Center—Whiting
Demonstrate pollution prevention and habitat restora-
tion methods for farming and ranching communities
in Kansas.

Sustainable Manhattan
Develop an integrated planning strategy for Manhat-
tan, Kansas, linking transportation, land use, and
environmental protection.

KENTUCKY

UJIMA Community Council—Louisville
Formulate and implement land use strategies that
increase transportation choices, create opportunities
for brownfield redevelopment, and improve air and
water quality.

LOUISIANA

Tensas Pride—Winnsboro
Restore Tensas River Basin in Northeast Louisiana,
increasing wildlife habitat and improving air and water
quality.

Mid-City Green Project—New Orleans
Construct a waste recycling/reuse program that
addresses region-wide concerns about declining land-
fill capacity.
33 Appendix: Examples of EPA-Supported Community Initiatives, By State

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MAINE
MASSACHUSETTS
Maine Casco Bay Estuary Project—Portland
Clean up and restore Casco Bay to achieve water qual-
ity that sustains the local shellfishery industry.

Environment Northeast—Rockport
Prevent pollution and improve resource efficiency by
adopting green business technology.

Coastal Enterprises, Inc.—Wiscasset
Demonstrate new farming  practices that reduce pollu-
tion and energy use while increasing economic vitality.

MARYLAND

Prince George's County Department of Environ-
mental Resources—Largo
Restore waterfront property to a green space that
showcases best practices for managing stormwater
runoff.

Center for Chesapeake Communities,  Inc.—
Annapolis
Quantify changes in water  quality (total sediment
loads, total nitrogen and phosphorus loads, and
impacts on habitat) resulting from alternative (as
opposed to conventional) site  development plans.
Document environmental, economic, and other bene-
fits of conservation design.

University of Maryland Environmental Finance
Center—College  Park
Organize a series of charrettes  and report  on local
incentives for protecting air and water quality while
retaining urban  core economic vitality.

Center for Watershed Protection—Ellicott City
Support local multi-stakeholder process analyzing local
development codes that could promote greater water-
shed protection  and economic goals.

Foundation for Intermodal Research and
Education—Greenbelt
Develop local freight movement strategies that will
generate air and water quality  benefits and help
address increases in vehicle miles traveled and conges-
tion associated with e-commerce freight traffic.
Town of Adams
Develop a comprehensive action plan for municipal
agencies to practice resource conservation, recycling,
and pollution prevention in their daily routines.

Metropolitan Area Planning Council—Boston
Document environmental impacts of current and
alternative fiscal policy options.

Conservation Law Foundation—Boston
Protect regional air quality through planning and pub-
lic education around expansion of a regional rail net-
work in Northern New England. Document local
government policy options for environmental protec-
tion  and economic development.

Connecticut River Watershed Council, Inc.—
Easthampton
Organize a roundtable and report on strategies and tools
that  sustain agriculture, maintain open recreational
lands, and renew the urban centers in the watershed.

Charles River Watershed Association—Auburndale
Assess current development plans and patterns in Hol-
liston, Massachusetts, to determine threats to water
quality and aquifer recharge, and explore planning
options for protecting the water supply. (See page 22.)

Association for the Preservation of Cape Cod—
Orleans
Identify and document development patterns that pro-
tect water quality and conserve natural resources.

Southeast Regional Planning and Economic
Development District—Taunton
Investigate alternative development plans for use by
cities and towns in Southeast Massachusetts that
improve the environment and quality of life.

MICHIGAN

Les Cheneaux Chamber of Commerce—Cedarville
Develop a low-impact economic development strategy
emphasizing protection of water and air quality in
Great Lakes community.

University Committee for a Sustainable Campus—
East Lansing
Develop a sustainability curriculum for Michigan
State University and apply sustainable development
principles to university procurement practices, energy
use,  and solid waste  management.
34 Appendix: Examples of EPA-Supported Community Initiatives, By State

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Springfield Township—Davisburg
Develop a preservation plan and maps of critical natural
features for Shiawassee and Huron Headwaters, high-
lighting advantages to developers and property owners.

