EPA's Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions among Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality

EPA recedntly released its most comprehensive review to date on how the built environment – the way we build our cities and towns – directly affects our environment and public health. The report was announced by EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe during a national Twitter Town Hall meeting in Washington, DC with Maurice Jones, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing, and Development (HUD), and John Porcari, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
The publication, Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions among Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality, provides evidence that certain kinds of land use and transportation strategies – where and how we build our communities – can reduce the environmental and human health impacts of development.
“Although findings might differ on the magnitude of the effects of different practices, the evidence is overwhelming that some types of development yield better environmental results than others,” the report concludes.
The publication is important and timely for understanding the most environmentally responsible way to develop as our nation’s population grows over the next half century and beyond.

Read the press release.
Learn about the webinar.

EPA issues Report on State #Brownfield and Voluntary Cleanup Programs

 The report, State #Brownfields and Voluntary Response Programs 2013, has been released by EPA.  “Cleaning up contamination is vitally important to the physical health of America’s communities, but putting clean land back into productive use brings with it a range of social and economic benefits that will strengthen those communities for years to come. State response programs with support from CERCLA 128(a) funding are able to oversee assessment and cleanup activities at the majority of brownfields properties across the country. These accomplishments are as varied, as they are widespread. This report captures these successes and showcases them in a user friendly format.”
– Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER)is available at http://www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf/state_tribal/2013_brownfields_state_report_508_web_050913.pdf.