United States

Environmental Protection

Agency

EPA 231-K-10-005 

February 2013 

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth 

www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice 

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES:

Strategies for Advancing Smart Growth, Environmental Justice, 

and Equitable Development

Office of Sustainable Communities

Office of Environmental Justice
ii

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Acknowledgments

This publication was prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Sustainable 

Communities and Office of Environmental Justice with the assistance of Skeo Solutions. 

Principal author: Megan McConville, Policy and Planning Fellow, Office of Sustainable Communities

Contributors and reviewers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

Heather Case, Office of Environmental Justice 

Susan Conbere, Office of Sustainable Communities 

Bicky Corman, Office of Policy

John Frece, Office of Sustainable Communities 

Lisa Garcia, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

Michael Goo, Office of Policy 

Jen Horton, Fellow, Office of Sustainable Communities 

Daniel Hutch, Office of Sustainable Communities 

Charles Lee, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

Suzi Ruhl, Office of Environmental Justice 

Megan Susman, Office of Sustainable Communities 

EPA also wishes to acknowledge the reviewers who provided feedback on this document through the 

two public comment processes conducted in 2012. In response to these two comment solicitations, EPA 

received a total of approximately 100 pages of comments from 40 respondents including representatives of 

nonprofit organizations, universities, community development corporations, federal and local governments, 

regional councils, and businesses. Where appropriate, this input was incorporated into the publication. 

Cover photos

Top: Fruitvale, East Oakland, California, photo courtesy of the Unity Council.

Bottom row, left to right: Lincoln, Nebraska, photo courtesy of www.pedbikeimages.org/Dan Burden; 

Northwest Gardens, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, photo courtesy of Fernando Lezcano; Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, 

New Mexico, photo courtesy of San Juan Pueblo Office of the Governor. 

Back cover photos 

Top: New Columbia, Portland, Oregon, photo courtesy of the Housing Authority of Portland.

Bottom row, left to right: Gary, Indiana, photo courtesy of Carlton Eley; High Point, Seattle, Washington, 

photo courtesy of Seattle Housing Authority; Edmonston, Maryland, photo courtesy of Skeo Solutions.
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Table of Contents

Executive Summary......................................................................................................................................................................... i

Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................1

Chapter 2: Challenges to Equitable, Healthy, and Sustainable Communities...........................................................7

Chapter 3: Strategies Linking Smart Growth, Environmental Justice, and Equitable Development............. 13

Facilitate Meaningful Community Engagement in Planning and Land Use Decisions..........................17

Conduct Multilingual Outreach................................................................................................................................18

Conduct Community Assessments..........................................................................................................................21

Hold Community Planning and Visioning Workshops......................................................................................22

Promote Public Health and a Clean and Safe Environment...............................................................................23

Reduce Exposure to Facilities with Potential Environmental Concerns ....................................................23

Reduce Exposure to Goods Movement Activities .............................................................................................26

Clean and Reuse Contaminated Properties..........................................................................................................28

Promote Green Building..............................................................................................................................................32

Build Green Streets........................................................................................................................................................33

Strengthen Existing Communities................................................................................................................................36

Fix Existing Infrastructure First..................................................................................................................................37

Reuse Vacant and Abandoned Properties.............................................................................................................37

Redevelop Commercial Corridors............................................................................................................................38

Provide Housing Choices ..................................................................................................................................................41

Preserve Affordable Housing.....................................................................................................................................42

Create New Affordable Housing...............................................................................................................................43

Provide Transportation Options ....................................................................................................................................47

Provide Access to Public Transportation................................................................................................................48

Implement Equitable Transit-Oriented Development......................................................................................49

Improve Access to Opportunities and Daily Necessities .....................................................................................54

Promote Diverse, Community-Centered Schools ..............................................................................................54

Create Safe Routes to School ....................................................................................................................................56

Provide Access to Healthy Food................................................................................................................................57

Provide Access to Parks and Green Space.............................................................................................................59

Preserve and Build On the Features that Make a Community Distinctive...................................................61

Preserve Existing Cultural Features ........................................................................................................................61

Create New Development that Strengthens Local Culture ...........................................................................63

Chapter 4: Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................ 67

Resource Guide............................................................................................................................................................................. 70

Case Study References................................................................................................................................................................ 76
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY v

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Executive Summary

Communities across the country are integrating 

smart growth, environmental justice, and 

equitable development approaches to design 

and build healthy, sustainable, and inclusive 

neighborhoods. Overburdened communities 

are using smart growth strategies to address 

longstanding environmental and health 

challenges and create new opportunities 

where they live. Regional and local planners 

are engaging low-income, minority, and tribal 

residents in decision-making and producing 

more enduring development that is better for 

people and the environment. Community groups, 

government agencies, and private and nonprofit 

partners are cleaning up and investing in existing 

neighborhoods, providing affordable housing and 

transportation options, and improving access to 

critical services and amenities.

This informational publication aims to build 

on past successes and offer other low-income, 

minority, tribal, and overburdened communities 

approaches to shape development that responds 

to their needs and reflects their values. It 

identifies strategies that bring together smart 

growth, environmental justice, and equitable 

development principles and that communitybased organizations, local and regional decisionmakers, developers, and others can use to build 

healthy, sustainable, and inclusive communities. 

These are places that provide clean air, water, 

and land; affordable and healthy homes; safe, 

reliable, and economical transportation options; 

and convenient access to jobs, schools, parks, 

shopping, and other daily necessities. 

The strategies are grouped under seven common 

elements, or shared goals and principles that 

connect environmental justice, smart growth, 

and equitable development. The fundamental 

overlap between these concepts is around how 

to plan and build neighborhoods to address 

environmental, health, and economic disparities 

and provide opportunities for low-income, 

“A clean, green, healthy community is a 

better place to buy a home and raise a 

family; it’s more competitive in the race 

to attract new businesses; and it has the 

foundations it needs for prosperity.” 

—Lisa P. Jackson

EPA Administrator

minority, tribal, and overburdened residents; 

therefore, all the approaches described relate to 

land use and community design. This document 

provides a brief introduction to each strategy, 

with a description of what it is, how it supports 

equitable and environmentally sustainable 

development, and examples of how it has been 

used. Local governments and community-based 

organizations can choose the approaches that 

best suit their needs and goals. Each of the 

seven common elements is illustrated by an indepth case study highlighting a community’s 

experiences with these strategies. 

The seven common elements, along with the 

strategies that fit under each one, are summarized 

on the following pages.

Strategies Linking Smart Growth, 

Environmental Justice, and Equitable 

Development

Common Element #1: Facilitate Meaningful 

Community Engagement in Planning and Land 

Use Decisions

Meaningful community participation in land 

use planning and decision-making can produce 

development that meets the needs of a diverse 

group of residents, build broad support for 

projects, and lead to more effective public 

processes. Planners and community-based 

organizations can use interactive, customizable 

i
vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

strategies to engage low-income, minority, tribal, 

and overburdened residents who face barriers 

to participation, are not traditionally involved in 

public processes, or are particularly affected by 

development proposals. 

•	 Conducting multilingual outreach as part of 

planning and development decision-making 

is increasingly important with the growing 

number of U.S. residents whose primary 

language is not English. This approach results 

in policies and projects that better meet the 

needs of community members and have 

stronger public support.

•	 Conducting community assessments

helps residents gather, analyze, and report 

information about current conditions and 

needs related to priority issues in their 

neighborhoods, such as street safety for 

pedestrians. These hands-on exercises can be 

facilitated by community-based organizations 

or local and regional planners.

•	 Holding community planning and visioning

workshops helps groups of residents and 

organizations define a shared vision and 

goals for a site, neighborhood, city, town, or 

region, laying a foundation for subsequent 

land use policy and regulatory changes and 

investments.

Common Element #2: Promote Public Health 

and a Clean and Safe Environment

Designing and developing neighborhoods and 

buildings to protect air, water, land, and public 

health—particularly the health of overburdened 

populations—can reduce exposure to harmful 

contamination; prevent future pollution; and 

promote physical activity, reduced incidence 

of chronic disease, and other positive health 

outcomes among residents. This section provides 

land use planning and zoning-related approaches 

to address the potential environmental and health 

concerns from chemical plants, refineries, landfills, 

power plants, industrial livestock operations, 

and other facilities that are disproportionately 

located near low-income, minority, and tribal 

communities. It also discusses ways of cleaning 

up and reusing the contaminated sites left behind 

by those facilities, and methods for integrating 

healthy and sustainable elements into buildings 

and streets.

•	 Collaborative planning and zoning strategies 

can help reduce exposure to facilities 

with potential environmental concerns, 

mitigating the impacts of existing facilities 

on surrounding communities and siting and 

designing proposed facilities to avoid risks. 

•	 Likewise, local and regional planning 

agencies, community-based organizations, 

and industry representatives can work 

together to design freight facilities and 

surrounding neighborhoods in ways that 

reduce exposure to goods movement 

activities and support health, environmental, 

and economic goals.

•	 Clean and reuse contaminated

properties—specifically, brownfields and 

Superfund sites—in ways that support the 

community’s vision for its future. This can 

be critical to revitalize neighborhoods and 

increase access to needed amenities in 

established communities. 

Minimizing Displacement

Chapter 3 begins with a special section on 

tools, policies, and programs that can help 

to minimize displacement, an important 

issue that cuts across the seven common 

elements. Without advance planning 

and strong community engagement, 

revitalization efforts in low-income and 

overburdened neighborhoods have the 

potential to displace long-time residents 

due to rising rents and other costs of 

living. However, a wide range of tools 

and strategies can be used to involve 

community members in planning and 

visioning, provide affordable homes and 

transportation choices, support local 

businesses, and minimize displacement in 

other ways.

ii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY vii

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

•	 Strategies that promote green building 

can reduce exposure to toxics and pollutants 

that have been linked to cancer, asthma, and 

other health problems. These strategies can 

also reduce energy and water costs, which 

are often a significant burden for low-income 

families. 

•	 Local governments and community-based 

organizations can build green streets by 

carrying out relatively simple and low-cost 

projects, such as installing rain gardens; or by 

enacting comprehensive policy changes, such 

as updating street design standards. 

Common Element #3: Strengthen Existing 

Communities

Many established communities—city downtowns, 

older suburban neighborhoods, and rural 

villages—are rich in culture, heritage, and social 

capital but lack economic opportunities for 

residents. Investing in these existing communities 

rather than in new developments on the outer 

fringes of metropolitan areas can improve 

quality of life for low-income and overburdened 

populations by bringing the new jobs, services, 

and amenities they need. This approach can also 

help address the health and safety risks presented 

by contaminated properties, abandoned 

buildings, and poorly designed streets, and can 

increase the tax base to support other local needs. 

•	 Approaches that encourage fixing existing 

infrastructure first prioritize the repair 

and maintenance of existing roads, bridges, 

buildings, and water and wastewater facilities 

over the building of new infrastructure in 

undeveloped places. 

•	 Reusing vacant and abandoned properties

as community amenities such as housing, 

commercial space, gardens, or temporary 

green spaces can remove blight and safety 

concerns, increase residents’ access to 

needed services and opportunities, and spur 

additional investment in neighborhoods.

•	 Redeveloping commercial corridors

by creating compact, mixed-use land 

use patterns and making streets safer for 

pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users can 

improve opportunities for businesses and 

access for residents along these important 

thoroughfares.

Common Element #4: Provide Housing Choices

Offering an array of housing options by 

preserving and building affordable housing allows 

residents at all income levels to live near jobs, 

services, and public transit; helps to minimize 

displacement; and reduces transportation costs 

and air pollution from long commutes. 

•	 Preserving affordable housing using tools 

like deed restrictions, housing trust funds, 

rehabilitation assistance, and Low-Income 

Housing Tax Credits can maintain housing 

choices and access to opportunities for lowand moderate-income families in revitalizing 

areas and catalyze investment in struggling 

neighborhoods. 

•	 Creating new affordable housing through 

approaches such as inclusionary zoning, 

updated land use regulations, and LowIncome Housing Tax Credits is another way 

to expand housing choices for low- and 

moderate-income households, including 

in affluent communities that lack housing 

options for low-income earners, young 

people, and seniors.

Common Element #5: Provide Transportation 

Options

For many low-income, minority, tribal, and 

overburdened communities, public transit and 

safe routes for walking and bicycling are critical 

links to regional employment and educational 

opportunities that help residents improve their lives. 

Providing equitable and affordable transportation 

options improves mobility and access to jobs, 

services, and other daily necessities for all residents, 

including those who do not own cars.

•	 Providing access to public transportation

through inclusive schedule and route 

planning and thoughtful transit stop and 

street design connects people to regional jobs 

and services. 

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viii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

•	 Implementing equitable transit-oriented

development provides affordable housing 

near transit, which can significantly lower the 

housing and transportation costs that claim 

a large share of the incomes of many lowincome households. 

•	 Local and regional agencies and communitybased organizations can work together 

to design safe streets for all users by 

incorporating sidewalks, bike lanes, median 

islands, pedestrian signals, bus lanes, and 

other facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, 

motorists, and public transit users of all ages 

and abilities into new and existing streets.

Common Element #6: Improve Access to 

Opportunities and Daily Necessities

All residents, regardless of race, ethnicity, or 

economic status, should have access to the basic 

ingredients for healthy, productive lives, including 

employment and educational opportunities; 

services such as health clinics and child care; and 

amenities such as grocery stores, safe streets, and 

parks and recreational facilities. 

•	 Approaches to promote diverse, 

community-centered schools preserve or 

build schools that are near the families they 

serve. Community-centered schools allow 

students to walk or bicycle to school, which 

promotes physical activity; and provide 

important community anchors and gathering 

places. 

•	 Programs that create safe routes to school 

improve children’s health by providing 

education, enforcement, and infrastructure 

upgrades that make it possible for them to 

walk or bicycle to school. 

•	 Planners and community-based organizations 

can provide access to healthy food by 

removing barriers in land use regulations, 

offering incentives and financing to retailers, 

connecting retailers with financing, and 

assisting with challenging issues such as 

assembling land for development. 

•	 Providing access to parks and green space

at all scales provides critical health, social, and 

environmental benefits for low-income and 

overburdened communities. 

Common Element #7: Preserve and Build 

on the Features That Make a Community 

Distinctive

Authentic community planning and revitalization 

are anchored in the physical and cultural assets 

that make a place unique. As decision-makers 

and community stakeholders implement 

the policies and strategies described in this 

report, they should build on the distinctive 

characteristics of their neighborhoods. Preserving 

and strengthening the features that make a place 

special maintains what existing residents value 

about their homes, attracts new residents and 

visitors, and spurs economic development that is 

grounded in community identity.

•	 Community planning and historic 

preservation strategies can help to preserve 

existing cultural features. 

•	 Tools such as design guidelines and 

neighborhood conservation districts can 

create new development that strengthens 

local culture by capturing the specific 

physical characteristics of development 

that determine the overall character of a 

neighborhood and applying them to new 

projects. 

This publication demonstrates that smart 

growth, environmental justice, and equitable 

development approaches can be an effective 

combination for responding to the challenges 

overburdened communities face, promoting 

development that is authentic and enduring, and 

laying the foundation for economic resilience. 

Taken together or in part, the strategies outlined 

here can help low-income, minority, tribal, and 

overburdened communities shape development 

to respond to their needs and reflect their 

values. These strategies can also help local and 

regional planners and policy-makers make land 

use decisions that are equitable, healthy, and 

sustainable for all residents.

iv
INTRODUCTION 1

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Chapter 1: Introduction 

Communities across the country are integrating 

smart growth, environmental justice, and 

equitable development approaches to design 

and build healthy, sustainable, and inclusive 

neighborhoods. Residents of Spartanburg, South 

Carolina, partnered with the local government, 

federal agencies, and industry stakeholders 

to create new housing, parks, businesses, and 

health clinics where brownfields, landfills, 

and abandoned buildings once existed. In 

New Orleans’ Versailles neighborhood, the 

community came together after Hurricane 

Katrina to rebuild its main business corridor 

and strengthen the neighborhood’s sense 

of place, which is anchored in Vietnamese 

culture. On the Ohkay Owingeh reservation in 

New Mexico, tribal leaders are implementing 

a Master Land Use Plan that creates affordable 

housing, preserves valuable water resources, and 

revives traditional Pueblo settlement patterns 

and historic plazas. Bethel New Life, a faithbased community development corporation on 

Chicago’s West Side, formed a regional coalition 

to preserve transit service in the predominantly 

African-American neighborhood and led the 

construction of shops, child care facilities, an 

employment center, and energy-efficient and 

affordable homes around a train station. 

These diverse communities and many others 

are finding that environmental justice, smart 

growth, and equitable development can be an 

effective combination for promoting a clean and 

safe environment, a strong economy, and good 

quality of life for all residents. Overburdened1

communities are using smart growth strategies to 

address long-standing environmental and 

1 In Plan EJ 2014, EPA’s overarching strategy for advancing 

environmental justice, the Agency uses the term “overburdened” 

to describe the minority, low-income, tribal, and indigenous 

populations or communities in the United States that potentially 

experience disproportionate environmental harms and risks as 

a result of greater vulnerability to environmental hazards. This 

increased vulnerability may be attributable to an accumulation of 

negative and a lack of positive environmental, health, economic, or 

social conditions within these populations or communities. 

Without the appropriate engagement 

and planning, the implementation 

of smart growth strategies in lowincome and minority communities can 

displace existing residents due to rising 

rents and other costs of living. This 

unintended consequence has caused 

some environmental justice and equity 

proponents to question smart growth’s 

inclusivity, and has contributed to a divide 

between smart growth and environmental 

justice. However, some communities have 

worked hard to bridge that divide, and 

have found that a wide range of tools 

and strategies can be used to engage 

community members in neighborhood 

planning and visioning, provide affordable 

homes and transportation choices, 

support local businesses, and minimize 

displacement in other ways. Many of them 

are described in this publication. 

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo’s Master Land Use Plan strengthens 

the pueblo’s cultural identity and protects its natural 

surroundings by maintaining its traditional commitment to 

environmentally sensitive design. Photo courtesy of the San 

Juan Pueblo Office of the Governor.
2 INTRODUCTION

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

health challenges and create new opportunities 

where they live. Regional and local planners 

are engaging low-income, minority, and tribal 

residents in decision-making and producing 

more enduring development that is better for 

people and the environment. Community groups, 

government agencies, and private and nonprofit 

partners are cleaning up and investing in existing 

neighborhoods, providing affordable housing and 

transportation options, and improving access to 

critical services and amenities.

This informational publication aims to build on 

the successes described above and help other 

low-income, minority, tribal, and overburdened 

communities shape development that responds 

to their needs and reflects their values. It 

identifies approaches that bring together smart 

growth, environmental justice, and equitable 

development principles and can be used by 

community-based organizations, community 

development corporations, local and regional 

decision-makers, developers, and other 

stakeholders to build healthy, sustainable, and 

inclusive communities. These are places that 

provide clean air, water, and land; affordable and 

healthy homes; safe, reliable, and economical 

transportation options; and convenient access 

to jobs, schools, parks, shopping, and other daily 

necessities. This publication provides a menu 

of strategies and best practices for local policymakers and community leaders to consider. Each 

community can choose the approaches that best 

suit its needs and goals. 

“For too long, environmental justice 

and smart growth have been viewed as 

separate, yet communities across the 

U.S. are showing that they are actually 

complementary. Bringing them together can 

help community-based organizations, local 

planners, and other stakeholders achieve 

healthy and sustainable communities for all 

Americans, regardless of race, ethnicity, or 

economic status.” 

—Lisa Garcia

 Associate Assistant Administrator 

for Environmental Justice, U.S. EPA

Core Concepts

Environmental justice, smart growth, and 

equitable development goals and principles 

have fundamental areas of overlap. They all 

aim to create communities that are healthy, 

environmentally sustainable, and economically 

vibrant. They also seek to empower residents to 

shape development where they live. This section 

introduces the three concepts. The strategies and 

approaches described later in the publication 

draw on these three fields. 

Environmental justice 

The environmental justice movement emerged 

in the 1980s when minority, low-income, 

and tribal communities began to organize in 

response to disproportionate environmental 

and health impacts in their neighborhoods 

such as hazardous facility siting, industrial 

contamination, air pollution, and lead poisoning. 

In 1982, residents of poor, predominantly 

African-American Warren County, North Carolina, 

protested the siting of a landfill, focusing national 

attention on this issue and sparking action in 

other communities. Subsequently, empirical 

studies have shown that environmental burdens 

are disproportionately located in minority, lowincome, and tribal communities.2

Environmental justice leaders strengthened the 

movement by securing the establishment of 

EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and the 

signing of Executive Order 12898, “Federal Actions 

to Address Environmental Justice in Minority 

Populations and Low-Income Populations,” in 

the early 1990s. The Executive Order instructed 

federal agencies to address disproportionately 

high and adverse health or environmental effects 

of their programs on low-income, minority, and 

2 Numerous studies on disproportionate environmental impacts 

have been conducted since the 1980s. For a compilation of 

scientific information on environmental justice and environmental 

health disparities, see “Environmental Justice and Disparities in 

Environmental Health” in the American Journal of Public Health,

December 2011, Volume 101, S1.
INTRODUCTION 3

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

tribal communities. It also created the Federal 

Interagency Working Group on Environmental 

Justice to guide, support, and enhance federal 

environmental justice and community-based 

activities.3

EPA defines environmental justice as “the fair 

treatment and meaningful involvement of all 

people regardless of race, color, national origin, 

or income with respect to the development, 

implementation, and enforcement of 

environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”4

“Fair treatment” means that no group of people 

should bear a disproportionate share of the 

negative environmental consequences resulting 

from industrial, governmental, or commercial 

operations and policies.5 Over the years, EPA 

and environmental justice organizations have 

expanded the concept of fair treatment to 

consider not only how burdens are distributed, 

but also how environmental and health benefits 

are shared.6 In other words, all people, regardless 

of race, ethnicity, or economic status, should have 

the opportunity to enjoy the positive outcomes 

of environmentally related decisions and actions, 

such as cleaner air and water, improved health, 

and economic vitality. “Meaningful involvement” 

means that the public should have opportunities 

to participate in decisions that could affect their 

environment and their health, their contributions 

should be taken into account by regulatory 

agencies, and decision-makers should seek and 

facilitate the engagement of those potentially 

affected by their decisions.7 Building on its roots 

in the civil rights movement, the environmental 

justice movement seeks to empower 

communities to speak for themselves. EPA places 

3 Clinton, William J., Executive Order 12898, “Federal Actions to 

Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations,” February 11, 1994, Federal Register 59, 

No. 32: 7629.

4 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Justice. 

www.epa.gov/compliance/ej. Accessed 2010.

5 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Justice. 

www.epa.gov/compliance/ej. Accessed 2010.

6 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA’s Action Development 

Process: Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice 

during the Development of an Action. 2010. www.epa.gov/

compliance/ej/resources/policy/considering-ej-in-rulemakingguide-07-2010.pdf.

7 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Justice. 

www.epa.gov/compliance/ej. Accessed 2010.

particular emphasis on the public health and 

environmental conditions affecting minority, lowincome, and tribal populations, as they frequently 

bear greater environmental harms and risks than 

the general population and often lack access to 

environmental benefits.8

Environmental justice is now being put into action 

by federal, tribal, state, and local government 

agencies and organizations. A key driver for EPA 

is Plan EJ 2014, the Agency’s overarching strategy 

for advancing environmental justice. The plan, 

which commemorates the 20th anniversary 

8 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Symposium on the Science 

of Disproportionate Environmental Health Impacts. www.epa.gov/

compliance/ej/multimedia/albums/epa/disproportionate-impactssymposium.html. Accessed 2011.

Portland, Oregon’s New Columbia neighborhood 

provides a range of housing opportunities for 

residents of various incomes. Photo courtesy of the Housing 

Authority of Portland. 
4 INTRODUCTION

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

of Executive Order 12898, seeks to empower 

communities to improve their health and 

environments and establish partnerships between 

government agencies and other stakeholder 

groups.9 EPA and the White House Council on 

Environmental Quality have also reconvened 

the Federal Interagency Working Group on 

Environmental Justice. As part of this effort, 17 

federal agencies and White House offices are 

working with community stakeholders to develop 

and implement environmental justice strategies, 

strengthen community access to federal 

resources, and integrate environmental justice 

into programs, policies, and activities across the 

federal government.10

Smart growth 

Smart growth describes a range of strategies for 

planning and building cities, suburbs, and small 

towns in ways that protect the environment and 

public health, support economic development, 

and strengthen communities. In 1996, the Smart 

Growth Network, a group of more than 30 

national organizations representing a range of 

interests including land conservation; affordable 

housing; real estate; community development; 

9 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Plan EJ 2014. 2011. 

www.epa.gov/compliance/ej/resources/policy/plan-ej-2014/planej-2011-09.pdf.

10 In 2011, the 17 federal agencies and White House offices 

participating in the Federal Interagency Working Group on 

Environmental Justice signed the Memorandum of Understanding 

(MOU) on Environmental Justice and Executive Order 12898. This 

MOU serves as a formal agreement to recommit to environmental 

justice through a collaborative and comprehensive effort. The 

agencies agreed to continue to identify and address environmental 

justice considerations in their programs, policies, and activities; 

provide environmental justice strategies and implementation 

progress reports; adopt an MOU charter; and identify areas of focus. 

To inform their work and engage communities, the agencies held 

listening sessions and stakeholder dialogues around the country, 

as well as a White House Forum on Environmental Justice which 

brought together administration officials, community leaders, and 

officials from state, local and tribal governments to discuss issues 

that are important to communities overburdened with pollution. 

The Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental 

Justice has created a compendium of agency strategies, policies, 

guidance documents, and plans for implementing Executive Order 

12898; the Environmental Justice Federal Interagency Directory 

with information about agency roles, organizational charts, and 

key contacts; and the Community-Based Federal Environmental 

Justice Guide, describing federal funding and technical assistance 

programs that can assist communities in reducing toxic exposures. 

These resources are available from the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency at “Federal Interagency Working Group on 

Environmental Justice,” www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/

interagency. 

transportation; and local, state, and federal 

government, created 10 smart growth principles 

based on the experiences of communities around 

the country. The principles are:11

•	 Mix land uses. Mixing housing, shops, offices, 

schools, and other compatible land uses 

in the same neighborhood makes it easy 

for residents to walk, bicycle, take public 

transportation, drive shorter distances, and 

reach different destinations conveniently and 

affordably.

•	 Take advantage of compact building 

design. Compact building design preserves 

open space and uses land and resources 

more efficiently. It creates neighborhoods 

that can easily be served by public transit, 

puts destinations close enough for people to 

walk between, and protects water quality by 

reducing the amount of paved surfaces and 

polluted runoff. 

•	 Create a range of housing opportunities 

and choices. Providing an array of quality 

housing options in new developments and 

existing neighborhoods allows people of all 

income levels, household sizes, and stages 

of life to live near jobs, public transit, and 

services.

•	 Create walkable neighborhoods. Creating 

safe and inviting pedestrian spaces, mixing 

land uses, and building compactly make 

walking a viable transportation option, which 

can reduce transportation costs, encourage 

physical activity, and help to reduce obesity, 

diabetes, and other diseases.

•	 Foster distinctive, attractive communities 

with a strong sense of place. Development 

should represent the values and the unique 

history, culture, economy, and geography 

of a community. Preserving and building on 

community assets are key to long-term quality 

of life and economic vitality.

11 Smart Growth Network. Why Smart Growth? smartgrowth.org/why.

php. Accessed 2010.
INTRODUCTION 5

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

•	 Preserve open space, farmland, natural 

beauty, and critical environmental areas.

Farmland, pastures, forests, and other 

natural and working lands support landbased economic activities that are critical for 

healthy regional and national economies. 

The vegetation in natural areas also helps to 

protect the environment and public health by 

filtering pollutants from the air and drinking 

water.

•	 Strengthen and direct development 

towards existing communities. Investing 

in existing communities helps to address 

environmental and health hazards like 

contaminated properties, brings new jobs 

and services for residents, and saves localities 

money by using the infrastructure already in 

place.

•	 Provide a variety of transportation choices.

A balanced transportation system that 

incorporates many means of travel—including 

buses, rail, walking, biking, and private cars—

provides more affordable options for getting 

around, reduces air pollution and associated 

health impacts, and increases mobility for 

citizens who do not drive.

•	 Make development decisions predictable, 

fair, and cost effective. By making 

development processes clear and by working 

with the private sector, municipalities can 

make smart growth economically viable and 

attractive to private investors and developers. 

•	 Encourage community and stakeholder 

collaboration in development decisions.

Development can create great places to live, 

work, and play if it responds to a community’s 

sense of how and where it wants to grow. 

Smart growth strategies involve residents, 

businesses, and all other stakeholders early 

and often to define and implement the 

community’s vision and goals.

Equitable development strategies 

help low-income, minority, tribal, 

and overburdened communities 

participate in and benefit from 

decisions that shape their 

neighborhoods and regions. 

These principles form the foundation for 

strategies that cities, suburbs, small towns, 

and rural areas can use to create efficient 

development that is environmentally and 

economically sustainable and provides more 

opportunities for all residents. Each community 

can adapt smart growth strategies and techniques 

to meet its needs. Smart growth development will 

look different in different places depending on 

each community’s context and priorities. 

