On May 4th, 2007 a town disappeared and a community was reborn. The water tower toppled, the hospital tore open, and homes blew away when winds in excess of 205 miles per hour whipped through Greensburg, Kansas. A year later, the town is taking time to honor all that was lost while moving forward into a greener, more prosperous future. This transition has not been easy. It requires patience, faith, and a willingness to go beyond all that is familiar. In order to authentically go green, the community has had to reduce, reuse, recycle, and, most importantly, relate. I moderated a conversation with Greensburg Green Town co-founder and executive director Daniel Wallach and BNIM Architects Project Planner Stephen Hardy at the (Green)Town Benefit sponsored by the Kansas City AIGA. In this excerpt, you will hear how people from different backgrounds came together under a common agenda. The homes, schools, and churches were destroyed, but the community of Greensburg is now stronger than it has ever been.

Simran Sethi



Webisodes 1-3
In May 2007, A 1.7 mile-wide category EF5 tornado tornado ripped through the small Kansas town of Greensburg, destroying 95% of the city and seriously damaging the remaining 5%. The tornado killed 11 people and the city was officially declared a disaster area on both state and federal levels.

Nearly a year after the catastrophe, dozens of FEMA trailers continue to dot a landscape of unbelievable devastation. However, the residents of this 1400-person town are coming back strong and rebuilding their homes, businesses and lives. This rebuilding effort is going green with the support of city officials, local business, and a burgeoning non-profit named Greensburg Greentown. All the reconstructed city buildings over 4,000 sq. ft. are required to be certified LEED-platinum, plans are underway for the entire town to run on wind power, and individual homes are being rebuilt slowly and sustainably.

The greening of Greensburg may seem surprising, given the city's location in the brightest red part of the Bible Belt (81% of Kiowa County voted Republican in the last election), but it demonstrates that green issues, traditionally the province of the left, are universal. This series of webisodes explores the challenges and triumphs of a town attempting to begin again.



Webisodes 4-5
Greensburg is a typical prairie town; set in Western Kansas, the city of 1,400 could almost be called an archetype of rural America. Primary industries are agriculture and construction, the median income ($29,000/yr) falls well below the state average, and the city suffers from the constant drain of youth away to colleges and urban areas (the average age of a farmer is in the mid-50s).

When an EF5 tornado smashed into this bright-red spot in May 2007, it seemed like simply an acceleration of an inevitable trend: the death of rural America.

Fortunately for Greensburg, the residents didn't take this disaster lying down. Treating the devastation as a chance for rebuilding, the city's municipal government and business leaders have decided to take matters into their own hands, promoting a rebuilding effort that conserves energy, preserves natural resources, and leaves a legacy for future generations.

And this revitalization is for everyone. In this series of webisodes, we will meet the owners of the local John Deere dealership and the former owner of a vintage clothing store who refused to leave town after the tornado and are now leading the move to go green.

By John Kuhn