Greening America's Communities: Brownsville

The city of Brownsville, TX has been planning and implementing policies and projects that aim to improve stormwater management and improve public space for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers. International Blvd is in a crucial location in Brownsville connecting Matamoros, Mexico with Brownsville and beyond. International Blvd is a highly visible major street adjacent to the historic downtown, higher educations campuses, and historically working class neighborhoods with small businesses. The city requested technical assistance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2017 via the Greening America’s Communities (GAC) initiative to develop schematic design options for improving stormwater management and public space along and in the vicinity of International Blvd.

This project was an EPA charrette, and focused on the integration of street trees to create shade and increase walkability, stormwater management to clean water, the creation of bike lanes to increase mobility, and the revitalization of a commercial corridor. This project shows that environmental benefits, mobility and economic development can work hand in hand in design projects.

Due to significant changes in the existing conditions, in 2019 the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) completed a feasibility study for a full redesign of the Brownsville Land Port of Entry (LPOE). This included the modification of the traffic pattern outside the perimeter of the LPOE to a traffic circle configuration. SMM re-engaged the community during two public workshops in order to develop two design options for the proposed traffic circle and adjacent streets and sidewalks. One option treated the traffic circle as a pass-through space, with an adjacent triangle parcel as a gathering space, while the other option reversed those functions, allowing more passive gathering space within the traffic circle with a pass-through space in the adjacent triangle parcel. This design can be used as a model for how to approach issues of pedestrian safety, traffic calming, public open space, green infrastructure and stormwater management, urban heat island mitigation, and economic development support adjacent to LPOEs in communities along the U.S. border.