MINNESOTA

The GREEN Institute—Minneapolis
Design a construction waste reuse and recycling pro-
gram that will foster green business practices among
builders in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis.

Land Stewardship Project—Lewiston
Develop sustainable farming practices that conserve fos-
sil fuels, reduce water and energy consumption, improve
air and water quality, and reduce agricultural waste.

MISSOURI

Grace Hill Neighborhood Services—St. Louis
Protect water quality, improve plant diversity, and pro-
mote eco-tourism in a low-income area of St. Louis by
restoring  native plant species along the Riverfront Trail.

Mid-America Regional Council—Kansas City
Provide local governments with a toolbox of model codes
and ordinances that can help improve air quality, reduce
water pollution, and protect green  and open space.

Bridging the Gap—Kansas City
Partner with three local businesses  to develop model
sustainable business policies and practices that reduce
air pollution and groundwater contamination.

Marshall Saline Development Corporation—
Marshall
Determine viability of producing renewable bio-based
solvents, lubricants, and fuel using local crops and
recycled oils to reduce waste and toxics.

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians—
Philadelphia
Protect water quality through a demonstration project
that  restores and expands swamp cane stands used in
traditional tribal industries.
MONTANA

Flathead Economic Policy Center—Kalispel
Promote basin-wide forest management practices to
reduce erosion and stream siltation of the Flathead
River, one of the richest and most pristine resource
areas in the U.S.

National Center for Appropriate Technology—Butte
Protect water quality and quantity by demonstrating water
and energy conservation techniques for crop irrigation.

NEBRASKA

Nebraska State Recycling Association—Omaha
Redevelop abandoned urban properties according to green
building principles and showcase the solid waste reduc-
tion and energy efficiency benefits gained as a result.

Prairie Plain Resource Institute—Aurora
Support community-based efforts to protect water qual-
ity, habitat, and wildlife in Middle Platte Watershed.

Center for Rural Affairs—Walthill
Provide training in establishing small livestock produc-
tion facilities that are compatible with local environ-
mental carrying capacity.

NEVADA

Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition—
Las Vegas
Protect air and water quality by developing an inte-
grated regional plan for Southern Nevada that links
transportation and land use.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Protection of New Hampshire Forests—Concord
Educate landowners and foresters on how environ-
mental protection can  improve the economic produc-
tivity of forestry operations.

New Hampshire Comparative Risk Project—
Concord
Promote voluntary strategies for low impact develop-
ment that reduce environmental risks to New Hamp-
shire communities. (See page 10.)

Strafford and Rockingham Planning Commissions—
Dover and Exeter
Develop innovative zoning and planning options to
accommodate development and protect water quality
in New Hampshire's seacoast communities.
35 Appendix: Examples of EPA-Supported Community Initiatives, By State

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The Initiative for 20/20 Vision for Concord—
Manchester
Achieve air and water quality benefits associated with
brownfields redevelopment and downtown revitaliza-
tion through community visioning process, curricu-
lum development, awareness building, and
comprehensive transportation planning.

NEW JERSEY

Habitat for Humanity—Newark
Protect urban green space and provide transportation
choices that reduce community-wide air emissions.

The Regional Planning Partnership, Inc.—
Princeton
Demonstrate innovative planning and development
options that reduce air pollution and increase trans-
portation and housing choices.

Rutgers University—New Brunswick
Achieve environmental benefits through development
of curricula on low-impact urban and organic farming
practices that reduce environmental impacts of agri-
culture. Compare the air and water quality impacts of
urban brownfields redevelopment with conventional
development patterns in two New Jersey counties.

NEW MEXICO

City of Albuquerque
Develop a plan to promote energy efficiency and green
building practices in Albuquerque. (See page 8.)

Tseikiin Community Development Corporation—
Ramah
Develop and market sustainable agricultural products,
processes,  and enterprises for Navajo Community
Development Corporation that are compatible with
the local environment.

City of Las Cruces
Help restore the Rio Grande River by developing a
plan for low impact development in Mesilla Valley,
New Mexico, and implementing a pilot wetlands
restoration project.