Equitable development 

There is no formal definition or set of principles 

to describe equitable development, but the 

term generally refers to a range of approaches 

for creating healthy, vibrant, and sustainable 

communities where residents of all incomes, 

races, and ethnicities have access to the 

opportunities, services, and amenities they need 

to thrive. Equitable development strategies help 

low-income, minority, tribal, and overburdened 

communities participate in and benefit from 

decisions that shape their neighborhoods and 

regions.12

The concept of equitable development draws on 

both environmental justice and smart growth. It 

emphasizes that all residents should be protected 

from environmental hazards and enjoy access 

to environmental, health, economic, and social 

necessities such as clean air and water, adequate 

infrastructure, job opportunities, and involvement 

in decision-making. To achieve this, equitable 

development approaches usually integrate 

people-focused strategies—efforts that support 

community residents—with place-focused 

12 PolicyLink. Equitable Development Toolkit. www.policylink.org/

site/c.lkIXLbMNJrE/b.5136575/k.39A1/Equitable_Development_

Toolkit.htm. Accessed 2010.
6 INTRODUCTION

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

strategies—efforts that stabilize and improve 

the neighborhood environment.13 Placefocused investments in housing, transportation, 

infrastructure, and pollution cleanup can reduce 

health and economic disparities, bring new 

opportunities, and improve quality of life. Peoplefocused programs that assist with job training and 

placement, business development, education, 

health and wellness, and financial management 

can build the skills and wealth of residents and 

equip them to take part in revitalization and 

remain in their neighborhoods. Meaningful 

community participation and leadership are 

crucial components of equitable development. 

In addition, equitable development typically 

calls for a regional perspective in order to 

reduce health and economic inequalities among 

localities and improve outcomes for low-income 

communities while building healthy metropolitan 

regions. Equitable development aims to ensure 

that everyone—regardless of where they 

live—can benefit from economic growth in 

the region, with affordable housing in safe and 

attractive neighborhoods, living-wage jobs, highperforming schools, public transit, and other 

essential services and amenities evenly available.14

Equitable development efforts not only aim to 

revitalize disadvantaged neighborhoods, but 

also to ensure that low-income residents have 

access to housing and job opportunities in more 

affluent communities, increasing the diversity and 

economic prosperity of the region as a whole.

13 PolicyLink. Equitable Development Toolkit. www.policylink.org/

site/c.lkIXLbMNJrE/b.5136575/k.39A1/Equitable_Development_

Toolkit.htm. Accessed 2010.

14 Glover Blackwell, Angela and Fox, Radhika K. Regional Equity and 

Smart Growth: Opportunities for Advancing Social and Economic 

Justice in America. Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and 

Livable Communities. 2004. www.fundersnetwork.org/files/learn/

Regional_Equity_and_Smart_Growth_2nd_Ed.pdf.

“Healthy communities are not only 

environmentally healthy, they are also 

socially and economically strong. They offer 

employment and educational opportunities, 

safe and affordable homes, access to 

recreation, health care, and other needs 

of daily life, all close enough together that 

people can choose to safely walk, bike, or 

take transit instead of driving.”

—Lisa P. Jackson

EPA Administrator

Overlap between smart growth, environmental 

justice, and equitable development

This publication highlights strategies and 

approaches that link smart growth, environmental 

justice, and equitable development. In Chapter 

3, these strategies and approaches are grouped 

under seven common themes that unite the three 

concepts. The fundamental overlap between 

smart growth, environmental justice, and 

equitable development is how to plan and build 

neighborhoods to address environmental, health, 

and economic disparities and provide benefits 

and opportunities for low-income, minority, tribal, 

and overburdened residents, so all the strategies 

described relate generally to land use and 

community design. 
CHALLENGES TO EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 7

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Chapter 2: Challenges to Equitable, Healthy, and 

Sustainable Communities

Low-income, minority, and tribal communities 

face an array of challenges. Many continue to deal

with the types of disproportionate environmental

concerns and lack of access to decision-making 

that sparked the environmental justice movemen

decades ago. Others, whose neighborhoods 

have been cleared of contaminated sites and are 

attracting new development, are confronting 

rising costs of living and displacement. The 

challenges described in this chapter are wideranging, touching on issues of health, community 

engagement, economic resilience, and access 

to opportunities and services. However, they 

are all related to how communities are planned 

and developed. The next chapter provides smart 

growth, environmental justice, and equitable 

development strategies and policies that can help

address these challenges. 

Environmental and Health Concerns

Facilities with potential environmental and 

health impacts 

Low-income, minority, and tribal communities 

have historically borne a disproportionate share 

of environmental harms and risks and are more 

likely to live in areas that increase these risks.15,16

Because they often live where land is inexpensive,

possess fewer economic resources, and have 

less access to decision-making, industries that 

discharge pollution might find it easier to locate 

near these populations than in other areas. As 

a result, many low-income, minority, and tribal 

communities live near chemical plants, smelters, 

refineries, landfills, hazardous waste sites, and 

other industrial facilities. In rural areas, lowincome communities might also be close to 

mining, industrial livestock, and concentrated 

15 Chavis, Benjamin F. and Lee, Charles. Toxic Wastes and Race in the 

United States. United Church of Christ. 1987. www.ucc.org/aboutus/archives/pdfs/toxwrace87.pdf.

16 Bullard, Robert D.; Mohai, Paul; Saha, Robin; and Wright, Beverly. 

Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty. United Church of Christ. 2007. 

www.ucc.org/justice/pdfs/toxic20.pdf.

t 

animal feeding operations.17 Industrial facilities 

support local and regional economies and employ 

residents in permanent, living-wage positions, 

but they can also bring environmental and health 

concerns. 

17 Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are agricultural 

operations where animals are kept and raised in confined 

situations. The animals, feed, by-products, and production 

operations are concentrated on a small land area. Feed is brought 

to the animals rather than the animals grazing or seeking feed on 

open pastures or ranges.

“All too often, low-income, minority and 

tribal Americans live in the shadows of the 

worst pollution, facing disproportionate 

health impacts and greater obstacles to 

economic growth in communities that 

cannot attract businesses and new jobs.” 

—Lisa P. Jackson

EPA Administrator

Low-income, minority, and tribal populations are more likely 

to live in areas that increase their exposure to environmental 

and health risks. Photo courtesy of EPA.
8 CHALLENGES TO EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Industrial facilities are regulated under federal 

and state laws that reduce contamination, 

including EPA’s rulemaking, permitting, and 

enforcement and compliance programs, but air 

and water pollution from these sources can still 

have health impacts. For instance, people who 

live near goods movement facilities—freight 

transportation locations such as seaports, rail 

yards, and warehouses—can be exposed to 

elevated levels of air toxics emitted by dieselpowered vehicles and equipment. These 

pollutants contribute to respiratory illness, heart 

disease, cancer, and premature death.18 Industrial 

facilities can also bring other impacts such as 

noise pollution and increased risk of injuries and 

fatalities from truck traffic.

Even when industrial facilities close down, 

they can continue to affect surrounding 

neighborhoods. They often leave behind 

contaminated sites that can pose health threats to 

nearby residents from polluted water and soil and 

present barriers to redevelopment. 

These site-specific risks can be compounded by 

the fact that many minority communities live 

in regions that do not meet federal air or water 

18 National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. Reducing Air 

Emissions Associated with Goods Movement: Working Towards 

Environmental Justice. 2009. www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/

resources/publications/nejac/2009-goods-movement.pdf.

quality standards.19,20 Exposure to air pollutants21

as well as bacteria, parasites, and other 

contaminants in drinking water can cause disease 

and even death.22

Unhealthy housing

Low-income, minority, and tribal populations 

are more likely to live in unhealthy housing 

with indoor air pollution, lead paint, asbestos, 

mold, and mildew.23 Lead poisoning causes 

permanent brain damage that leads to impaired 

mental abilities, and high levels of exposure can 

cause seizures, behavioral disorders, and death. 

Mold and mildew can cause allergic reactions 

and exacerbate asthma. Asbestos is associated 

with cancer.24 In low-income rural and tribal 

communities, the smoke from older woodburning stoves can aggravate lung disease, cause 

asthma attacks, and increase susceptibility to 

respiratory infections.25

Physical inactivity and chronic disease

Research indicates that low-income populations 

engage in less physical activity than the general 

population,26 and some minorities are less likely 

than other groups to get enough daily physical 

activity.27 These trends can be related in part 

to how communities and streets are designed, 

19 American Lung Association. State of Lung Disease in Diverse 

Communities. 2010. www.lungusa.org/assets/documents/

publications/lung-disease-data/solddc_2010.pdf.

20 Quintero-Somaini, Adrianna and Quirindongo, Mayra. Hidden 

Danger: Environmental Health Threats in the Latino Community. 

Natural Resources Defense Council. 2004. www.nrdc.org/health/

effects/latino/english/contents.asp.

21 American Lung Association. State of Lung Disease in Diverse 

Communities. 2010. www.lungusa.org/assets/documents/

publications/lung-disease-data/solddc_2010.pdf.

22 Quintero-Somaini, Adrianna and Quirindongo, Mayra. Hidden 

Danger: Environmental Health Threats in the Latino Community. 

Natural Resources Defense Council. 2004. www.nrdc.org/health/

effects/latino/english/contents.asp.

23 Alliance for Healthy Homes. Disparities in Risk. www.afhh.org/

chil_ar/chil_ar_disparities.htm. Accessed 2010. 

24 American Lung Association. State of Lung Disease in Diverse 

Communities. 2010. www.lungusa.org/assets/documents/

publications/lung-disease-data/solddc_2010.pdf.

25 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Burn Wise: Consumers—

Health Effects. Accessed 2011. www.epa.gov/burnwise/

healtheffects.html.

26 Active Living by Design. Low Income Populations and Physical 

Activity. 2012. www.healthtrust.org/pdf/PhysicalActivityforLowInco

mePopulations-TheHealthTrust.pdf.

27 PolicyLink and the Prevention Institute. The Transportation 

Prescription. 2010. www.policylink.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.as

px?c=lkIXLbMNJrE&b=5136581&ct=7290885.

If it is not designed and built with the needs of residents in 

mind, affordable housing can present health risks and 

might not be near transportation options, services, 

and amenities that residents need. 

Photo courtesy of Seattle Housing Authority.
CHALLENGES TO EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 9

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

which has a direct effect on residents’ ability to be 

active. Many underserved neighborhoods do not 

have sidewalks, crosswalks, street lights, parks, 

or recreational facilities. They often lack stores, 

schools, and other daily necessities within walking 

distance of homes. Vacant buildings, crime, and 

other factors that make residents feel unsafe 

can prevent them from walking or bicycling or 

allowing their children to play outside or walk or 

bike to school. 

The links between physical activity and health 

are well established. A sedentary lifestyle can 

contribute to obesity, heart disease, and Type 2 

diabetes—illnesses that disproportionately affect 

minority communities.28,29,30

Inadequate nutrition

Low-income, minority, and tribal populations 

sometimes have difficulty maintaining wellbalanced diets, partly because of inadequate 

access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food and 

easy access to cheap fast food. Many underserved 

neighborhoods lack supermarkets, compelling 

residents without transportation options to shop 

at convenience stores with high prices and a 

limited selection of nutritious foods. If residents 

are able to travel to grocery stores, they often 

must make lengthy and costly trips.31 In rural 

communities without public transportation, 

getting to stores with healthy food can be even 

more difficult. 

28 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Obesity 

Data/Statistics. minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/browse.

aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=550. Accessed 2011. 

29 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Heart Disease 

Data/Statistics. minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/browse.

aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=127. Accessed 2011. 

30 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Diabetes 

Data/Statistics. minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/browse.

aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=62. Accessed 2011. 

31 U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. Access 

to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding 

Food Deserts and Their Consequences. 2009. webarchives.cdlib.org/

wayback.public/UERS_ag_1/20111128200143/http:/www.ers.usda.

gov/Publications/AP/AP036/. 

The links between physical activity 

and health are well established. 

A sedentary lifestyle can contribute 

to obesity, heart disease, and 

Type 2 diabetes—illnesses that 

disproportionately affect minority 

communities.

Cumulative health impacts 

The many physical, chemical, biological, social, 

and cultural factors overburdened populations 

face can combine to increase their exposure 

to environmental toxins, make them more 

susceptible to these toxins, and reduce their 

ability to recover from exposure. These factors 

can include pre-existing health conditions, 

lack of access to health care and insurance, 

poor nutrition, lack of information about 

environmental and health issues, lack of exercise, 

and many others.32,33

Disinvestment in Established 

Communities

Dispersed development patterns 

After World War II, development in the United 

States spread from cities and older suburbs 

to the fringes of metropolitan areas and 

beyond. This trend was promoted by public 

policies that encouraged building new homes 

and roads rather than investing in existing 

communities, and was fueled by a variety of 

economic and cultural factors. As these far-flung 

developments expanded, the populations of 

central cities and towns decreased, with growing 

concentrations of low-income and minority 

residents. Transportation and water infrastructure 

often was not adequately maintained and 

32 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA’s Action Development 

Process: Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice 

During the Development of an Action. 2010. www.epa.gov/

compliance/ej/resources/policy/considering-ej-in-rulemakingguide-07-2010.pdf.

33 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Symposium on the Science 

of Disproportionate Environmental Health Impacts. www.epa.gov/

environmentaljustice/multimedia/albums/epa/disproportionateimpacts-symposium.html. Accessed 2011.
10 CHALLENGES TO EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

municipal services were reduced. The number 

of brownfields and other contaminated and 

vacant sites increased. Facing falling property 

values, some residents abandoned their homes 

and housing stock deteriorated. Businesses also 

began moving to the edges of metropolitan 

regions, making it harder for the residents of 

disinvested neighborhoods to find work and 

earn a living. Jobs in the suburbs were often 

inaccessible because public transportation did 

not connect urban and suburban areas.34 At the 

same time, exclusionary zoning practices in some 

newer neighborhoods limited the construction 

of small, multifamily, and rental homes, making 

these places unaffordable to lower-income 

residents. Additionally, redlining35 and racially 

exclusionary covenants36 were used to deny 

mortgage loans and other resources to minorities 

and low-income people to keep them out of more 

affluent, predominantly white neighborhoods. 

These federal, local, and private-sector policies 

increased residential segregation by race, 

ethnicity, and economic status. Low-income and 

minority families looking to move closer to their 

jobs, high-quality schools, and other resources 

can still face unintentionally and deliberately 

discriminatory housing policies and practices in 

more affluent communities.

Disinvestment and spread-out development 

patterns have affected rural and tribal 

communities as well. In many rural areas, the 

decline of agriculture and manufacturing has 

led to unemployment and poverty. As young 

people move away, populations age, and 

employers choose to locate elsewhere, small 

towns and rural places have struggled to identify 

their competitive advantages and attract 

new economic development. In rural places 

34 Jackson, Kenneth. Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the 

United States. 1987. Oxford University Press.

35 “Redlining” refers to the practice of denying or increasing the cost 

of goods and services such as mortgage and business loans, other 

financial services, insurance, and retail to residents of particular 

areas, which were often racially determined. The term originally 

described the practice of drawing red lines on a map to delineate 

areas where banks and businesses would not invest.

36 Racially exclusionary covenants restricted the sale or occupation 

of property on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, or social class. 

They were used to prohibit buyers of property from reselling, 

leasing, or transferring it to members of a given race, ethnicity, or 

religion as specified in the title deed.

close to metropolitan regions, farmland and 

natural lands have been lost to development, 

threatening resource-dependent economies and 

the rural character residents value. Dispersed 

and unplanned development on tribal lands 

can endanger the natural resources indigenous 

peoples need for hunting, fishing, planting, and 

other traditional practices.

Neighborhoods without essential goods and 

services

As described above, disinvestment in many cities, 

older suburbs, and rural areas has left residents 

without the goods and services they need to thrive, 

including accessible and affordable transportation 

options, parks and other recreational facilities, 

good schools, health clinics, grocery stores, and 

other places to buy healthy food. Some very lowincome rural and tribal communities lack basic 

necessities such as safe and adequate drinking 

water, wastewater, housing, and transportation 

infrastructure, making it difficult to meet essential 

needs and even more challenging to improve the 

economic situations of residents.

The lack of transportation options in many 

communities is a particular challenge. Low-income 

and minority populations are less likely to own 

cars, and their neighborhoods might not be served 

by efficient, reliable public transportation. They 

often lack sidewalks and bicycle paths to connect 

Streets without facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists make 

it harder and more dangerous for people without cars to 

get around. Photo courtesy of EPA.
CHALLENGES TO EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 11

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

them to local destinations and transit stops. Those 

who do walk can face disproportionate safety risks 

due to poorly designed streets, neglected road 

maintenance, inadequate lighting, and minimal 

traffic enforcement.37

Because low-income families have fewer 

transportation options and farther to travel to 

reach jobs and services, they typically spend a 

higher than average percentage of their incomes 

on transportation. While the average U.S. family 

spends about 18 percent of after-tax income on 

transportation, low-wage households living far 

from employment centers spend 37 percent of 

their incomes on transportation,38 and very lowincome households can spend 55 percent or 

more.39 In contrast, families living in neighborhoods 

well-served by public transportation spend an 

average of 9 percent.40

Displacement 

When neighborhood revitalization occurs, it 

can bring unintended adverse consequences 

for low-income residents if it does not involve 

careful planning and strong community 

engagement. New investments in infrastructure, 

public transportation, and businesses can make 

surrounding real estate more desirable, raising 

property values and spurring the conversion of 

affordable housing to higher-end units. These 

trends can result in the displacement of existing 

residents and businesses and can particularly 

affect renters. Leaving a neighborhood can mean 

not just leaving a home, but often social networks 

and community culture as well. Low-income 

residents who are not displaced can still be 

affected as they can face significantly increased 

costs of living. 

37 PolicyLink and the Prevention Institute. The Transportation 

Prescription. 2010. www.policylink.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.as

px?c=lkIXLbMNJrE&b=5136581&ct=7290885. 

38 PolicyLink and the Prevention Institute. The Transportation 

Prescription. 2010. www.policylink.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.as

px?c=lkIXLbMNJrE&b=5136581&ct=7290885.

39 Center for Transit-Oriented Development. Mixed-Income Housing 

Near Transit. 2009. www.reconnectingamerica.org/public/display_

asset/091030ra201mixedhousefinal.

40 PolicyLink and the Prevention Institute. The Transportation 

Prescription. 2010. www.policylink.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.as

px?c=lkIXLbMNJrE&b=5136581&ct=7290885.

Community Engagement, 

Empowerment, and Capacity

Many factors can prevent low-income, minority, 

and tribal populations from participating in 

public decision-making. A lack of transparency 

or willingness of government agencies to 

engage the community early in planning can 

make it more difficult for residents to influence 

development decisions. Even with open dialogue 

and transparency, other limitations might 

exist. These include educational and language 

differences, a lack of access to the Internet 

and other information sources, a lack of time 

for meetings and review of documents, and 

a lack of trust between decision-makers and 

community stakeholders. Community-based and 

neighborhood organizations often lack the ability 

to track and influence all the issues affecting 

their constituents. They might not have access to 

scientific, technical, or legal resources, or capacity 

to monitor funding sources or apply for grants 

or other assistance. Some government agencies 

are overcoming these barriers by translating 

publications and websites, holding meetings in 

various locations and at different times of day and 

night, and forming stronger partnerships with 

community-based organizations. However, many 

policy-makers still need guidance on how to work 

most effectively with low-income, minority, and 

tribal populations and the social service entities, 

faith-based organizations, and environmental 

justice groups that serve them. 
12 CHALLENGES TO EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Climate Change Challenges in Low-Income and Overburdened Communities

The changing climate will present many challenges to communities, including hotter days and 

nights, more frequent heat waves, more and stronger storms, rising sea levels, and higher storm 

surges that cause more flooding. Effects will vary in different regions of the United States. Many of 

these effects are already being seen.41

Low-income and overburdened communities are particularly vulnerable to the projected impacts 

of climate change. These include health effects such as increased rates of asthma and other 

respiratory problems due to greater concentrations of local and regional air pollutants,42 heat 

stress and heat exhaustion, and weather-related injury and death. Low-income households are less 

likely to have air conditioning in their homes and often live in neighborhoods without safe and 

convenient places to cool down, putting them at higher risk of heat stress, heat exhaustion, and 

even death.43 More extreme temperatures and unpredictable energy prices can also raise energy 

costs for low-income families, who already spend a greater average share of their household 

incomes on energy than higher-income households.44 The homes of low-income residents are 

more vulnerable to violent weather, such as hurricanes and severe storms, because they are often 

not constructed to resist it or are not covered by insurance. If their homes are destroyed, they might 

not be able to afford to rebuild or move to a safer location. Flood damage to affordable housing 

stock might leave low-income people with fewer housing choices. For example, Cedar Falls, Iowa 

lost a significant number of affordable homes during the severe flooding of the Mississippi River in 

2008.45 Many of these homes were located in the river’s floodplain.

41 U.S. Global Change Research Program. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. 2009. www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/

assessment/previous-assessments/global-climate-change-impacts-in-the-us-2009.

42 Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health. A Human Health Perspective on Climate Change. Environmental Health 

Perspectives and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. 2010. www.niehs.nih.gov/health/assets/docs_a_e/

climatereport2010.pdf. 

43 For a discussion of the characteristics of neighborhoods that suffered particularly high levels of heat-related deaths in the 1995 Chicago 

heat wave, see Browning, Christopher, et al. “Neighborhood Social Processes, Physical Conditions, and Disaster-Related Mortality: The 

Case of the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave.“ American Sociological Review, 2006, Vol. 71 (August: 661–678). health.bsd.uchicago.edu/FileStore/

BrowningWallaceFeinbergCagney_ASR_Aug%2006.pdf.

44 Applied Public Policy Research Institute for Study and Evaluation. LIHEAP Energy Burden Evaluation Study: Final Report. 2005.

45 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Smart Growth Technical Assistance in Iowa. www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/iowa_techasst.

htm#cedarfalls. Accessed 2011.
STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT 13

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Chapter 3: Strategies Linking Smart Growth, 

Environmental Justice, and Equitable Development

A wide variety of strategies and approaches 

link smart growth, environmental justice, 

and equitable development to respond to 

the challenges overburdened communities 

face, promote growth that is equitable and 

environmentally sustainable, and lay the 

foundation for economic resilience. This chapter 

describes approaches that communities across 

the country have used successfully. Since land use 

planning is a local responsibility, this publication 

provides a menu of strategies that can be 

implemented by municipal and regional decisionmakers, community-based organizations, 

private-sector stakeholders, or partnerships 

between them. In some cases, state, federal, 

or philanthropic support can be helpful. Each 

community should implement the approaches 

that best suit its needs and achieve local goals.

The strategies are grouped under seven 

common elements, or shared goals and 

principles that connect environmental justice, 

smart growth, and equitable development. 

This document provides a brief introduction 

to each strategy that describes what it is, how 

it supports equitable and environmentally 

sustainable development, potential barriers to 

implementation by low-income or overburdened 

communities, and examples of how it has been 

used. Each section includes an in-depth case 

study highlighting a community’s experiences 

with these strategies. Further resources related to 

these strategies are listed in the Resource Guide 

at the end of this document. 

SEVEN COMMON ELEMENTS 

OF SMART GROWTH, 

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND 

EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

•	 Facilitate Meaningful Community

Engagement in Planning and Land Use 

Decisions

•	 Promote Public Health and a Clean and

Safe Environment

•	 Strengthen Existing Communities

•	 Provide Housing Choices

•	 Provide Transportation Options

•	 Improve Access to Opportunities and

Daily Necessities

•	 Preserve and Build on the Features That

Make a Community Distinctive

Fruitvale Village, in a predominantly Latino neighborhood of 

East Oakland, California, is a vibrant community gathering 

place that provides services and amenities to residents and 

celebrates local culture. Photo courtesy of the Unity Council.
14

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

Minimizing Displacement: 

An Early Priority in Revitalization 

Too often, revitalization efforts in low-income 

or overburdened neighborhoods end up 

displacing long-time residents. To address 

this unintended impact, municipalities and 

community organizations are using strategies 

that draw needed resources and amenities 

into established neighborhoods while helping 

existing residents and the commercial, service, 

and cultural establishments they value remain 

there. A proactive and comprehensive approach 

to minimizing displacement encompasses 

affordable housing, commercial stabilization, 

economic and workforce development, 

supportive land use policies, and community 

engagement. Affordable housing strategies are 

discussed later in this chapter. 

To increase the likelihood of success, local 

governments and community-based 

organizations should initiate efforts to mitigate 

displacement as soon as revitalization planning 

begins rather than waiting until projects are 

underway. A community assessment is one 

way to start. Planners can use demographic 

data to understand who lives and works in a 

neighborhood and how this may change over 

time. Key indicators measured at the Census block 

or block group level, such as rent as a percentage 

of household income and combined housing and 

transportation costs, can help identify residents 

that are particularly vulnerable to displacement. 

The government of the District of Columbia 

mapped and scored median household incomes, 

median home values, projected rise in home 

values, the proportion of renters to homeowners, 

and the proximity to subway stations for small 

neighborhood areas throughout the city. Planners 

aggregated the scores to produce an indicator 

of pressure on housing affordability for each 

location, which will inform future policy-making. 

Land use policies 

Municipalities and their community partners 

can mitigate displacement by making sure that 

supportive land use and development regulations 

are in place. First, they can work together to map 

out important commercial, industrial, service, 

and cultural sites; determine how these land 

uses fit into the zoning plan; and identify needed 

updates. For instance, if the community wants 

to protect local businesses, the municipality 

could create a special use district to encourage 

small, neighborhood-serving businesses or 

permit developers to build at greater densities in 

commercial districts if they provide retail space 

set-asides or other benefits for locally owned 

businesses. In San Francisco, where production, 

distribution, and repair-related industries provide 

over 10 percent of the city’s total employment, 

the municipality has updated the zoning code 

to retain those businesses in the redeveloping 

eastern neighborhoods, where rising property 

The Fruitvale Main Street program, led by the Unity Council, 

a community development corporation, promotes the 

annual Día de los Muertos celebration.

Photo courtesy of the Unity Council. 
15

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

values were displacing traditional industrial 

uses.46,47 As discussed in the housing section, 

ordinances that allow inclusionary zoning, 

mixed-use and transit-oriented development, 

multifamily housing, and smaller lot sizes can help 

residents afford housing and transportation costs 

and reduce the likelihood that they will need to 

relocate. 

Commercial stabilization 

Small, locally owned enterprises serve 

neighborhood residents, generate jobs, support 

the neighborhood economy, and keep money 

in the community. These institutions are also 

critical to the distinctive character of a place and 

to residents’ sense of belonging and ownership. 

When these businesses are healthy, they are more 

likely to stay through neighborhood changes. 

Many governments and organizations have 

created programs to support neighborhood 

businesses. Municipal assistance often begins 

with capital investments in streets, sidewalks, 

parks, and lighting in commercial districts. Local 

governments can offer merchants grants or lowinterest loans to renovate their storefronts. 

Some local governments and organizations 

sponsor training for small businesses on topics 

such as merchandising, marketing, and how 

to take advantage of financial opportunities 

like the Enterprise Zone Tax Credit program, 

which provides tax incentives to businesses in 

economically distressed areas. Other business 

assistance programs include education about 

upcoming development and zoning changes 

and their implications for the business climate. 

Some municipalities hire lawyers to help local 

businesses obtain longer-term leases. 

Many locally owned businesses receive aid from 

the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main 

Street program, which supports commercial 

district revitalization. The Fruitvale Main 

Street Program, in a predominantly Latino 

neighborhood of East Oakland, California, was 

46 San Francisco Planning Department. Industrial Land in San 

Francisco: Understanding Production, Distribution, and Repair. 2002. 

sf-planning.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=4893. 

47 San Francisco, California Planning Code §210.7-230.

one of the first Main Street programs. Led by 

the Unity Council, a community development 

corporation, the program has coordinated 

infrastructure investments, provided grants to 

help more than 100 businesses renovate their 

storefronts, promoted the annual Día de los 

Muertos celebration, and offered assistance 

to businesses, many of which are owned by 

immigrants, to improve their products and 

customer service.48

Economic development for existing residents

When revitalization brings jobs and other direct 

economic benefits to existing residents, they are 

less vulnerable to displacement. Federal agencies 

funding infrastructure and other projects in 

communities have goals for contracting and 

subcontracting with minority- and womanowned companies, small businesses, and 

other disadvantaged enterprises. Some states, 

metropolitan planning organizations, and 

municipalities set their own goals for working 

with minority- and woman-owned companies, 

working with small and local businesses, and 

48 PolicyLink. Equitable Development Toolkit. www.policylink.org/

site/c.lkIXLbMNJrE/b.5136575/k.39A1/Equitable_Development_

Toolkit.htm. Accessed 2011.

The Fruitvale Public Market is a small business incubator 

that provides attractive, affordable storefront space and 

professional technical assistance services to 

micro-enterprises. The market’s eleven small businesses, 

specializing in Latin American items, have access to business 

planning, management, and marketing resources to help 

sustain and grow their enterprises. 

