Community Development, Brownfields & Smart Growth

·        GERI subcontract to not-for-profit Sustainable Community Development Group, Inc. which, partnered with Northeast-Midwest Institute, is implementing a cooperative agreement funded by U.S. EPA in 2005.  Deliverables include development of an inclusive Brownfields Disadvantaged Communities Network, building partnerships and delivering technical assistance on redevelopment of under-utilized properties, identification and problem-solving unique challenges in communities of color and low income communities.

·        GERI supports the Sustainable Community Development Group, Inc., which serves as the Secretariat to the African American Forum on Race & Regionalism (AAFRR).  Via research projects, conferences, meetings, workshops, publications, and policy development, AAFRR provides a place for interdisciplinary dialogue among African Americans, communities of color and other stakeholders on equitable development, smart growth and metropolitan sustainability.  AAFRR (www.aafrr.org) is a collaborative project of the Ford Foundation, PolicyLink, the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University, and the Sustainable Community Development Group, Inc. 

·        GERI supports the Ford Foundation’s Sustainable Metropolitan Communities Program in the Community and Resource Development Unit.  Support includes strategic plans, consensus building, research and data analysis on equitable development, smart growth and regional equity, consitutency outreach and a website.  GERI  implements meetings and events, coordinates public policy development, projects and and publications.

·        GERI developed and convened a workshop on brownfields redevelopment at the 2000 National Forum for Black Public Administrators annual conference in Charlotte, NC.  The workshop, which featured a multi-stakeholder expert panel, focused on Reducing Barriers and Promoting Public Sector Roles in Brownfields Redevelopment.

·      GERI developed and drafted for a local community organization, Jesus People Against Pollution, grant proposal language submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency supporting participation by community-based organizations in the Columbia, Mississippi Brownfields District Partnership.  The Partnership was funded by EPA and involves public/private sector collaboration to cleanup and redevelop contaminated areas.

·      GERI directs the national nonprofit Partnership for Sustainable Brownfields Redevelopment (PSBR) including governmental relations, fundraising, grants administration and contracts.  GERI manages development, design and delivery of brownfields research, reports, workshops and training on sustainability and multi-stakeholder involvement in redevelopment initiatives.

·      GERI developed a series of brownfields educational tools including Guide to Evaluating Brownfields Redevelopment Outcomes; Guide to Assessment of the Multi-Stakeholder Involvement Process in Brownfields Projects; Key Steps in Sustainable Brownfields Redevelopment; A Guide to Brownfields Stakeholders; and A Report on Multi-Stakeholder Decision Processes at U.S. Brownfields Redevelopment Sites.

·      GERI supports the Ford Foundation’s metropolitan sustainability initiative via research and data analysis on smart growth and regional equity, developing constituency databases, outreach, public policy development, meetings and event planning, project coordination, strategic plans and publications.

·      GERI developed a training program funded by EPA that will design and implement an innovative model curriculum and train community groups and community development corporations (CDCs) in two U.S. cities.  The training will integrate real estate investment, financing and development techniques with environment, health goals and community revitalization planning.