Category: Environmental

From Trashy to Classy: Turning a Closed Landfill into a Community Asset in Cedar Rapids

Iowa isn’t known as a mountainous state. But there’s a hill in the heart of Cedar Rapids – a closed landfill known as Mount Trashmore – that looms along the Cedar River just southeast of downtown. The hill is highly visible from the vast majority of downtown Cedar Rapids, which is about 120 miles east… Read More »

What Does Brownfield Redevelopment Cost? Right Question Is ‘What Does It Pay?’

If you have a blighted area in your community, you can view it as a liability, or you can see it as an opportunity. That brownfield is probably shouting “ugly, ugly, ugly!” to all who drive by, but it might also be whispering “location, location, location.” Communities that can see beyond the scars and understand… Read More »

What’s the Cost of Not Fixing a Brownfield? Plenty

You’ve probably heard the term before: brownfield. What is a brownfield, beyond just, well, a brown field? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a brownfield is a blighted property whose redevelopment may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminants. In other words, brownfields are community eyesores that need to be cleaned up. And that… Read More »