Photo courtesy of the Unity Council. 
CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

16 STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

hiring minority workers. For example, the 

Metropolitan Council, the regional planning 

agency serving Minnesota’s Twin Cities, aims 

to attain18 percent minority and 6 percent 

female workforce participation for its Central 

Corridor light rail transit project. These goals 

reflect the local communities’ demographics 

rather than the demographics of the county or 

region.49 Municipalities and community-based 

organizations can help meet those goals by 

working with developers and contractors to 

recruit and train residents. Local governments can 

partner with nonprofits or community colleges to 

provide job training programs on relevant skills 

such as brownfields assessment and cleanup or 

rehabilitation of historic properties. To address 

the undersupply of trained and certified minority 

construction workers in its area, the Metropolitan 

Council has partnered with the Urban League, 

nonprofit vocational training centers, labor 

unions, and construction companies to host 

workshops and develop a website called LRT 

Works that matches workers with jobs, companies, 

and unions.50 More than 1,500 workers have 

signed up since it launched in November 2010.51

Companies are regularly posting jobs on the site, 

and the Metropolitan Council is using it to meet 

49 Kirkpatrick, Wanda. “Met Council committed to minority hiring on 

light-rail construction.” Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. February 

15, 2012. www.spokesman-recorder.com/?p=10649.

50 Metropolitan Council. LRT Works. www.lrtworks.org. Accessed 2012. 

51 Kirkpatrick, Wanda. “Met Council committed to minority hiring on 

light-rail construction.” Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. February 

15, 2012. www.spokesman-recorder.com/?p=10649.

or exceed minority and female hiring goals for the 

Central Corridor project.52

Some community-based organizations have 

negotiated community benefits agreements—

private contracts between a developer and a 

community group that establish the benefits 

the community will receive from a development 

project. These agreements can be vehicles for 

resident involvement in decision-making and can 

ensure that the project incorporates workforce 

development, including local hiring and training 

programs and living wages, as well as other 

community priorities such as affordable housing 

and green buildings.

It is important to ensure that the economic 

benefits for existing residents continue after 

redevelopment efforts are complete and that 

high-quality, permanent jobs are created. 

Municipalities can collaborate with developers to 

recruit small businesses and other commercial, 

office, and industrial tenants that will hire locally. 

They can also encourage green industries—

manufacturing, assembly, and distribution 

businesses creating sustainable products and 

services or working to improve environmental 

quality—that provide well-paying jobs and 

make use of industrial land. Community 

organizations can host job placement centers 

in the neighborhood and work with social 

service providers to identify candidates for open 

positions. Community development corporations 

can be helpful, as neighborhood revitalization 

and economic development are fundamental 

parts of their missions.

52 Job Connect and LRT Works. Workforce Solutions and Metropolitan 

Council Light Rail Partnership Update. 2011. www.jobconnectmn.

govoffice2.com/vertical/sites/%7B820AFFA9-77FF-4A3E-8D63-

0ACC66FB6C97%7D/uploads/MASTER_-_Summary_for_Light_Rail_

Construction_Project_9-14-11.pdf.

The Fort Lauderdale, Florida Housing Authority’s StepUp Apprenticeship Program provides young people 

with construction training as they complete their GEDs. 

Apprentices built all the cabinets for the Northwest Gardens 

affordable housing development, and some have since 

found full-time positions. Photo courtesy of Fernando Lezcano.
17

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

FACILITATE MEANINGFUL COMMUNIT Y ENGAGEMENT IN PLANNING AND LAND USE DECISIONS

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Facilitate Meaningful Community 

Engagement in Planning and 

Land Use Decisions

Meaningful community participation and 

leadership in planning and land use decisionmaking can ensure that revitalization is a 

community-based process that builds on local 

values and assets and brings the amenities that 

residents need. Every strategy in this report 

must be supported by early and consistent 

stakeholder engagement to be effective. 

Inclusive involvement results in planning and 

development decisions that have been improved 

by a variety of perspectives, have authentic 

support from a broad range of constituents, and 

are more enduring and better for the community 

as a whole. Obtaining input from groups not 

historically engaged in planning can help reduce 

the disproportionate environmental harms and 

health impacts they often face and make sure 

that future development brings fair access to new 

opportunities. For developers, it can lead to more 

predictable development processes and reduce 

costly delays caused by community opposition. 

Robust and inclusive community engagement 

requires proactive work by both decision-makers 

and community members. Government staff 

should maintain an open relationship with the 

public throughout the planning process. An 

important initial step is to identify all affected 

stakeholders, from residents to local business 

owners to representatives of community 

institutions. These constituents should be invited 

to provide input early so their needs and visions 

for the community can be incorporated before 

the plan or project has been shaped. They should 

be active participants in collecting information, 

identifying challenges and opportunities, 

and setting goals. Nonprofit communitybased organizations, including environmental 

and social justice organizations, community 

development corporations, neighborhood 

associations, and community advocacy 

groups, are key partners that can help connect 

government agencies and residents. 

Most local and regional planning and 

transportation agencies have established public 

involvement procedures that include public 

meetings at key stages when developing plans 

or reviewing projects. They often issue written 

communications such as news releases and 

draft documents and solicit feedback through 

online surveys or social media tools. However, 

it is important for planners to go beyond the 

minimum requirements and to address factors 

that can keep people from engaging. Many 

residents have never participated in public 

decision-making and might not be familiar 

with the process or feel comfortable sharing 

their views with officials. They might not have 

reliable transportation to and from meetings, 

be able to afford child care during meetings, be 

able to take time off from work to attend, have 

access to the Internet, or speak fluent English. To 

achieve a comprehensive public process, officials 

should seek out and facilitate the involvement of 

stakeholders who are not traditionally engaged in 

planning using the approaches in this section. To 

institutionalize the diverse needs and interests of 

traditionally underrepresented communities over 

the long term, it is important that they are fairly 

represented on city councils, planning and zoning 

boards, county commissions, transportation 

agency boards, and other governing bodies. 

At the same time, to be effective, community 

members and organizations might need to 

seek out opportunities to engage and ways to 

collect information and present it to decisionmakers. Community-based groups can use the 

approaches provided in this section to gather 

evidence of local needs and develop visions and 

targeted goals to inform the planning process. 

Three engagement strategies that are particularly 

applicable to planning and land use decisionmaking are described here: multilingual outreach, 

community assessments, and community 

planning and visioning workshops. These 

can be led by local government agencies, 

community groups, or partnerships between 

them. For instance, a planning agency could hold 

multilingual public workshops to collect ideas 

for a neighborhood plan; to prepare for these 
18

FACILITATE MEANINGFUL COMMUNIT Y ENGAGEMENT IN PLANNING AND LAND USE DECISIONS

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

workshops, a neighborhood-based nonprofit 

organization could conduct visioning sessions for 

residents who are new to the planning process. 

Conduct Multilingual Outreach

Outreach to non-English speakers is increasingly 

important for effective and inclusive public 

processes. The number of U.S. residents whose 

primary language is not English has grown over 

recent decades, spurring local governments to 

find new ways of engaging the public. According 

to the 2000 U.S. Census, nearly 11 million 

Americans have limited English proficiency.53

Comprehensive public engagement programs 

result in solutions that are better for residents 

and municipalities. An inclusive approach can 

help government agencies tailor their programs 

to users, making them more effective and 

popular among residents. For example, some 

transportation authorities have found that 

improving outreach to non-English-speaking 

groups increases ridership and public support for 

their services.54

Inclusive outreach is required for transportation, 

housing, and other infrastructure projects that use 

federal funding. Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights 

Act prohibits discrimination based on national 

origin by failing to make activities supported by 

the federal government accessible to people with 

limited English proficiency.55 Executive Order 

13166 requires federally assisted programs to 

provide written documents in the languages 

of groups likely to be affected by the particular 

program. The order also calls for interpretation 

and translation, such as translating websites and 

brochures and providing multilingual phone lines 

and customer service staff.56

Many transportation and land use planning 

agencies regularly provide information and 

materials for non-English speakers. The transit 

53 U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000, SF3 Sample Data. Table QT-P17, 

Ability to Speak English: 2000. 

54 U.S. Government Accountability Office. Transportation Services: 

Better Dissemination and Oversight of DOT’s Guidance Could Lead 

to Improved Access for Limited English-Proficient Populations. 2005. 

www.gao.gov/new.items/d0652.pdf. 

55 Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d, et seq.

56 Exec. Order No. 13166, 65 Fed. Reg. 159 (August 11, 2000).

agency in Houston, Texas provides printed 

information in five languages.57 In Orange County, 

California, several staff in the transit agency’s 

customer relations department speak Spanish 

or Vietnamese, and press releases and other 

written materials are submitted to Spanish and 

Vietnamese print and broadcast media.58 The 

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation 

Authority uses a Spanish-language blog called El 

Pasajero (The Passenger) to serve the 61 percent of 

its riders and 37 percent of the agency’s workforce 

that speak Spanish.59

Staff and volunteers from nonprofit organizations 

can help improve communication between the 

government and the community. With their 

understanding of the community’s culture, 

needs, and objectives, these liaisons can help 

educate and engage residents, prepare for and 

conduct public meetings, provide translation 

assistance, and serve as facilitators. Government 

agencies can contract with or provide grants 

to community-based organizations to ensure 

a long-term relationship, formalize a workplan, 

and provide financial compensation for 

their services. The Twin Cities’ Corridors of 

Opportunity is a regional planning effort funded 

by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD) and Living Cities that 

focuses on the area’s growing network of transit 

corridors. This initiative is providing $750,000 in 

grants to community organizations to engage 

underrepresented communities in planning and 

implementation. Ten grants have already been 

awarded for activities such as training Community 

Outreach Ambassadors to engage Southeast 

Asian residents, conducting educational forums 

on transit for the Somali community, and 

improving communication with new immigrant 

populations.60

57 U.S. Department of Transportation. Public Involvement Techniques 

for Transportation Decision-Making: Ethnic, Minority, and LowIncome Groups. 1996. www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/pittd/ethmin.htm.

58 Orange County Transit Authority. Orange County Transportation 

Limited-English Proficiency Plan. 2011. www.octa.net/pdf/lepplan.

pdf.

59 Behrens, Zach. “Metro Launches Spanish Language Blog, El 

Pasajero.” KCET. April 8, 2011. www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/

transportation/metro-spanish-blog-32151.html.

60 Corridors of Opportunity Community Engagement Team. Engage 

Twin Cities. engagetc.org/about/. Accessed 2011.
FACILITATE MEANINGFUL COMMUNIT Y ENGAGEMENT IN PLANNING AND LAND USE DECISIONS

19

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Case Study: 

Inclusive Neighborhood Planning 

Seattle, Washington

The city of Seattle used innovative neighborhood 

planning approaches to give the culturally 

diverse Othello community a voice in the 

development around a new light rail station. 

Opened in July 2009, the Othello station is 

on a light rail line running through Rainier 

Valley, which links downtown Seattle to SeaTac International Airport. An inclusive planning 

process went beyond minimum requirements to 

engage Othello’s historically underrepresented 

communities. Today, the station is surrounded 

by a vibrant and diverse neighborhood with 

shopping, a library, a community college, and 

affordable homes. 

Othello is located in southeast Seattle, and nearly 

50 percent of its residents are foreign-born. The 

broader southeast area has a variety of income 

levels, with affluent neighborhoods and two large 

public housing projects. 

In the 1990s, the city asked community members 

in 38 neighborhoods to create neighborhood 

plans to guide future growth. Since the adoption 

of the original neighborhood plans, Seattle has 

grown in population, jobs, and diversity. With 

new housing demand, real estate prices have 

increased in some working-class neighborhoods. 

There has also been significant development 

interest around light rail stations. As a result, the 

city decided to update three neighborhood plans 

in southeast Seattle, including Othello’s. For this 

effort, the city would draw on its Race and Social 

Justice Initiative, created in 2002 to end racebased disparities in city programs and services. 

To update the plans, the city engaged thousands 

of people using an online survey and traditional 

neighborhood meetings. It also employed 

special outreach liaisons to work with members 

of historically underrepresented communities, 

including Cambodian, Somali, Amharic, 

Vietnamese, Latino, Native American, and AfricanAmerican communities, youth, and persons with 

disabilities. Before the city’s public meetings, the 

liaisons translated materials and held smaller 

meetings with their constituents. At first, few 

community members attended the city’s public 

meetings. However, attendance grew over time, 

with participation increasing from approximately 

10 to between 300 and 400 residents per meeting. 

Altogether, the city provided information to 

3,000 people and 1,600 became involved in the 

planning initiatives. 

To update the Othello neighborhood plan, the city of 

Seattle engaged thousands of people using traditional 

community meetings as well as an online survey and other 

approaches. Photo courtesy of City of Seattle.

The city employed outreach liaisons to work with members 

of historically underrepresented communities, including 

Cambodian, Somali, Amharic, Vietnamese, Latino, Native 

American, and African-American communities, youth, and 

persons with disabilities. Photo courtesy of City of Seattle.
20

FACILITATE MEANINGFUL COMMUNIT Y ENGAGEMENT IN PLANNING AND LAND USE DECISIONS

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

When the city talked with the Othello community 

about the planned light rail station, the residents 

said they wanted a town center that would 

support the existing multicultural business 

district, make walking safer and more pleasant 

using sidewalks and landscaping, and provide 

affordable housing for working families. Multiple 

partners collaborated to help realize the 

community’s vision, including Sound Transit, the 

Seattle Housing Authority, the city’s Department 

of Planning and Development, local developer 

Othello Partners, and USAA Bank. 

The new station provides easy access to 

the Seattle Housing Authority’s NewHolly 

neighborhood, which includes 1,450 homes for 

people with a range of incomes. A branch of the 

Seattle Public Library, South Seattle Community 

College, and a new walking and biking path are 

within walking distance of the development. 

Three additional housing complexes are planned 

near the Othello station, primarily for low-income 

buyers. A development of 435 homes has been 

completed, and a 420,000-square-foot, mixed-use 

project with 352 residences is planned.

“To truly achieve equitable development and 

smart growth, there must be strategies and 

investments that create anchors to hold in place 

those communities most at risk of displacement 

due to real estate pressures,” says Nora Liu, 

Neighborhood Planning Manager for the city of 

Seattle. “In this way, improvements to the built 

environment can benefit those who are there 

now as well as new residents seeking a more 

sustainable way to live.”61

61 For references, see page 75.

During the planning process, Othello residents developed 

a vision of a town center that would support the existing 

business district, offer affordable housing, and provide 

facilities to make walking safe and pleasant.

Photo courtesy of City of Seattle.

“To truly achieve equitable 

development and smart growth, 

there must be strategies and 

investments that create anchors to 

hold in place those communities 

most at risk of displacement due to 

real estate pressures,” says Nora Liu, 

Neighborhood Planning Manager for 

the city of Seattle.
FACILITATE MEANINGFUL COMMUNIT Y ENGAGEMENT IN PLANNING AND LAND USE DECISIONS

21

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Conduct Community Assessments

Conventional planning processes might not 

always capture detailed information about specific 

community challenges or priorities. A community 

assessment can empower residents to fill those 

gaps. In a community assessment, community 

members gather, analyze, and report information 

to produce a more complete picture of current 

conditions, needs, and available resources. An 

assessment typically focuses on a priority issue in 

a specific area, such as housing or transportation 

options in a neighborhood. Examples include 

walkability audits, which evaluate the safety and 

convenience of the walking environment, and 

community food assessments, which analyze the 

availability of healthy food options. 

Community assessments are usually conducted 

by community organizations and residents 

and often receive support from government 

agencies, academic institutions, and foundations. 

Experts and residents work together to establish 

indicators that show current conditions and 

measure future progress. They also identify how to 

collect information most effectively. Participants 

usually conduct an on-the-ground assessment; 

supplementary information can be gathered 

through interviews, surveys, and focus groups, or 

by obtaining outside data. After the assessment, 

participants determine how to share findings 

with decision-makers and the broader public and 

integrate them into planning processes. 

In Bakersfield, California, the Greenfield Walking 

Group, comprised primarily of Spanish-speaking 

female farm workers, teamed with the Central 

California Regional Obesity Prevention Program 

to spearhead a walkability assessment of a local 

park. The group identified areas of the park that 

were unsafe, discouraged physical activity, or were 

unwelcoming to children. Their findings led to 

several improvements, including the construction 

of a walking path and playground.62

With support from EPA, the Walkable and Livable 

Communities Institute conducted a walkability 

62 The California Endowment. The Greenfield Walking GroupTransforming a Park, Transforming a Community. 2002. 

www.partnershipph.org/sites/default/files/Greenfield_

WalkingGroup.pdf.

workshop with the residents of the predominantly 

African American 26th ward in St. Louis, Missouri. 

Participants joined a facilitated walk around the 

neighborhood where they identified barriers to 

walkability such as crime, excessive vehicle speeds, 

street closures, and a lack of walking and bicycling 

routes to the nearby light rail station. Residents 

and experts then explored solutions, such as 

organizing a community-based Active Living 

Working Group to prioritize efforts and pursue 

funding, fixing broken pedestrian crossing signals, 

and reconnecting barricaded streets.63

Community assessments often require funding 

and expertise. While some communities obtain 

these resources through grants or partnerships 

with government agencies, nonprofits, or 

academic institutions, others engage skilled 

volunteers such as graduate students with 

mapping or planning knowledge. Alternatively, 

using “off-the-shelf” tools, such as pre-prepared 

zoning code audits, can allow community groups 

to complete assessments independently. 

Community assessments provide credible data 

that community organizations and government 

staff can use to document needs, secure grants, 

and inform future neighborhood investments. They 

can also lead to helpful new relationships among 

citizens, organizations, and government partners. 

63 Walkable and Livable Communities Institute. Suggested Next Steps 

as Outcome of Technical Assistance, 26th Ward, St. Louis, Mo. 2011.

Residents of St. Louis, Missouri’s 26th Ward conduct a 

walking audit of their neighborhood, where they identify 

barriers to walkability such as crime, high vehicle speeds, 

and a lack of good pedestrian and bicycle routes to the 

nearby light-rail station. Photo courtesy of Eric Friedman, 

Housing and Community Solutions, Inc.
22

FACILITATE MEANINGFUL COMMUNIT Y ENGAGEMENT IN PLANNING AND LAND USE DECISIONS

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Hold Community Planning and 

Visioning Workshops

Defining a shared vision and goals for a site, 

neighborhood, city, town, or region is the first 

step in the planning process and the foundation 

for subsequent land use policy and regulatory 

changes and investments in the community. 

Community planning and visioning 

workshops can be sponsored by public 

agencies, non-governmental organizations, 

and private developers. These workshops 

are usually managed by facilitators who lead 

participants through structured discussions 

and design exercises, and they often produce 

visual representations of the community’s 

desired future, such as maps and drawings. 

After the workshop, the results, along with 

recommendations on how to achieve the 

vision, are shared with the broader public and 

decision-makers and integrated into planning 

processes. Workshops can be completed in one 

day or include multiple meetings scheduled over 

several months. Multi-day collaborative planning 

events where stakeholders create a plan and 

implementation strategy are known as charrettes. 

The costs of a workshop or charrette vary 

depending on their complexity, technical needs, 

and duration. 

Local decision-makers typically take part in 

planning workshops to learn about the needs 

and goals of their constituents. In Gary, Indiana, 

elected officials joined community leaders at 

a design workshop convened by the American 

Planning Association’s Planning and the Black 

Community Division. Together, they developed a 

vision for revitalizing the Broadway corridor that 

runs through the heart of Gary’s African-American 

community. The plan called for reusing vacant 

parcels, strengthening community elements 

that showcase the area’s cultural heritage, and 

improving transportation options by creating 

nature trails and transit-oriented development.64

64 American Planning Association, Planning and the Black Community 

Division. Vision for Broadway. 2009. www.planning.org/divisions/

blackcommunity/pdf/garyindinana.pdf.

Planning and visioning workshops should be 

tailored to the specific needs of participants, 

especially if they are new to the planning process. 

For instance, some community members may not 

feel comfortable expressing their ideas in front 

of government representatives. In these cases, a 

nonprofit organization could hold pre-workshops, 

where residents can share their experiences and 

concerns comfortably. Conducting pre-workshops 

also provides an opportunity for facilitators to 

educate participants about strategies that have 

been applied in other communities, expanding 

their knowledge of potential solutions and 

preparing them to collaborate with municipal staff.

Elected officials and community leaders worked together 

to develop a vision for revitalizing the Broadway corridor 

that runs through the heart of Gary, Indiana’s AfricanAmerican community. Photo courtesy of Carlton Eley.

The resident design committee of the High Point 

community in Seattle met biweekly to help plan what 

redevelopment would look like.

Photo courtesy of Seattle Housing Authority.
PROMOTE PUBLIC HEALTH AND A CLEAN AND SAFE ENVIRONMENT

23

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Promote Public Health and a 

Clean and Safe Environment

A clean and safe environment and healthy 

residents are the ultimate goals of environmental 

justice, smart growth, and equitable development. 

Homes should be buffered from land uses with 

potential environmental concerns like incinerators, 

heavy manufacturing plants, and goods 

movement facilities. Contaminated sites resulting 

from previous industrial activities should be 

cleaned up and put to safer use. Buildings, streets, 

and other infrastructure should be constructed in 

ways that reduce air and water contamination and 

improve the health of the people using them. Lowincome, minority, and tribal communities should 

not face disproportionate environmental burdens 

and should enjoy clean and safe places to live, 

work, play, and learn.

Approaches that integrate smart growth and 

environmental justice offer ways of arranging land 

uses, developing sites, and constructing buildings 

that can help protect overburdened populations 

from environmental and health hazards and bring 

benefits like clean air and water. This section 

covers five strategies for planning and developing 

healthy, sustainable neighborhoods. The first 

two, reducing exposure to facilities with potential 

environmental concerns and goods movement 

activities, focus on zoning and planning tools that 

can help protect the neighbors of existing facilities 

and appropriately site and design new ones. 

Next, cleaning up and reusing brownfields and 

Superfund sites can remove health hazards while 

boosting local economies and enhancing quality 

of life. The final two strategies, creating green 

buildings and green streets, can reduce pollution 

and contribute to healthier indoor and outdoor 

environments.

In all of these efforts, local public health 

departments are important partners who can 

strengthen the link between planning and health 

by bringing new information and stakeholders to 

the table. When engaged in land use planning, 

they can help residents identify health issues that 

can be addressed in plans, provide and interpret 

data documenting local health concerns, organize 

workshops and presentations for key decisionmakers on land use policy and health, provide 

sample policies, and comment on draft plans. 

Reduce Exposure to Facilities with 

Potential Environmental Concerns 

Proactive and collaborative planning can help 

reduce residents’ exposure to industrial facilities 

and their health effects while preserving the 

economic benefits and jobs they provide. These 

facilities can be anchors of local economies, 

employing residents in permanent, living-wage 

positions. But they might also emit pollutants or 

create byproducts that can cause environmental 

and health problems, so they and their 

surrounding neighborhoods should be planned 

and designed thoughtfully. 

Safe land use planning begins with identifying 

land uses that should not usually be located near 

each other, such as those that may create health 

impacts and those that may affect sensitive 

populations (known as “sensitive uses”). Uses 

with potential health impacts include sources 

of localized air pollution such as industrial 

facilities, power plants, truck depots, and 

freeways. Sensitive land uses include places 

where children, the elderly, people with health 

problems exacerbated by poor air quality, and 

other vulnerable individuals are likely to be, 

such as schools, playgrounds, daycare centers, 

nursing homes, and residences. Complete 

separation of industrial and other land uses is not 

always desirable or necessary, but this section 

describes approaches for separating or buffering 

future incompatible uses when appropriate and 

reducing the environmental and health impacts 

of existing ones. 

Multi-stakeholder collaboration

Proactive cooperation among community 

residents, all levels of government, and business 

and industry stakeholders is critical when 

working with planned and existing facilities. 

Particularly for new projects, multi-stakeholder 

collaboration during the planning stage allows 

early identification of potential negative impacts, 

increases opportunities to make siting decisions 
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or incorporate design features that minimize those 

impacts, and helps business owners mitigate 

impacts more efficiently and cost effectively. 

State and local government collaboration 

is important. Municipal planners can work 

with state and local environmental, air, and 

transportation agencies to understand the 

potential health and environmental impacts of 

various types of facilities. These agencies can 

provide air quality and emissions data, health 

risk estimates, and evaluation tools for use in 

land use decision-making. In most cases, state 

agencies issue permits for air emissions, water 

discharges, or waste disposal. Local planners 

can help state officials assess potential impacts 

on the community, facilitate public input, 

and incorporate permitted facilities into their 

planning efforts. 

Engaging business and industry stakeholders in 

planning processes and after facilities have been 

built can reduce exposure to pollution while 

supporting local economies and employment. 

Community-based organizations and industries 

are using the Collaborative Problem-Solving 

Model and Good Neighbor Agreements to work 

more effectively together. 

The Collaborative Problem-Solving Model 

brings various stakeholders together to address 

a particular issue and create a collective vision 

with mutually beneficial outcomes. It often 

starts with a community-based organization 

convening residents, industry stakeholders, and 

other relevant partners to identify common 

concerns and goals. These discussions can lead to 

community capacity building, dispute resolution 

and consensus building, the identification of 

needed resources, and the development of 

work plans.65 The case study in this section 

describes ReGenesis, a nonprofit organization 

in Spartanburg, South Carolina, that used the 

Collaborative Problem-Solving Model to build 

multi-stakeholder partnerships and tackle 

complex health and environmental issues. 

65 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA’s Environmental 

Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Model. 2008. www.epa.

gov/environmentaljustice/resources/publications/grants/cpsmanual-12-27-06.pdf.

A Good Neighbor Agreement is a formally 

negotiated agreement that establishes a 

relationship between an industry and a 

community organization. Some are voluntary 

and nonbinding while others are legally binding 

and created as conditions in formal permitting 

processes. Although a number of Good Neighbor 

Agreements have been created in reaction to 

accidents or other problems, others have been 

negotiated proactively to reduce pollution, 

increase well-paying jobs for local residents, 

set aside land in conservation easements, 

reduce vehicle traffic, and facilitate access to 

information.66

Municipal planning, zoning, and permitting 

tools

Working with community, state, and industry 

stakeholders, municipal agencies can use 

planning, zoning, and permitting tools to plan 

and site proposed facilities safely and reduce 

residents’ exposure to existing facilities. The 

comprehensive plan, developed with input from 

community members and business stakeholders, 

can lay out general goals, objectives, and 

policies for facility siting. For instance, the 

land use section of the plan could identify 

areas appropriate for future industrial uses 

and introduce design parameters that reduce 

exposure to these uses when they already exist 

close to residential neighborhoods.67

Zoning ordinances can set minimum separation 

distances for specific facility types or create 

buffer zones, which are zoning districts that 

serve as transitional areas between incompatible 

land uses. Buffer zones can include open spaces 

or light commercial uses. Vegetation or other 

types of physical screening can also be used to 

buffer some incompatible uses. 

Conditional use permits allow land uses with 

potentially significant environmental or health 

impacts only under certain conditions. These 

66 Civic Practices Network. Good Neighbor Agreements: A Tool 

for Environmental and Social Justice. www.cpn.org/topics/

environment/goodneighbor.html. Accessed 2012.

67 California Air Resources Board. Air Quality and Land Use Handbook: 

A Community Health Perspective. 2005. www.arb.ca.gov/ch/landuse.

htm.
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permits include special requirements to ensure 

that facilities will not be detrimental to their 

surroundings. In Huntington Park, California, 

permits for facilities in commercial, office, 

and mixed-use zones depend on the facility’s 

proximity to homes and the potential level 

of adverse impact. The city can also require 

mitigation and reduction of diesel emissions 

generated by expanded or new facilities or 

operations.68

Local governments can use performance zoning 

to regulate the impacts of land uses by providing 

standards to limit nuisance-like activities. 

These standards treat all similar projects 

equally, reserving the more resource-intensive 

conditional use permit for projects that require 

more detailed analysis. Examples of performance 

standards include limiting hours of operation 

to reduce emissions exposure, requiring 

fleet operators to use cleaner vehicles when 

expanding their fleets, and providing alternate 

truck routes that avoid residential areas.69

68 National Academy of Public Administration. Addressing Community 

Concerns: How Environmental Justice Relates to Land Use Planning 

and Zoning. 2003. www.epa.gov/compliance/ej/resources/reports/

annual-project-reports/napa-land-use-zoning-63003.pdf.

69 California Air Resources Board. Air Quality and Land Use Handbook: A 

Community Health Perspective. 2005. www.arb.ca.gov/ch/landuse.htm.

Municipalities can also establish overlay zones, 

which set additional requirements for existing 

zoning districts, such as industrial zones close 

to residential neighborhoods. The city of Austin, 

Texas, created the East Austin Overlay District, 

where any new facility with operations more 

intense than a commercial use must obtain a 

conditional use permit and notify residents. If 

industrial facilities within the district closed, 

another ordinance authorized rezoning those 

sites to less intensive use categories.70

When residents, businesses, and policy-makers 

have developed a collaborative vision for their 

community and zoning laws do not match that 

vision, they might choose to rezone particular 

areas or the entire jurisdiction. When seeking 

the rezoning of small areas, stakeholders might 

find it helpful to document the incompatibility 

of the existing land use classifications and 

the impacts on health, safety, and community 

character; pursue rezoning before specific 

development proposals arise; and avoid singling 

out specific properties, instead considering 

clusters of neighboring parcels with similar use 

designations and impacts.71 Comprehensive 

rezoning is a lengthy undertaking that provides 

many opportunities for stakeholder input. 

Where facilities already exist and affect nearby 

populations, local government agencies, 

industry stakeholders, and residents can work 

together to identify a solution that advances 

the community’s overall health, environmental, 

and economic goals. Many municipalities 

“grandfather” land uses that were allowed before 

current zoning laws. However, municipalities can 

prohibit grandfathering when these uses conflict 

with the goals of updated comprehensive plans 

or bring environmental, health, or economic risks. 

