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EPA to Provide Smart Growth Technical Assistance to Lawrence, Kan.

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 Lawrence, Kan., 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 Lawrence, Kan., a Parking Audit Workshop. The workshop will provide Lawrence with key assistance to manage parking supply and demand in the Oread neighborhood. The Oread neighborhood is located in central Lawrence, with the main campus of the University of Kansas (KU) on the west and downtown Lawrence on the east. The neighborhood’s proximity to KU creates regional impacts on area streets and traffic volumes due to the daily travel to and from campus by staff and students.

“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. “We expect the Lawrence workshop to engage residential and commercial property owners, students, faculty, city planners and others in addressing parking challenges in the Oread neighborhood.”

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.