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Greetings Dear Reader,
For many of us, our homes are more than shelter or an address. They are a safe and secure place, a reflection of ourselves, a place of respite and connection, and perhaps a source of wealth and opportunity. Housing is a topic that comes up often in our conversations with community members, elected officials, and business owners about their aspirations, opportunities, and concerns.
Not surprisingly, our partners in small towns and rural communities, city neighborhoods and suburbs, and tribal nations and territories routinely ask us how they can create places where housing is accessible and affordable, safe from risk and hazards, responsive to family and household needs, and able to generate wealth.
Many communities recognize that housing demand significantly exceeds housing supply. How and where we build our homes and how close or far our homes are to where we work, shop and play also impact the environment, our health, and the economy. Through our technical assistance we have seen an increasing openness to new ways of building homes and neighborhoods – for example through examining and reforming local rules and regulations that may limit innovation, preserving and investing in existing homes, and leveraging investments in transportation and infrastructure to align with housing plans and programs.
As communities, government and industry collaborate to address our national housing shortage, OCR is providing programs and resources to build local capacity and coalitions that can support housing solutions. The best solutions will protect environment and public health, while also facilitating economic growth and access to opportunity.
Read on for more about our work and how it relates to the important topic of housing.
Sincerely,
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Adhir Kackar
Director, Federal and State Division
Office of Community Revitalization
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Growing Local Economic and Housing Opportunities and Enhancing Transportation Infrastructure
The future is bright for Chiloquin, Oregon! Last month, OCR’s Reyes Barboza worked with local officials and residents in a two-day workshop to make plans for the future of Chiloquin as part of our Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program.
Recently, the Klamath Tribes and City of Chiloquin, a community of approximately 780 residents, have built housing units for elders of the local Klamath Tribe, a downtown pocket park and an electric vehicle charging station that may attract visitors to local attractions like Crater Lake National Park and other points of interest. Chiloquin will continue to leverage EPA Brownfields program assistance as it redevelops parts of town. See more photos of Chiloquin on Facebook and X.
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Smart Growth Network Quarterly Discussion
On Wednesday, December 4, 2024, the Smart Growth Network hosted a Quarterly Discussion on the topic of Strategies to Boost the Supply and Improve the Quality of Affordable, Resilient Housing. Housing supply is a top priority for cities across the United States, but communities face many challenges. As affordable housing units deteriorate because of age, those living in affordable housing are increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters. Many programs and resources are available to assist communities, but lack of funding is a serious limitation. More education about the benefits of more resilient and efficient housing is needed for both residents and policymakers.
Read the meeting summary and watch the recording: Expanding Resilient and Affordable Housing with the Smart Growth Network.
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Rural Health Philanthropy Partnership Meeting
OCR's Kelsey Evans represented EPA at the Rural Health Philanthropy Partnership Meeting in October in Bethesda, Maryland. The meeting was co-hosted by the Health Resources and Services Administration, the National Rural Health Association, and Grantmakers in Health. The meeting was a chance for public and private organizations to convene, discuss, and share about innovative approaches to advance rural health. Kelsey participated in a federal roundtable, where she shared about the work OCR does that touches rural health, including providing technical assistance through programs like Recreation Economy for Rural Communities and Local Foods, Local Places.
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Funding and Technical Assistance Opportunities | |
Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program
EPA has selected eleven grantmakers to will receive $600 million to provide subgrants to and assist in the grantmaking process for community-based nonprofits based in small, resource constrained areas. EPA Regions 2, 3, 8, and 10 are now accepting applications (view the map of grantmakers).
Grantmakers will support assessment, planning, and project development activities for eligible applicants, including:
- Nonprofit organizations, community-based and grassroots nonprofit organizations.
- Tribal governments (both federally recognized and state-recognized) and intertribal consortia.
- Local governments.
- Institutions of higher education.
- Native American organizations.
- Puerto Rico.
- US Territories.
There are three tiers of subgrants available, based on the level of work required.
- Assessment grants will be awarded up to $150,000.
- Planning grants will be awarded up to $250,000.
