Green Streets

Green Streets Criteria for Projects Awarded Before November 1, 2020

The Iowa Green Streets Criteria promote public health, energy efficiency, water conservation, smart locations, operational savings and sustainable building practices. The strategies in the 2020 Green Streets Criteria document enhance affordable housing, community facilities, town centers and communities as a whole.

2018 marked the tenth anniversary of the Iowa Green Streets Criteria. In the last ten years, the criteria have influenced the performance of thousands of residences and numerous community facility and Main Street projects across Iowa. This edition of the Iowa Green Streets Criteria builds on lessons learned the last 10 years and from the growing body of building science research and demonstration projects.

In 2016, the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) received a National Disaster Resilience Competition grant from HUD and the Rockefeller Foundation. Also in 2016, the Iowa Economic Development Authority, Iowa Department of Public Health, and Iowa Department of Transportation joined with partners and America Walks to host a walkable communities collaborative workshop to identify opportunities for state agencies to more strongly support community walkability. In support of Iowa’s resiliency and walkable communities efforts, the IEDA is following the lead of Enterprise’s Green Communities Criteria and incorporating specific community resiliency and active living focused criterion into the Iowa Green Streets Criteria for the first time.