The agency says the program is designed to be more accessible to smaller and underresourced communities.
A new federal grant program dubbed Community Change Grants is making roughly $2 billion in funding available to communities for projects that address environmental justice, reports Ysabelle Kempe in Smart Cities Dive.
The program seeks to address criticism that climate funding is “difficult to access” for underresourced communities through technical assistance and a rolling application process.
“The grants can be used to support a wide range of efforts, the EPA said, including workforce development, indoor air pollution reduction and deployment of low- and zero-emissions technologies.” The grants are open to local governments and nonprofit organizations.
The EPA says it used public input to craft the program based on the needs of smaller communities and organizations. “The oral presentation opportunity, for example, is a new format ‘responsive to community requests to engage with EPA in more accessible ways,’ the agency said.”
FULL STORY: EPA announces $2B for local environmental justice projects
Court Bars EPA Probes in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’
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Judge Halts EPA Action in ‘Cancer Alley’ Civil Rights Case
EPA investigations into violations of the Civil Rights Act in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” were ruled as “federal overreach.”
The EPA's Lackluster Environmental Justice Record
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
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The Simple Legislative Tool Transforming Vacant Downtowns
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Albuquerque’s Microtransit: A Planner’s Answer to Food Access Gaps
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This City Will Pay You to Meet Your Neighbors
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Commentary: Our Silence Will Not Protect Us
Keeping our heads down and our language inoffensive is not the right response to the times we’re in. Solidarity and courage is.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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