Cornerstones Community Partnerships—Santa Fe
Protect the local environment  and reduce the need for
manufactured materials by reintroducing sustainable
building methods appropriate to the environmental
resources of the Acoma Pueblo and the cultural needs
of its people.
Great American Station Foundation—Las Vegas
Protect air quality and reduce vehicle miles traveled by
providing training and assistance to communities seek-
ing to revitalize commuter rail stations.

NEW YORK

The Nature Conservancy—Rochester
Restore and preserve Rome Sand Plains, a wildlife
habitat and wetlands area, and eliminate illegal dump-
ing within the city of Rome, New York.

Utica Community Action, Inc.—Utica
Develop a city-wide plan and green map outlining
strategies to promote economic and community revi-
talization through environmentally sound practices.

Broadway Management Corporation—Buffalo
Provide a direct agri-products market in the center city,
reducing vehicle miles traveled, and protecting and pre-
serving environmentally beneficial regional farmland.

Cornell University—Ithaca
Investigate impact of different forms of urban develop-
ment on air quality, and examine policy opportunities
at federal, state, and local levels.

Cornell Cooperative Extension Association—
Onondaga County
Plan and manage a demonstration project illustrating
the air and water quality benefits of restoring stream-
side forest buffers in metropolitan  areas.

New York Rural Water Association, Inc.—Claverack
Prepare local source water protection plans for three
towns, and develop a guide for other communities to
use, including model ordinances and educational tools.

NORTH CAROLINA

Mountain Valleys Resource Conservation and
Development Council, Inc.—Asheville
Protect water quality and farmland by helping farmers
make the transition from conventional burley tobacco
farming production to organic farming.

North Carolina Arboretum—Asheville
Demonstrate environmentally friendly production
techniques for local industry.
36 Appendix: Examples of EPA-Supported Community Initiatives, By State

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Southern Growth Policies Board—
Research Triangle Park
Develop a visioning issue book and facilitator's hand-
book to help local elected officials better understand
how growth and development decisions affect air and
water quality.

NORTH DAKOTA

Lake Agassiz Regional Development Corporation—
Fargo
Identify local government options to reduce develop-
ment in environmentally sensitive areas, such as flood-
plains and wetlands.

Spirit Lake Nation—Fort Totten
Develop incentives and policies to protect environ-
mentally sensitive natural areas from development.

OHIO

Rural Action—Athens
Promote sustainable forestry practices to reduce ero-
sion and polluted runoff and restore streams and
waterways.

Center for Urban Studies, Youngstown State
University
Develop a comprehensive strategy for revitalizing the
Mahoning River Corridor in two Eastern Ohio coun-
ties, site of many former steel mills.

Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Inc.—
Willoughby Hills
Improve water quality by reducing impervious surfaces
and developing model ordinances for watershed pro-
Detroit Shoreway Community Development
Organization—Cleveland
Demonstrate how redevelopment consistent with the
principles of green building and smart growth pro-
duces air, water, solid waste, and energy benefits in an
established urban community.

EcoCity Cleveland
Develop an interactive Web site about the Northeast
Ohio Bioregion to help citizens plan for urban revital-
ization and open space preservation. Organize a Sus-
tainable Communities Symposium 2000 to create a
5-year environmental protection plan to move the
region towards sustainability.
Portage County Regional Planning Commission—
Ravenna
Create 20-year build-out scenarios and develop indica-
tors that identify groundwater availability and ground-
water pollution potential.

Case Western University—Cleveland
Create an analytical framework to identify environ-
mental and economic sustainability of alternative
development patterns.

The Clean Air Conservancy—Cleveland
Investigate financial incentives as a means of achieving
sustainable land use and improved air quality.

The Northeast Ohio Regional Alliance—Cleveland
Promote regional capacity building that fosters region-
al cooperation and collaboration to improve air quality
and reduce polluted runoff.

Kent State University—Kent
Review existing growth models and their capacity to
evaluate environmental impacts and collect local data
for environmental impacts of growth in 15-county
area; provide information on the Internet.

OREGON

Center for Watershed and Community Health—
Springfield
Promote reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing  through
materials reuse programs in the Hood River area.

Harvest Built Homes—Ashland
Demonstrate the air pollution, energy consumption,
and resource conservation benefits of straw bale hous-
ing construction.

