SEATTLE, WA -- Thanks to a generous grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, Cascade Land Conservancy and a consortium of partners will work with local and tribal governments to increase community capacity to implement innovative plans, projects and policies that protect the environment, encourage economic prosperity, and improve public health outcomes and overall quality of life. The consortium includes Greenbelt Alliance (San Francisco, CA), Envision Minnesota (formerly 1,000 Friends of Minnesota) and the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance.

This project is funded by US EPA's Office of Sustainable Communities under their Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program. The Building Blocks program funds quick, targeted assistance to communities that face common development problems. Three other nonprofit organizations have received competitively awarded grants under this program this year to help communities get the kinds of development they want—Global Green USA, Project for Public Spaces and Smart Growth America.

The consortium will receive approximately $365,000 in the first year to provide smart growth technical assistance in their respective regions. If fully funded, this award would allow the consortium to give nearly $2 million of technical assistance over a five-year period to 80-140 communities.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for CLC and our partners,” said Gene Duvernoy, president of Cascade Land Conservancy. “This grant will allow us to help cities and their residents create communities that provide affordable, attractive, prosperous and healthy places to live, work and raise families.”

This technical assistance grant builds upon CLC’s work creating transit oriented communities with cultural and community space, increasing transportation options that make it easier to get around and promoting infill development along with restoring parks, open space and creating community gardens. The tools developed by CLC and partner organizations will promote economic development and enhance the livability of neighborhoods.

Congressman Jim McDermott of Washington’s 7th district represents several communities with the opportunity to benefit from this technical assistance grant.

“Well-planned growth is critical for Washington’s long term economic and environmental sustainability,” said Congressman Jim McDermott. “I applaud Cascade Land Conservancy’s leadership in creating great communities through creative policies, programs and projects.”

CLC’s smart growth work is part of The Cascade Agenda, a long-range vision and immediate action plan for the Puget Sound region’s environmental, economic and community health and sustainability. The Agenda hinges on the fact that high quality, dense urban communities lend themselves readily to the conservation of wild and working lands. When people choose to live in cities, they prevent sprawl from taking over our forests and farmland.