5 U.S. capitals are going to get a green makeover with the help of the EPA this year. These five lucky cities have just been announced by the EPA.
A new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program, Greening America’s Capitals, launched earlier this year. And now, the EPA has chosen the first five capitals that will be participating in the first year of this program (starting this fall).
Before we announce these five cities, however, you are probably wondering what this program is exactly.
From the EPA, itself:
Greening America’s Capitals is a project of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities between EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to help state capitals develop an implementable vision of distinctive, environmentally friendly neighborhoods that incorporate innovative green building and green infrastructure strategies. This program will assist three to five communities per year, with the first projects beginning in the fall of 2010.
EPA will fund a team of designers to visit each city to produce schematic designs and exciting illustrations intended to catalyze or complement a larger planning process for the pilot neighborhood. Additionally, these pilots could be the testing ground for citywide actions, such as changes to local codes and ordinances to better support sustainable growth and green building. The design team and EPA, HUD, and DOT staff will also assist the city staff in developing specific implementation strategies.
5 Capitals Selected for a Greening in 2010
The capitals chosen (from the pool of cities that applied by July 9, 2010) were:
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Charleston, West Virginia
- Hartford, Connecticut
- Jefferson City, Missouri
- Little Rock, Arkansas
For a lot more on why these cities were chosen and how they will use the money, take a look at the EPA’s Greening America’s Capitals page.
With buildings being responsible for about 1/3 of greenhouse gas emissions and motor vehicles being the largest net contributor to global warming (especially due to), encouraging and helping to plan for greener building and greener city and neighborhood planning are two of the best things the EPA can be doing on this front. It’s nice to see this proactive new program getting started.
Photo Credit: wumpiewoo via flickr