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Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities

This video describes how a walkability audit -- one of the Building Blocks tools -- was conducted in Blue Springs, Missouri. Link to EPA's External Link Disclaimer

 

This video from Housing & Community Solutions, Inc. (HCSI) describes how community members in the 26th Ward of St. Louis, MO worked with HCSI to apply for technical assistance through EPA's Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. A walkability audit was conducted in the 26th Ward as part of this technical assistance. Link to EPA's External Link Disclaimer

Background

Many communities around the country are asking for tools to help them achieve their desired development goals, improve quality of life, and become more economically and environmentally sustainable. In response to this demand, EPA developed the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program.

Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities provides quick, targeted technical assistance to selected local and/or tribal governments using a variety of tools that have demonstrated results and widespread application. The purpose of delivering these tools is to stimulate a discussion about growth and development and strengthen local capacity to implement sustainable approaches.

In 2013, EPA will select up to 44 communities for assistance. Each technical assistance project in a community will include:

Technical assistance will be delivered by EPA staff. In addition, four nonprofit organizations with extensive expertise in sustainable communities will select up to 55 additional communities for assistance. These organizations-Forterra, Global Green USA, Project for Public Spaces, and Smart Growth America-have received grants from EPA to offer assistance using tools they have chosen.

Each organization has its own deadline and application process and offers a different set of tools. Please see Assistance from EPA and Assistance from Grantees for further information.

Lead Organization Application Deadline
Smart Growth America Link to EPA's External Link Disclaimer Oct. 25, 2012
EPA Oct. 26, 2012
Project for Public Spaces Link to EPA's External Link Disclaimer Nov. 2, 2012
Global Green Link to EPA's External Link Disclaimer Nov. 2, 2012
Forterra Link to EPA's External Link Disclaimer Feb. 2013 (estimated)

 

View the Excel spreadsheet that lists all the tools being offered by EPA and the four grantees by topic area.

View the presentations from two webinars held on Sept. 21 and Oct. 4, 2012.

Read Frequently Asked Questions.

Assistance from EPA

Communities may apply for assistance from EPA between September 26 and October 26, 2012. EPA expects to select communities by early December 2012 and provide all technical assistance by May 2013. Please see the Request for Letters of Interest (PDF) (13 pp, 457K, About PDF) for instructions on how to apply and a detailed description of the tools EPA is offering.

EPA will offer nine tools in 2013:

  1. Planning Bikeshare Programs: Provides a framework for exploring the potential to establish or expand a bikeshare program in a community.
  2. Supporting Equitable Development: Helps communities evaluate their needs around equitable development and identify the most effective tools and strategies.
  3. Neighborhood Planning for Healthy Aging: Helps communities explore the role of supportive neighborhood design in creating great places for aging residents.
  4. Parking Audit: Helps communities evaluate local parking policies and offers advice on parking management strategies, drawing from successful strategies in other communities.
  5. Creating a Green Streets Strategy: Helps communities begin to develop strategies for greening their streets by adapting national best practices and case studies to their local context.
  6. Using Smart Growth to Produce Fiscal and Economic Health: Helps communities evaluate how to get better economic results from private development and public investments.
  7. Green Building Toolkit: Helps local governments identify policies that support compact development that features sustainably built homes and buildings.
  8. Sustainability Strategies for Small Cities and Rural Areas: Offers a menu of quick fixes that rural and small-town governments can make to their zoning codes and planning documents to protect community character and quality of life.
  9. Land Use Strategies to Protect Water Quality: Helps local governments examine land use approaches to green infrastructure that manage the negative impacts of stormwater.

EPA refines each tool in order to create a completed set of tools that any community can use with limited outside assistance. Once a tool “graduates,” it is placed online. In 2012, EPA launched its first completed tool, the Walkability Workbook Link to EPA's External Link Disclaimer, which guides communities through the process of conducting a walking audit. Developed by the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute with support from EPA, this tool helps communities assess the pedestrian environment and form a vision for short- and long-term improvements to sidewalks and streets.

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Assistance from Grantees

Each EPA grantee also offers a suite of tools to communities. To find out what kinds of assistance are available and how to apply for assistance, please contact the organizations directly:

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Communities Selected in 2012

In 2012, EPA selected 56 communities in 26 states to receive technical assistance through the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program.

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Communities Selected in 2011

In 2011, EPA selected 32 communities from two sources to receive Building Blocks assistance. (One community chose to receive assistance in a later round, and another decided not to receive assistance.)

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Other Tools and Technical Assistance Programs

Please see our Making Smart Growth Happen page for links to more tools and technical assistance programs.

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