CONTACT:
Amanda Brown-Stevens, Deputy Director, abrownstevens@greenbelt.org, (415) 543-6771
Jennifer Gennari, Communications Director, jgennari@greenbelt.org, (415) 543-6771 x318
Greenbelt Alliance and the Building Sustainable Communities Consortium are pleased to announce the four places to receive free technical assistance this year, thanks to a grant to Forterra from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Sustainable Communities under the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program. These winners are poised to make positive change in the Bay Area, with the help of Greenbelt Alliance.
The technical assistance will help these communities design healthy neighborhoods, protect the environment, improve public health, and increase economic vitality.
“Greenbelt Alliance is excited to lend our expertise to people across the Bay Area,” said Amanda Brown-Stevens, Deputy Director. “This opportunity advances our goal to make each community, neighborhood by neighborhood, a better place to live and work.”
The recipients are:
- Mountain View – will receive assistance to explore a community benefits district, a policy that helps to ensure new development benefits all members of the community.
- San Jose – will receive assistance to reach out to under-served communities to help implement the city’s Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan. Outreach techniques will include creating a video and using social media to reach new audiences.
- Santa Clara County – will receive assistance to reach out to children to connect healthy living with land use patterns. The award includes a video aimed at younger audiences.
- Walnut Creek – will receive assistance to hold a Transit-Oriented Development Tour for local leaders and officials to envision the best neighborhood as they plan for growth around the city’s BART station.
The Building Sustainable Communities Consortium includes Forterra (formerly Cascade Land Conservancy), Greenbelt Alliance, Envision Minnesota and the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance. The United States EPA’s Building Blocks program funds quick, targeted assistance to communities that face common development problems. Three other nonprofit organizations—Smart Growth America, Global Green USA and Project for Public Spaces—also received competitively awarded grants under this program this year to help communities get the kinds of development they want. Click here to learn about additional technical assistance opportunities from the Building Sustainable Communities Consortium.
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For more than 50 years, Greenbelt Alliance has been the champion of the places that make the Bay Area great, with offices in San Francisco, San Jose, Walnut Creek, San Rafael and Santa Rosa. www.greenbelt.org
