Sustainable Communities Building Blocks

The US EPA developed the Sustainable Communities Blocks Program in an effort to help communities improve the quality of life for existing residents and manage future development while becoming more economically and environmentally sustainable.

The program "seeks to provide quick, targeted technical assistance to 20 communities using a variety of tools that have demonstrated results and widespread application. This technical assistance will help selected local and/or tribal governments to implement development approaches that protect the environment, improve public health, create jobs, expand economic opportunity, and improve overall quality of life."

The EPA's technical assistance will cover zoning code reviews, walkability assessments, parking policy analysis, climate action planning, commuter benefits, complete streets, and fiscal and economic tools.

A Request for Letters of Interest (RFLI) was released last week. Letters must be received by February 23, 2011. Use the link here to learn more and apply.

Getting Past Semantics

The term "sustainability" as a planning concept is vague and poorly defined. Understanding what it means and how best to harness its principles to craft a more positive urban experience have been undermined by our lazy use of language. Bill Barnes from the National League of Cities made a similar point recently, correctly pointing out that the term "sustainability" has been thrown around so freely that we don't really know what we're talking about any more. Discussions about green building, LEED, mass transit, TOD, etc. make it seem as though sustainability is everything. But if it is, then maybe it's nothing? Clearly that's not the case either but to better understand how sustainability impacts planning and our collective vision for the built environment, we need to do a better job defining the terms of the debate. That is the mission of this blog - to provide an open platform for discussing the sort thinking and development that embody and express the core principles of a sustainable built environment.