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Free exhibit showcases properties turned from eyesores to assets

Release Date: 05/20/2009
Contact Information: Roy Seneca [email protected], 215-814-5567

PHILADELPHIA (May 20, 2009) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s mid-Atlantic region today announced the opening of a new exhibit in its public information center that focuses on environmental success stories of turning community eyesores into productive community assets.

Located on the first floor of the EPA regional offices at 1650 Arch Street in Philadelphia, the exhibit highlights blighted properties from the communities throughout the mid-Atlantic region that have been redeveloped and put into productive community use in creative ways.

“By experiencing this exhibit, visitors will learn how contaminated and derelict land has potential to be transformed into a myriad of environmental and economic assets,” said William C. Early, acting administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region. “We can revitalize blighted land into gardens, parks, wildlife refuges, ball fields, residential and retail opportunities, and much more.”

The exhibit was developed by EPA staff with assistance from graduate students studying museum exhibit design at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Highlights include exhibits on the successes of the Greensgrow urban farm in the Kensington section of Philadelphia and minor league baseball stadiums in Allentown, Pa. and Lancaster, Pa. that were built on once blighted industrial property.

The exhibit also has an interactive mapping tool where visitors can access cleanups in their home communities by typing in their zip code.

The exhibit is free to the public and open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information on the public information center, visit: https://www.epa.gov/Region3/ee/pic.htm .
For more information on land revitalization in EPA’s mid-Atlantic region, visit: https://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bf-lr/ .