70 National Academy of Public Administration. Addressing Community 

Concerns: How Environmental Justice Relates to Land Use Planning 

and Zoning. 2003. www.epa.gov/compliance/ej/resources/reports/

annual-project-reports/napa-land-use-zoning-63003.pdf.

71 National Academy of Public Administration. Addressing Community 

Concerns: How Environmental Justice Relates to Land Use Planning 

and Zoning. 2003. www.epa.gov/compliance/ej/resources/reports/

annual-project-reports/napa-land-use-zoning-63003.pdf.

Auto-body shops and other facilities with potential 

environmental and health concerns are interspersed with 

homes in National City, California’s Westside neighborhood, 

a primarily low-income and minority community. The city 

is developing a tool that will help staff evaluate the health 

risks posed by these types of land uses and the costs of 

moving them. Photo courtesy of National City. 
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Municipalities can also help relocate 

nonconforming uses when owners are interested 

in moving to more suitable locations.72 Relocation 

decisions should be made collaboratively and 

on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, business 

owners see clear benefits to moving, such as 

access to an upgraded and modernized facility, 

access to more supportive infrastructure, 

or the opportunity to operate with fewer 

environmental or health impacts. Relocation can 

allow communities to concentrate industries and 

target infrastructure investments—such as water, 

wastewater, transportation, telecommunications, 

and public transit—to meet their needs. National 

City, California is developing a decision support 

tool that will help staff evaluate properties with 

nonconforming uses according to criteria such as 

possible threats to public health and safety, cost 

to the owner of moving and reestablishing the 

use elsewhere, and adaptability of the property 

to a currently permitted use. The city’s land 

use code allows the city council to phase out 

nonconforming uses on the recommendation of 

the planning commission.73

When redeveloping vacant land in industrial 

areas, planners should carefully consider whether 

it is appropriate to build new residences and 

other sensitive uses near existing facilities and, if 

so, how buildings should be situated on their sites 

and designed to mitigate exposure. For example, 

zoning codes can require buffers, ventilation 

systems, and other measures to ensure healthy 

indoor air quality. 

72 Salkin, Patricia. Environmental Justice and Land Use Planning and 

Zoning. 2004. www.governmentlaw.org/files/EJ_land_use.pdf.

73 Partnership for Sustainable Communities. National City, California: 

Recommendations for Ranking Properties with Nonconforming Uses 

in the Westside Specific Plan Area. 2011. www.epa.gov/brownfields/

sustain_plts/reports/property_ranking_process.pdf.

Reduce Exposure to Goods Movement 

Activities 

Goods movement is the distribution of freight 

by all modes of transportation, including marine, 

air, rail, and truck. Goods movement facilities 

include seaports, airports, rail yards, rail lines, and 

truck loading stations and travel routes, as well 

as places where freight is processed and stored 

such as warehouses and distribution centers. 

These facilities exist in urban communities 

where movement originates and terminates 

as well as in rural places along transportation 

thoroughfares. Effective land use planning, along 

with technology and regulations, can reduce 

the impacts of goods movement activities so 

communities can more safely take advantage of 

the economic opportunities they bring.

Many stakeholders are involved in freight 

planning, transporting and storing goods, and 

designing and operating goods movement 

facilities. Although these players vary in every 

situation, common stakeholders include 

regional planning organizations, transportation 

commissions, port authorities, local governments, 

industry representatives, and community 

development organizations. For example, the 

Southern California Association of Governments, 

county transportation commissions, the Los 

Angeles Metro, and private-sector stakeholders 

partnered to develop a regional action plan to 

increase the benefits and mitigate the hazards 

associated with the growing volume of trucks and 

freight trains moving from ports in Los Angeles 

and Long Beach.74

Local and regional planning agencies can 

work with goods movement stakeholders and 

community organizations to design freight 

facilities and surrounding neighborhoods 

in ways that support health, environmental, 

and economic goals. For instance, some are 

creating freight clusters that accommodate 

goods movement activities in targeted areas 

while reducing negative impacts in other 

74 LA Metro. Multi-County Goods Movement Action Plan. 2009. 

www.metro.net/projects/mcgmap/.
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neighborhoods.75 In Baltimore, Maryland, the 

Maritime Industrial Zoning Overlay District 

preserves industrial uses along the city’s 

waterfront, which is experiencing significant 

development pressure and rising rents. The 

zoning overlay district preserves jobs in this 

accessible center city location and consolidates 

the negative impacts of goods movement.76

Other states and localities require buffer zones 

between freight facilities and sensitive land uses. 

The California Air Resources Board does not allow 

school districts to site schools within 500 feet of 

highways or other busy traffic corridors.77

Some communities are using a combination of 

planning approaches, incentives, regulations, 

and technology. In Oakland, California, the 

Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative is developing 

regional strategies to reduce exposure to diesel 

emissions from trucks. Funded by foundations 

and federal and state agencies, the group 

found that average diesel emissions in West 

Oakland, a predominantly African-American 

community, were 90 times greater than in the 

rest of California. They worked with the Bay Area 

Air Quality Management District to reduce diesel 

pollution through several methods, including 

eliminating unlicensed truck traffic, rerouting 

traffic away from residential neighborhoods, and 

providing financial incentives to fleet owners to 

retire the most polluting trucks. They also secured 

an agreement to move trucking businesses away 

from residential areas to a decommissioned army 

base owned by the city and the Port of Oakland. 

The port installed electrical hook-ups so trucks 

waiting to enter the port do not need to idle.78

Planners should also consider the design of the 

community around goods movement facilities. 

They should carefully evaluate whether it is 

appropriate to build new residences and other 

75 U.S. Department of Transportation. FHWA Freight and Land 

Use Handbook. 2012. www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/

fhwahop12006/index.htm.

76 U.S. Department of Transportation. FHWA Freight and Land 

Use Handbook. 2012. www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/

fhwahop12006/index.htm.

77 California SB 352. Ch. 668 (2003).

78 Palaniappan, Meena. “Ditching Diesel.” Race, Poverty and the 

Environment. Urban Habitat. Undated. www.urbanhabitat.org/

node/163. Accessed 2011.

sensitive land uses nearby and, if so, how the 

buildings should be situated on their sites 

and designed to mitigate exposure. Planners 

can include language in the zoning code that 

sets special location or design requirements 

for sensitive uses in areas of concern. For 

example, San Francisco’s Health Code requires 

that newly constructed residential buildings 

with ten or more units located near major 

roadways with concentrations of motor vehicle 

pollution be situated or designed to reduce 

residents’ exposure. Developers can satisfy this 

requirement by installing ventilation systems, 

locating the building air intake away from the 

roadway, locating residential units on the second 

floor or higher so they are above roadway 

emissions, setting the building back from the 

roadway, or planting trees between the building 

and the roadway.79

79 City and County of San Francisco. Protecting Sensitive Uses from 

Roadway Air Pollution Hot Spots: Article 38 of the San Francisco Health 

Code, Frequently Asked Questions. 2008. www.sfdph.org/dph/files/

EHSdocs/AirQuality/AQFAQ.pdf.
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Clean and Reuse Contaminated 

Properties

Brownfields and Superfund sites are 

contaminated properties that require special 

cleanup and redevelopment strategies. With 

planning and remediation, these sites can be 

reused for commercial and industrial activities, 

housing, parks, and other community facilities 

that can boost local economies and improve 

quality of life. Since these sites are often located 

in established neighborhoods with a mix of uses, 

public transit, and compact, walkable designs, 

their reuse can provide residents with easily 

accessible jobs, services, and amenities. 

EPA defines brownfields as properties whose 

expansion, redevelopment, or reuse could 

be complicated by the presence or potential 

presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, 

or contaminant.80 Brownfields are often 

abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and 

commercial sites. They can be structures or 

empty lots. Federal, state, and local governments 

provide support for brownfield cleanup and 

redevelopment, including tax incentives, 

grants, low-interest loans, technical assistance, 

protection from liability, and streamlined 

government oversight of cleanups. 

In contrast to brownfields, Superfund sites have 

been designated by EPA as the country’s most 

contaminated sites. Cleanup can be complex, 

often requiring several years to study the issues, 

develop solutions, and complete remediation. 

Through EPA’s Superfund program, administered 

with state and tribal governments, the Agency 

can clean up hazardous waste sites and compel 

responsible parties to perform cleanups or 

reimburse the government for cleanup activities. 

Additionally, EPA’s Superfund Redevelopment 

Initiative provides technical, financial, and other 

forms of assistance to communities working to 

redevelop contaminated land.81 For example, 

EPA worked with stakeholders in Oakland, 

80 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. About Brownfields. 

www.epa.gov/brownfields/about.htm. Accessed 2011.

81 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Superfund Redevelopment. 

www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/index.html. 

Accessed 2011.

The redevelopment of Egleston Crossing in Boston, 

Massachusetts’ Roxbury neighborhood transformed an 

auto-body shop with a history of toxic waste problems into 

a commercial and residential anchor for the neighborhood. 

Photo courtesy of Egleston Crossing.

California to explore future uses of the AMCO 

Chemical Superfund site. The community had 

envisioned mixed-use, transit-oriented, walkable 

development, including affordable housing 

and neighborhood-serving retail stores, so the 

assistance team created three scenarios that 

supported that vision. This reuse assessment 

helped residents and decision-makers think 

through redevelopment alternatives and identify 

appropriate cleanup methods.82

Early and inclusive community involvement 

in site cleanup and reuse decisions is critical 

to ensure that visions and strategies align 

with community needs and benefit existing 

residents. Ideally, the municipality, community 

stakeholders, and state and federal partners 

would identify the preferred future use of the 

site before cleanup occurs. If housing is planned 

for a brownfield site, for instance, different 

cleanup remedies might be required than if 

a new industrial facility is to be built. A plan 

for the area surrounding the site can further 

refine cleanup strategies. Many low-income and 

82 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Planning for the Future: Reuse 

Assessment for the AMCO Chemical Superfund Site, Oakland, CA. 2010. 

www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/pdf/amco-reuse.pdf.
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

minority communities are affected by multiple 

contaminated sites and the economic and 

environmental challenges associated with them. 

By using an area-wide approach rather than 

considering one site at a time, communities 

can better identify the most productive and 

appropriate reuse options, address infrastructure 

needs, and spur lasting economic development. 

Neighborhood planning and visioning efforts, 

feasibility studies, and market and infrastructure 

analyses can help municipalities and nonprofit 

organizations create and implement informed 

area-wide revitalization strategies. EPA’s 

Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Program 

is supporting the city of Ogdensburg, New 

York, as it turns a formerly industrial corridor 

along its riverfront into a walkable, mixed-use 

development. The city is creating an action 

plan for the 15 brownfields in the area, with an 

inventory of site conditions, reuse opportunities, 

and existing infrastructure.83

If site cleanup is already underway, 

municipalities, states, and federal agencies 

can work together to remove barriers to reuse. 

Assessing the reuse potential of properties, 

providing education about reuse practices and 

opportunities, and encouraging private entities 

to invest in reuse can be effective. In addition, 

existing zoning ordinances, building codes, and 

tax policies might make it difficult to redevelop 

contaminated sites and do infill development.84

Planners can remove regulatory barriers and 

provide incentives to accomplish these goals, 

such as faster project approval and reduced 

impact fees. 

83 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Brownfields Area-Wide 

Planning Pilot Project Fact Sheet: Ogdensburg, NY. 2010. www.epa.

gov/brownfields/grant_announce/awp/awp_ogdensburg_ny.pdf.

84 Infill development is development or redevelopment of sites 

that are already served by infrastructure or surrounded by other 

development.

The Mission Creek Senior Community in San Francisco, 

California transformed a brownfield into an attractive, 

mixed-use, low-income senior community. Formerly used 

for a sewage pumping station, a box factory, a mill, and 

other industrial facilities, the remediated site now contains 

affordable senior housing that is 25 feet from a streetcar 

stop, two blocks from a commuter rail station, and less than 

one block from a bus stop. Photo courtesy of Mercy Housing 

California and San Francisco Housing Authority.

Early and inclusive community 

involvement in site cleanup and 

reuse decisions is critical to ensure 

that visions and strategies align 

with community needs and benefit 

existing residents.
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Case Study: 

Site Cleanup as a Catalyst for Revitalization

Spartanburg, South Carolina 

The Arkwright and Forest Park neighborhoods 

in Spartanburg, South Carolina, revitalized their 

community through partnerships to clean up 

pollution from contaminated sites. The effort was 

spearheaded by ReGenesis, an environmental 

justice organization whose initial focus on 

brownfield cleanups broadened over time to 

include revitalization of the entire community. 

The ReGenesis initiative eventually led to the 

construction of new housing, businesses, a 

shopping center, and health clinics.

Located on the edge of Spartanburg’s downtown, 

the Arkwright and Forest Park neighborhoods are 

predominantly African-American. Because of the 

lack of zoning before 1976, homes are located 

near former industrial and landfill sites and an 

active chemical plant. Residents have reported 

high rates of illness and death that they attribute 

to environmental pollution. The neighborhoods 

have also struggled with high unemployment, 

poor health services, disinvestment, and rundown housing.

After his father passed away from an undiagnosed 

illness, resident Harold Mitchell began examining 

the health impacts faced by residents living near 

a former dump and an abandoned fertilizer plant. 

He founded ReGenesis in 1997 to bring together 

residents who had been affected. He also asked 

EPA for assistance. After extensive sampling, EPA 

found contaminants such as metals, nitrate, and 

fluoride in the soil, ground water, surface water, 

and sediment at one of the sites, which was later 

designated a Superfund site. 

ReGenesis used the Collaborative ProblemSolving Model to cooperatively address economic 

and environmental concerns. ReGenesis began by 

connecting existing neighborhood associations in 

the Arkwright and Forest Park communities. The 

summer of 2000 marked a turning point in the 

success and scale of ReGenesis’ efforts, when it 

held a meeting to discuss the community’s visions 

and needs with more than 100 people, including 

representatives from federal agencies, the county, 

the city, businesses, and universities. The meeting 

uncovered shared priorities among its diverse 

participants. As a result, ReGenesis created the 

Environmental Justice Partnership, which held 

one-on-one meetings and forums with local, 

state, and federal government representatives 

as well as businesses, politicians, foundations, 

and technical experts. “You can’t put money in a 

community and say ‘Make it happen,’” says Nancy 

Whittle, the South Carolina Department of Health 

and Environmental Control community liaison 

who took part in ReGenesis’ many revitalization 

forums. “You build community capacity with time 

and patience.”

ReGenesis continued to seek allies, including 

non-traditional partners. For example, ReGenesis 

invited the local chemical plant to collaborate 

despite the community’s concerns about the 

health effects of its operations. Although the 

initial relationship was contentious, both sides 

wanted to avoid hostilities and lengthy legal 

debates, so they agreed to use a proactive 

approach known as facilitated dialogue. In this 

case, facilitated dialogue involved inviting an 

independent third party respected by both sides 

to facilitate conversations between the two 

“We demonstrated that community residents were 

essential components of our efforts in Spartanburg,” says 

Harold Mitchell, shown here at a visioning workshop. “The 

community’s deep engagement and commitment were 

what made the revitalization of the Arkwright and Forest 

Park areas possible.” Photo courtesy of Harold Mitchell.
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

groups. Their weekly telephone conferences and 

face-to-face meetings resulted in improved noise 

and odor controls, enhanced health and safety 

procedures, air and groundwater monitoring, 

local job creation, new emergency preparedness 

practices, and facility beautification. 

With the support of its partners, ReGenesis 

obtained the grants, technical assistance, 

and in-kind assistance necessary to achieve 

the community’s revitalization vision. This 

support provided the opportunity to establish 

a community visioning process through design 

charrettes, where drawings and ideas for a 

parkway, a park, affordable housing, shopping 

areas, an entertainment center, a job training 

center, a health clinic, and other facilities were 

developed. ReGenesis had raised $166 million by 

2006, the result of the organization’s efforts to 

work with stakeholders from all sectors to realize 

the community vision. “We demonstrated that 

community residents were essential components 

of our efforts in Spartanburg,” says Harold 

Mitchell, now a member of the South Carolina 

House of Representatives. “The community’s deep 

engagement and commitment were what made 

the revitalization of the Arkwright and Forest Park 

areas possible.” 

With strong support from the mayor and 

county, state, and federal officials, the ReGenesis 

partnerships led to change. As part of a HOPE VI 

housing project, businesses owned by women 

and minorities and unemployed residents 

who had completed a job training program 

built affordable homes. Through a $2.2 million 

appropriation, Congress funded a study of 

alternate access roads to link neighborhoods 

divided by railroad tracks. ReGenesis also worked 

with the environmental group Upstate Forever 

to create green space and trails along the 

nearby creek, complementing a senior housing 

development constructed on a cleaned-up 

brownfield site. “Smart growth is possible with 

an informed and empowered community,” says 

Cynthia Peurifoy, environmental justice program 

manager for EPA Region 4. “The ReGenesis story 

teaches us that community-driven redevelopment 

efforts can bring great results.”85

85 For references, see page 75.

Many community members participated in design 

charrettes for the Arkwright and Forest Park neighborhoods, 

where ideas for a park, affordable housing, shopping areas, a 

health clinic, and other amenities were developed. 

Photo courtesy of Harold Mitchell.

 “You can’t put money in a community 

and say ‘Make it happen,’” says 

Nancy Whittle, the South Carolina 

Department of Health and 

Environmental Control community 

liaison who took part in ReGenesis’ 

many revitalization forums. 

“You build community capacity with 

time and patience.”
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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Promote Green Building

Green buildings use sustainable siting, design, 

and materials to create healthy indoor and 

outdoor environments. When designed and 

operated appropriately, green buildings can 

reduce exposure to toxics and pollutants that 

have been linked to cancer, asthma, and other 

health problems. Green buildings often include 

natural landscaping features to capture and filter 

polluted runoff that would otherwise flow into 

water bodies. They also use innovative practices 

and technologies to reduce energy and water 

consumption and costs.86,87 These practices bring 

significant benefits for low-income families, 

who spend 19 to 26 percent of their household 

incomes on energy. The lowest-income families 

can spend even more.88,89 When green buildings 

are located in walkable and transit-accessible 

neighborhoods, they can further reduce 

household energy use and expenditures.90

There are a range of green building certification 

programs nationwide. Two of the most widespread 

are the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in 

Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and EPA’s 

ENERGY STAR Homes programs. LEED provides 

green building guidelines and certification, 

rating buildings based on their performance in 

five areas: sustainable site development, water 

savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, 

and indoor environmental quality. ENERGY STAR 

Homes qualifies new homes that meet its energy 

efficiency guidelines. Builders participating 

in the program work with certified experts to 

incorporate features—including insulation, highperformance windows, and efficient heating and 

cooling equipment—that can make homes 20 to 

30 percent more efficient than standard homes. 

86 Turner, Cathy and Frankel, Mark. Energy Performance of LEED for New 

Construction Buildings: Final Report. New Buildings Institute. 2008. 

www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=3930.

87 Kats, Greg. The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings: A 

Report to California’s Sustainable Building Task Force. 2003. 

www.usgbc.org/Docs/News/News477.pdf.

88 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Utility Bills 

Burden the Poor and Can Cause Homelessness. 2009. 

www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/library/energy/homelessness.cfm.

89 Trisko, Eugene. The Rising Burden of Energy Costs on American 

Families, 1997-2007. 2006.

90 Jonathan Rose Companies. Location Efficiency and Housing Type: 

Boiling it Down to BTUs. 2011. www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/pdf/

location_efficiency_BTU.pdf.

The Enterprise Green Communities Criteria is 

another certification system designed specifically 

for affordable housing, providing cost-effective 

green building practices that can be integrated 

into all affordable housing types, including new 

construction and rehabilitation in multifamily and 

single-family homes. Homeowners and developers 

can also incorporate green building techniques 

without seeking certification through one of these 

programs. 

Community organizations and municipalities 

around the country are working with nonprofits, 

foundations, and other private entities to 

incorporate green design in their development 

projects. In Chicago, Bethel New Life (profiled 

on page 51) built a LEED-certified community 

center on a cleaned-up brownfield. Public housing 

developers are also using green designs to create 

healthier environments for residents and reduce 

their own operating costs. High Point, a HOPE VI 

public housing redevelopment in Seattle, uses 

green building strategies to improve water and 

energy efficiency, enhance indoor air quality, and 

manage runoff.91,92

Community organizations are also using green 

building practices to tackle health hazards in older 

91 Seattle Housing Authority. HOPE VI Program. www.seattlehousing.

org/redevelopment/hope-vi. Accessed 2011.

92 The High Point Redevelopment project won EPA’s National Award 

for Smart Growth Achievement in 2007. For more information, see 

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “2007 National Award 

for Smart Growth Achievement” at www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/

awards/sg_awards_publication_2007.htm.

The redevelopment of Egleston Crossing in Boston’s 

Roxbury neighborhood incorporated green building 

features that reduce energy consumption and utility costs 

while enhancing indoor air quality and improving residents’ 

health. Photo courtesy of Egleston Crossing.
PROMOTE PUBLIC HEALTH AND A CLEAN AND SAFE ENVIRONMENT

33

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

homes. The National Coalition to End Childhood 

Lead Poisoning is coordinating the Green and 

Healthy Homes Initiative to train workers to deal 

with health concerns such as deteriorating leadbased paint, mold, poor ventilation, and pests, and 

to boost their energy efficiency.93

Build Green Streets

Rainwater that washes over pavement carries 

pollutants such as motor oil and grease directly 

into streams, lakes, rivers, and bays. These 

pollutants can come into contact with humans 

through drinking water and in other ways. A green 

street uses natural landscaping to collect, filter, 

and cleanse polluted runoff by mimicking natural 

processes where rainfall evaporates, is taken up 

by plants, or drains into the soil. Almost any type 

of street can be greened, including main arterial 

roads, residential streets, and alleys. 

Green streets can incorporate a variety of 

elements, including rain gardens, sidewalk 

planters, tree boxes, landscaped medians, and 

permeable paving. These elements are also known 

as green infrastructure. The plants and soils used 

in gardens, medians, and planters help to filter and 

break down pollutants. Trees catch and absorb 

rainfall and help water to evaporate. Green street 

designs sometimes reduce the amount of hard 

surface by narrowing the street. Porous materials 

such as permeable pavement can also replace 

portions of streets typically covered by concrete 

and asphalt. 

Green streets improve air quality by intercepting 

small particles of air pollutants and reducing “heat 

islands” that occur when concrete and asphalt are 

heated during hot weather.94 They can beautify 

neighborhoods and calm traffic, making walking 

and biking safer and more enjoyable. Green streets 

can also reduce the risk of localized flooding 

and the need for more costly traditional “grey” 

infrastructure—such as expanded sewer systems 

and water treatment facilities—to handle runoff.

93 Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning. Green and Healthy 

Homes Initiative. www.greenandhealthyhomes.org. Accessed 2011.

94 According to EPA, heat islands are built up areas that are hotter 

than nearby rural areas. For more information, see the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, “Heat Island Effect” at 

www.epa.gov/heatisld.

Green street projects run the gamut from large 

and complex to relatively simple and low-cost. 

Planners can ensure that street design standards 

encourage the use of green infrastructure 

elements in all types of projects. The city of 

Portland, Oregon approved a resolution in 2007 

to promote green street features in public and 

private developments. The resolution directed city 

agencies to work together to install green streets 

and integrate them into the city’s land use and 

transportation plans. Projects resulting from the 

resolution include street planters at Portland State 

University, an elementary school rain garden, and 

permeable pavement around the city.95 In San 

Francisco, the nonprofit Plant*SF worked with 

city agencies to streamline permitting for green 

sidewalk projects such as planters, tree boxes, and 

rain gardens. The organization also created a guide 

to help individuals, businesses, and neighborhood 

groups obtain permits and design and install their 

own sidewalk landscaping.96

95 Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. Portland Green Street 

Program. www.portlandonline.com/BES/index.cfm?c=44407. 

Accessed 2011.

96 Plant*SF. Plant*SF. www.plantsf.org. Accessed 2011.

Before (above) and after (below) green street facilities 

were created through a Safe Routes to School project at 

Humboldt Elementary School, located in an underserved 

area of Portland, Oregon. Photo courtesy of Environmental 

Services, City of Portland, Oregon.
34

PROMOTE PUBLIC HEALTH AND A CLEAN AND SAFE ENVIRONMENT

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Case Study: 

Greening a Small Town Main Street

Edmonston, Maryland 

Edmonston, Maryland’s Green Street Project 

marries new and old technologies to reduce 

pollution, conserve energy, manage stormwater 

runoff, and redesign the town’s main 

thoroughfare, Decatur Street. Spearheaded by 

Mayor Adam Ortiz, a citizens’ advisory group, and 

the Chesapeake Bay Trust, this project redefines 

the street as more than just cars and asphalt. 

Completed in November 2010, Edmonston’s 

green street protects the regional watershed, lays 

a foundation for reinvestment in the town center, 

and is already inspiring other communities to 

implement similar projects. 

Located near Washington, D.C., Edmonston is 

a port town that extends on both sides of the 

Anacostia River. The town sits in a low-lying 

area, and has suffered frequent flooding since 

its incorporation in the 1920s. During the past 

decade alone, Edmonston flooded four times, 

and a 2006 flood submerged 56 homes. “Contrary 

to conventional wisdom, we don’t flood from 

the Anacostia River,” says Mayor Ortiz. “We flood 

because of parking lots, shopping centers, 

highways, and roofs.” Stormwater runoff from these 

hard surfaces not only contributes to flooding, but 

also carries pollutants into the Anacostia River and 

ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay. 

For Mayor Ortiz, the flooding problem was as 

much a social justice issue as an environmental 

one, as the town’s sizable lower-income and 

immigrant populations were most affected. 

Shortly after the 2006 flood, the town began 

searching for long-term solutions.

With a $25,000 grant from the Chesapeake 

Bay Trust, the town tasked a local research 

organization, the Low Impact Development 

Center, to examine stormwater options along 

Decatur Street. The mayor and city council formed 

a volunteer “Green Team” of residents, students, 

engineers, designers, and representatives 

from environmental and health organizations 

to generate ideas, review plans, and share 

recommendations with town officials. 

Edmonston’s mayor dedicates the redesigned Decatur 

Street in 2010. Photo courtesy of Faith Cole.

Decatur Street’s bike lanes are constructed with permeable 

materials that allow water to filter through instead of 

collecting on top. Photo courtesy of Faith Cole.

“There is a misconception that smaller, 

working-class communities are not 

able to do great things,” says Mayor 

Ortiz. “However, we can implement 

innovations quickly and set an 

example for bigger cities.” 
PROMOTE PUBLIC HEALTH AND A CLEAN AND SAFE ENVIRONMENT

35

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

The resulting Green Street Project extends along 

seven blocks of Decatur Street. Its native tree 

cover cools and beautifies the street. The windpowered street lights use high-efficiency LED 

bulbs that save energy, while the pedestrian and 

bicycle paths give residents safe, convenient 

transportation options and provide space for 

neighborhood children to play. The bike paths are 

constructed with porous bricks and cement that 

allow water to filter through instead of collecting 

on top. The most critical part of the Green Street 

Project is the water filtration system, which 

directs stormwater from storm drains and the 

sewer system to bio-retention rain gardens along 

the street. Combined, these features capture an 

estimated 90 percent of the street’s stormwater, 

which reduces pollution locally and in the 

Chesapeake Bay. 

Thanks to extensive citizen support and effective 

partnerships, the two-year implementation phase 

went smoothly. The town paid for 90 percent 

of the $1.3 million project with federal funding 

from the American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act. Partnerships with landscape architects, 

horticulturalists, engineers, and other local 

experts helped to reduce the costs of the project’s 

design and development. Local companies, 70 

percent of which were owned by minorities, 

performed all of the construction work. The 

project led to 50 to 60 construction jobs in the 

community. 

“There is a misconception that smaller, workingclass communities are not able to do great things,” 

says Mayor Ortiz. “However, we can implement 

innovations quickly and set an example for bigger 

cities.” Edmonston’s Green Street Project shows 

how a small project covering less than a mile can 

make a big difference in a community and benefit 

an entire region. Broader action is needed to stop 

the flooding in Edmonston, but because of their 

success, a neighboring town is already taking on 

its own green street project.97 

97 For references, see page 76.

Decatur Street in 2009 before it was redesigned. 

Image courtesy of City of Edmonston.

This rendering shows the features that were added to 

Decatur Street, including wide sidewalks, bike lanes, rain 

gardens, and curb bump-outs that narrow the street and 

calm traffic. Image courtesy of City of Edmonston.
36

STRENGTHEN EXISTING COMMUNITIES

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Strengthen Existing Communities

Many established communities—city 

downtowns, older suburban neighborhoods, 

and rural villages—are rich in culture, heritage, 

and social capital but lacking in economic 

opportunities for residents. Investing in existing 

communities rather than in new developments 

on the outer fringes of metropolitan areas can 

improve quality of life for low-income and 

overburdened populations by bringing the 

new jobs, services, and amenities they need. 

Revitalizing long-standing communities can 

also help address the health hazards from 

contaminated properties, abandoned buildings, 

and poorly designed streets. In addition, this 

approach can increase the tax base to support 

other local needs. Just as important, investing 

in existing communities allows residents to 

strengthen what they love about where they 

live. Bringing new resources into existing 

neighborhoods can help preserve and build on 

the assets that make them distinctive. 