Fish for the Future—Gold Beach
Apply a comprehensive watershed approach that
reduces nutrient loads and restores Oregon Coast
salmon runs. (See page 18.)

Sustainable Northwest—Portland
Work with Pacific Northwest communities to imple-
ment sustainable forest management plans and to
achieve air and water quality benefits.

City of Eugene Solid Waste/Recycling Program
Demonstrate a school district food waste composting
program and accompanying student curriculum with
the goal to reduce landfill waste stream by 150 tons
annually.
37 Appendix: Examples of EPA-Supported Community Initiatives, By State

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Portland Community Design
Compare the costs and environmental benefits of con-
ventional Habitat for Humanity building design with
green/sustainable building practices in a community of
12 rowhouses.

1000 Friends of Oregon—Portland
Support information exchange among members of the
National Growth Management Leadership Project and
the public, and produce a report on drivers and envi-
ronmental impacts of current development patterns.

PENNSYLVANIA

Center for Sustainable Living—Chambersburg
Establish a network of 26 organic farms to reduce agri-
cultural runoff and reduce pesticide use.

The Bottle Works—Johnstown
Reduce contamination from acid mine drainage by
constructing wetland treatment centers that are assets
to communities. (See page 6.)

Greensgrow Philadelphia Project—Philadelphia
Demonstrate water quality benefits of innovative rede-
velopment of post-industrial brownfields for urban
agriculture.

City of Pittsburgh
Protect water quality by revegetating a slag landfill,
returning the land to productive urban green space in
a revitalized central city neighborhood. (See page 15.)

PUERTO RICO

Universidad Metropolitana School of Environ-
mental Affairs—San Juan
Educate residents and decision-makers on the environ-
mental, economic, and social impacts of current devel-
opment practices and provide models of more
environmentally friendly alternatives.

RHODE ISLAND

Grow Smart Rhode Island—Providence
Analyze environmental and other  impacts of sprawl,
conduct focus groups on Rhode Island's growth pat-
terns, and create a comprehensive set of tools for
development with improved environmental, economic
and community outcomes.
Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management—Providence
Develop a water quality protection strategy that focus-
es on the use of market-based incentives in environ-
mentally suitable areas of the Pawtucket watershed.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Colleton County R&D Board—Waterboro
Explore development options to protect natural resources
in one of the nation's largest remaining wedand ecosystems.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative—Rapid City
Educate tribal members about the best management
practices to reduce pesticide use and polluted runoff
resulting from conventional bison ranching.

The Center for Permaculture as  Native Science—
Mission
Educate the tribal community on techniques for
decreasing soil erosion and groundwater contamina-
tion and saving energy.

TENNESSEE

University of Tennessee Center for Industrial
Services—Knoxville
Demonstrate viability of using sawmill waste, which is
typically landfilled or stockpiled, to improve water
quality and reduce solid waste.

TEXAS

Austin Parks Foundation—Austin
Develop and implement a Watershed Action Plan for
Bull Creek that will protect water quality and preserve
native animal and plant species within the watershed.

4H Capital Project—Austin
Facilitate collaboration with school and transportation
officials to educate community on  transportation
choices and their environmental benefits.

Organizacion Progesiva de San Elizario—
San Elizario
Demonstrate energy efficient construction  of low envi-
ronmental impact, resident-built solar housing in the
Texas colonias.
38 Appendix: Examples of EPA-Supported Community Initiatives, By State

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El Paso Solar Energy Association
Demonstrate the feasibility of using individual, low-
cost solar stills to provide safe drinking water in homes
without indoor plumbing.

Clay County Commissioners Court—Henrietta
Demonstrate effectiveness of experimental home waste
treatment systems to replace septic field and aerobic
treatment systems in heavy clay soils.

UTAH

Coalition for Utah's Future—Salt Lake  City
Launch visioning process and develop follow-through
development strategy for "Envision Utah"  project
designed to protect air and water quality in Wasatch
Front communities. (See page 6.)

North Fork Preservation Alliance—Provo
Develop and disseminate guidelines for design and
construction practices to protect the environment  in
mountain communities.

