Grassroots Engagement with Groundwork

Providing a Community-Led Environmental Action Plan to Indianapolis, IN

Project Summary

Community: Indianapolis, IN
Technical Assistance: Action Plan
Former Use: Industrial sites in Indianapolis
Future Use: To be determined

The Near Northwest area in Indianapolis is a
historically redlined community that has been impacted
by industrial development and neglected properties.
Current and past industrial and commercial actions
throughout the community have contributed to ongoing
concerns that relate to brownfield site conditions. The
non-profit organization, Groundwork Indy, has been
highly active in the Near Northwest (NNW) region of
Indianapolis since its inception in 2015. Groundwork
Indy seeks to increase environmental awareness to
support a sustained, transparent, and effective
community-led drive toward environmental justice in the
NNW area.

The Community's Challenge
With several environmental challenges to address, the
community wanted to focus on the important concerns
in the local community via grassroots engagement
around several vacant properties in the area.

EPA's Land Revitalization Technical Assistance
In 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) Land Revitalization Program provided contractor
technical assistance for a comprehensive
Environmental Action Plan that builds on previous
engagement efforts. The Action Plan was designed to
empower residents to identify a range of environmental

issues that affect their health, safety, wellness, and
opportunity, as well as take action to address specific
issues and support holistic community improvements.
The Action Plan addresses the interrelated
environmental concerns and issues highlighted by
residents within the NNW area that span air, water, and
soil quality. This plan recommends many early actions
and identifies additional medium- and longer-term
actions based on priorities identified from community
input. The Action Plan also highlights the priority
brownfield sites that are key in reaching the
environmental goals outlined in the report.

The Action Plan will empower Groundwork Indy to take
short- and long-term actions that will have a direct
benefit for the NNW community and the brownfields in
the area.

Community concerns gleaned from public engagement

For more information, contact Jim Van Der Kloot, EPA
Region 5 Brownfields Program, at

vanderkloot.iames@epa.aov.

Vacant Properties

14.4%

Chronic Dumping

16.7%

Litter

Weighted Rank

Vandalism

Illegal Entry

13.2%

Contamination

United States
Environmental Protection
M % Agency

Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
560-F-22-032

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