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EPA to Provide Smart Growth Technical Assistance to Bellevue, Neb.

Release Date: 02/07/2013
Contact Information: Kris Lancaster, 913-551-7557, [email protected]

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Lenexa, Kan., Feb. 7, 2013) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that the City of Bellevue, Neb., will receive technical assistance through the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. The announcement was made at the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Kansas City, Mo.

EPA awarded Bellevue a Green Streets Strategy Workshop. The workshop will provide Bellevue with key assistance to incorporate green streets strategies for public areas.

“The Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program coordinates federal investments in infrastructure and helps communities make smart planning choices,” said Karl Brooks, EPA Region 7 Administrator. “This assistance will provide the City of Bellevue strategies for greening their streets based on national models and case studies.”

EPA's technical assistance will help Bellevue find ways to reinvest in the city's core by establishing the proper mix of land uses, creating a range of housing options, and strengthening existing neighborhoods transforming the city into a more sustainable community. The city will be encouraging the reuse of empty lots instead of the urban sprawl into open spaces, which are further away from utilities, services and commercial development.

Across the nation, EPA awarded 43 communities with technical assistance through the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. EPA selected this year’s recipients from 121 applicants through a competitive process in consultation with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The partnership is helping communities across the country create more housing choices, make transportation more efficient and reliable, reinforce existing investments, and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that attract businesses.

With assistance from EPA-funded private sector experts, the communities will focus on a specific development tool, such as green building, land use strategies to protect water quality and using smart growth to produce economic and fiscal health. Communities will also learn about other strategies for development that can improve the environment and the economy.