by Rebecca Walker — September 13, 2010—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has named the five cities that will be the first to participate in the Greening America’s Capitals program and receive free expert assistance to turn their towns into models of sustainable design.
The state capitals that were chosen as the inaugural beneficiaries of the program are Boston, Jefferson City, Mo., Hartford, Conn., Charleston, W.Va., and Little Rock, Ark.
Launched this summer, Greening America’s Capitals is a project of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which is a collaborative effort involving the EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
As part of the project, the EPA provides and funds the design teams that are to work with state capitals.
Green development projects can include cleaning up and finding new uses for vacant lands, providing greener housing and transportation options, and devising ways to reduce costs for infrastructure and energy. The goal is to create neighborhoods provide social, economic, environmental and public health benefits.