This section introduces three broad strategies 

governments and community organizations 

can use to strengthen and revitalize existing 

communities. A “fix-it-first” approach to 

transportation, water, and other infrastructure 

prioritizes the repair and maintenance of 

existing assets over new construction on 

undeveloped land. Redeveloping vacant and 

abandoned properties can convert liabilities 

into needed amenities. Rethinking land use 

and transportation along blighted commercial 

corridors can help provide new opportunities for 

neighborhood businesses and expand access for 

low-income residents. 

Providing housing and transportation options 

and improving access to opportunities and 

daily necessities are also important parts of 

strengthening existing communities. Since each 

of these priorities is supported by many specific 

strategies of their own, they are addressed 

separately in later sections.

The redevelopment of downtown Silver Spring, Maryland 

turned a struggling inner suburban commercial district into 

a vibrant destination with shopping, offices, apartments, 

and hotel space. Photo courtesy of EPA.

Old North, a historic St. Louis, Missouri neighborhood, has 

been transformed over the last several years through a 

comprehensive, locally driven redevelopment strategy that has 

turned a largely abandoned area into a flourishing community.

Photo courtesy of Sean Thomas, Old North St. Louis 

Restoration Group.
STRENGTHEN EXISTING COMMUNITIES

37

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Fix Existing Infrastructure First

“Fix-it-first” strategies prioritize the repair 

and maintenance of existing infrastructure 

over the construction of new infrastructure in 

undeveloped places. These strategies are often 

applied to transportation infrastructure such as 

roads, bridges, and rail lines; and water facilities 

such as sewers, pipes, and treatment plants. They 

can also be applied to housing, schools, and 

other buildings. 

Investing in existing infrastructure prolongs its 

usable life, minimizes the need for costly repairs, 

and reduces failures that can jeopardize safety. 

Public investment in infrastructure maintenance 

signals a commitment to a neighborhood that 

can make the private sector more confident 

about investing there. In addition, a fix-it-first 

approach creates jobs. Prioritizing roadway repair 

and maintenance98 and mixed-use, compact, 

infill development projects within towns and 

cities99 can create more jobs per dollar spent than 

building new infrastructure.

State and local governments can adopt fix-itfirst policies that direct resources to support 

maintenance and upgrades of existing 

infrastructure and facilities. The Michigan Land 

Use Leadership Council worked with stakeholder 

groups including the Detroit National Association 

for the Advancement of Colored People to 

recommend that the state adopt minimum 

standards for spending on road repair, prioritize 

the reuse of historic buildings and other existing 

structures when locating public facilities, and 

direct state and federal financial assistance to 

commercial centers with infrastructure already in 

place and relatively dense populations. Following 

those recommendations, Michigan’s Cool Cities 

pilot program allocated priority funding to 

localities with plans to revitalize established areas 

and use previously built infrastructure.100

98 Smart Growth America. Recent Lessons from the Stimulus: 

Transportation Funding and Job Creation. 2011. www.

smartgrowthamerica.org/2011/02/04/new-report-reveals-smarttransportation-spending-creates-jobs-grows-the-economy.

99 Good Jobs First. The Jobs are Back in Town: Urban Smart Growth 

and Construction Employment. 2003. www.goodjobsfirst.org/sites/

default/files/docs/pdf/backintown.pdf. 

100 Michigan Land Use Leadership Council. Michigan’s Land, Michigan’s 

Future. 2003. www.peopleandland.org/Learn_More_Documents/

MLULC-FINAL_REPORT_0803.pdf. 

Reuse Vacant and Abandoned 

Properties

Vacant and abandoned properties can jeopardize 

residents’ safety and encourage blight and 

disinvestment by attracting crime and reducing 

surrounding property values. Converting them 

into community amenities such as housing, 

commercial space, or gardens can increase 

residents’ access to needed services and 

opportunities and spur additional investment in 

the neighborhood. 

Many municipalities and community 

organizations begin the redevelopment process 

by taking an inventory of all vacant properties in 

the city or neighborhood and prioritizing them for 

reuse. Indianapolis’ Abandoned Housing Initiative 

assessed almost 8,000 vacant properties and, with 

the help of a HUD Neighborhood Stabilization 

Grant, directed resources to neglected properties 

with redevelopment potential.101

An area-wide approach that considers vacant 

properties in the context of comprehensive 

neighborhood plans can help identify uses that 

support the broader vision of the community. 

Some municipalities, such as Genesee County, 

Michigan and Cleveland, Ohio, have created 

land banks to acquire tax-delinquent properties, 

hold them until the market can support 

redevelopment, then rehabilitate them in ways 

that address local needs and strengthen the 

neighborhood.102,103 When a property is targeted 

for revitalization, municipal programs, such as 

Cleveland’s Repair-A-Home Program, can provide 

low-interest loans and technical assistance.104

101 The City of Indianapolis and Marion County. Mayor’s Abandoned 

Housing Initiative Press Releases. 2008. www.indy.gov/eGov/City/

DMD/Abandoned/Pages/press.aspx.

102 Genesee County Land Bank. Genesee County Land Bank. 

www.thelandbank.org. Accessed 2011. 

103 City of Cleveland. Housing and Home Improvement 

Building/Maintaining. portal.cleveland-oh.gov/portal/

page/portal/CityofCleveland/Home/Community/

HousingandHomeImprovement/BuildingMaintaining. 

Accessed 2011. 

104 City of Cleveland. Division of Neighborhood Services. portal.

cleveland-oh.gov/portal/page/portal/CityofCleveland/Home/

Community/HousingandHomeImprovement/BuildingMaintaining. 

Accessed 2011.
38

STRENGTHEN EXISTING COMMUNITIES

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Some communities are exploring interim uses 

of vacant properties to remove blight and safety 

hazards and allow residents to use the space 

until there is a market for new residential or 

commercial development. For example, some 

municipalities encourage resident groups to 

create community gardens or parks. Others 

are simply “greening” or landscaping vacant 

lots. Over the past 10 years, the Pennsylvania 

Horticultural Society has worked with the city 

of Philadelphia and community organizations 

to green nine million square feet of vacant land 

by adding fences, cleaning up, mowing, and 

planting trees and shrubs. Work crews are made 

up of neighborhood residents who receive 

training in landscaping so they can develop 

marketable skills.105

Whether the community is targeting green 

space, gardens, building renovations, or new 

construction, planners can remove barriers to 

redevelopment that exist in zoning and building 

codes, provide incentives for infill development 

such as streamlined project approval and reduced 

impact fees, and make sure that proposed uses 

are permitted. Additionally, local governments 

can use code enforcement to encourage 

105 Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Community LandCare. www.

pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/phlgreen/vacant-CLC.html.

Accessed 2011.

demolition and redevelopment of unsafe and 

unsightly buildings that are beyond repair. 

Redevelop Commercial Corridors

Around the country, many commercial corridors 

are aging and blighted by run-down strip malls, 

abandoned gas stations, and other vacant 

properties. Despite this disinvestment, these 

corridors serve as important transportation 

routes and shopping destinations and are wellpositioned for redevelopment as safe, convenient, 

and vibrant thoroughfares. Revitalizing 

commercial corridors can enhance the customer 

base of existing businesses, create new jobs and 

business opportunities for residents, and improve 

the safety and convenience of economical 

transportation options such as walking, bicycling, 

and public transit. 

Effective corridor redevelopment calls for 

restructuring the land use pattern along the 

corridor and redesigning the street. To create 

a more attractive, pedestrian-friendly land use 

pattern, local governments can use zoning 

tools such as mixed-use ordinances that put 

homes, shops, and workplaces close together 

and reduced setback requirements that bring 

buildings closer to the street. Municipalities 

can make streets more welcoming and safer for 

pedestrians and bicyclists with narrower traffic 

lanes that slow traffic, space for bike lanes and 

on-street parking, expanded sidewalks with 

street furniture and landscaping, and improved 

street crossings. The green streets and complete 

streets strategies described previously can also 

help make streets safer and more inviting for all 

users. If public transit exists along the corridor, 

the local transit agency can consider upgrading 

service in areas targeted for redevelopment. Any 

transit improvements should include safe access 

for pedestrians. 

Public investment along targeted commercial 

corridors is critical for revitalization. Municipal 

street and sidewalk improvements, lighting, 

trees and greenery, and other basic amenities 

set the stage for redevelopment and can 

attract additional public, private, and nonprofit 

investment. Municipalities can also offer 

Community members clean up and build a fence on 

a vacant lot in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The workers 

received landscaping training through the Pennsylvania 

Horticultural Society’s Community LandCare program. 

Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.
STRENGTHEN EXISTING COMMUNITIES

39

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

incentives for redevelopment through relatively 

low-cost programs such as grants to local 

businesses for façade improvements that make 

the corridor more attractive. Because commercial 

corridors are comprised of many individually 

owned parcels, local governments can promote 

revitalization by building relationships with 

business owners, chambers of commerce, and 

other business associations and communicating 

the benefits of corridor improvements to them. 

One example of corridor revitalization on a 

large scale is the Grand Boulevard Initiative. This 

coalition of 19 cities, counties, regional agencies, 

businesses, labor groups, and developers is 

working to improve California’s El Camino 

Real, a 600-mile historic highway. Partners are 

collaborating to implement zoning that targets 

housing and job growth around transit stations 

and key intersections, encourage mixed-use 

development with a range of housing and 

business opportunities, create a pedestrianfriendly environment with continuous sidewalks 

and good lighting, reserve traffic lanes for 

buses, and provide incentives to attract private 

development and investment along the 

corridor.106

Viewing commercial corridors in the context 

of their broader neighborhoods can help 

ensure that new businesses have the customer 

base necessary for lasting revitalization. The 

Pennsylvania Department of Community and 

Economic Development’s Elm Street Program 

funded joint planning, technical assistance, and 

physical improvements for commercial corridors 

and adjoining residential neighborhoods dealing 

with high rates of crime, poverty, unemployment, 

and blight. This approach helped increase local 

businesses’ responsiveness to neighbors’ needs 

and, in turn, profitability.107

106 Grand Boulevard Initiative. Grand Boulevard Initiative. 

www.grandboulevard.net. Accessed 2011. 

107 Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic 

Development. Elm Street Program. www.newpa.org. Accessed 

2012. The program has been consolidated into the Keystone 

Communities Program.

Public investment along targeted 

commercial corridors is critical for 

revitalization. Municipal street and 

sidewalk improvements, lighting, 

trees and greenery, and other 

basic amenities set the stage for 

redevelopment and can attract 

additional public, private, and 

nonprofit investment. 

The American Indian Cultural Corridor builds on the unique 

history of American Indian people in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 

to create a vibrant destination with culturally inspired public 

spaces and art, educational and employment opportunities 

for local residents, and Indian-owned businesses such as the 

All My Relations fine arts gallery. Photo courtesy of the Native 

American Community Development Institute.

Specially designed bike racks strengthen the character 

of Minneapolis’ American Indian Cultural Corridor and 

encourage residents and visitors to get around by bicycle by 

giving them safe places to lock their bikes. 

Photo courtesy of the Native American Community

Development Institute.
40

STRENGTHEN EXISTING COMMUNITIES

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Case Study: 

Restoring a Cultural Business Corridor

New Orleans, Louisiana 

After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, 

residents of New Orleans’ largest VietnameseAmerican community came together to rebuild 

their lives and neighborhoods with the help 

of the Mary Queen of Vietnam Community 

Development Corporation (MQVN CDC). Among 

their many accomplishments, the residents and 

MQVN CDC revitalized a main business corridor 

that preserved local jobs and restored the 

community’s distinctive culture. 

Located in the Ninth Ward, the Village de L’Est 

(known locally as Versailles) had 7,000 residents 

before Katrina. The community had its roots in 

the Vietnamese refugee resettlement that began 

in the 1970s. As in Vietnam, the church is the 

center of the community’s religious and social 

life. During Katrina, the Mary Queen of Vietnam 

Church organized evacuations, connected 

residents who were displaced around the country, 

and helped bring people home. By spring 2007, 

over 90 percent of the Vietnamese-American 

residents had returned to Versailles. 

The MQVN CDC, established in 2006, helped the 

community create a vision for rebuilding Versailles 

through public meetings, focus groups, surveys, 

interviews, and design charrettes. Responding to 

the needs identified through this input, MQVN 

CDC began planning a cultural district called 

Viet Village. The community wanted to build a 

business corridor and create a strong sense of 

place based on Vietnamese culture. “Our overall 

goal after Hurricane Katrina was to rebuild and 

get the businesses to come back,” says Tuan 

Nguyen, deputy director of MQVN CDC. 

The resulting business development plan 

included four strategies for revitalizing the 

community’s economic corridor and creating 

the cultural district. The Viet Village Collective 

Marketing Campaign created an area directory, 

map, resource guide, signage, and banners to 

attract customers. The Façade Improvement 

Program constructed business plazas and new 

façades for old buildings. The Technical Assistance 

Program delivered workshops on marketing and 

accounting to small business owners. The Viet 

Village Streetscape Project created a culturally 

inspired streetscape design and obtained 

$400,000 from the city of New Orleans for 

implementation. Altogether, the MQVN CDC has 

helped business owners obtain over $2 million in 

capital to rebuild or expand their businesses.

“It was a beautiful plan where the city took 

every opinion and suggestion that community 

members made into consideration,” says Mr. 

Nguyen. “Community members even chose what 

type of trees will be planted. This is the first time 

that the city had ever done a project like this in 

Village de L’Est.” 

MQVN CDC partnered with many organizations, 

including the city government, the University 

of New Orleans, the Massachusetts Institute 

of Technology, and ASI Federal Credit Union. 

Louisiana Economic Development, the Louisiana 

Disaster Recovery Foundation, and the city of New 

Orleans provided funding. 

As a result of these partnerships, the business 

corridor attracted further investment, and the 

benefits are felt throughout Versailles. “Our food 

and what we offer out here is unique in the Gulf 

Coast,” says Mr. Nguyen. “We want to open up the 

Viet Village and take it to a whole new level in 

order to serve not only Vietnamese-Americans, 

but all of New Orleans.”108 

108 For references, see page 76.

The Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development 

Corporation’s Façade Improvement Program supported the 

construction of business plazas and new façades for local 

establishments. Photo courtesy of Mary Queen of Vietnam 

Community Development Corporation.
PROVIDE HOUSING CHOICES

41

STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Provide Housing Choices

Affordable, healthy, high-quality housing is 

one of the basic elements of a sustainable 

community. It is important to provide decent 

homes in safe neighborhoods, convenient to 

jobs, good schools, and daily necessities for 

people of all income levels, family sizes, and 

stages of life. Having a variety of housing price 

points and types, including rental apartments, 

townhouses, and large and small single-family 

homes, can ensure that everyone—from a young 

person living on her own for the first time, to a 

working family, to a retired couple—can find 

an affordable place to live. Achieving this range 

of choices might require affordable housing 

preservation or new construction, two broad 

strategies that are described in this section, 

or a combination of both. Developers, local 

governments, and community development 

corporations are key partners in these strategies. 

Planning ahead to provide housing choices 

before property values rise is central to 

minimizing displacement. Setting land aside early 

for affordable housing, building new homes at a 

range of price points, and making sure existing 

and new affordable homes remain affordable 

over time can enable low-income residents to 

stay in their neighborhoods if property values 

rise. Green building techniques can also reduce 

housing costs, as described earlier in this chapter. 

Where homes are located and how they are 

connected to the rest of the community 

and region have important implications for 

affordability. A unit built in an outlying area 

far from employment centers might be called 

affordable, but it increases transportation 

costs for residents and isolates them socially, 

economically, and geographically. Truly 

affordable housing is convenient to job 

opportunities and other amenities and services, 

and provides access to public transit and safe 

options for walking and bicycling. Homes should 

also be separated or buffered from land uses that 

could impact residents’ health. 

Municipalities also need to consider the 

vulnerability of affordable homes to natural 

hazards such as flooding or wildfires, to what 

extent those hazards might worsen with climate 

change, and how they will respond if a natural 

disaster damages or destroys the homes. 

These considerations might change whether 

a community decides to renovate existing 

buildings or build new homes in a safer, but still 

well-connected, location. 

Housing choice is critical to reducing health, 

economic, and quality of life disparities among 

communities and building thriving regions. When 

people of all income levels can afford to live near 

their jobs, their commutes are shorter, resulting 

in lower transportation costs, cleaner air, and 

higher quality of life. Providing homes that 

teachers, retail workers, public safety personnel, 

and other moderate- and low-income earners can 

afford ensures that a strong workforce is available 

to fill essential jobs. Offering a range of housing 

price points and sizes allows young people to 

find homes in their hometowns and older people 

to stay in their communities as they age. Just as 

important, inclusive communities with residents 

of all ages, races, incomes, and ethnicities are 

With its mixture of new rental and for-sale housing at 

all income levels, Seattle’s NewHolly neighborhood is 

transitioning from an isolated enclave of poverty to a 

vibrant, successful community. 

Photo courtesy of Seattle Housing Authority.

Housing choice is critical to reducing 

health, economic, and quality of life 

disparities among communities and 

building thriving regions.
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

richer places for people to live and raise their 

families. 

Preserve Affordable Housing

The National Housing Trust estimates that for 

every affordable apartment built, two are lost to 

deterioration, abandonment, or conversion to 

more expensive housing.109 Preserving existing 

affordable housing is essential to stabilizing 

populations in low-income and overburdened 

communities. Existing affordable housing is 

often located near jobs, public transportation, 

and other services and amenities. Retaining 

affordable housing in areas that are revitalizing 

helps ensure that low-income families have 

access to new opportunities and quality of 

life benefits. Using this approach in struggling 

neighborhoods can catalyze investment and 

development. In addition, preserving and 

rehabilitating affordable housing is much less 

costly than building new affordable units. 

Communities have used an array of tools to 

preserve affordable housing. For example, deed 

restrictions allow an individual to buy a home 

for less than market value and sell it later below 

market value to keep it affordable for future 

buyers. Community land trusts administer deed 

restrictions and purchase and retain land for new 

affordable housing. Because land trusts typically 

maintain possession of the land while the buyer 

purchases the building, the home price remains 

stable without the inflationary pressure from 

rising land values. 

Housing trust funds are another tool city, 

county, and state governments use to provide 

a consistent source of funding for affordable 

housing initiatives, including repairs, renovations, 

and new construction. These trusts are created by 

state legislation and municipal ordinances. More 

than 625 city and county housing trusts operate 

in 40 states, generating more than $1 billion a 

year for affordable housing.110 The revenue for 

trust funds can come from a variety of sources, 

109 National Housing Trust. Affordable Housing Preservation FAQs. 

www.nhtinc.org/preservation_faq.php. Accessed 2011. 

110 Center for Community Change. Housing Trust Fund. www.

communitychange.org/page/housing-trust-fund. Accessed 2011.

including real estate taxes and fees, fees paid by 

developers, tax increment funds, and interest 

from government funds. 

Other housing preservation tools include 

rehabilitation assistance and code enforcement. 

Keeping roofs, plumbing, and electrical systems 

in good repair can help homeowners, especially 

elderly residents, remain in their homes. 

Well-maintained housing is also at less risk of 

being purchased by speculators at bargain 

prices. Municipalities and community-based 

organizations can offer low-income property 

owners grants for rehabilitation, hands-on 

assistance, and education to help them comply 

with codes. 

Federal agencies, particularly HUD, provide 

considerable support for affordable housing. 

The federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, 

described in the next section on creating new 

affordable housing, allows an owner or developer 

to claim a federal tax credit equal to a percentage 

of the cost incurred to rehabilitate low-income 

rental units. HUD provides grants, loans, and 

mortgage insurance for affordable housing 

rehabilitation as well as new construction. In rural 

areas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural 

In Denver, Colorado’s historic and diverse La Alma/

Lincoln Park neighborhood—now known as the Mariposa 

District—existing affordable housing is being preserved 

while new middle-income and market-rate homes are being 

added, for a total of about 800 housing units where only 

270 existed before. This affordable senior housing complex 

features a mural by a local artist. Photo courtesy of EPA. 
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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Development programs provide loans, grants, 

and loan guarantees for affordable housing 

improvements and construction.111

Create New Affordable Housing

Building new affordable housing is another 

way to expand housing choices for low- and 

moderate-income households, and is important 

not only in neighborhoods with sizeable lowincome populations, but also in more affluent 

communities currently lacking housing 

opportunities for low-income earners, young 

people, and seniors. Three important tools 

to facilitate affordable housing development 

are inclusionary zoning, updated land use 

regulations, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.

Municipalities can use inclusionary zoning 

to require that a certain percentage of new 

housing be affordable to low- or moderateincome households. In exchange, they can offer 

developers special allowances such as fast-track 

permitting or permission to build more units 

on a site than zoning would typically allow. 

Montgomery County, Maryland adopted one 

of the first inclusionary zoning programs in the 

country in 1974. Its Moderately Priced Housing 

law requires that 12.5 to 15 percent of the units 

in large new developments be moderately priced 

and that 40 percent of those units be offered 

to the county and nonprofit housing agencies 

for low- and moderate-income families.112

The program has produced more than 10,000 

affordable units.113 Washington, D.C.’s inclusionary 

zoning program mandates affordable set-asides 

of 8 to 10 percent of new residential construction, 

or 50 to 75 percent of the additional units the 

developer is allowed to build in exchange 

for creating affordable housing, whichever is 

greater.114

111 U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development. Housing 

and Community Assistance. www.rurdev.usda.gov/LP_Subject_

HousingAndCommunityAssistance.html. Accessed 2012.

112 Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community 

Affairs. Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit Program. www.

montgomerycountymd.gov/dhctmpl.asp?url=/content/dhca/

housing/housing_p/mpdu/Summary_new.asp. Accessed 2011. 

113 Smart Growth America. Social Equity. www.smartgrowthamerica.

org/socialequity.html. Accessed 2011. 

114 District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community 

Development. Inclusionary Zoning Affordable Housing Program. 

The city of Santa Cruz, California’s Accessory Dwelling Unit 

Development Program makes it easier for homeowners to 

create accessory units by converting garages or building 

separate structures. These accessory units create more 

affordable housing options, allow homeowners to earn 

extra money by renting them out, and can provide a place 

where young adults or elderly parents can live near their 

families yet still have privacy and independence. 

Photo courtesy of City of Santa Cruz Department of Housing 

and Community Development.

Local governments can update other land use 

regulations to encourage the construction of 

affordable housing. Many codes and ordinances 

prevent or inhibit developers from building 

lower-cost housing. Regulations prohibiting 

multifamily and accessory units115 and requiring 

minimums for lot sizes, setbacks from the road, 

building square footage, and parking can drive 

up the cost of land acquisition and housing 

production. In contrast, reducing the land area 

required for construction, reducing or eliminating 

setback requirements, and making parking 

requirements more flexible significantly lower 

costs for developers and consumers. Reduced 

square footage requirements and accessory units 

provide options for lower-income and smaller 

households. Accessory units—particularly suited 

to suburban and rural contexts—can also house 

aging family members or bring in rental income 

dhcd.dc.gov/service/inclusionary-zoning-affordable-housingprogram. Accessed 2011.

115 Accessory units—also referred to as accessory apartments, second 

units, or granny flats—are additional living quarters on singlefamily lots that are independent of the primary dwelling unit. For 

more information, see U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, “Accessory Dwelling Units: Case Study” at www.

huduser.org/portal/publications/adu.pdf.
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

for homeowners. In small town settings, mixeduse zoning ordinances that allow apartments 

above shops can increase affordable options. 

Communities can use the Low-Income Housing 

Tax Credit to finance new affordable rental 

housing and to support affordable housing 

rehabilitation and preservation. Tax credits go to 

developers of qualified projects, who can then 

sell these credits to investors to raise capital for 

projects, reducing the money that the developer 

would otherwise have to borrow. With less debt, 

the developer can offer lower rents.116

Affordable housing developers face several 

challenges despite the many tools at their 

disposal. One of the biggest challenges is finding 

available and affordable land, particularly 

in neighborhoods where land values are 

appreciating quickly. Before investments in a 

neighborhood drive land prices up, it is important 

for community and government stakeholders 

to identify locations for affordable housing and 

acquire property. Other challenges include 

gaining political support among local officials, 

which can be overcome with engagement by 

community members and affordable housing 

advocates. It can also be difficult to ensure that 

affordable housing remains affordable over time. 

This can be accomplished using deed restrictions 

and other affordable housing preservation 

strategies discussed above. 

Community development corporations are 

important leaders in the creation of new 

affordable housing. The Umpqua Community 

Development Corporation worked with the 

state of Oregon, the city of Roseburg, and the 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation to convert 

a former hotel in downtown Roseburg into a 

mixed-use development with retail on the ground 

floor and 37 housing units upstairs. With $3.2 

million generated from Low-Income Housing Tax 

Credits, $1 million from historic rehabilitation tax 

credits, and other funding, Umpqua ensured that 

33 of those units are affordable to very low- and 

116 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. How 

Do Housing Tax Credits Work? www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/

affordablehousing/training/web/lihtc/basics/work.cfm.

Accessed 2011. 

moderate-income residents. In addition, several 

of the units provide housing for women from the 

Safe Haven Maternity Home.117

117 Kimura, Donna. “Hotel project provides housing while rescuing 

city’s past.” Affordable Housing Finance. August 2005. www.

housingfinance.com/ahf/articles/2005/august/032_AHF_12-3.htm.

Silver Gardens Apartments is a 66-unit affordable housing 

development located on a reclaimed brownfield site across 

the street the main transit hub in downtown 

Albuquerque, New Mexico. Photos courtesy of Patrick Coulie.
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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Case Study: 

Bringing Transit Service and Affordable

Housing to a Community in Need

Boston, Massachusetts 

Boston’s Fairmount Line, a commuter rail, runs 

through underserved and densely populated 

communities in Dorchester, Mattapan, and Hyde 

Park. For decades, many residents living along 

the line could see the train from their windows, 

but it did not stop in their neighborhoods and 

the nearest stations were well beyond walking 

distance. 

“For residents of neighborhoods such as Four 

Corners in Dorchester, who currently bear the 

burden of hosting a diesel rail line without 

the benefit of service, the Fairmount Line is a 

textbook example of environmental injustice,” 

says Noah Berger, the program manager at the 

Federal Transit Administration. Most residents of 

the communities bordering the Fairmount Line 

are African-American or Latino, and about half 

of the households earn less than $25,000 per 

year. Because 30 percent of them do not own a 

car, residents use public transit four times more 

than the regional average. The communities also 

have many vacant properties and brownfields, 

a problem made worse by a rise in foreclosures 

since the mid-2000s. In 2009, nearly 70 percent 

of Boston’s foreclosures were in Dorchester and 

Mattapan.

In response to these challenges, four community 

development corporations (CDCs) representing 

Dorchester Bay, Codman Square, Southwest 

Boston, and Mattapan came together to form the 

Fairmount/Indigo Line Collaborative. They also 

joined the Greater Four Corners Action Coalition’s 

transit equity campaign to advocate for new 

service and transit-oriented development along 

the nine-mile rail corridor. The commonwealth 

of Massachusetts, the city of Boston, and federal 

agencies have committed nearly $200 million to 

construct four new stations as well as affordable 

housing, office buildings, and a greenway to 

better serve the residents and reinvigorate their 

neighborhoods. 

“We are working with residents to plan 

and create new urban villages along 

the line with mixed-use developments 

that include affordable housing and 

commercial uses,” says Gail Latimore, 

executive director of the Codman 

Square Neighborhood Development 

Corporation. “The Fairmount work is 

a catalyst for economic revitalization 

of our communities. While we have 

a lot more work to do, we are well 

on our way to transforming our 

neighborhoods and are serving as 

a national model for responsive 

community development.”

The Fairmount/Indigo Line Collaborative 

partnered with Boston’s Department of 

Neighborhood Development to develop a vision 

of how transit could improve access and mobility 

and catalyze economic and social renewal. The 

coalition wanted the Fairmount train service 

to operate as part of the city’s subway network 

under the name the “Indigo Line.” They engaged 

a broad coalition of residents, community 

organizations, academic institutions, and 

foundations. Collaborative representatives found 

common ground among diverse neighborhood 

interests on shared goals. 

The collaborative was especially concerned that 

speculative property transactions and rising land 

values around the new stations would drive up 

the cost of living for current residents and push 

them out of the neighborhood. As a result, the 

plans for transit-oriented development focused 

on creating and preserving affordable housing. 

The CDCs are purchasing and rehabilitating 

foreclosed homes and acquiring, cleaning up, and 

reusing brownfield sites and other vacant and 

abandoned properties for housing development. 
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

To further support opportunities for affordable 

housing and equitable development, the 

Partnership for Sustainable Communities 

provided technical assistance to the collaborative. 

The Partnership is a joint effort of HUD, the U.S. 

Department of Transportation (DOT), and EPA to 

coordinate federal housing, transportation, water, 

and other infrastructure investments to make 

neighborhoods more prosperous, allow people 

to live closer to jobs, save households time and 

money, and reduce pollution. The Partnership 

helped create a comprehensive inventory of 

more than 150 sites near the rail line and a site 

prioritization tool to identify opportunities to 

develop housing, retail, and green space. The 

Partnership also supported the refinement 

of a design concept for a brownfield located 

close to the recently refurbished Morton Street 

station that will include affordable housing and 

commercial space. 

The Federal Transit Administration contributed 

over $135 million to support four new stations 

and the renovation of two existing stations. HUD 

provided over $50 million through Community 

Development Block Grants; the HOME Investment 

Partnerships Program; and Section 202 for public 

housing, new housing, and rental subsidies. 

