Thanks to Career/Pro for faciliting the self introductions of all of us who
read this newsgroup.
My name is Martha Matsuoka and I recently moved to Los Angeles from the SF
Bay Area having worked at the Urban Habitat Program for sometime on military
base conversion and brownfields. UHP's Brownfields Leadership Project is
now being directed by Mr. Torri Estrada (415) 561-3336. The Project's
primary goals are to get leaders from brownfields communities in the Bay
Area flatlands to the brownfields policy and program discussions and build
their capacity to drive brownfields redevleopment in a way that is grounded
in community values and generates long-term community benefits. UHP has
helped community member sof its Regional Brownfields Working Group to
conduct trainings for communnity members by drawing on the expertise and
resources of other agency, professional, technical, and financial people in
the Working Group. In addition, UHP does quite a bit of research on
brownfields and is in the process of putting together a Community Guide.
A few weeks ago, I moved to LA to start a doctoral program in Urban
Planning at UCLA in the area of community and regional development. My
experience and my view of brownfields are rooted in UHP's mission to
"develop multicultural urban environmental justice and build sustainable
communities". Because I am no longer at UHP, I rely on the newsgroup to
stay abreast of brownfields issues, particularly environmental justice,
community capacity building (funding, training, etc.), cleanup standards,
community-based economic development activities, and access to
decisionmkaing and policy setting - all by people who live on or adjacent
to brownfield sites.
Brownfields abound in this region and I will be working with community-based
groups in LA on brownfields and other development issues in communities of
color and low-income areas.
Thanks for keeping me in the discussions.