VERMONT

Antioch University—Keene
Demonstrate environmental indicators as a tool to
stimulate regional policies that balance environmental
protection and economic growth.

City of Burlington
Combine integrated planning, green business, and
smart growth efforts to create a community model for
sustainability and long term environmental protection.

Northeast Stewardship Project Natural  Resources
Center—Concord
Support grassroots effort to encourage sustainable
forestry practices in the community and protect envi-
ronmental quality.

Vermont Department of Housing and Community
Affairs—Montpelier
Develop plans and guidelines for addressing land use
and transportation choices  along Vermont Interstate
exchanges to improve environmental quality and pro-
tect natural resources.

Green Mountain Institute for Environmental
Democracy—Montpelier
Convene forums among multiple stakeholders around
the country on sustainable development topics,
including urban sprawl, that will provide tools to
achieve environmental sustainability.
VIRGIN ISLANDS

Nature Conservancy—Christiansted, St. Croix
Create a prototype facility that will demonstrate pollu-
tion prevention technologies for sustainable island living.

VIRGINIA

Friends of the Rappahannock—
Fredericksburg, MD
Identify and implement low-impact development
practices that protect the environmental quality of the
Rappahannock River Watershed.

Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission—
Charlottesville
Demonstrate growth management practices that further
local protection of air, water and natural resources.

EcoVillage Institute, Inc.—Loudoun County
Develop and test a program to train builders in low-
impact techniques. (See page 26.)

WASHINGTON

Olympic Peninsula Foundation—Port Townsend
Improve water quality, and preserve habitat and stream
flow of Washington state waterways through industry
incentives to employ sustainable forest management
techniques.

Free Ride Zone—Seattle
Improve air quality and reduce landfill-bound waste
by introducing alternative transportation to inner city
neighborhood.

Pilchuck Audubon Society—Everett
Develop a short course for local officials, including a
video, on sustainable communities that protect air and
water quality, and encourage  preservation of habitat
and natural resources.

Fiber Futures—San Francisco, CA
Assist communities in targeting agricultural crop
residues, which are typically burned, to use as feedstock
resources for manufacturing pulp and paper, building
materials, textiles, and other fiber-based products.
39 Appendix: Examples of EPA-Supported Community Initiatives, By State

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WEST VIRGINIA

The Lightstone Foundation, Inc.—Moyers
Develop a working model to demonstrate and train
communities on how green design and construction
technologies contribute to better water quality,
resource conservation, and energy savings.

WISCONSIN

16th Street Community Health Center—Milwaukee
Develop a comprehensive smart growth strategy for
revitalizing and restoring the Menomonee River Valley.
(See page 12.)

The Wisconsin Farmland Conservancy—
Menomonie
Develop a plan for use by a local government to create
an affordable, environmentally sustainable neighbor-
hood that  reduces polluted runoff and protects the
environment.

WYOMING

Big Horn County—Basin
Provide a GIS tool to the planning board to assess
environmental impacts of current development pat-
terns and identify alternatives to protect open spaces
of ecological significance.
4O Appendix: Examples of EPA-Supported Community Initiatives, By State

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FOR MORE INFORMATION
About This Report

To request additional copies of this report,
call EPA's National Center for Environmen-
tal Publications at 513 891-6561and ask for
Publication # EPA 240-R-00-002. Or you
may call EPA at 202 260-2750.

To access this report online, see

                       For more information about tools and resources
                       to assist local efforts to achieve cleaner, more
                       livable communities, see the following EPA
                       Internet site——or call EPA's Devel-
                       opment, Community, and Environment
                       Division at 202 260-2750.

                       Besides EPA, many other organizations—both
                       governmental and nongovernmental—provide
                       information and assistance for community liv-
                       ability initiatives. Useful Internet sites include:

                       White House Livable Communities Initiative
                       

                       Smart Growth Network
                       

                       Congress for the New Urbanism
                       

                       Center for Neighborhood Technology
                       

                       Center for Livable Communities at the Local
                       Government Commission
                       

                       Department of Energy—Center of Excellence
                       for Sustainable Development
                       

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