EPA dedicated $720,000 to clean up more than 

30 brownfield sites within a half-mile of the 

new and renovated stations and will provide 

technical assistance to a Green Jobs Incubator 

on a former brownfield. Other funders include 

the Massachusetts Department of Housing 

and Community Development, Massachusetts 

Housing Partnership, the Local Initiatives Support 

Corporation, and several local and national 

foundations.

The four new stations are expected to open by 

2013. The Fairmount/Indigo Line Collaborative 

expects to create 1,200 new affordable homes 

near these stations. The collaborative also 

estimates that the new stations will attract over 

780,000 square feet of new retail space with the 

potential to generate more than 1,300 new jobs. 

Additionally, the collaborative plans to develop 

a six-mile green corridor, which will include 

playgrounds, orchards, parks, a pedestrian and 

bicycle path, community gardens, and open 

space.

“We are working with residents to plan and 

create new urban villages along the line with 

mixed-use developments that include affordable 

housing and commercial uses,” says Gail Latimore, 

executive director of the Codman Square 

Neighborhood Development Corporation. 

“The Fairmount work is a catalyst for economic 

revitalization of our communities. While we have 

a lot more work to do, we are well on our way to 

transforming our neighborhoods and are serving 

as a national model for responsive community 

development.”118 

118 For references, see page 76.

The area around Uphams Corner, a station on the Fairmount 

Line in Dorchester, before the station renovation (above), 

and a rendering showing the planned redevelopment 

around the station (below). Photo and rendering courtesy of 

Fairmount Collaborative.
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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Provide Transportation Options

For many low-income and overburdened 

communities, public transit, bicycle, and 

pedestrian networks are critical links to 

the regional employment and educational 

opportunities that can help residents improve 

their lives. Transportation options such as 

reliable bus and rail systems and well-connected 

sidewalks and bike paths make it possible for 

people to reach a job in the suburbs, their doctor’s 

office across town, or the grocery store around 

the corner safely and conveniently, even if they do 

not drive a car.

Expanding transportation choices can also save 

people money. Families living near public transit 

can own fewer cars—or no cars—and drive them 

less, which can mean significant savings on gas 

and maintenance costs. As noted in Chapter 2, 

the average American family spends roughly 18 

percent of household income on transportation 

and very low-income households can spend 55 

percent or more, while households with access to 

good transit service spend only 9 percent.119

Providing transportation options can also help 

create jobs. Investments in public transit, bicycle, 

and pedestrian infrastructure create more jobs 

per dollar spent than building new roads.120,121

In addition, when people can walk, bike, or 

take public transit, physical activity becomes 

part of their daily routines, which can keep 

them healthier. Well-designed streets with 

sidewalks, bike lanes, safe crossing points, and 

good lighting reduce the risk of being hit by a 

car. Providing alternatives to driving can also 

decrease pollution from motor vehicles, helping 

to protect air quality, reduce asthma and other 

illnesses that disproportionately impact lowincome and minority communities, and mitigate 

climate change. 

119 Center for Transit-Oriented Development. Mixed-Income Housing 

Near Transit. 2009. www.reconnectingamerica.org/public/display_

asset/091030ra201mixedhousefinal.

120 Smart Growth America. Recent Lessons from the Stimulus: 

Transportation Funding and Job Creation. 2011. www.

smartgrowthamerica.org/2011/02/04/new-report-reveals-smarttransportation-spending-creates-jobs-grows-the-economy.

121 Garrett‐Peltier, Heidi. Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure: A National 

Study of Employment Impacts. Political Economy Research Institute, 

University of Massachusetts, Amherst. 2011.

Transportation options such as 

reliable bus and rail systems and wellconnected sidewalks and bike paths 

make it possible for people to reach 

a job in the suburbs, their doctor’s 

office across town, or the grocery 

store around the corner safely and 

conveniently, even if they do not 

drive a car.

Public transit, bicycle, and pedestrian networks can 

connect low-income residents to jobs and educational 

opportunities, save money on transportation, and help to 

integrate physical activity into peoples’ daily routines. 

Photo courtesy of EPA.

This section presents three broad approaches 

that expand the transportation choices available 

to low-income and overburdened communities: 

providing access to public transit; designing safe 

streets for all users; and implementing equitable, 

transit-oriented development. Different strategies 

will be appropriate depending on the scale of 

the community. For instance, a rural community 

might not have enough population to support 

a fixed-route bus system, but residents could 

benefit from demand-responsive public transit 

and safely designed streets with sidewalks. 

Coordinating the implementation of these 

transportation strategies with neighborhood 

planning can result in more accessible amenities 

and services and more viable transportation 

options. When homes, offices, stores, and civic 
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

buildings are located near public transit and close 

to each other, it is convenient to walk, bicycle, 

and take the bus or train. Planners can ensure 

that land use policies and regulations support 

compact, mixed-use development, including 

affordable housing, near transit and walking 

and bicycling routes. It might also be necessary 

to address safety and crime concerns before 

residents feel comfortable walking, bicycling, or 

using public transportation. Along with police 

enforcement, clustering destinations close to 

transit stops and increasing the number of eyes 

on the street can improve neighborhood safety. 

Provide Access to Public 

Transportation

Public transportation is especially critical for 

low-income people, older adults, youth, and 

individuals with disabilities who might not have 

other ways of getting around. Transportation 

planners can engage these groups to ensure that 

transit routes and service hours meet their needs. 

Many public transportation trips are made up 

of multiple legs on different forms of transit 

such as regional rail and local bus. Linking 

public transportation options at transportation 

hubs and coordinating schedules between 

transit providers can increase accessibility and 

convenience. In rural communities, demandresponsive transit service, which operates on 

flexible routes and schedules according to 

passenger needs, can be a successful approach. 

In urban, suburban, and rural places, coordinating 

traditional public transit and transportation 

provided by social service agencies can further 

expand transportation options for customers. 

Municipalities can make access to public 

transportation easier and safer through 

thoughtful design of transit stops and 

surrounding streets. Waiting areas should be 

safe, well lit, and clearly marked. They should be 

easy and safe for patrons to reach on foot and by 

bicycle via sidewalks, bike paths, and crosswalks. 

Transit agencies can educate the public about 

their transportation options by translating 

schedules and brochures into local languages 

and placing these guides in schools, churches, 

businesses, and other community destinations.

The La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians in southern 

California is working with the San Diego 

Association of Governments and the nonprofit 

Walk San Diego to evaluate ways of increasing 

access to bus stops while encouraging physical 

activity. Potential strategies include marking stops 

more clearly, calming traffic, and protecting the 

trails and roadside paths that lead to the stops 

from fast-moving vehicles using logs, rocks, 

and other natural barriers obtained from the 

surrounding landscape.122

Planners can consider the equity and health 

outcomes of transit investments at the beginning 

of the decision-making process using tools such 

as environmental and social impact analyses. 

They can also create accountability measures or 

indicators to ensure that transportation projects 

meet equity and health objectives. A common 

approach is to calculate transportation benefits 

by income group. Specific metrics can include 

average travel time for various types of trips, the 

number of jobs that are accessible within a given 

travel time, and average distance to the nearest 

transit stop, all analyzed for a range of income 

122 Walk San Diego. Active Transportation Assessment for the La Jolla 

Band of Luiseño Indians. 2012. 

The Tempe, Arizona Transportation Center combines the 

downtown light-rail stop, the main city bus station, and the 

state’s first “bike station,” which offers secure on-site 

storage and repairs, into one facility. 

Photo courtesy of City of Tempe and Architekton + Otak.
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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

groups.123 These metrics can be monitored over 

time to ensure that transit investments continue 

to serve transit-dependent populations.

Much of the funding for public transportation 

is distributed directly to transit agencies, which 

then decide how to spend it. However, transit 

agency boards often include one representative 

for each jurisdiction served—usually multiple 

suburban towns and one city—instead of basing 

representation on population. This can result 

in more investment in outlying areas and less 

funding for urban cores where transit-dependent 

groups often live and where population densities 

generally better support the provision of transit 

service. 

To advocate for the equitable distribution of 

funding, residents can participate in riders’ 

councils and other advisory groups that make 

recommendations to transit agencies and engage 

the public. In 2010, the city of Seattle created 

a citizen transportation advisory committee 

to advise the mayor and city council on 

transportation priorities. The committee includes 

representatives from diverse communities as well 

as equity and social justice advocates.124 Nonprofit 

organizations can also conduct community 

assessments to uncover information about 

specific transportation needs that can inform 

agency decisions, as described previously.

123 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Guide to Sustainable 

Transportation Performance Measures. 2011. www.epa.gov/

smartgrowth/transpo_performance.htm. 

124 Seattle Department of Transportation. Citizens Transportation 

Advisory Committee III. www.seattle.gov/transportation/ctac.htm. 

Accessed 2011.

Implement Equitable Transit-Oriented

Development

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is commonly 

defined as compact, mixed-use development 

within walking distance (usually half a mile) of 

a transit station. Residents of transit-oriented 

developments can choose to drive less because of 

their convenient access to public transportation 

and walkable streets. Equitable TOD offers a mix 

of housing choices affordable to people with a 

range of incomes. Providing affordable housing 

near transit can significantly lower combined 

housing and transportation costs, which can claim 

55 to 60 percent of the household incomes of 

working families in major metropolitan areas.125

Equitable transit-oriented development uses 

many of the tools described earlier that create 

and preserve affordable housing, though some 

tools are particularly suited to station-area 

development. Because TOD residents are more 

likely to use transit, municipalities can reduce or 

eliminate minimum parking standards in TODs, 

which can decrease the costs of development 

and therefore the costs of building affordable 

housing. Greater building height or floor-area 

allowances—sometimes called density bonuses—

125 Center for Housing Policy. A Heavy Load: The Combined Housing 

and Transportation Burdens of Working Families. 2006. www.cnt.org/

repository/heavy_load_10_06.pdf.

Denver residents help plan development around the 

Decatur-Federal station on the planned West Corridor 

light-rail line. Photo courtesy of Denver Liability Partnership.
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

can accomplish similar objectives and work 

well near transit stations, where communities 

typically want more development. Land banking 

is another viable tool. Public and nonprofit 

entities can acquire land for affordable housing 

near transit early when prices are lower and 

hold it in a land bank until the time is right for 

redevelopment. When a private developer is 

interested in building, land bank authorities 

transfer the land to the developer with conditions 

guiding how it will be developed—for example, 

as mixed-income housing. 

The Denver Livability Partnership, with support 

from a HUD Community Challenge Planning Grant 

and a DOT Transportation Investment Generating 

Economic Recovery (TIGER) II Planning Grant, 

is working to ensure that people in all income 

brackets benefit from the city’s planned West 

Corridor light rail line. In anticipation of rising land 

prices, the Urban Land Conservancy, a member 

of the Denver Livability Partnership, purchased 

a two-acre parcel along the line on which an 80-

unit affordable housing development, a library, 

and other facilities will be built.126 The partnership 

also created a Housing Development Assistance 

Fund, awarding $750,000 grants to the Urban 

Land Conservancy and the Denver Housing 

Authority for planning and predevelopment 

expenses associated with developing affordable 

housing near the light rail line. These grants 

ensure that the costs of developing transitaccessible housing are not passed on to renters or 

buyers.127 The Denver Livability Partnership’s plans 

will more than double the number of affordable 

homes near West Corridor transit stations from 

1,400 to 3,000 units, building a foundation for 

126 Cohen, Elisa. “West side partnerships forming.” North Denver Tribune.

June 1, 2011. www.fresc.org/west-side-partnerships-forming. 

127 City of Denver. Transit-Oriented Development: Denver Livability 

Partnership. denvergov.org/tod/DenverLivabilityPartnership/

tabid/438465/Default.aspx. Accessed 2011.

inclusive communities that are linked to regional 

opportunities.128

Transit-oriented development will not necessarily 

be affordable without careful planning by 

the municipality and involvement from the 

community. Developing in transit-accessible infill 

locations can be more time-consuming, difficult, 

and expensive than conventional development, 

so housing there is often built for the high end 

of the market. Municipalities can remove barriers 

to equitable TOD and reduce costs by waiving 

or reducing impact fees, expediting permitting 

approvals, or donating publicly owned land. 

Additionally, collaboration among local planners, 

metropolitan planning organizations, community 

development corporations, and developers can 

increase the likelihood of achieving development 

that meets community goals. 

128 City of Denver. HUD/DOT Grant Fact Sheet. 2010. www.denvergov.

org/Portals/193/documents/TOD%20SIP/HUD%20Award%20

Fact%20Sheet-City%20and%20County%20of%20Denver%20

Community%20Planning%20and%20Development.pdf.

Municipalities can remove barriers 

to equitable TOD and reduce costs 

by waiving or reducing impact fees, 

expediting permitting approvals, or 

donating publicly owned land.

Fruitvale Village provides shopping, mixed-income housing, 

office space, a clinic, a library, and a senior center on a 

former parking lot at the entrance to the Fruitvale Bay Area 

Rapid Transit station. Photo Courtesy of The Unity Council.
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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Case Study: 

Equitable Transit-Oriented Development

Chicago, Illinois 

Since 1979, Bethel New Life, a faith-based 

community development corporation, has 

catalyzed redevelopment in the underserved West 

Garfield and Austin neighborhoods of Chicago. 

In 1991, when the Chicago Transit Authority 

proposed closing the elevated train line that linked 

residents to jobs and services, Bethel formed 

a regional coalition to preserve transit service. 

Bethel eventually created a transit-oriented 

development plan that led to the construction 

of Bethel Center, a two-story, 23,000-squarefoot community center on the leading edge of 

equitable development and green construction. 

Located five miles west of downtown Chicago, 

the West Garfield and Austin neighborhoods are 

predominantly African-American. In 1966, Martin 

Luther King, Jr. made national headlines when 

he moved his family into a tenement apartment 

in this area to fight for civil rights in housing, 

transportation, and public education as part of 

the Chicago Freedom Movement. After a series of 

riots in the late 1960s, the community declined 

when businesses closed and banks redlined 

neighborhoods, cutting off investment. The city’s 

decision to close the elevated Green Line train 

would have been another devastating blow. “We 

had to respond to the proposed closure because 

the train line is the only way people can get to 

work or visit their families,” says Mary Nelson, 

founding president of Bethel New Life. 

In 1992, Bethel formed the Lake Street El Coalition 

with other community groups, environmental 

organizations, and a few suburban townships 

and businesses. The coalition pressured local and 

federal officials to preserve transit service and kept 

their concerns in the public eye through press 

conferences, protests, and demonstrations. In 

particular, the coalition highlighted the disparities 

in federal spending on highways compared 

to public transit. After a series of hearings 

and meetings, the Chicago Transit Authority 

committed $380 million to repair the line. The 

Green Line’s rehabilitation was completed in 1998.

The Bethel Center was built on a former brownfield, and 

its transit-accessible, walkable location allows residents 

to reach local and regional destinations conveniently and 

affordably. The development incorporates green building 

technology and features a green roof, photovoltaic cells, and 

recycled and non-toxic building materials. Photo courtesy of 

Farr Associates, photography by Alan Shortall.

Threatened with the loss of their transit station, the West 

Garfield and Austin neighborhoods worked with Bethel 

New Life to keep the station open and catalyze transitoriented redevelopment with the Bethel Center as the 

anchor. Photo courtesy of Farr Associates, photography by 

Ballogg Photography.
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

After its victory, Bethel began to consider 

developing the areas around the transit 

station.“We realized the stop was a neighborhood 

asset and that 2,500 to 3,000 people a day got 

on and off at the intersection of Lake Street and 

Pulaski Road,” says Ms. Nelson. Bethel collaborated 

with residents, faith-based organizations, 

schools, public officials, and the Garfield Park 

Conservatory to create the Lake Pulaski Transit 

Village Plan. The plan proposed neighborhood 

revitalization strategies based on smart growth 

principles, such as compact building design, 

walkable neighborhoods, and access to public 

transportation. The residents also wanted a 

community center at the heart of the 

transit village.

For more than a decade, Bethel struggled to 

find funding to develop the community center 

on a site adjacent to the transit stop. The site 

had once hosted a gas station, whose leaking 

underground storage tanks had contaminated 

the groundwater and soils. Bethel was turned 

down by three banks unwilling to finance loans 

on land with environmental risks but was able 

to get public funding from the city of Chicago’s 

Empowerment Zone, the state of Illinois, and the 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 

Office of Community Services for predevelopment 

costs and small business development. The 

organization received additional funding from 

private foundations and corporations such as the 

Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation and 

Commonwealth Edison. Bethel also used New 

Market Tax Credits, a program designed to make 

investment capital available to businesses in 

qualifying low-income communities. With public 

and private money in place to clean the site and 

construct the center, U.S. Bank came on board. 

Altogether, Bethel pieced together $4.9 million for 

site cleanup and the center’s construction.

Completed in 2005, the Bethel Center is LEED Gold 

certified and a national model for green building. It 

houses six businesses, retail and financial services, 

affordable childcare, and an employment center 

that provides job counseling and job placement 

services. With assistance from faith-based financial 

services organization Thrivent Financial and a 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

program that matches contributions to savings 

accounts, the Community Savings Center provides 

financial education and matched savings accounts 

for home purchases, small business starts, and 

educational advancement. Among the many 

honors it has received, Bethel Center won EPA’s 

National Award for Smart Growth Achievement 

in 2006.

The Bethel Center creates a long-term 

economic anchor at the Lake Street and Pulaski 

Road intersection. “When doing community 

development, one of the most important things 

is creating a sense of an economic future,” says 

Ms. Nelson. “The center also made the transit 

stop much more usable and convenient.” 

Ridership at the stop has increased 25 percent 

since 2004. Bethel and other organizations have 

also worked to revitalize the surrounding area. 

The transit village now includes 36 affordable, 

energy-efficient homes within walking distance 

of the transit stop, parks, and stores. In addition 

to connecting residents to jobs throughout the 

region, the Bethel Center itself created about 100 

new jobs. 

Since its founding, Bethel New Life has helped 

bring $110 million of investment to Chicago’s 

West Side, placed over 7,000 people in jobs, 

and developed over 1,000 units of affordable 

housing. Bethel has also become a national 

example of the role faith-based organizations 

can play inpromoting equitable community 

development.129

129 For references, see page 77.

Since its founding, Bethel New Life 

has helped bring $110 million of 

investment to Chicago’s West Side, 

placed over 7,000 people in jobs, 

and developed over 1,000 units of 

affordable housing. 
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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Design Safe Streets for All Users

Well-designed streets allow safe, comfortable 

travel for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and 

public transit users of all ages and abilities. Also 

called “complete streets,” they often provide 

sidewalks, bike lanes, median islands, pedestrian 

signals, bus lanes, and plenty of crossing 

opportunities. Complete streets strategies can be 

used with the pollution-reducing green streets 

approaches described previously.

Not only do safely-designed streets make it 

less dangerous and more appealing for people 

to walk, bike, and use transit, they also bring 

economic benefits to urban, suburban, and rural 

communities. Streets that are more pleasant to 

walk along bring more pedestrians to shopping 

districts, and more foot traffic means more 

customers. Traffic calming measures can also 

increase business because drivers are better able 

to see stores and more likely to stop and shop.

Many towns, cities, and states have adopted 

complete streets policies directing transportation 

agencies to design and build new and retrofitted 

roadways to enable safe access for all users. 

Because almost 20 percent of Kingston, New 

York’s residents live below the poverty line and 

44 percent of its children are overweight or at 

risk of becoming overweight, the city launched 

a complete streets initiative. City staff teamed 

up with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 

the school district, the local Cooperative 

Extension branch, and community health and 

environmental organizations to create a Complete 

Streets Committee, conduct a “SWOT” (strengths, 

weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis 

of local streets, and undertake a code audit to 

identify regulations that were hampering the 

city’s ability to build complete streets.130 Kingston 

passed a Complete Streets Policy Framework in 

2010.131 The framework describes approaches 

the city will use to advance complete streets and 

creates an advisory council to identify projects, 

select design options, and provide policy 

130 City of Kingston. Complete Streets Committee. www.kingston-ny.

gov/content/120/2336/2344/default.aspx.

131 City of Kingston. A Healthy Kingston for Kids. www.kingston-ny.

gov/content/120/2336/default.aspx.

recommendations.132 Since Kingston and other 

New York communities have initiated complete 

streets efforts, New York State passed a bill that 

requires complete streets approaches to be 

considered in the planning, design, construction, 

and rehabilitation of roadways that receive federal 

or state funding.133

To improve infrastructure on existing streets not 

slated for reconstruction, local governments can 

prioritize these projects in their transportation 

planning processes. Localities could get federal 

transportation funding for these improvements 

by working with their state departments of 

transportation. 

Local governments can implement some street 

improvements with minimal cost. For example, 

changing the timing on a walk signal at an 

intersection costs almost nothing but makes 

the street safer for pedestrians by giving them 

more time to cross. Where the state owns 

roadways, municipalities need to work with state 

transportation agencies. 

132 City of Kingston. City of Kingston Complete Streets Policy 

Framework.2010. www.kingston-ny.gov/filestorage/120/2336/2344/

rs11090dg_cs_policy_adopted.pdf.

133 Seskin, Stefanie. “Excelsior! Complete Streets Will Be Law in New 

York.” National Complete Streets Coalition. August 16, 2011.

www.smartgrowthamerica.org/2011/08/16/excelsior-completestreets-will-be-law-in-new-york/.

At this Portland, Oregon, intersection, bike lanes, crosswalks, 

and traffic lanes have been safely integrated with rain 

gardens that filter polluted stormwater runoff. 

Photo courtesy of Environmental Services, 

City of Portland, Oregon.
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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Improve Access to Opportunities 

and Daily Necessities

All residents, regardless of race, ethnicity, or 

economic status, should have access to the 

basic ingredients of healthy, productive lives. 

These include employment and educational 

opportunities; services such as health care, child 

care, and public transportation; and amenities 

such as safe streets, parks and recreational 

facilities, and grocery stores and other places to 

buy nutritious food. 

This section includes strategies for improving 

access to key neighborhood destinations that 

help address the challenges facing many lowincome, minority, and tribal communities. Diverse, 

community-centered schools can serve as anchors 

for surrounding neighborhoods and important 

amenities for children and families. Safe Routes to 

School programs improve children’s health and 

well-being by enabling them to walk and bicycle 

to school. Incorporating nutritious food stores 

and green spaces into neighborhoods can help 

increase physical activity, reduce chronic disease, 

and provide other health benefits. The strategies 

in the earlier sections on housing, transportation, 

and strengthening existing communities are also 

important for creating access to opportunities 

and amenities. 

Promote Diverse, CommunityCentered Schools 

A community-centered school is located near the 

families it serves, is accessible via multiple modes 

of transportation, fits well with the neighborhood, 

and has a relatively small footprint. There are 

many benefits of community-centered schools 

for low-income and overburdened communities. 

Because community-centered schools are 

centrally located, students, parents, and faculty 

can get to them on foot, by bicycle, or via school 

bus, public transit, or driving. The availability of 

multiple transportation options can save families 

money. Children who walk or bike to school get 

regular exercise as part of their daily routines, 

and they can access playgrounds and school 

facilities after school, on the weekends, or during 

the summer, which encourages them to stay 

active in a safe environment. Children can spend 

more time playing and learning instead of sitting 

through long car or bus rides. Having a school 

nearby makes parent participation much more 

feasible for busy families, and parent involvement 

is linked to student performance.134

Centrally located schools can be community 

resources as well. Facilities can be used for events 

during non-school hours, such as adult classes, 

Boy and Girl Scout meetings, after-school sports, 

performing arts, and voting. Some schools 

offer health, dental, childcare, and employment 

services. To facilitate broader community use 

of school facilities like playgrounds, libraries, 

kitchens, and community gardens, joint use 

agreements can be created between schools 

and city recreation departments and other local 

government agencies, organizations like the Boys 

and Girls Clubs, and other community groups. 

This is particularly important in rural communities 

that might lack other public facilities. 

Many communities contain schools, and 

preserving those schools can anchor 

neighborhood revitalization. Abandoning and 

134 Hoover-Dempsey, Kathleen V. and Sandler, Howard M. “Parental 

Involvement in Children’s Education: Why Does It Make a 

Difference?” Teachers College Record, 97(2): 310-331. 1995. 

www.vanderbilt.edu/peabody/family-school/papers/childrens_

education.pdf.

This community health workshop in Detroit, Michigan, 

provided residents with basic health analyses and the 

opportunity to have private conversations with medical 

professionals. The workshop focused on health issues 

important to the community. 

Photo courtesy of Lauren Cooper.
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

demolishing schools in existing communities can 

result in decreased property values; in contrast, 

the presence of a local school raises property 

values and encourages more public and private 

investment in the neighborhood.135 This in turn 

reinforces the tax base available to the schools. In 

newer communities that are building schools, it 

is important to site those schools so they are easy 

to access. 

Various decision-makers influence where new 

schools are sited, whether existing ones are 

maintained or closed down, and how schools 

fit into the community. School districts have 

direct control over school siting decisions. Local 

governments decide where other community 

elements, such as housing, parks, and sidewalks, 

are located in relation to schools, and make 

long-term plans for surrounding neighborhoods. 

Collaboration between school districts and local 

planners can help link school siting decisions to 

development plans, create better connections 

between schools and adjacent neighborhoods, 

135 National Trust for Historic Preservation. Helping Johnny Walk to 

School. 2010. www.preservationnation.org/information-center/

saving-a-place/historic-schools/helping-johnny-walk-to-school/. 

promote the co-location and joint use of 

schools with other facilities, and better align 

comprehensive and school facility plans. States 

also influence where school facilities are located, 

often helping to fund school renovation, 

maintenance, and construction and providing 

siting and size guidelines. Municipalities can 

promote community-centered schools by 

working with state governments to remove 

minimum acreage requirements, which often call 

for large sites not typically available in existing 

neighborhoods; remove state funding biases that 

favor the construction of new buildings even if 

renovation is less expensive; and fund regular 

maintenance and repair, particularly of older 

school facilities in underserved communities.136

When promoting community-centered schools, 

decision-makers should consider potential air, 

soil, and water contamination. Uncontaminated 

sites that meet the educational, economic, 

and community goals discussed above are 

preferable. However, such sites can be hard to 

find in established communities, and school 

districts are often faced with choosing among 

sites that have some level of contamination from 

136 National Trust for Historic Preservation. Helping Johnny Walk to 

School. 2010. www.preservationnation.org/information-center/

saving-a-place/historic-schools/helping-johnny-walk-to-school/.

The Moore Square Museums Magnet Middle School is 

situated in the heart of Raleigh, North Carolina’s cultural and 

arts district, providing students with a unique educational 

opportunity that takes advantage of downtown institutions. 

Within walking distance of diverse neighborhoods and the 

Capital Area Transit bus center, the school has a socially 

and economically diverse student body and has helped 

strengthen and revitalize the surrounding area. Photo 

courtesy of Wake County Public School System/City of Raleigh. 

Homes in Portland, Oregon’s New Columbia neighborhood 

are close to amenities such as a grocery store, parks, 

the Rosa Parks Elementary School, community college 

classrooms, and a Boys and Girls Club. Photo couresty of 

Housing Authority of Portland.
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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

prior uses or that are close to potential sources 

of contamination. It is possible to safely locate 

schools on those sites by carefully evaluating and 

addressing the environmental and public health 

risks and benefits. EPA has developed school 

siting guidelines to help local education agencies, 

states, and tribes identify and implement sitespecific and community-wide exposure and risk 

reduction strategies.137

Community-centered schools can have 

unintended effects on school diversity. Few 

neighborhoods are representative of the racial, 

ethnic, or economic makeup of their community 

or school district as a whole. As a result, schools 

whose student populations come only from 

nearby neighborhoods might be more racially, 

ethnically, or economically homogeneous than 

those that draw from a larger geographic area. In 

other words, it might be difficult to have schools 

that are both diverse and close to residences. 

However, diversity, health, environmental 

protection, and community vibrancy are all 

important outcomes that school districts can aim 

to balance.

The long-term solution to this challenge is 

diverse, mixed-income communities where 

neighborhoods—and student bodies—reflect 

the broader population. In the shorter term, 

municipalities, school districts, and communitybased organizations can explore other responses. 

For instance, school districts and land use 

planners can consider both proximity to the 

families served and the diversity of school 

populations when making decisions about 

school siting, rehabilitation, and closure. Planners 

and school officials can also work together to 

encourage neighborhood diversity near schools 

with development projects that provide mixedincome housing close to schools. In addition, 

school districts can promote diverse, communitycentered schools by designing school attendance 

zones and assignment policies to support 

walkability and diversity.

137 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. School Siting Guidelines.

2011. www.epa.gov/schools/siting.

Create Safe Routes to School 

Safe Routes to School programs are efforts by 

parents, schools, community leaders, and local 

and state governments to improve the health 

and well-being of children by enabling and 

encouraging them to walk and bicycle to school. 

In 2009, 13 percent of children 5 to 14 years of 

age walked or bicycled to school, compared 

with 48 percent of children in 1969.138 Reduced 

physical activity rates are associated with 

obesity and chronic disease, problems that 

disproportionately affect low-income and 

minority children. When students are able to 

walk or bike to school, they are more likely to get 

the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical 

activity, which can help reduce childhood obesity 

and related health issues. 

