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     Brownfields Training,
   Research, and Technical
Assistance Grant  Fact Sheet

   National Center for

    Neighborhood and

          Brownfields

      Redevelopment


EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a
hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. EPA
provides financial assistance to eligible applicants
through assistance agreements to provide training,
research, and technical assistance to facilitate
brownfields revitalization.
Organization Description
Established within the Edward J. Bloustein School of
Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, the
National Center for Neighborhood and Brownfields
Redevelopment (NCNBR) actively engages in service,
research, and outreach for the promotion of neighbor-
hood and brownfields redevelopment. NCNBR helps
local, regional, state, and federal agencies and commu-
nity-based organizations working in urban neighbor-
hoods, to understand the inter-relationships between
brownfields and neighborhood redevelopment and to
promote urban revitalization opportunities. The Center
                 Technical Assistance
                 to Increase Capacity
                 of Local Community-Based
                 Organizations
                 Grantee:
                 National Center for Neighborhood and Brownfields
                 Redevelopment
                 Project Focus:
                 Technical Assistance Program for Community-Based
                 Organizations to Build Local Capacity for Active
                 Participation in Brownfields Redevelopment
                 Project Period:
                 October 2005 to September 2008
                 Project Description:
                 NCNBR has developed a technical assistance program
                 to increase the capacity of local community-based
                 organizations working in distressed urban neighbor-
                 hoods to actively participate in addressing environ-
                 mental, economic, and community aspects of
                 brownfields redevelopment. The program is designed
                 to meet the needs of nonprofit community develop-
                 ment organizations to better understand the complexi-
                 ties of contaminated property, economic feasibility,
                 and financial requirements, as well as environmental
                 cleanup and redevelopment issues necessary to
                 meaningfully participate in brownfields redevelop-
                 ment.
                 Responding to needs and preferences identified in
                 their needs assessment survey, NCNBR developed a
                 program to be delivered in an on-site, hands-on
                 fashion with community organizations and consisting
                 of sessions devoted to the following brownfieIds-
                 related topics:
                 • Neighborhood Revitalization Planning and Vision-
                   ing
                 • Brownfields Identification and Preliminary Site
                   Assessment
                 • Phase II Assessment and Understanding Risks and
                   Reuse Implications
                                              Solid Waste and
                                              Emergency Response
                                              (5105T)
                                        EPA 560-F-07-248
                                        September 2007
                                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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has developed a variety of technical tools to build local
capacity for successful neighborhood revitalization
planning and implementation.  NCNBRhas been
working on projects related to smart growth, sprawl
reduction, as well as brownfields reuse alternatives,
community health, neighborhood planning, environ-
mental and social impact analysis, green building,
geospatial modeling, and public perceptions.
• Neighborhood Marketing and Public Involvement
   Strategies
• Financing and Insurance Issues
NCNBR pilot tested these topical modules in over a
dozen separate training sessions conducted since in
Fall 2006 with four different community development
organizations located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
and Paterson, New Jersey. NCNBR will implement
the sessions with two additional community develop-
ment corporations in 2008, for a total of 25-30 assis-
tance sessions conducted during the project period.
The final product materials, including both content
and delivery methods, will be completed and ready for
replication and distribution by the Fall 2008 to other
university-based or regional organizations devoted to
supporting local community-based brownfields
redevelopment.
                                                     Contacts
                                                    For further information, including specific grant
                                                    contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
                                                    news and events, and publications and links, visit the
                                                    EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/
                                                    brownfields or call 202.566.2777.
                                                    For further information about NCNBR's brownfields
                                                    technical assistance activities, visit http://
                                                    www.policy.rutgers.edu/brownfields/ or call Henry
                                                    Mayer, Executive Director, at 732.932.0387, ext. 653.
                                                    *The information on this fact sheet is subject to
                                                    change.

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