Activating the Building Blocks of Sustainability

July 1, 2024

One thing I’ve learned through my work with local communities is that they love celebrating what makes them unique. I’ve learned that Randolph, Nebraska, touts itself as “The Honey Capital of the Nation,” because at one time it had the highest percentage of beekeeping residents in the country. Rayne, Louisiana, is the “Frog Leg Capital of the World,” displaying frog-themed statues and murals around the city to prove it. My hometown of Dunn, North Carolina, touts itself as the birthplace of General William C. Lee, the father of the U.S Airborne. 

In EPA’s Office of Community Revitalization, we love helping local communities use their identity and assets to build healthy and environmentally friendly towns. The program I manage, Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities, works with communities to develop smart growth solutions and strategies that benefit human health and the environment.

Communities around the country are seeking these types of solutions to counteract what is often referred to as “urban sprawl,” or the outward expansion of low-density development into previously undeveloped land. Urban sprawl is often attributed to cities, but as the native of a small town, I can assure you that rural communities like mine have our fair share as well. Sprawling or inefficient development can create acres of impervious surfaces that exacerbate water pollution, flood risk and heat island impacts, destroy wildlife habitat, and necessitate car travel that pollutes our air.

Other impacts continue to emerge. It’s now known that much of the increase in storm damage is a result of sprawling development. When towns and cities are more compact, a tornado or hailstorm’s direct hit is required to cause significant property damage. Sprawl creates a bigger target. Also, recent analysis from the Rocky Mountain Institute estimates that up to a third of climate pollution is due to sprawling development.

But if sprawl has fueled many of the challenges we face, smart growth strategies can be a solution. Land use decisions – such as zoning, building or transportation choices – determine development  decisions in a specific location for decades. Incorporating concepts like mixed-use development, green infrastructure, green space and multimodal transportation can help communities revitalize and meet the needs of their residents, their economy, and their environment.

My hometown was a wonderful place to grow up. I played Little League (I was not good), sang in the church choir (I was pretty good), and participated in Boy Scouts (I am an Eagle Scout). Though it is a small town, almost everyone drove to those activities; but in recent years, Dunn has been busy incorporating  development concepts that reduce dependence on car travel. A former rail line connecting multiple local assets was converted into a walk/bike trail, and other outdoor recreation ideas are coming together. The city is planning to enhance walk and bike networks, create mixed-use and increased housing options, pursue adaptive reuse of older buildings and strip malls, improve placemaking and beautification, and the city is angling for a terminal on a new high-speed rail corridor.

While Dunn is working to make these changes on its own, many communities are seeking support in such efforts. Since 2011, Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities has worked with over 200 such communities across the country to help them put plans like these into action.

One great example involved a collaboration with the Riveredge Nature Center and the three nearby communities of Grafton, Newburg, and Saukville in Wisconsin. These rural towns on the Milwaukee River were founding partners in Riveredge’s Community Rivers Program, created to help those along the impaired waterway do their part to reduce water pollution. In 2018, the Building Blocks project convened partners from across the watershed, and Riveredge’s local knowledge and passion – combined with outside expertise on water, planning and rural development – helped yield a plan for continued success and organizational sustainability. The Community Rivers Program continues to do great work inspiring, informing, and engaging area residents to clean up and enjoy their beloved waterway.

This year, we are partnering with EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization to provide technical assistance to ten communities, including three tribes, in their continued redevelopment efforts. We will help communities promote more equitable development, create affordable housing, develop outdoor recreation options for tribal youth and revitalize their downtowns. For each community, we’ll learn what they are most proud of and help them turn their greatest assets into actions that matter for their community – and their environment.

• For resources and tools to promote sustainability in your community, visit the Smart Growth website.
• To learn more about upcoming technical assistance opportunities from the Office of Community Revitalization and find success stories from community partners, subscribe to the newsletter.

About the Author

Chip Gurkin
Manager
Office of Policy, Office of Community Revitalization

Chip Gurkin manages the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities technical assistance program in the Office of Community Revitalization. He has worked at EPA for 15 years and previously worked in higher education administration. Chip has a BA in Psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill, an MS in Counseling from East Carolina University, and an MPA with a focus in environmental policy from George Mason University. He lives in Arlington, VA with his three kids, but his family calls North Carolina home.