Tucson Brownfields Project Nationally Televised

Danielle Jackson

Tucson, Ariz. -- Our Urban Environment, an upcoming PBS series focusing on brownfields redevelopment, recently visited Tucson, Ariz., to investigate the city's downtown renovation project.

The city of Tucson Brownfields program began nearly 5 years ago with a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, D.C.

The main attraction, the Rio Nuevo project, houses a series of abandoned landfills and properties that are being converted into a cultural center and park, a sea aquarium, an IMAX theater, and shopping and dining facilities.

A pilot also is underway to test and monitor for environmental pollution.

Our Urban Environment is a 10-part series funded in part through the Urban Waste Management and Research Center (UWMRC) from an EPA grant.