Vacant Properties and Environmental Protection: Making the Connections

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Vacant Properties and Environmental Protection
Making the Connections

• Carlton Eley
• U.S. EPA
• Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation
• October 24, 2005

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Legacy of Conventional Development Patterns

• Low Density
• Dispersed
• Separate Uses
• Auto dependent
• Disinvestment in Older Communities

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The Paradigm Shift A Matter of Built and
Natural Environments

• We cant build our way out of congestion.
• More impervious cover results in more polluted
  runoff.
• Encroaching development reduces wildlife habitat.
• No one benefits when properties are allowed to
  remain vacant.

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EPA and Vacant Properties

• Superfund Act (1980)
• Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment
  (1995)
• USTfields (EPA Spin-off)
• Greyfields (CNU Spin-off)
• Smart Growth Program (1996)
• Land Revitalization Office (2004)
• Vacant properties are our business!!!

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Existing Assets Dont Have to Remain Blighted,
Stagnant, and Idle
Low Density Development
Single use District
Declining Businesses
Traffic Passing to Destination
Vacant Lot
Pedestrian Activity Discouraged
Marginal Use of Street (Single mode)
Source www.urban-advantage.com
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Communities can be Healthy, Vibrant, and Diverse
Amenities Added
High Density Development
Mixed-Use (Residential and Commercial)
Infill Development
Pedestrian-friendly area
Neighborhood is a Destination
Cohesive Streetscape
Infrastructure Upgrades
Maximum Use of Street (Multi-modal)
Source www.urban-advantage.com
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Triple Bottom Line Results

• Vacant and abandoned properties occupy about
  15 percent of the area of the typical large city,
  more than 12,000 acres on average. This is usable
  land already connected to urban infrastructure.
  For metropolitan areas looking to accommodate
  growth without consuming the surrounding
  countryside, these properties amount to a large
  reservoir of land for well-planned development.
  - -
• Brookings Institution, 2000

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Resources How EPA Can Help?

• Superfund Technical Assistance Grants
• Brownfields Grants Program
• Brownfields Tax Incentive
• Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program

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For More Information...

• EPA Headquarters
• Carlton Eley -- 202-566-2841
• Websites
• www.smartgrowth.org
• www.epa.gov/smartgrowth

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