Brownfields Financing Options for Disadvantaged Communities
December 14, 2006, 2pm EST
Webcast (first 100 registrants free)
Across America, communities and neighborhoods that have historically been marked by poverty, joblessness, injustice and lack of investment, often suffer disproportionately from the impacts of brownfields. Overcoming brownfields can be more difficult in disadvantaged communities, due to a lack of economic opportunity, undercapitalized markets, crumbling infrastructure, inadequate local capacity, historical mistrust, concerns about gentrification, or environmental justice issues. Yet, there are a growing number of examples where disadvantaged communities have used brownfield tools and resources to redevelop blighted areas, create economic opportunities, and give hope to their residents.
The Disadvantaged Brownfields Communities Network will host a 90-minute webcast, Dollars and Sense: Smart Brownfields Financing Options for Disadvantaged Communities. The webcast will provide an overview of federal and state financing resources, discuss how to prepare brownfield properties for private investment, and showcase communities that have implemented effective financing strategies. The webcast will help distressed urban neighborhoods, as well as rural communities, identify new financing opportunities for brownfields renewal.
Webcast speakers will include:
Charlie Bartsch, ICF Consulting, Washington, DC
Bonnie Anderson, ShoreBank Pacific, Portland, OR
Randy Muller, Bank of America, Lawrenceville, GA
Mark Gregor, City of Rochester, NY
The targeted audience for this webcast is elected leaders, local government managers, planning and economic development directors, community development officials, environmental justice representatives, and other brownfields stakeholders.
A webcast combines telephone and Internet technology to give local government managers and their staffs the opportunity to gain relevant, useful information without travel, at low cost, and through a medium that encourages collegial discussion of concerns and issues. Participants must have a computer with Internet access (56K modem or higher) and a separate telephone line for the audio portion of the webcast.
The Disadvantaged Brownfields Communities Network is managed by the Northeast-Midwest Institute, the Sustainable Community Development Group, and The Ferguson Group. The webcast is free to the first 100 registrants, after which the cost will be $40 per site.
For more information and to register, call 202-454-3922 or email the Disadvantaged Brownfields Communities Network.
