Sf:PA
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Region HI
EPA 903-F-00-01
August 2000
mm
working toward
a healthy environment
strong economy,
and high quality of life
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livable
is your community?
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How livable
is your
community?
oes your community face any of
these environmental, economic, or
quality-of-life issues?
traffic congestion
poor air qualih
contaminated soil and
ground water
polluted streams
abandoned industrial
buildings
vacant storefronts
lack of open space and
recreational opportunities
flooding
sprawl
high unemployment
11 so, EPAs Green Communities
On-Line Tool Kit can help you
begin your journey toward a
healthier, more livable
community. The kit is packed
with valuable information and
links to over 1,000 other web
sites. Check it out now!
..epa.gov/greenkit
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can your community
ecome
a Green Community?
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PAs Green Communities
On-Line Tool Kit will lead you
^.through the following five steps:
Step 1: Where Are We Now?
Step 2: Where Are We doing?
Step 3: Where Do We Want to Be?
Step 4: How Do We Gel There?
Step 5: Let's Go!
To become designated hy EPA as a
"Participating Green Communiiv
you must first complete community
planning. Steps I through 4, and
must have already started making
changes, Step 5. Also, at me
public involvement is a
critical ingredient
throughout the
entire process.
•A
http://www.epa.gov/greenkit
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of being a Green Community?
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enve a variety ot benems trom your
designation as an EPA Green Community.
including a healthy environment, a strong
economy, and a high quality of life.
Benefits Prior to Designation
• Training by EPA on how to use the Green
Communities On-Line Tool Kit
• Recommendations by EPA and its partners for
adapting successful approaches to your com-
munitys particular needs.
Benefits ot the Time of Designation
• A joint community-EPA announcement, pro-
viding higher visibility for your local sustain-
abiiiu initiatives.
• A highway-approved city limit or town center
sign that reads: "Vour Community, A
Participating Green Community, in nwpcraiion
with U.S. EPA and other sponsoi
m Publication ol your community's success story
in EPAs Green Communities On-Line Tool Kit.
• A Green Communities certificate signed by the
EPA Regional Administrator.
Ongoing Benefits
• Networking opportunities to learn about other
communities' successes in pursuing suslain-
ahility.
• Timely information about EPA grant funds
that could help support your sustainability
efforts.
• Status that can serve to leverage additional
support and resources.
http://www.epa.gov/greenkit
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ere
are we
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Answering the question: "Where Arc \\c
Now?" will help you take stock of your
community's social, economic, and
environmental assets. The resulting
Community Assessment, containing
maps and/or photographs, will provide a
view of the present condition of youi
community. It will help you idcnnh
what is and what isn't working, what i^
highly valued, and what needs to be
improved. As a communiiv \ou 11 In-
better able to identify
and rank problems
based on their
risks to your
environment,
quality of life,
and economic
vitality. You can
then use that
information to
set priorities for
future actions.
http://www.epa.gov/greenkit
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1
ere
are we GOING?
1
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Results:
What arc the trends in your
community? Are your activities
sustainable? Will your actions today
degrade the quality of life for future
generations?Where will your
community likely be tomorrow if
nothing is done today to
intervene:1
You can take several
approaches in developing
the Trends Analysis. For
example, you may want to
illustrate possible future
scenarios by using text,
graphs, tables, maps, and
computer or hand-drawn
illustrations. Tools you can
use arc in the On-Line
Tool Kit.
http://www.epa.gov/greenkit
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Results:
"Visioning" focuses on the type of
community your community would
like to be in the future, whether 5, 10,
20. or 30 years down the road.
Capturing the values and interests of
the entire community is critical to a
successful visioning process. The
resulting Vision Statement will help
your community focus its energies
and resources on achieving its
identified shared goals.
"A community vision is an
expression oj possibility, an
ideal future state that the
community hopes to attain.
Such a vision must be shared
by the entire community so
that it is truly owned by all—
so thai it is "ours" in the
inclusive sense."
uly Visioning and
mint; Handbook
http://www.epa.gov/greenkit
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do we GET THERE
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Results:
Your Action Plan translates your vision
into specifics on what needs to be done to
become a Green Community. Action Plans
should contain goals and objectives, iden-
tify issues and concerns, list recom-
mended actions, and assign responsibility
for doing the work. Plans may also set
time frames for priority actions and may
include estimated funding and other
resources needed for implementing them.
While some communities
may develop one compre-
hensive Action Plan,
in hers may choose to
develop several
plans—for instance,
plans for historic
preservation,
pollution prevention
and recycling, and
nomic growth.
Each plan will be part
ol the larger strategy
lor the community
1 lilies to consider are
identifying short- and
long-term actions and
learning from other
communities successes.
Step 4:
How
Do We Get
There?
http://www.epa.gov/greenkit
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IMF
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Results:
Implemented v
Action Plans turn visions into reality
only through implementation. A vari-
ety of tools will help you implement
your plans. Some tools can be used by
high school students and interested
volunteers, while others will require a
high level of expertise.
Once you've begun implementing
your plan, you may apply to be
designated as an EPA "Partici-
pating Green Community." The
application is contained in the
On-Line Tool Kit, or a hard
copy can be sent to you.
Step 5:
Let's Go!
http://www.epa.gov/greenkit
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II
.. .government alone cannot
accomplish long-term solutions
to community problems....
Lasting solutions are best
identified when people from
throughout a community...
are brought together in a spirit
of cooperation to identify
solutions."
• — President's Cbilncil on
Sustainable Development
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