Relative to higher-income children, more lowincome children do walk to school, some on busy 

streets with fast-moving traffic, no pedestrian 

paths, and dangerous street crossings.139 Safe 

Routes to School approaches provide strategies 

low-income and minority communities can use 

to get more students walking and bicycling to 

school where it is safe and to improve conditions 

where it is not. These strategies include education, 

138 National Center for Safe Routes to School. The Decline of Walking 

and Bicycling. www.saferoutesinfo.org/guide/introduction/the_

decline_of_walking_and_bicycling.cfm. Accessed 2011. 

139 Safe Routes to School National Partnership. Implementing Safe 

Routes to School in Low-Income Schools and Communities. 2010. 

www.saferoutespartnership.org/lowincomeguide.

Safe Routes to School programs can include education for 

students on safe bicycling and walking, such as this 

class in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Photo courtesy of www.pedbikeimages.org / Mike Cynecki.
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CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

engineering, enforcement, and encouragement. 

Education programs teach students safety skills 

for walking and bicycling and teach motorists 

how to drive safely around pedestrians and 

bicyclists. Engineering projects improve 

sidewalks, crosswalks, signs, and signals to create 

safer places to walk or bike. Enforcement efforts 

increase awareness of laws protecting walkers 

and bicyclists and guiding driver behavior. 

Encouragement strategies such as contests and 

rewards help to create excitement around walking 

and biking.

Some elements of a Safe Routes to School 

program, such as Walk to School Days, signs, and 

painting crosswalks, cost very little money. Others, 

such as new sidewalk construction, require more 

funding. Safe Routes to School activities are 

eligible for DOT funding that is distributed to 

metropolitan planning organizations and state 

departments of transportation. 

Communities are designing Safe Routes to School 

programs that meet their unique needs. For 

instance, crime or fear of crime inhibits walking 

and biking to school in some places. Other 

communities have cited obstacles like abandoned 

buildings and stray dogs. To address these issues, 

residents can organize safety patrols made up 

of older students, create school route maps, and 

coordinate “walking school buses” or “bicycle 

trains,” which are groups of students accompanied 

by adults that walk or bicycle a pre-planned route 

to school.

The principal and teachers from Thomas 

Elementary School in Flagstaff, Arizona, worked 

with the municipal health and parks departments 

and local law enforcement to address safety 

issues in nearby Bushmaster Community Park, a 

hub for activities that threatened students’ safety 

while walking to school. A local business donated 

office space for a police substation one-quarter 

mile from the park, and volunteers asked local 

businesses to stop offering the individually sold 

bottles of beer that contributed to many of the 

problems in the park. The community also began 

weekly walking school buses.140

140 Safe Routes to School National Partnership. Implementing Safe 

Routes to School in Low-Income Schools and Communities. 2010. 

www.saferoutespartnership.org/lowincomeguide.

Provide Access to Healthy Food

Many underserved neighborhoods lack sources 

of healthy, affordable food, a challenge linked 

to the high rates of diet-related diseases among 

low-income and minority populations.141,142 A 

number of issues can contribute to these “food 

deserts,” including supermarkets’ perceptions 

that low-income neighborhoods are not 

profitable locations, an assumed lack of spending 

power among residents, a lack of viable sites, 

high land and development costs, and lengthy 

approval processes.143

However, economic research shows that lowincome neighborhoods can have significant 

purchasing power and unmet demand.144,145

Local planning and economic development 

agencies and community organizations are 

building on these findings by conducting 

their own market studies, removing barriers, 

and providing incentives to attract grocery 

stores into neighborhoods that need them. For 

example, planners and economic developers 

are identifying and assembling suitable land for 

grocery store sites, speeding project approvals, 

and offering workforce development programs to 

prepare local residents for food retail jobs. Others 

are using financing tools to attract retailers, 

including New Market Tax Credits and private 

bank loans as well as federal and state grants. 

In New York City, the East Harlem Abyssinian 

Triangle development organization and the 

Abyssinian Development Corporation secured 

public financing that attracted private money to 

bring a supermarket to a predominantly African141 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Obesity 

Data/Statistics. minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/browse.

aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=550. Accessed 2010.

142 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Diabetes 

Data/Statistics. minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/browse.

aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=62. Accessed 2010.

143 Change Lab Solutions. Getting to Grocery: Tools for Attracting 

Healthy Food Retail to Underserved Neighborhoods. 2012. 

changelabsolutions.org/publications/getting-grocery.

144 Porter, Michael. The Competitive Advantage of the Inner City. Harvard 

Business Review. May/June 1995. Porter estimated that America’s 

inner cities had roughly $85 billion in annual purchasing power (or 

7 percent of total retail spending). In many neighborhoods, more 

than 25 percent of demand for goods was not being met locally.

145 Miara, James. Retail in Inner Cities. Urban Land. January 2007. 

www.icic.org/ee_uploads/publications/Retail-in-Inner-Cities-ULIICIC-012007.pdf.
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American and Latino neighborhood in Harlem.146

The supermarket agreed to give local residents 

at least 75 percent of the store’s jobs. Since it 

opened in 1999, the store has met or exceeded 

industry averages for profitability.147

Corner markets and convenience stores can also 

be sources of healthy foods. These small retailers 

might already be operating in underserved 

communities, and new ones might be able to 

fit into existing neighborhoods without lengthy 

development processes. Local government 

agencies can help small retailers sell healthy 

foods by providing grants or loans for physical 

improvements or equipment such as shelving or 

refrigeration units; covering the costs of initial 

healthy food orders; and offering marketing 

assistance for advertising, signage, and 

community outreach.148

146 The Abyssinian Neighborhood Project won EPA’s National Award 

for Smart Growth Achievement in 2007. For more information, see 

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “2007 National Award 

for Smart Growth Achievement” at www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/

awards/sg_awards_publication_2007.htm.

147 Flournoy, Rebecca. “Healthy Foods, Strong Communities.” 

Shelterforce Online. National Housing Institute. 2006. 

www.nhi.org/online/issues/147/healthyfoods.html.

148 Healthy Corner Stores Network. Healthy Corner Stores Q&A. 2011. 

www.healthycornerstores.org/healthy-corner-stores-q-a.

Retail stores are not the only potential outlets for 

fresh and healthy food. Nonprofit organizations 

can plant community gardens and start farmers’ 

markets to bring produce from regional farms 

into neighborhoods. Another approach is 

community-supported agriculture, which allows 

residents to purchase shares from farmers at the 

beginning of a growing season in exchange for 

a portion of the crops. The farm either delivers 

directly to homes or distributes at a specific 

location in the neighborhood. 

Local zoning and permitting regulations can 

prevent or slow the development of community 

gardens, farmers’ markets, and mobile produce 

vending. Planners can remove regulatory barriers 

and ensure that zoning encourages sources of 

healthy food in neighborhoods that currently 

lack them.149

149 Change Lab Solutions. Zoning Talking Points. 2012. 

changelabsolutions.org/publications/zoning-talking-points.

The First Oriental Market in Philadelphia received a $500,000 

loan from the Fresh Food Financing Initiative to help its 

owners purchase the property they had previously leased. 

Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative. 

The North City Farmers’ Market in Old North St. Louis 

provides free health screenings and healthy cooking 

demonstrations. Photo courtesy of the City of St. Louis and the 

Old North St. Louis Restoration Group.
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Some state and federal agencies provide 

resources to improve access to healthy 

food in low-income and minority 

communities. In 2004, the state of 

Pennsylvania, the nonprofit Food Trust, 

and The Reinvestment Fund, a community 

development financial institution (CDFI), 

created the Pennsylvania Fresh Food 

Financing Initiative.150 They committed 

$150 million to increase the number 

of grocery stores and supermarkets 

in underserved, low-income urban 

neighborhoods and small towns.151

The initiative provides grants and loans 

to qualified food retail enterprises for 

land acquisition financing, equipment 

financing, construction and permanent 

finance, workforce development, and other 

activities. As of 2011, the initiative has 

invested $192 million to develop 90 new 

stores, creating or preserving more than 

5,000 jobs and improving access to healthy 

food for more than half a million people.152

The U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains the 

Food Environment Atlas, an online tool that allows 

users to identify food deserts.153 The Healthy Food 

Financing Initiative, a partnership among the 

U.S. Departments of Treasury, Agriculture, and 

Health and Human Services, is working to expand 

the availability of nutritious food, including 

developing grocery stores, small retailers, corner 

stores, and farmers’ markets and equipping them 

to sell healthy food.154 In 2011, the Healthy Food 

150 The Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative won EPA’s 

National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in 2006. For more 

information, see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “2006 

National Award for Smart Growth Achievement” at www.epa.gov/

smartgrowth/awards/sg_awards_publication_2006.htm.

151 New Rules Project. Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative. 

www.newrules.org/retail/rules/financing-local-businesses/

pennsylvania-fresh-food-financing-initiative. Accessed 2011.

152 The Food Trust. Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative. 

www.thefoodtrust.org/php/programs/fffi.php. Accessed 2011.

153 U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food Environment Atlas. 

www.ers.usda.gov/FoodAtlas. Accessed 2011.

154 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy Food 

Financing Initiative. www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/ocs_food.

html. Accessed 2011.

Financing Initiative awarded $25 million in grants 

through the Treasury Department’s Community 

Development Financial Institutions Fund to 12 

CDFIs working to increase access to affordable 

healthy foods.155

Provide Access to Parks and Green Space

Green space at all scales—from small 

neighborhood parks to greenways to forests 

and wetlands—provides health, social, and 

environmental benefits for low-income and 

overburdened communities. Parks, community 

gardens, playing fields, riverfront shorelines, and 

wildlife refuges offer opportunities for physical 

activity, social engagement, and mental respite. 

These natural and cultivated spaces provide 

habitat for wildlife and serve important biological 

functions that purify air and water, lower ambient 

air temperatures, and absorb rainwater to reduce 

flooding in developed areas. 

Coalitions of community organizations, land 

conservationists, planners, and public health 

groups are combining funding from local, state, 

federal, nonprofit, and private sources to create 

parks and green spaces. The Bootheel Heart Health 

Project, a collaboration between the Missouri 

Department of Health and Senior Services and 

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

built walking trails in 12 rural, predominantly 

African-American communities in southeast 

Missouri. Almost 60 percent of trail users reported 

that they exercised more because of the trail.156

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, community activists, 

the Trust for Public Land, and city officials 

partnered to create the Alton Park Safewalk to 

serve the low-income Alton Park neighborhood.157

The urban greenway connects residents to the 

South Chattanooga Recreational Center and 

155 U.S. Department of the Treasury. “CDFI Fund Announces $25 Million 

in Healthy Food Financing Initiative Awards.” September 2011. 

www.cdfifund.gov/news_events/CDFI-2011-18-CDFI-FundAnnounces-$25-Million-in-Healthy-Food-Financing-InitiativeAwards.asp.

156 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing Chronic 

Diseases: Investing Wisely in Health. 2003. atfiles.org/files/pdf/CDCHHS.pdf.

157 International City/County Management Association. Active Living and 

Social Equity: Creating Healthy Communities for All Residents. 2005. 

bookstore.icma.org/Active_Living_and_Social_Equit_P1247C15.cfm?

UserID=7333666&jsessionid=4e3049a2a14454137426.
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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

will eventually link to schools, churches, and 

downtown Chattanooga through the planned 

Chattanooga Creek Greenway.158

Communities are designing green spaces in 

ways that respond to their specific needs, such 

as improving visibility and lighting where crime 

is a concern. The Olneyville Housing Corporation 

worked with the Providence, Rhode Island police 

department to design a park, playground, and 

bike path on a strip of long-vacant land along 

the Woonasquatucket River. By involving the 

police in the planning process early and using 

the principles of Crime Prevention through 

Environmental Design—a set of approaches 

aimed at designing the physical environment 

to deter crime—the housing corporation made 

siting and layout decisions that made the park 

and bike path easier to police and safer for users. 

As a result, these amenities are well-used by local 

families in what was once one of Providence’s 

most dangerous neighborhoods.159

158 Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency. Alton 

Park/Piney Woods Community Plan (Draft). 2010. www.chcrpa.org/

Projects/Land_Use_Plans/Alton_Park_Plan/Alton%20Park%20

Master%20Plan%20(5-12-2010).ALL.pdf.

159 Local Initiatives Support Coalition Rhode Island. Riverside 

Gateway–Providence, Rhode Island. www.chcrpa.org/Projects/

Land_Use_Plans/Alton_Park_Plan/Alton%20Park%20Master%20

Parks can also be places of cultural expression. 

The Campo Band of Mission Indians in southern 

California obtained funding from the San Diego 

Association of Governments to plan a community 

park that reflects the tribe’s values of health 

and harmony with nature and welcomes all 

generations. The park is being designed with 

input from tribal staff, elders, and community 

members and will include indigenous medicinal 

and edible plants, a native orchard, and a 

teaching pavilion.160

Municipalities can update their comprehensive 

plans and zoning to protect existing parks 

and encourage new green space. Some are 

doing this by developing policies to encourage 

green infrastructure as part of buildings, 

neighborhoods, and streets. As discussed in the 

section on green streets, green infrastructure 

uses vegetation, soils, and natural processes 

to manage polluted stormwater runoff. At the 

scale of a city or county, green infrastructure 

refers to the patchwork of natural areas that 

provide habitat, flood protection, and cleaner 

air and water. At the scale of a neighborhood or 

site, green infrastructure refers to stormwater 

management features that mimic nature by 

soaking up and storing water.161 In both cases, 

green infrastructure can also provide places 

for recreation and make streets, public spaces, 

and buildings more attractive and pleasant. 

Philadelphia’s Green City, Clean Waters plan uses 

elements such as restored stream corridors and 

wetlands, rain gardens, and green roofs to meet 

federal requirements for stormwater management 

while enhancing its neighborhoods. By 2029, 

the city plans to replace at least one-third of its 

impervious surfaces with green space to manage 

stormwater naturally and beautify the city.162

Plan%20(5-12-2010).ALL.pdf. Accessed 2011. 

160 Campo Band of Mission Indians. Final Project Report: Campo Tribal 

Community Park Project: Hummingbird Community Park. 2012. 

161 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Green Infrastructure. 

water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/index.cfm.

Accessed 2012.

162 City of Philadelphia. Manage Stormwater to Meet Federal 

Standards. www.phila.gov/green/greenworks/equity_target8.html.

Accessed 2011.

Community members in National City, California, led the 

restoration of Paradise Creek, a tidal saltwater marsh that 

had been harmed by pollution and dumping. Through 

organized cleanups, fundraising, collaboration with the 

local government, and native species planting, they created 

the Paradise Creek Educational Park, which will be the 

centerpiece of a planned affordable housing and transitoriented development. Photo courtesy of National City.
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Preserve and Build On the 

Features that Make a Community 

Distinctive

Authentic community planning and revitalization 

are anchored in the physical and cultural assets 

that make a place unique. As decision-makers 

and community stakeholders implement 

the policies and strategies described in this 

report, they should build on the distinctive 

characteristics of their neighborhoods. Preserving 

and strengthening the features that make a place 

special maintains what existing residents value 

about their homes, attracts new residents and 

visitors, and spurs economic development that is 

grounded in community identity. 

Land use planning processes often begin with 

visioning exercises where residents identify 

the aspects of their neighborhood that they 

like, including public spaces, long-standing 

institutions, and local traditions. Effective 

planning helps to preserve these assets and 

strengthen them through future development. 

This section discusses two broad approaches to 

culturally focused planning and development: 

preserving existing features that define local 

heritage, and strengthening that heritage through 

new development. Together, these strategies can 

promote development that respects local history 

and reinforces community pride. 

Preserve Existing Cultural Features 

Preserving the cultural heritage of a place can 

mean maintaining its physical elements, including 

buildings, main streets, public and civic spaces, 

and agricultural and natural lands. It can also 

mean supporting a community’s cultural assets, 

such as traditions, festivals, commemorations of 

history, and shared community memories. These 

features help define the neighborhood and its 

values, are a source of local pride and identity, 

and provide a foundation for community-based 

revitalization and economic development. 

A first step in cultural heritage preservation is to 

identify physical and cultural assets that matter 

to residents and document their histories and 

importance. Community-based organizations 

can collect information that tells the story of a 

place or tradition through library and Internet 

research, interviews, and site visits; communicate 

those stories to decision-makers and the public; 

and build support for preservation. Walking 

tours, seminars, celebrations or remembrances, 

place markers, museum exhibitions, oral history 

recording projects, and websites can also educate 

stakeholders and raise awareness about the 

importance of a place or tradition.

A community or region’s physical and cultural 

assets can be a foundation for its land use and 

economic development planning. Municipalities 

and regional planning and development 

organizations can strengthen these assets 

using land use policies and regulations, 

entrepreneurship and workforce programs, small 

business retention and attraction, and industry 

cluster development strategies that enhance 

physical features and equip community members 

to build skills, get and keep jobs, open businesses, 

and shape economic growth that is homegrown 

and authentic. 

Historic preservation tools can help preserve 

physical places or structures. Community 

organizations can start the historic preservation 

process by undertaking an assessment that 

identifies interested stakeholder groups; 

opportunities, such as a chance to obtain 

ownership of a site; threats, such as potential 

Community leaders celebrate the unveiling of Minneapolis’ 

American Indian Cultural Corridor. Photo courtesy of the 

Native American Community Development Institute.
62

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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

The Selma to Montgomery National Historic 

Trail, created to commemorate the 1965 

Voting Rights March in Alabama, runs 

through an area facing high unemployment, 

health concerns, and other economic and 

social challenges. The trail is an important 

cultural asset to local communities and 

a potential economic driver. It passes 

several interpretive centers, museums, and 

monuments, and walking tours and other 

educational opportunities are offered along 

the way. Local communities are working with 

HUD, DOT, EPA, and other federal and state 

agencies to clean up former gas stations and 

petroleum-contaminated brownfields along 

the corridor, where residents hope to spur 

revitalization and develop local businesses 

such as craft and gift shops, restaurants, and 

vegetable stands.163,164

163 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. National Historic Voting 

Rights Trail: Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. 2010. 

www.epa.gov/oust/docs/al_recact1yr_story.pdf.

164 Partnership for Sustainable Communities. Three Years of Helping 

Communities Achieve Their Visions for Growth and Prosperity. 

2012. www.sustainablecommunities.gov/toolsKeyResources.html.

demolition; the parties with control over the 

property; and specific goals, such as getting a 

structure recognized as a historic landmark or 

securing financial support to restore it.

There are various ways of obtaining official 

recognition for a historic site and, in some cases, 

protecting it. Getting a building listed on the 

State or National Registers of Historic Places 

brings eligibility for tax credits and protection in 

the form of extra scrutiny if a site is threatened, 

though it does not prevent demolition. After San 

Francisco’s Bayview Opera House, the nation’s first 

African-American opera house, was listed on the 

National Register of Historic Places, it received 

funding and technical assistance from the 

National Trust for Historic Preservation.165 Local, 

state, and federal landmark laws are other tools to 

protect historic properties. 

Some historic preservation programs focus more 

on architecture and aesthetics than on history 

and culture, which can create hurdles for places 

that are notable primarily for their association 

with an event, era, or tradition. To overcome 

this challenge, stakeholders must provide a 

well-researched history of the place and show 

evidence of public support. Residents of the Bronx 

are working with the borough government to 

encourage the New York Landmarks Preservation 

Commission to declare the Bronx’s casitas, or 

“little houses,” city landmarks. Casitas, reminiscent 

of the wood farmhouses in the Puerto Rican 

countryside, might not always exemplify “notable” 

architecture, but they are vital elements of Puerto 

Rican culture in New York and have played an 

important role in neighborhood revitalization.166

Some localities have included historic 

preservation elements in their master plans 

that lay out visions, goals, and implementation 

strategies to protect historic neighborhoods, 

corridors, and commercial centers and enhance 

the public’s understanding of the community’s 

165 Smith, Matt. “Restoring Bayview Opera House Lifts the Area.” San 

Francisco Weekly. November 17, 2010. www.sfweekly.com/2010-11-

17/news/restoring-bayview-opera-house-lifts-the-area.

166 Hughes, C.J. “In Bronx, Little Houses that Evoke Puerto Rico.” New 

York Times. February 22, 2009. www.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/

nyregion/23casitas.html.

Mt. Zion Church in West Montgomery, Alabama, is 

an important historic landmark along the Selma to 

Montgomery National Historic Trail. The community 

is working with federal and state agencies to advance 

community revitalization and historic preservation in 

Montgomery and three other locations along the trail. 

Photo courtesy of EPA.
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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

history and historic assets. Municipalities can also 

create historic preservation overlay zones that 

encourage reuse of historic buildings, require 

exterior building renovations and repairs to be 

approved by historic preservation experts before 

work begins, and allow historic preservation 

commissions to comment on proposals before the 

zoning board.

Community organizations can also preserve 

a building by securing grants to renovate or 

restore the structure, raising funds to purchase 

it, or obtaining a long-term lease. They can also 

collaborate with schools, libraries, churches, 

and historical societies to identify new ways 

the building can contribute to local life, such as 

offering performance or meeting space to artists 

or social groups. 

Create New Development that 

Strengthens Local Culture 

By taking inspiration from important landmarks, 

neighborhood designs, and local traditions, 

new development in a community can 

strengthen cultural identity. Design guidelines 

and neighborhood conservation districts can 

capture the specific physical characteristics 

of development that determine the overall 

character of a neighborhood and apply them to 

new built projects. 

With design guidelines, municipalities establish 

common standards for the form and character 

of a neighborhood and elements within 

it. They can be tailored to specific types of 

development projects, such as commercial 

buildings, multifamily homes, industrial facilities, 

or streets and sidewalks. Design guidelines can 

contain standards that address the building 

itself, including architectural style, scale, height, 

roof form, materials, and color; its relationship 

to the street, including orientation and setback; 

landscaping; signage; and other elements. 

Similarly, local governments can create pattern 

books to provide developers and architects with 

images of acceptable components of new and 

renovated buildings. 

The Mississippi Renewal Forum developed 

a Gulf Coast pattern book to preserve the 

architectural heritage of the region as it is 

rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. The book 

provides images of building forms and 

key architectural elements to be used in 

the restoration and new construction of 

individual homes, commercial buildings, 

neighborhoods, and landscaping. It 

describes traditional block layouts, 

housing placement on lots, building types, 

decorative elements, and materials, and 

offers recommendations for fulfilling Federal 

Emergency Management Agency rebuilding 

requirements in a way that complements 

historic character.167 By mixing different 

options from the pattern book, developers 

can create a variety of building types with a 

common architectural standard. 

Local governments usually implement design 

guidelines as part of other development 

regulations and policies. These guidelines are 

most easily followed if they are clear, simple, 

and illustrated with photographs and images. 

In developing these guidelines, it is helpful for 

planners and community organizations to work 

with architects to distill the most important 

elements of community character. 

Municipalities use neighborhood conservation 

districts, suitable for areas that are mostly built 

out, to ensure that new development and 

substantial modifications are in keeping with 

local character. Like design guidelines, this 

tool addresses the characteristics of buildings 

and sites. Neighborhood conservation districts 

are often implemented as zoning overlay 

districts that establish design standards for new 

construction, additions, or alterations to the 

street-facing facades of existing buildings. They 

can be simple, identifying the basic physical 

features that define a neighborhood such as 

167 Mississippi Renewal Forum. A Pattern Book for Gulf Coast 

Neighborhoods. 2005. www.mississippirenewal.com/documents/

Rep_PatternBook.pdf.
64

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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

the position of buildings on the site and their 

distance from the street, parking location, roof 

form, and the existence of front porches. Some 

communities prefer to implement voluntary 

neighborhood conservation districts. 

Kansas City, Missouri’s Jazz District, once a 

flourishing African-American community and a 

hotbed of Kansas City jazz, is being revitalized 

based on its cultural history, architectural styles, 

and neighborhood character. The Jazz District 

Redevelopment Corporation constructed 

residential, commercial, and retail space designed 

to complement existing architecture.168 The 

district has attracted commercial tenants such as 

the Black Chamber of Commerce, the offices of an 

African-American newspaper, a blues club, and 

the Black Archives of Mid-America.169

Standards that clarify design and compatibility 

preferences and requirements help create 

predictability in the development process for 

developers and community members. Guidelines 

for developers are clearly established, making 

their projects more likely to be approved and 

reducing costly delays. Community members 

can feel confident that new development 

will reinforce what they like about their 

neighborhoods. Providing images of preferred 

building styles can further clarify these standards. 

168 Jazz District Redevelopment Corporation. Development 

Opportunities. 2010. www.kcjazzdistrict.org/.

169 Jazz District Redevelopment Corporation. 18th and Vine Jazz District 

Rebirth. www.kcjazzdistrict.org/. Accessed 2011.

The design of Minneapolis’ American Indian-owned 

Woodlands National Bank and the accompanying public 

art celebrate native cultures. Photo courtesy of the Native 

American Community Development Institute.
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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Case Study: 

Culturally Driven Land Use Planning

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, New Mexico

In 2000, Ohkay Owingeh’s tribal members 

created a pueblo-wide Master Land Use Plan that 

encompassed all 5,800 square miles of Rio Arriba 

County. This long-term growth strategy coordinates 

future housing and commercial development and 

preserves the community’s historic plazas. The plan 

both strengthens the pueblo’s identity and protects 

its natural surroundings by keeping the traditional 

commitment to environmentally sensitive design. 

The Master Land Use Plan was the first tribal smart 

growth plan in the country and won EPA’s National 

Award for Smart Growth Achievement in 2004.

Located 35 miles north of Santa Fe, Ohkay 

Owingeh, formerly called San Juan Pueblo, has a 

population of 6,750. Over the years, the pueblo 

has faced unemployment, water constraints, 

and housing shortages. Nearly 20 percent of its 

residents live below the poverty line, and there is a 

long waiting list for housing. 

Through their land use planning efforts, tribal 

leaders realized that continuing to construct 

housing away from the pueblo’s center would 

decrease the land available for agriculture and 

open space. The tribe’s infrastructure systems, 

including those for water and wastewater, also 

were not able to keep pace with the pueblo’s 

dispersed development. The water and sewer 

systems were at capacity and would not be able 

to provide sufficient water supply or pressure with 

future growth. 

Approved in 2001, the Master Land Use Plan 

coordinates existing transportation and water 

infrastructure with housing and commercial 

development, preserves the pueblo’s historic 

plazas, and promotes main street-style retail and 

commercial development. The plan’s guidelines 

used traditional architectural designs that preserve 

Ohkay Owingeh’s cultural heritage and foster 

a distinctive sense of place. With the adoption 

of the Master Land Use Plan, the pueblo also 

expanded the sewer system and installed two new 

water tanks to allow for future growth, putting a 

temporary moratorium on new development until 

the upgrades were complete.

The first project implemented under the plan 

was Tsigo Bugeh Village, a development of 40 

affordable townhouses arranged around two 

The design for Tsigo Bugeh Village is inspired by traditional 

pueblos, which include pedestrian-oriented villages. Photo 

courtesy of the San Juan Pueblo Office of the Governor.

The buildings in Tsigo Bugeh Village are clustered around 

two plazas, and contain affordable townhouses, a meeting 

space, a playground, a computer room, a fitness room, 

and business center. Photo courtesy of the 

San Juan Pueblo Office of the Governor. 

The Master Land Use Plan was 

the first tribal smart growth plan 

in the country and won EPA’s 

National Award for Smart Growth 

Achievement in 2004.
66

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STRATEGIES LINKING SMART GROW TH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

plazas. The village was inspired by the original 

community design of the pueblo and includes 

a meeting space, playground, computer room, 

fitness room, and business center. 

Collaboration among multiple organizations 

brought Tsigo Bugeh Village to life. For two 

years, the Ohkay Owingeh Housing Authority 

invited tribal members, elders, and tribal 

leaders to participate in project planning. This 

public engagement provided valuable input on 

community concerns, including affordability and 

safety, sacred geographic locations, and floor 

plans to accommodate feast-day rituals. “The Tsigo 

Bugeh Village project demonstrates that people 

can help create housing that meets their needs,” 

says Tomasita Duran, the housing authority’s 

executive director. “The project combines modern 

characteristics with our traditional design.”

The pueblo built Tsigo Bugeh Village by making 

innovative use of funding from HUD, state and local 

agencies, and foundations. For the first time, HUD’s 

HOME funds, which are block grants to state and 

local governments designed to create affordable 

housing for low-income households, were used 

for rental housing on tribal lands in New Mexico. 

In another first, the New Mexico Mortgage Finance 

Authority provided low-cost loans on American 

Indian trust lands. The Ohkay Owingeh Housing 

Authority also used federal Low-Income Housing 

Tax Credits.

Ohkay Owingeh’s Master Land Use Plan used 

smart growth concepts such as affordable 

housing, walkable neighborhoods, mixed land 

uses, compact building design, and stakeholder 

engagement to restore the pueblo’s traditional 

settlement patterns. As the tribe grows, it will use 

the plan to preserve its strong sense of culture and 

place for future generations.170 

170 For references, see page 77.

The central plazas in Tsigo Bugeh Village include “hornos,” 

or traditional ovens. Photo courtesy of the San Juan Pueblo 

Office of the Governor.
CONCLUSION 67

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Chapter 4: Conclusion

The strategies outlined in this publication 

can help low-income, minority, tribal, and 

overburdened communities shape development 

to respond to their needs and reflect their 

values. These strategies can also help local and 

regional planners and policy-makers make land 

use decisions that are equitable, healthy, and 

sustainable for all residents. 

