Sustainable Communities Guide to Federal Programs

The Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an interagency collaboration consisting of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Transportation (DOT), has released a guide to federal programs that support efforts to provide housing and transpiration choices, expand economic opportunity, encourage public health and protect clean air and water. Specifically, the Partnership administers grants, programs and technical assistance through each of the collaborating agencies.

The partnership offers several funding opportunities that can help communities address some of their most pressing concerns, ensuring that the residents have the opportunity to live in safe, health and accessible places. Below are a few of the funding opportunities and programs offered by the Department of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency.

TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) – Offered by the Department of Transportation, this grant program is a national competition for innovative multi-jurisdictional transportation projects intending to provide economic and environmental improvements to a metropolitan area or region. The program funds project improvements to roads, bridges, rail, ports, transit and intermodal facilities and planning activities. For more information, check out this blog post.

Community Development Block Grants – The Department of Housing and Urban Development provides formula funding directly to larger cities and counties through state governments, which aims to prevent or eliminate blight or meet urgent community development needs.

Smart Growth Implementation Assistance (SGIA) Program – Through the SGIA program, the Environmental Protection Agency solicits applications from state, local, regional and tribal governments that are looking to incorporate smart growth techniques into their future development. If selected, communities received technical assistance from national experts in either policy analysis or public participatory processes, such as visioning and design workshops.

For more information on these and other DOT, HUD and EPA grants and programs, check out Partnership for Sustainable Communities: Leveraging Partnership Programs.