In August 2023, over 2,700 Brownfields practitioners met in downtown Detroit to share the latest trends and best practices for revitalizing and redeveloping contaminated brownfield sites across the country. The National Brownfields Coalition (NBC), a nonpartisan advocacy coalition convened by Smart Growth America and the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR), actively participated at the … Continued
In partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, Smart Growth America (SGA) created a set of fact sheets that highlight strategies communities can use to help mitigate displacement in the contexts of brownfields redevelopment. SGA conducted interviews with community groups and municipal leaders from across the country to learn … Continued
On Thursday, September 28, National Brownfields Coalition (NBC) Steering Committee members Michael Goldstein and Gerald Pouncey testified at the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works’ hearing on the Federal Brownfields Program. At the hearing, Goldstein and Pouncy provided recommendations and improvements for the program including Low Income Housing Tax Credit program additions for … Continued
Latin for “place”, LOCUS is a national network of real estate developers, investors, and professionals, united to advance equitable, walkable urban development in communities across the country. Together LOCUS members work to increase funding and financing for smart growth development; improve regulations at all levels of government to support smart growth; and change federal programs to … Continued
Following up on our previous overview of the American Jobs Plan, we explore some specific provisions related to land use and development intended to address national insufficiencies in affordable housing and related infrastructure, and also make some recommendations to improve it. Within the expansive American Jobs Plan, there are four land use and development proposals … Continued
Yesterday, congressional leaders released a bipartisan FY18 omnibus funding agreement. In response Smart Growth America President and CEO Geoff Anderson issued the following statement: “This bipartisan appropriations bill reflects a strong federal commitment to rebuilding our country’s neighborhoods and investing in a range of federal programs that will help local leaders and advocates build strong … Continued
The 2017 Federal Financing Toolkit features 90 federal financing opportunities that are designed to help real estate developers and investors as well as local elected officials achieve their development goals.
In response to increasing demand for homes in close-in neighborhoods, many cities and towns are pursuing redevelopment of places that have struggled with blight and disinvestment for years. These redevelopment initiatives are frequently impeded by the presence of properties with known or suspected contamination issues, which have often remained vacant in spite of federal, state … Continued
EPA Brownfields funds helped transform the site of a former tin manufacturing and can factory into a mixed-use office and retail hub in Canton, Baltimore, MD. Photo via EPA.
Earlier this month, the Senate passed a bill to authorize and improve the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields program. Now the House of Representatives is moving to do the same.
Last week Representatives Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-6) and Paul D. Tonko (NY-20) introduced the Brownfields Authorization Increase Act of 2016 (H.R. 5782). The legislation would amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act to enhance EPA’s Brownfields program and include it as a formal part of the federal budget.
EPA Brownfields funds helped transform the site of a former auto body repair shop into a neighborhood market in an underserved community in Greenville, SC. Photo via.
With sweeping bipartisan support, last week the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation to help communities across the country clean up and redevelop contaminated land. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), one of the champions of the bill, urged his Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives to do the same.