USEPA Training, Research, and Technical Assistance project

This project gratefully acknowledges the USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) as the funding agency. This project is funded by the USEPA Brownfield Training, Research, and Technical Assistance Grant, EPA 560-F-08-290. More information about the USEPA grant may be found here.

Many small brownfields are located in communities where there is little interest from developers and a lack of knowledge on how to proceed with redevelopment. Through this project, Carnegie Mellon University's WPBC will target small sites in small communities. Its goal is to empower those communities and other brownfields stakeholders to make land-use decisions that are in the best interest of the local economy, while considering global environmental impacts and national policies.

The WPBC will develop a life-cycle analysis tool to assess carbon footprints, conventional air emissions, and energy impacts from brownfields redevelopment versus developing on greenfields. The tool will allow governments and other stakeholders to prioritize their site selection process by weighting criteria of local interest, such as environmental health, ease of development, and social and economic considerations. Classroom and computer-based training programs will be developed to educate community decision makers about the strategies for brownfields development.