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Indianapolis, Indiana
Contact Information
Stephanie Cwik
(cwik.stephanie@epa.gov)
Hydrologist
US EPA, Region 5
77 W. Jackson Blvd. SM-7J
Chicago, IL 60604
312-886-0913
National Links
HUD-DOT-EPA Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities
The Partnership for Sustainable Communities National Brownfields Pilot project in Indianapolis worked with federal and local partners to address abandoned properties, soil contamination, poor access to public transit and unmet housing needs in the Indianapolis Smart Growth District. The Smart Growth District is centered at 22nd Street and the Monon Trail and includes portions of the King Park and Martindale-Brightwood neighborhoods, just northeast of downtown Indianapolis.
EPA is helping clean up the contamination and create space for urban gardens. At the Monon site, a 15-acre former rail yard within the Smart Growth District, EPA is working with Kansas State University to transform brownfields into productive areas. The project will examine soil and compost conditions before and after the growing season, and will measure how plants take up soil contaminants. The results will aid in development of safe gardening practices and help make this a model for other urban agriculture projects throughout Indianapolis.
The Partnership for Sustainable Communities is working with state and local officials, local nonprofits and community groups to determine how federal investments in or near the Smart Growth District can help the area. There are already plans for a transit corridor and affordable housing in the center of the district. The district's revitalization strategy proposes ways to bring back amenities and residents, strategically reuse brownfields, improve transit access, and spur economic development.
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More Information
- A Partnership for Sustainable Communities: A Year of Progress for American Communities (PDF) (16pp, 3.2MB)
- Partnership for Sustainable Communities Brownfields Pilots - Indianapolis, Indiana (PDF) (2pp, 669K)
- Indianapolis Smart Growth Redevelopment District Revitalization Strategy: Prioritizing Actions to Support a Transit-Oriented Future (PDF) (56pp, 4.4MB)
- Project Timeline: Indianapolis Smart Growth District (PDF) (1pg, 661K)
Slideshow
The Project School is an anchor of the Indianapolis Smart Growth District and is housed on a former brownfields site.
Before cleanup, the 15-acre Monon Site was a blight to the neighborhood which attracted illegal dumping.
After the Monon Site cleanup, EPA and Kansas State University have partnered to create an urban garden which will study using compost and soil amendments to improve urban soils.
The remaining area will soon be converted to recreational space for area residents.