SMARTeFeedback

Sustainable Management Approaches and Revitalization Tools - electronic, known to its friends as SMARTe, is an open-source (that means it's free!), web-based (you can get to it from any computer with an internet connection), decision support system for developing and evaluating future reuse scenarios for potentially contaminated land (that means it will help you decide how to best redevelop land that has previously been used for something else). SMARTe contains resources and analysis tools for all aspects of the revitalization process including planning, environmental, economic, and social concerns.

Revitalization (a word we use to mean bringing these sites back to life with new and vital uses) of sites contaminated with environmentally toxic or hazardous materials is a global concern. (The earth is only so big, right? If we keep building on undeveloped sites, soon we won't have any more open spaces to enjoy.) Many countries have committed extensive resources to addressing environmental, social, and economic issues related to the cleanup and redevelopment of environmentally impacted sites. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung [BMBF]) have initiated a cooperative effort to share such information and evaluate new solutions for the redevelopment of contaminated sites. The goal of this web site is to help users identify, apply, and integrate tools and technologies to facilitate the revitalization of sites in the United States (that is, to give you a hand along the way during the complex process of site redevelopment). This website will be updated as new tools, technologies, and approaches become available for revitalizing previously used lands.

This web site offers something for everyone involved in land reuse planning and revitalization efforts. While SMARTe is freely available for any and all to use, we do ask for a small favor in return. Before you start using SMARTe, please read our Conditions of Use. After reading that, you are absolutely free to spend all the time you want meandering through the information and tools available within SMARTe.

Well, there are several ways to learn more. You could click on our tutorial and we'll take you through a brief visit of the site and offer to show you several examples of how it might be useful to you. We also have a fact sheet we'd be happy to share with you. And if you're that discerning visitor who wants to know what the big idea is and how we plan to be sure that all the information you receive on our site is accurate and appropriate, perhaps you'd be interested in reading the SMARTe Quality Assurance Project Plan or the SMARTe Philosophy Document.

SMARTe is being developed in an overlapping phased approach with new versions released each October. Currently, it contains LOTS of information, links, and analysis tools that are ready for use; however the complete decision analysis capability (the ability to fully evaluate and compare different reuse options for a specific site) is not yet available. Additional tools, information, and decision analysis capability related to sustainable revitalization will continue to be added over time. If you would like to see a list of what is currently available in SMARTe, and what will be added in the future, take a peek at our status sheet. It just tickles us pink to hear from you, so whether you have a complaint or a compliment, please share it with us by clicking on a feedback link anywhere on our web site.