To chart a path forward and select the 

approaches that will meet local goals, each 

community can undertake a process of selfevaluation and dialogue. This process might 

include the following steps: 

•	 Build relationships among communitybased organizations, residents, community 

development corporations, business owners, 

developers, local and regional decisionmakers, and others interested in growth and 

development issues. Effective partnerships 

among these stakeholders are critical to 

carrying out inclusive planning processes, 

identifying the right policies and investment 

priorities, and achieving development that 

works for all residents. Community-based 

organizations and community development 

corporations can play a particularly 

important role as liaisons to traditionally 

underrepresented populations and bring 

them into planning and development 

processes. 

•	 Build capacity while you plan. Local and 

regional staff and community-based 

organizations can conduct inclusive 

and educational planning exercises that 

simultaneously identify residents’ goals and 

needs and build the knowledge they need to 

shape development. These exercises include 

community assessments and visioning 

workshops. 

•	 Conduct community assessments and visioning 

exercises. Planning tools such as walkability 

audits and community planning and visioning 

workshops are well-suited to drawing out the 

needs and goals of residents who are new to 

land use decision-making. Using these tools 

with small groups of residents from specific 

neighborhoods can facilitate an authentic 

community-driven planning process. 

Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland’s streetscape is inviting, 

interesting, and safe for families. Photo courtesy of Lee Sobel.
68 CONCLUSION

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

•	 Ensure that land use and development policies

and codes are aligned with community 

visions and address the needs of low-income 

and overburdened communities. The 

community’s vision can be integrated into 

the comprehensive plan, and the zoning 

ordinance and other policy and regulatory 

documents can be updated to implement the 

plan. Tools such as inclusionary zoning, mixeduse zoning, street design standards, and 

others described throughout this publication 

can be used to support low-income and 

overburdened communities.

•	 Start working to mitigate residential and 

commercial displacement as early in 

revitalization efforts as possible. Activities can 

include mapping important commercial, 

industrial, service, and cultural places; 

assessing community demographic and 

economic trends to identify areas vulnerable 

to rising housing costs; setting aside land 

for affordable housing; and putting land use 

regulations in place to protect community 

assets. 

These steps can help communities develop their 

visions for the future; identify strategies and 

policies to achieve them; and create development 

that is fair, enduring, and authentic. 

In Chicago, Illinois’ Parkside of Old Town public housing redevelopment, greenways and playgrounds provide safe, visible play 

areas, while pedestrian paths create easy routes between residences and the surrounding parks, community facilities, and stores. 

Photo courtesy of Parkside of Old Town.
RESOURCE GUIDE 69

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70 RESOURCE GUIDE

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Resource Guide

General Smart Growth Resources

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Smart

Growth Program. www.epa.gov/smartgrowth.

Provides basic information on smart growth 

and resources offered by EPA’s Office of 

Sustainable Communities.

•	 Smart Growth Network. This is Smart Growth. 

2006. www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/tisg.htm.

Provides visual and descriptive examples 

of how smart growth principles have been 

applied in cities, suburbs, small towns, and 

rural areas. Also available in Spanish. 

•	 Smart Growth Network. Getting to Smart 

Growth: 100 Policies for Implementation. 2002. 

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/getting_to_sg2.

htm#1. Provides 100 specific policies that local 

communities can use to implement smart 

growth principles. Also available in Spanish.

•	 Smart Growth Network. Getting to Smart 

Growth Volume II: 100 More Policies for 

Implementation. 2003. www.epa.gov/

smartgrowth/getting_to_sg2.htm#2. Provides 

100 additional specific policies that local 

communities can use to implement smart 

growth principles. Also available in Spanish.

General Environmental Justice Resources

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Environmental Justice. www.epa.gov/

compliance/ej. Provides basic information on 

environmental justice and resources offered 

by EPA’s Environmental Justice program.

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Plan 

EJ 2014. 2011. www.epa.gov/compliance/

ej/plan-ej/index.html. Outlines a four-year 

roadmap to help EPA improve environmental 

and health conditions in communities with 

environmental justice concerns. 

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency. Symposium on the Science of 

Disproportionate Environmental Health 

Impacts. www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/

multimedia/albums/epa/disproportionateimpacts-symposium.html. Provides 14 

scientific reviews commissioned by EPA to 

examine why low-income, minority, and 

tribal populations are exposed to greater 

environmental pollution and experience 

greater environmental health risks.

•	 Federal Interagency Working Group on

Environmental Justice. Environmental Justice 

Federal Interagency Directory (PDF, 52 pp., 

886K). 2011. www.epa.gov/compliance/ej/

resources/publications/interagency/directory.

pdf. Describes how various federal agencies 

work on environmental justice issues and lists 

key contacts in relevant federal programs.

•	 Federal Interagency Working Group on

Environmental Justice. Community-Based 

Federal Environmental Justice Resource Guide

(PDF, 126 pp., 3MB). 2011. www.epa.gov/

compliance/ej/resources/publications/

interagency/resource-guide.pdf. Provides 

information on federal programs that can help 

communities reduce toxic exposures.

General Equitable Development Resources

•	 PolicyLink. Equitable Development Toolkit.

www.policylink.org/site/c.lkIXLbMNJrE/

b.5136575/k.39A1/Equitable_Development_

Toolkit.htm. Includes 27 tools that can help 

create vibrant and healthy neighborhoods, 

prevent displacement, and promote equitable 

revitalization. Provides descriptions, benefits, 

implementation recommendations, potential 

challenges, possible funding sources, and case 

studies for each tool. 
RESOURCE GUIDE 71

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

•	 Glover Blackwell, Angela and Fox, Radhika K.

Regional Equity and Smart Growth: 

Opportunities for Advancing Social and 

Economic Justice in America. Funders’ Network 

for Smart Growth and Livable Communities. 

2004. www.fundersnetwork.org/learn/

resource-details/regional_equity_and_smart_

growth1. Describes the concept of regional 

equity, illustrates its use by diverse groups 

across the country, and presents a framework 

for advancing it.

Minimizing Displacement: An Early Priority in 

Revitalization 

•	 National Environmental Justice

Advisory Council. Unintended Impacts of 

Redevelopment and Revitalization Efforts 

in Five Environmental Justice Communities 

(PDF, 40 pp., 284K).2006. www.epa.gov/

compliance/ej/resources/publications/

nejac/redev-revital-recomm-9-27-06.pdf.

Contains recommendations on avoiding 

the displacement that can follow successful 

brownfields cleanup and redevelopment.

•	 Urban Institute. In the Face of Gentrification: 

Case Studies of Local Efforts to Mitigate 

Displacement. 2006. www.urban.org/

publications/411294.html. Provides case 

studies and strategies used by nonprofit 

organizations, for-profit developers, and city 

agencies to ensure that low- to moderateincome residents can live in revitalizing 

neighborhoods.

•	 National Trust for Historic Preservation. Main

Street Programs. www.preservationnation.

org/main-street/about-main-street/theprograms. Provides information and resources 

for finding and coordinating Main Street 

programs to stabilize and revitalize traditional 

commercial districts. 

•	 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development. Tax Incentive Guide for 

Businesses in Renewal Communities, 

Empowerment Zones, and Enterprise 

Communities (PDF, 124 pp., 1.2MB). 

2001. www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/

economicdevelopment/library/taxguide2003.

pdf. Provides information about federal 

tax incentives available to businesses 

in Empowerment Zones, Enterprise 

Communities, and Renewal Communities. 

•	 Good Jobs First. Community Benefits 

Agreements: Making Development Projects 

Accountable. www.goodjobsfirst.org/

publications/community-benefitsagreements-making-development-projectsaccountable. Provides information and 

resources related to implementation, 

monitoring, and enforcement of community 

benefits agreements.

Facilitate Meaningful Community Engagement 

in Planning and Land Use Decisions

•	 Smart Growth America. Choosing Our 

Community’s Future: A Citizen’s Guide to Getting 

the Most Out of New Development. 2005. 

www.smartgrowthamerica.org/guides/

choosing-our-communitys-future-a-citizensguide-to-getting-the-most-out-of-newdevelopment/. Focuses on the visioning 

and planning efforts that set the stage for 

smarter growth and provides tips for citizens 

who want to shape development in their 

communities. 

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Public Involvement Plan and Toolkit for Las 

Cruces. 2011. www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/

sgia_communities.htm#nm2. Provides a menu 

of outreach and participation tools that invite 

and maintain the participation of diverse, lowincome populations and others with limited 

previous involvement in community planning 

and design. 

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Superfund Community Involvement Toolkit. 

www.epa.gov/superfund/community/toolkit.

htm. Describes a range of tools that can be 

used to involve the community in Superfund 

cleanup and reuse processes as well as other 

revitalization activities. 
72 RESOURCE GUIDE

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

•	 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Community Food Assessment. 2010. www.cdc.

gov/healthyplaces/healthtopics/healthyfood/

community_assessment.htm. Provides 

resources and tools for communities to 

conduct community food assessments and 

determine the locations of food deserts.

•	 Walkable Communities, Inc. Frequently Asked

Questions. www.walkable.org/faqs.html.

Answers questions about how to conduct 

walking audits.

•	 Fannie Mae Foundation. Charrettes 101: 

Dynamic Planning for Community Change (PDF, 

12pp., 212KB). 2003. www.charretteinstitute.

org/resources/files/BuildingBlocks4_1.

pdf. Describes how to use charrettes and 

stakeholder analysis to improve public 

participation processes. 

•	 U.S. Department of Justice. Title VI of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964. www.justice.gov/

crt/about/cor/coord/titlevi.php. Provides 

overview and materials on Title VI of the 

Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits 

discrimination on the basis of race, color, and 

national origin in programs and activities 

receiving federal financial assistance.

•	 U.S. Department of Justice. Executive

Order No. 13166. www.justice.gov/crt/

about/cor/13166.php. Provides overview 

and materials on Executive Order 13166, 

Improving Access to Services for Persons with 

Limited English Proficiency.

Promote Public Health and a Clean and Safe 

Environment 

•	 ChangeLab Solutions. A New Ally for 

Redevelopment: Working with Public 

Health (PDF, 4pp., 1.3MB). 2011. www.

changelabsolutions.org/publications/redevpublic-health. Provides tips for planners on 

partnering with public health departments. 

•	 National Academy of Public Administration.

Addressing Community Concerns: How 

Environmental Justice Relates to Land Use 

Planning and Zoning (PDF, 229pp., 3.5MB). 

2003. www.epa.gov/compliance/ej/

resources/reports/annual-project-reports/

napa-land-use-zoning-63003.pdf. Examines 

how local government decisions on land use 

planning and zoning can be used to address 

environmental justice issues. 

•	 California Air Resources Board. Air Quality 

and Land Use Handbook: A Community Health 

Perspective. 2005. www.arb.ca.gov/ch/landuse.

htm. Provides general recommendations for 

siting sensitive land uses and integrating 

localized air quality concerns into land use 

processes.

•	 Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

National City, California Recommendations for 

Ranking Properties with Nonconforming Uses 

in the Westside Specific Plan Area (PDF, 25pp., 

415KB). 2011. www.epa.gov/brownfields/

sustain_plts/reports/property_ranking_

process.pdf. Describes how National City is 

identifying properties with nonconforming 

uses, ranking them based on a consistent 

set of criteria, and developing amortization 

recommendations.

•	 National Environmental Justice Advisory

Council. Reducing Air Emissions Associated 

with Goods Movement: Working Towards 

Environmental Justice (PDF, 48 pp., 1.9MB). 

2009. www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/

resources/publications/nejac/2009-goodsmovement.pdf. Recommends methods to 

reduce air pollution from goods movement 

and mitigate its impacts on environmental 

justice communities.

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Brownfields and Land Revitalization. www.

epa.gov/brownfields. Provides information 

on brownfields laws, cleanup tools and 

techniques, success stories, and grants, 

funding, and technical assistance.

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Superfund Redevelopment. www.epa.gov/

superfund/programs/recycle/. Provides 

information on Superfund redevelopment 

policies and guidance, tools and resources, 

and success stories. 
RESOURCE GUIDE 73

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

•	 Center for Environmental Policy and

Management, University of Louisville. 

Connecting Smart Growth and Brownfields 

Redevelopment (PDF, 24pp., 725KB). 

2006. www.louisville.edu/cepm/

Connecting%20Smart%20Growth%20

and%20Brownfields%20Redevelopment.

pdf. Examines planning strategies, financing 

options, and institutional practices that can 

help promote brownfield redevelopment. 

•	 U.S. Environmental Protecting Agency. Green

Building. www.epa.gov/greenbuilding.

Provides basic information on green 

building benefits, strategies, and funding 

opportunities. 

•	 U.S. Green Building Council. What is

LEED? www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.

aspx?CMSPageID=1988. Provides basic 

information on the Leadership in Energy and 

Environmental Design (LEED) green building 

certification program.

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

ENERGY STAR Homes. www.energystar.gov/

index.cfm?c=new_homes.hm_index. Provides 

information on EPA’s ENERGY STAR New 

Homes program. 

•	 Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.

Enterprise Green Communities. www.

enterprisecommunity.com/solutions-andinnovation/enterprise-green-communities.

Provides tools, financing and technical 

assistance options, and other resources to 

help build and preserve green affordable 

housing, including information on the 

Enterprise Green Communities Criteria 

certification system.

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Green

Infrastructure. water.epa.gov/infrastructure/

greeninfrastructure/index.cfm. Includes 

basic information, technical resources, case 

studies, and sources of funding for green 

infrastructure approaches.

Strengthen Existing Communities

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Essential Smart Growth Fixes for Communities. 

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/essential_fixes.

htm. Provides two publications that can help 

urban, suburban, and rural communities 

update their codes and ordinances to 

strengthen existing neighborhoods, expand 

housing and transportation choices, and 

preserve open space. 

•	 Smart Growth America and Taxpayers

for Common Sense. Repair Priorities: 

Transportation Spending Strategies to 

Save Taxpayer Dollars and Improve Roads.

2011. www.smartgrowthamerica.org/

repair-priorities. Describes the benefits of 

investing in road repair and preservation and 

recommends state and federal actions that 

would improve our transportation system 

while saving taxpayer money. 

•	 National Vacant Properties Campaign. Vacant 

Properties: The True Costs to Communities. 2005. 

www.smartgrowthamerica.org/2005/08/01/

vacant-properties-the-true-cost-tocommunities. Summarizes research on the 

costs vacant and abandoned properties 

impose upon communities and highlights 

local programs successfully recapturing the 

value in these properties.

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Restructuring the Commercial Strip: A Practical 

Guide for Planning the Revitalization of 

Deteriorating Strip Corridors. 2010. www.

epa.gov/smartgrowth/corridor_guide.htm.

Provides guidance on coordination of public 

and private investments and planning and 

design strategies that can help revitalize 

commercial strip corridors.

•	 Center for Community Progress. Land Banks 

and Land Banking (PDF, 120pp., 2.8MB). 2011. 

www.communityprogress.net/filebin/pdf/

new_resrcs/LB_Book_2011_F.pdf. Provides 

a step-by-step guide for taking control of 

vacant properties through land banking and 

leveraging them to spur smart development 

and meet community needs. 
74 RESOURCE GUIDE

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Provide Housing Choices

•	 National Neighborhood Coalition and Smart

Growth Network. Affordable Housing and 

Smart Growth: Making the Connection. 2001. 

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/topics/ah.htm.

Uses case studies to illustrate strategies that 

can foster affordable housing and smart 

growth. 

•	 National Housing Trust. Affordable Housing

Preservation Frequently Asked Questions. 

www.nhtinc.org/preservation_faq.php.

Provides answers to frequently asked 

questions about affordable housing 

preservation. 

•	 Business and Professional People for the

Public Interest. Community Guide to Creating 

Affordable Housing (PDF, 48pp., 938KB). 

2005. www.bpichicago.org/documents/

Communityguidetocreatingaffordablehousing

.pdf. Highlights a number of affordable 

housing tools that communities can use to 

create moderately priced housing.

•	 PolicyLink. What is Inclusionary Zoning?

www.policylink.org/site/c.lkIXLbMNJrE/

b.5137027/k.FF49/Inclusionary_Zoning.

htm. Provides an overview of inclusionary 

zoning and considers the key issues related to 

implementing an effective program. 

•	 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development. Low Income Housing Tax 

Credits Basics. www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/

affordablehousing/training/web/lihtc/basics.

Provides basic information on Low Income 

Housing Tax Credits. 

Provide Transportation Options

•	 PolicyLink, Prevention Institute, and the

Convergence Partnership. Healthy, Equitable 

Transportation Policy: Recommendations and 

Research. 2009. www.preventioninstitute.org/

component/jlibrary/article/id-118/127.html.

Examines how transportation policy can help 

create sustainable, healthy, and equitable 

communities.

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Guide 

to Sustainable Transportation Measures. 

2011. www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/transpo_

performance.htm. Describes opportunities 

for transportation agencies to incorporate 

environmental, economic, and social 

sustainability into decision-making through 

the use of performance measures.

•	 Center for Transit-Oriented Development.

Mixed-Income Transit-Oriented Development 

Action Guide. www.mitod.org. Provides a tool 

to identify the most appropriate and effective 

strategies for achieving mixed-income transitoriented development.

•	 Center for Transit-Oriented Development.

Mixed-Income Housing Near Transit: Increasing 

Affordability With Location Efficiency. 2009. 

www.reconnectingamerica.org/public/

display_asset/091030ra201mixedhousefinal.

Explores best practices for creating mixedincome housing as part of transit-oriented 

development.

•	 Smart Growth America. National Complete

Streets Coalition: What Are Complete Streets? 

www.smartgrowthamerica.org/completestreets/complete-streets-fundamentals/

complete-streets-faq. Provides answers to 

frequently asked questions about complete 

streets policies.

Improve Access to Opportunities and Daily 

Necessities

•	 National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Helping Johnny Walk to School. 2010. www.

preservationnation.org/information-center/

saving-a-place/historic-schools/helpingjohnny-walk-to-school/. Provides policy 

recommendations for removing barriers to 

community-centered schools. 

•	 Council of Educational Facility Planners

International and U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency. Schools for Successful 

Communities: An Element of Smart Growth.

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/schools.htm.

Explains how communities can employ smart 
RESOURCE GUIDE 75

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

growth principles to build schools that better 

serve students, staff, parents, and the entire 

community. 

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. School

Siting Guidelines. www.epa.gov/schools/

siting. Provides voluntary guidelines that can 

help evaluate environmental factors to make 

the best possible school siting decisions.

•	 National Center for Safe Routes to School.

Build and Sustain a Program. www.

saferoutesinfo.org/program-tools/build-andsustain-program. Provides information on 

how to start a Safe Routes to School program.

•	 Safe Routes to School National Partnership.

Implementing Safe Routes to School in LowIncome Schools and Communities. 2010. www.

saferoutespartnership.org/lowincomeguide.

Offers tips for implementing Safe Routes to 

School programs in low-income communities 

and describes 20 communities that are 

addressing personal safety, traffic safety, and 

other challenges using Safe Routes to School 

approaches. 

•	 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Community Gardens. www.cdc.gov/

healthyplaces/healthtopics/healthyfood/

community.htm. Provides tools and resources 

related to community gardens, including a 

library of detailed case studies of community 

gardening efforts around the country. 

•	 U.S. Department of Agriculture. Community

Supported Agriculture. www.nal.usda.

gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml. Provides 

data, history, and publications related to 

community supported agriculture, as well as 

links to searchable farm directories. 

•	 U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food

Environment Atlas. www.ers.usda.gov/

FoodAtlas. Provides statistics and maps 

describing communities’ ability to access 

healthy food.

•	 Trust for Public Land. The Benefits of Parks. 

2003. www.tpl.org/publications/booksreports/park-benefits/benefits-of-parkswhite-paper.html. Describes the need for 

urban parks and the social, environmental, 

economic, and health benefits they bring to 

residents.

•	 Virginia Crime Prevention Association. CPTED 

Guidelines (PDF, 80pp., 1.2MB). 2005. www.

illinoislighting.org/resources/VCPA%20

CPTED%20Guidelines.pdf. Describes Crime 

Prevention Through Environmental Design 

principles and design strategies for different 

types of destinations within communities. 

Preserve and Build On the Features that Make 

a Community Distinctive

•	 Place Matters. Place Matter Toolkit. www.

placematters.net/node/13. Provides tools to 

help citizens identify, promote, and protect 

the places they care about.

•	 U.S. Department of Interior. National Park

Service. National Register of Historic Places. 

www.nps.gov/nr/index.htm. Provides 

information on how to list a property on the 

National Register of Historic Places, as well as 

the official list of historic sites.

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Examples of Codes That Support Smart 

Growth Development. www.epa.gov/

smartgrowth/codeexamples.htm. Provides 

examples of adopted codes and guidelines 

from around the U.S. that can help 

communities get the types of development 

they want.
76 CASE STUDY REFERENCES

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Case Study References

Inclusive Neighborhood Planning – Seattle, 

Washington

•	 Interview with Nora Liu, Neighborhood

Planning Manager, City of Seattle, Fall 2010.

•	 City of Seattle Department of Planning

and Development. Othello Neighborhood 

Plan Update. 2010. www.seattle.

gov/dpd/Planning/Neighborhood_

Planning/NeighborhoodPlanUpdates/

MLKatHollyStreet/default.asp.

•	 City of Seattle Department of Planning

and Development. Othello Neighborhood 

Action Plan. 2010. www.seattle.gov/

dpd/cms/groups/pan/@pan/@plan/@

neighborplanning/documents/web_

informational/dpdp020219.pdf.

•	 City of Seattle. Race and Social Justice

Initiative. www.seattle.gov/rsji. Accessed 

November 28, 2010.

•	 Lee, Mona.“Othello N’hood Planning in a

Broader Historical Context.” Rainier Valley Post.

July 10, 2010. www.rainiervalleypost.com/

othello-neighborhood-planning-in-a-broaderhistorical-context-op-ed.

•	 McGee, Henry W. Jr.“Seattle’s Central District,

1990-2006: Integration or Displacement?” 

Urban Law. Volume 39. 2007. According to 

McGee, between 1990 and 2004, households 

earning more than 150 percent of the median 

income expanded faster than any other 

income category and now comprise onethird of Seattle’s total households. In 2005, 

roughly 2,000 rental units were converted to 

condominiums while another 680 units were 

demolished. 

•	 Pryne, Eric.“New Light Rail Clears Way for

an MLK Makeover.” Seattle Times. April 20, 

2008. seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/

localnews/2004361342_mlk20.html.

•	 University of Washington. Rainier Briefing

Packet. courses.washington.edu/pbafjh/565-

Sp06/field-trip/Rainier_Valley_Briefing_v2.pdf.

Accessed October 24, 2010.

•	 “What Recession?! City’s 1st New TOD Project

to Break Ground at Othello Next Month.” 

Rainier Valley Post. July 24, 2009. www.

rainiervalleypost.com/what-recession-citys1st-new-tod-project-to-break-ground-atothello-next-month.

Site Cleanup as a Catalyst for Revitalization – 

Spartanburg, South Carolina 

•	 Interview with the Honorable Harold Mitchell,

Executive Director, ReGenesis, Fall 2010.

•	 Interview with Cynthia Peurifoy,

Environmental Justice Program Manager, EPA 

Region 4, Fall 2010. 

•	 Interview with Nancy Whittle, Community

Liaison for DHEC Environmental Quality 

Control, Fall 2010.

•	 Institute for Sustainable Communities.

Leadership for a Changing World. www.

leadershipforchange.org. Accessed September 

27, 2010.

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental 

Justice Action Agenda. 2000. www.epa.gov/

compliance/ej/resources/publications/

interagency/actionagenda.pdf.

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Towards an Environmental Justice Collaborative 

Model: Case Studies of Six Partnerships Used 

to Address Environmental Justice Issues in 

Communities. 2003. www.epa.gov/evaluate/

pdf/ej/towards-ej-collaborative-model-casestudies-six-partnerships.pdf.
CASE STUDY REFERENCES 77

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

•	 Woodward, Douglas P. and Guimaraes, Paulo.

“BMW in South Carolina: The Economic 

Impact of a Leading Sustainable Enterprise.” 

University of South Carolina Moore School of 

Business. 2008.

Greening a Small Town Main Street – 

Edmonston, Maryland

•	 Interview with Adam Ortiz, Mayor, Town of

Edmonston, Maryland, Fall 2010.

•	 Town of Edmonston, Maryland. Project Green

Street. edmonstonmd.gov/GoingGreen.html.

Accessed September 25, 2010. 

•	 “Green Streets for All.” The Dirt. July 8, 2010. 

dirt.asla.org/2010/07/08/green-streets-for-all.

•	 Rein, Lisa.“Paving an Environmentally Friendly

Path.” The Washington Post. July 22, 2009. 

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/

article/2009/07/22/AR2009072203470.html.

•	 Thornton, Laura.“Edmonston’s Green Street

Gets Congressional Red Carpet.” Citybizlist 

Baltimore. September 30, 2010.

Restoring a Cultural Business Corridor – New 

Orleans, Louisiana

•	 Interview with Tuan Nguyen, Deputy

Director, Mary Queen of Vietnam Community 

Development Corporation, Fall 2010.

•	 Chamlee-Wright, Emily and Henry Storr, Virgil.

“Club Goods and Post-Disaster Community 

Return.” Rationality and Society. November 

2009. docs.virgilhenrystorr.org/chamleewrightstorrclubgoods.pdf.

•	 “Mary Queen of Viet Nam: Building a Green

Future in the Gulf, from the Ground Up.” Green 

for All. 2010. www.greenforall.org.

•	 Leong, Karen et al.“Resilient History and the

Rebuilding of a Community: The Vietnamese 

American Community in New Orleans East.” 

Journal of American History. December 2007. 

www.journalofamericanhistory.org/projects/

katrina/Leong.html.

•	 Mary Queen of Viet Nam Community

Development Corporation. Mary Queen 

of Viet Nam Community Development 

Corporation. www.mqvncdc.org. Accessed 

November 4, 2010.

•	 Public Broadcasting Service. A Village Called

Versailles. www.pbs.org/independentlens/

village-called-versailles/film.html. Accessed 

October 22, 2010.

Bringing Transit Service and Affordable

Housing to a Community in Need – Boston, 

Massachusetts

•	 Interview with Noah Berger, Program

Manager, Federal Transit Administration, 

Fall 2010. 

•	 Interview with Gail Latimore, Executive

Director, Codman Square Neighborhood 

Development Corporation, Fall 2010.

•	 University of California—Berkeley Center

for Community Innovation at the Institute 

of Urban and Regional Development. 

“Boston’s Newest Smart Growth Corridor: A 

Collaborative Vision for the Fairmount/Indigo 

Line.” 2010. communityinnovation.berkeley.

edu/presentations/Dubois_Fairmount.pdf.

•	 “Boston’s Newest Smart Growth Corridor: A

Collaborative Vision for the Fairmount/Indigo 

Line.” Smart Growth Online. 2007. 

www.smartgrowthonlineaudio.org/

np2007/311e1.pdf.

•	 Dorchester Bay Economic Development

Corporation. Fairmount Line. www.dbedc.org/

fairmount.html. Accessed October 10, 2010.

•	 U.S. Department of Transportation. Fairmount/

Indigo Line, Boston, Massachusetts. fta.dot.

gov/documents/Region1_Final.pdf. Accessed 

October 10, 2010.
78 CASE STUDY REFERENCES

CREATING EQUITABLE, HEALTHY, AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Equitable Transit-Oriented Development –

Chicago, Illinois 

•	 Interview with Mary Nelson, Founding

President, Bethel New Life, Fall 2010.

•	 American Planning Association. Reuse: 

Creating Community-Based Brownfield 

Redevelopment Strategies. www.planning.org/

research/brownfields/pdf/brownfieldsguide.

pdf. Accessed December 2, 2010.

•	 Bethel New Life. Bethel New Life.

bethelnewlife.org. Accessed October 19, 2010.

•	 TransformNation. Reclaiming Communities

through Vacant Property Revitalization: Bethel 

Center Case Study. Accessed October 19, 

2010.

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

2006 National Award for Smart Growth 

Achievement. 2006. www.epa.gov/

smartgrowth/awards/sg_awards_

publication_2006.htm.

•	 Reconnecting America. Encouraging Transit

Oriented Development: Case Studies that 

Work. www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/pdf/

phoenix-sgia-case-studies.pdf. Accessed 

October 19, 2010.

•	 Good Jobs First. Making the Connection:

Transit-Oriented Development and Jobs. 2006.

www.goodjobsfirst.org/sites/default/files/

docs/pdf/makingtheconnection.pdf.

Culturally Driven Land Use Planning – Ohkay 

Owingeh Pueblo, New Mexico 

•	 Interview with Tomasita Duran, Executive

Director, Ohkay Owingeh Housing Authority, 

San Juan Pueblo, Fall 2010.

•	 Rio Arriba County. Rio Arriba County 

Comprehensive Plan: 2009 Updates and 

Amendments. 2009. www.rio-arriba.org/pdf/

ordinance_comp_plan_draft_2009.pdf.

•	 Ohkay Owingeh Housing Authority.

Tsigo Bugeh Village. www.

ohkayowingehhousingauthority.org/tbv.html.

Accessed September 25, 2010.

•	 U.S. Census Bureau. State and County

Quick Facts Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. 

quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/35/35039.

html. Accessed September 25, 2010.

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

2004 National Award for Smart Growth 

Achievement. 2004. www.epa.gov/

smartgrowth/sg_awards_publication_2004.

htm.
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