WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency said today that Jefferson City was one of five cities selected in a federal project to revitalize state capital neighborhoods in green and sustainable ways.

In the Greening America's Capitals project, the EPA will fund a team of designers to produce illustrations on how targeted neighborhoods in chosen capitals can be improved.

In a later phase, the EPA, the federal Transportation Department and Housing and Urban Development will assist with strategies to "create and enhance interesting, distinctive neighborhoods that have multiple social, economic and environmental benefits." 

In Jefferson City, the designers will focus on the Wears Creek and Millbottom area, described as a flood-prone and forgotten zone of the city with vacant properties and parking lots.

Besides cleaning up the area, the effort will be aimed at improving access to the Missouri River.

The EPA said that the Jefferson City project will be among the first to benefit from the agency's new Urban Waters initiative, which is aimed at better connecting communities with their rivers.

Other cities chosen were Boston, Little Rock, Hartford, Conn. and Charleston, W.Va. The EPA said that 38 capitals applied for the project.

Designers will be hired starting this fall to begin working with city planners.