Greensburg, Kansas : rebuilding a green town

The tornado that hit Greensburg, Kansas, in May 2007, traveled down the center of Main Street at two hundred and five miles per hour and destroyed ninety-five percent of the town's built environment. The extensive damage was devastating to a town that was already struggling with job loss, depopulation, and economic decline. When Greensburg unexpectedly announced it would rebuild green, the town captured national attention as a symbol of a sustainable revitalization strategy. This thesis examines Greensburg's recovery with the hope of identifying how other cities can learn from its example. For Greensburg, rebuilding green means creating a healthy future for the next generation. Greensburg interprets green to not only signify environmental conservation, but also, if not more importantly, a strategy for community development and economic stability. Greensburg is fortunate to have visionary leadership and outside financial assistance, but these factors alone would not have been enough to resurrect the town. Greensburg is rebuilding green for its community's future, but in order to rebuild at all, Greensburg first needed the support of its community. Before the storm, the greater Greensburg community was not especially involved in civic affairs or environmental issues. The community became invested in its future and committed to green as a result of three key factors, all of which can be implemented elsewhere.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Bromberg, Anna (Anna Miriam)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lawrence Susskind.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/49692

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/49692