For Release: Wednesday, November 19, 2003
www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards.htm
Balancing Growth and Quality of Life: U.S.
EPA's National Smart Growth Achievement Award Recipients
Announced
Finding a balance between growth and development reaps
rewards. Five communities were recognized today by the
Environmental Protection Agency for their innovative approaches
to projects ranging from the revitalization of brownfields
to the renewal of urban centers, while still maintaining
a sense of community identity and respect for the environment.
The five recipients of EPA's National Smart Growth Achievement
Awards announced in a ceremony at the National Building
Museum in Washington, D.C., incorporated the principles
of smart growth in ways that could be replicated elsewhere.
"Our winners are models for other communities, and
their efforts prove that people everywhere care about
how and where we grow," said EPA Administrator Michael
Leavitt. "How we grow today influences not only how
we live, but how future generations live. We must plan
for growth in a way that protects our streams and rivers,
keeps our air clean, and preserves areas of natural beauty
and ecological importance."
Smart growth development practices support national environmental
goals by preserving open space and parkland and protecting
critical habitat; improving transportation choices to
reduce emissions from automobiles; promoting Brownfield
redevelopment; and reducing polluted run-off.
The award categories and winners are as follows:
- Overall Excellence: The Metropolitan Council of Minneapolis-St.
Paul for the Livable Communities program. The Met Council
has awarded 292 grants totaling nearly $100 million to106
local jurisdictions in metropolitan area. The recipients
have used funds to revitalize brownfields, create mixed
use town centers, and to provide affordable and life cycle
housing in rural, suburban, and urban settings.
- Built Projects: The Department of the Navy for the
Village at Naval Training Center (NTC). This project
reuses a decommissioned training center and creates
attractive affordable housing for military families.
The neighborhood is located 3 miles from downtown San
Diego, adjacent to existing retail, and provides access
to public transportation.
- Policies and Regulations: Cuyahoga County (OH) Treasurer's
Office for their Housing Enhancement Loan Program. This
program is designed to encourage housing improvements
in Cleveland and its first-ring suburbs. The County
works with 6 banks to issue home improvement loans at
3 percent below market rate to residents in eligible
communities. Since 1999 the program has generated over
4,700 loans totaling more than $57 million.
- Community Outreach and Education: Georgia Department
of Community Affairs for the Georgia Quality Growth
Program. The state offers a number of services to communities
throughout Georgia including: on-site visits by resource
teams, small grants, and a clearinghouse of Georgia
examples of smart growth.
- Public Schools: Wake County Public School System/City
of Raleigh, NC for the Moore Square Museums Magnet Middle
School. The newly-constructed Moore Square school is
located on a 4-acre block on the edge of downtown Raleigh
near several museums and arts facilities. The school
is drawing new residents and redevelopment to the adjacent
neighborhoods, helping to stabilize the community.
This year, EPA received 112 applications from 31 states
and the District of Columbia. Winning entries were selected
based on the effectiveness in advancing smart growth,
the ability to be replicated, and the level of citizen
and stakeholder participation or partnership. The competition,
now in its second year, was open to state, regional or
local governments and other public sector entities. For
more information about the National Awards for Smart Growth
Achievement program and this year's winners visit: www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards.htm.
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