Brownsville, Texas is among six cities nationwide to be selected for technical assistance with “sustainable design strategies” through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2016 Greening America’s Communities (GAC) program.
The aim is to create a more “walkable, bikeable and vibrant neighborhood,” the city said.
The program will add green infrastructure to the International Greenway along the U.S.-Mexico border to manage stormwater, create a more walkable street, and add shade and plants to cool an area experiencing higher temperatures due to climate change.
The five other cities selected for GAC assistance in 2016 are:
- Columbia, South Carolina, will create designs to protect an urban stream and create a greenway that will minimize flooding and establish a walkable connection through the Capital City Mill District.
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, will use green infrastructure to minimize flooding from a local stream and make improvements to streets in four neighborhoods that will increase safety and improve quality of life for residents.
- Muscatine, Iowa, will receive assistance to redesign a former state highway that now serves as a city street to help it become a safer gateway into downtown for both cars and bicycles.
- Honolulu, Hawaii, will receive assistance to design street improvements and green infrastructure to better support walking and economic development around two planned rail stations.
- Multnomah County, Oregon, will create designs for streets and public spaces in the Jade District to address heat island and air quality issues, manage stormwater, bolster infill development, and support the character and concerns of the surrounding community.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy says “This program is another example of EPA making a visible difference in communities — helping to build healthy, vibrant neighborhoods and stronger local economies centered on environmental sustainability.”
Photo of Brownsville courtesy brownsville.org