The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized five communities last month for their innovative approaches to smart-growth projects, pointing to them as examples of how the principles of livable communities can be realized. The ventures, feted at the EPA’s National Smart Growth Achievement Awards ceremony at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., November 19 ranged from the revitalization of a brownfields site and renewal of an urban center to rehabilitation and reuse of a military housing complex.

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 brownfields redevelopment
• Reducing polluted runoff.

The competition, now in its second year, was open to state, regional, or local governments and other public sector entities. This year, EPA received 112 applications from 31 states and the District of Columbia. A jury selected the winners based on the effectiveness in advancing smart growth, the ability to be replicated, and the level of citizen and stakeholder participation or partnership. AIA Livable Community Program Manager Megan Susman served on the jury, along with representatives from the National Association of Home Builders, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Association of Realtors, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and other policy and conservation groups.

“Our winners are models for other communities, and their efforts prove that people everywhere care about how and where we grow,” says 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.”

The winners are:

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 to 106 local jurisdictions in the metropolitan area. The recipients have used funds to revitalize brownfields, create mixed-use town centers, and provide affordable and life-cycle housing in rural, suburban, and urban settings.

Built Projects: (image at top) The Department of the Navy, for the Village at Naval Training Center. This project reuses a decommissioned training center and creates attractive, affordable housing for military families that provides access to public transportation. The neighborhood is three miles from downtown San Diego and is adjacent to existing retail.

Policies and Regulations: Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Treasurer’s Office, for its Housing Enhancement Loan Program. This program is designed to encourage housing improvements in Cleveland and its first-ring suburbs. The county works with six banks to issue home-improvement loans at 3 percent below market rate to residents in eligible communities. Since 1999, the program has generated more than 4,700 loans totaling over $57 million.

Public Schools: Wake County Public School System/City of Raleigh, for the Moore Square Museums Magnet Middle School. The newly constructed Moore Square School is located on a four-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.

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 examples of smart growth within the state.

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