- Project development grants will be awarded up to $350,000.
Find details on assessment, planning and project development activities, and the types of environmental issues covered on the subgrants webpage.
Deadline to Apply: Friday, January 10, 2025
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Housing Webinar for Energy Communities
Thursday, December 19, 2024 | 1:30 PM ET
Local communities and other interested participants are invited to join Energy Community Conversations: Housing in America’s Energy Communities, a virtual conversation focused on understanding housing challenges impacting America’s energy communities. The webinar will highlight community and federal efforts to build community capacity and feature examples of the innovative partnerships and investments that have led to successful housing development.
The webinar will feature:
- An overview of how to effectively develop partnerships and leverage investments for community development and economic growth.
- Case studies from community leaders showcasing how communities have utilized best practices to address housing challenges.
- A Q&A session with speakers.
Speakers will include leaders from EPA, the Collective Clean Energy Fund, HaydenTanner, CFC Properties, and the city of Greenbrier County, West Virginia. This conversation is hosted by the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization.
Register to Participate: Housing in America's Energy Communities
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Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program
U.S. Forest Service
The U.S. Forest Service is offering a grant opportunity through the Community Forest and Open Space Conservation program to federally recognized Tribes, local governments, and qualified conservation nonprofit organizations to acquire and establish community forests that provide community benefits. The purpose of the program is to protect forestland from conversion to non-forest uses and provide community benefits including public recreation, environmental and economic benefits, and forest-based educational programs. Public access is required for all projects.
Interested local government and nonprofit applicants must submit applications to their State Forester where the property is located. Tribal applicants must submit applications to equivalent Tribal government officials.
Deadline to Apply: Monday, January 13, 2025
Deadline for States to Forward to Appropriate Forest Service Regional Offices: Monday, February 10, 2025
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Climate Smart Communities Initiative
National Adaptation Forum
The National Adaptation Forum is currently accepting grant applications through March 2025 for its Climate Smart Communities Initiative. CSCI offers funding up to $100,000 per award for risk assessments, community engagement, project prioritization and initial implementation for communities having significant climate related challenges.
The application requires collaboration with:
- A community-based organization.
- A government partner (such as local, regional, or Tribal).
- A climate adaptation professional.
For communities without a climate adaptation professional, the reviewers will provide a list of potential partners through its Registry of Climate Adaptation and Resilience Professionals.
Deadline to Apply: Monday, March 3, 2025
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Community Change Grant Selectees
Let's celebrate the latest round of Community Change Grant selectees! Announced on December 12, 105 applications were selected (totaling nearly $1.6 billion in awards) to advance local, on-the-ground projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity.
Made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the Community Change Grants Program is the single largest investment in environmental and climate justice in history. Over a dozen of OCR's partner communities were selected for funding, including Chiloquin, Oregon; City and County of Butte-Silver Bow, Montana; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (location of an upcoming Local Food, Local Places workshop in 2025).
We offer a special shoutout to four recipients that received Community Change Equitable Resilience Technical Assistance, which was managed by OCR and the Office of Climate Adaptation and Sustainability.
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The Southwest Florida Community Foundation will develop four resilience hubs that will be the first connected network of resilience hubs throughout Lee County, Florida.
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The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe's Tribal Resilience Hub project will act as a cornerstone of the cultural resilience campus for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, located in northern Minnesota.
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Benefitting New Orleans' Upper Ninth Ward, Stay Ready NOLA, Inc. will develop a resilience hub to provide crucial support for citizens and emergency responders during a storm or other emergency.
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The Native Village of Kipnuk, Alaska, is experiencing extreme riverbank erosion. The Riprap Riverbank Stabilization project focuses on adding bank stabilization along Kipnuk's embankment on Reach 3 of the Kigkaktlik River.
We look forward to seeing great work from all of the selected communities.
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One thing we love is the work we do with our community partners and sharing it with you! The graphics below show our 2024 playlist of top social media posts and website views.
Follow us on Facebook or X for all the latest community revitalization news in 2025 and beyond, and be sure to visit our website, epa.gov/smartgrowth!
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