Toyota Makes $3 Million Grant Toward Public Lands Across Nation as Part of America’s Great Outdoors Initiative

The National Environmental Education Act of 1990 established the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) as a complementary organization to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). NEEF recently announced a $3 million grant by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. to the Foundation to improve the capacity of community-based organizations supporting parks and other public lands. We are sharing this information with you as you have previously expressed an interest in learning about grant opportunities. If you are interested in applying for these grants you can find more information here http://www.neefusa.org/grants/every_day_grants.

View the press release online at http://www.neefusa.org/assets/files/Grant%20Announcement%20$3MM%20Toyota%20Toward%20Public%20Lands%2012%2012%2011.pdf.

EPA Announces RFP for National Brownfield Conference Sponsorship

EPA has announced the availability of funds and solicits proposals from eligible entities (as defined at Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) 104(k)(1)) and non-profit organizations for financial assistance to assist non-federal personnel (states, tribes, local governments, non-profits, industry and community groups) in participating in three national Brownfields conferences to be planned and held over a five-year period, beginning in 2012. The Brownfields conferences provide training, research and technical assistance to communities to facilitate the inventory of brownfield sites, site assessments and remediation of brownfield sites, community involvement, and site preparation. The successful applicant will be the primary non-federal co-sponsor for the conference and EPA will be the primary federal co-sponsor.

For the entire notice, see

http://www.epa.gov/oswer/docs/grants/epa-oswer-oblr-12-02.pdf

HUD Announces Grantees of 2011 Sustainable Communities Grants

HUD Announces Grantees of 2011 Sustainable Communities Grants

(Source: NALGEP) U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the recipients of the 2011 Sustainable Communities Grants, totaling over $97 million. 27 communities and organizations will receive Community Challenge grants and 29 regional areas will receive Regional Planning grants. The goal of the Sustainable Communities grants is to help communities and regions improve their economic competitiveness by connecting housing with good jobs, quality schools and transportation.

As part of budget negotiations, Congress has eliminated funding for the grant program for 2012. For more information on the negotiations, please visit http://newurbannetwork.com/article/huds-choice-neighborhoods-program-will-get-more-funds-15594.

HUD's Community Challenge Grants aim to reform and reduce barriers to achieving affordable, economically vital and sustainable communities. The funds are awarded to communities, large and small, to address local challenges to integrating transportation and housing. Such efforts may include amending or updating local master plans, zoning codes, and building codes to support private sector investment in mixed-use development, affordable housing and the re-use of older buildings. Other local efforts may include retrofitting main streets to provide safer routes for children and seniors, or preserving affordable housing and local businesses near new transit stations.

The Regional Planning Grant program encourages grantees to support regional planning efforts that integrate housing, land-use, economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure developments in a manner that empowers regions to consider how all of these factors work together to create more jobs and economic opportunities. The program will place a priority on partnerships, including the collaboration of arts and culture, philanthropy, and innovative ideas to the regional planning process. Recognizing that areas are in different stages of sustainability planning, HUD has established two categories for the Regional Planning Grant program. The first supports communities that are beginning the conversation about how best to align their housing, transportation, environment, and other infrastructure investments. The second recognizes that some communities have already achieved significant momentum and are prepared to move toward completion and implementation of regional plans for sustainable development.

As was the case last year, the demand for both programs far exceeded the available funding. This year HUD received over $500 million in funding requests from communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico for the $96 million in available funding. This year’s grants will impact 45.8 million Americans by helping their communities and regions become more efficient and competitive while improving quality of life. Combined with the 87 grants funded last year, this program is providing opportunities for the more than 133 million Americans who live in regions and communities working to shape local plans for how their communities will grow and develop over the next 50 years. Community Challenge Grants and Regional Planning Grants are also significantly complimented and leveraged by local, state and private resources. This year, HUD’s investment of $95.8 million is garnering $115 million in matching and in-kind contributions - which is over 120% of the Federal investment - from the 56 selected grantees. This brings the total public and private investment for this round of grants to over $211 million. These grants are part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which represents an association between HUD, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that the agencies’ policies, programs, and funding consider affordable housing, transportation, and environmental protection together. This interagency collaboration gets better results for communities and uses taxpayer money more efficiently.

To learn more about the FY2011 grantees for both programs, click on the links below.

List of FY2011 Community Challenge and Regional Planning Grants

Summaries of FY2011 Community Challenge and Regional Planning Grants

Map of FY2011 Community Challenge and Regional Planning Grantees

El Paso, TX - The 2011 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement

A city of more than 750,000 residents on the U.S.-Mexico border, El Paso was concerned about a variety of converging factors. Automobile-oriented development was isolating residents, while the upcoming expansion of a nearby military base created the need for thousands of housing units and increased infrastructure. In response, the city initiated Plan El Paso 2010, an effort to create more environmentally and socially sustainable communities connected by a bus rapid transit (BRT) network. El Paso's BRT is intended to improve the speed and reliability of transit between neighborhoods by integrating facilities, services, and amenities into one transportation system.




The public shaped this vision for growth during a two-week workshop that included more than 30 meetings with residents, businesses, and other stakeholders and hands-on design sessions where participants could sketch out ideas. Since over 70 percent of El Paso's residents speak Spanish as their primary language, the city conducted bilingual outreach to as many residents as possible, and a translator was present at all public events. The far-reaching plan was unanimously approved by the city council in 2009, and BRT construction began in 2010.

"I am a lifelong resident of El Paso. I've seen the city grow from a prosperous city in the 1950s to a sprawling, large city with all of the problems that come with it. Connecting El Paso is a huge step in the right direction which will help the city bring back its quality and prosperity through smart growth."– Charlie Wakeem, resident and Coronado Neighborhood Association president

Plan El Paso 2010 creates transit oriented development in four areas:

• The Oregon Corridor, which connects a key U.S.-Mexico border crossing, the central El Paso business district, the University of Texas at El Paso, and other civic and cultural destinations. Bus and BRT lanes are currently being constructed to replace existing parallel parking.
• Five Points, a historic community, formerly connected to downtown via a streetcar line that shut down decades ago, contains homes and businesses in need of revitalization.
• Remcon Circle, the site of a BRT transfer station and a spread-out shopping area that is slated to be retrofitted to a walkable neighborhood with homes, offices, stores, and green spaces.
• The former location of the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO), a 600-acre brownfield sits on one of the BRT routes. ASARCO is envisioned as a mixed-use, walkable, compact redevelopment that will stimulate cooperation between El Paso and its cross-border neighbor, Ciudad Juárez.

The city hopes that the new development in these four neighborhoods will provide welcoming streets and convenient destinations that give residents places to socialize in their neighborhoods, make them feel safe walking to local stores, and better connect them to the rest of the city with the BRT. By reinvesting in existing neighborhoods and preserving historic structures, El Paso honors the past and reinforces its sense of place.

The city council rezoned the ASARCO site using SmartCode, which will also apply to the other three neighborhoods. SmartCode emphasizes the form and design of buildings rather than their uses. It encourages mixing retail, businesses, and homes and requires streets to be welcoming to pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers. It also helps create and protect parks, greenways, arroyos (seasonal streams), and open space.