Lincoln, NE

Local Sustainability Matching Fund Proposal

Spring 2012

Purpose:

To develop an ongoing working relationship between the City Sustainability Director and Lincoln Community Foundation by working on the greening of the South Capital Neighborhood.

Brief description of project goals, strategy, and key activities:

The City of Lincoln, in partnership with EPA’s Greening America’s Capitals, targeted the South Capital Neighborhood for improvement. This low-income neighborhood has a mix of single and multifamily housing with low homeowner occupancy, includes the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska Headquarters and two public elementary schools. The EPA led a design charette, involving neighborhood residents, businesses, and property owners. The resulting Sustainable Redevelopment Design will be available April 2012. Design implementation will be the focus of the project.

Project funding will be used to develop a new partnership between the City Sustainability Director and Lincoln Community Foundation by completing and adopting our community’s Sustainability Plan (work in progress), installing rain gardens and bioswales in above-described target area, replant street trees, and replicate the above-described design charette process in other neighborhoods, enhancing sustainability.

Smart Growth strategies will improve neighborhood livability: 1) Engage low-to-moderate income neighborhood residents in the design process. 2) Improve green infrastructure by addressing streetscape issues, including narrowing overly wide streets, lack of bike lanes, installation of curb bump outs, improve multi-modal transportation options, safety, walkability, replanting street trees using silva cells to provide sufficient rooting area for long-term tree viability, introduction of bioswales and rain gardens to improve storm water management. 3) Address poor infill development and deteriorated housing by linking owners to resources. 4) Further align transportation and housing choices by improving bike paths, lanes and public transit shelters, installing bike racks, and connecting existing trails. 5) Install LED pedestrian and traffic lighting. 6) Expand Mayor-led public-private partnerships.

Sustainability Priority Area(s):

Large Scale Behavior Change

Sustainability Indicators

Sustainability Marketing Campaigns

New Funding Streams for Sustainability Initiatives