Equity
Table of Contents
Innovation Lab - Concept Developing and Prototyping: Learning resources to understand the topic.
Innovation Lab - Refinement: Tools and guides to inform developing programs.
Adoption Accelerator - Standards Emerging and Scaling: Implementation examples to show how it is being done.
- 2023 - Housing Anti-displacement and Energy Equity Pilot in Sacramento, CA
- 2022 - A neighbor-led greening plan centers people impacted by climate injustice in Richmond, VA
- 2022 - Empty Field Into a Programmable Greenspace in Cleveland, OH
- 2022 - Abandoned Roadway Into a Community Greenspace with Green Infrastructure in New Haven, CT
- 2022 - Aging in Place Efficiently in Ann Arbor, MI
- 2022 - Climate Justice Through Collaborative Design in Multnomah County, OR
- 2022 - Luchando para Salud y el Ambiente (Fighting for Health and the Environment) in Princeton, NJ
- 2021 - Affordable, Resilient Net-Zero Homes in Evanston, IL
- 2021 - New Bedford Resilience Hub and Community Alert System Pilot Project
- 2021 - Boston's Resilient Homes Initiative
- 2021 - Equity in Burlington’s Transportation Transformation
- 2021 - Climate Equity in San Diego
- 2021 - Chicago's Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD) - Process, Plan and Engagement Strategy
- 2021 - Living Cully Community Engagement Plan in Portland OR
- 2020 - Community Planning Piloted in Indianapolis, IN
- 2019 - Equity and Environment Initiative in Seattle, WA
- 2019 - A Socially Just Employment, Energy and Climate Transition in Boulder, CO
- 2019 - Community Climate Resiliency Project in Salt Lake City, UT
- 2019 - Agriculture Park in Columbia MO
- 2019 - PlanItGreen: Solar for All Project in Oak Park, IL
- 2019 - Growing a Just and Healthy Food System in Tacoma, WA
- 2019 - The Save Our Sons Jobs Project: Advancing Equity and Opportunity for Knoxville’s Youth of Color
- 2019 - Equity in Climate Action: Resilient Communities for a Sustainable City in New Orleans, LA
- 2019 - Green Infrastructure and Water Conservation for Low-Income Neighborhoods in Grand Rapids, MI
- 2019 - Community Climate Action Planning Initiative in Bend, OR
- 2019 - Community-Centered Sustainability Decision Making in Philadelphia, PA
- 2019 - Washington Neighborhood Engagement Project in Dubuque, IA
- 2019 - Community Engagement for Equity in Las Cruces, NM
- 2019 - Healthy Homes Neighborhood Pilot in Newark, NJ
- 2019 - People for Parks - Community School Parks in Los Angeles, CA
- 2019 - Infusing Equity into Climate Planning in Washington, DC
- 2018 - Incorporating Social and Racial Equity into Sustainability Planning in Providence, RI
- 2018 - Equitable Climate Action in Cleveland, OH
- 2018 - Lincoln, NE South of Downtown Neighborhood Sustainability Implementation
- 2018 - Chicago Green Living Program in Chicago, IL
- 2018 - Junior Sustainability Stewards Program in Broward County, FL
- 2016 - Social Equity Through Sustainability Planning in Baltimore
- 2016 - Building Equity into the Local Sustainability Plan in Providence
- 2016 - Increasing Energy Efficiency in Low-income Neighborhoods in Chattanooga
- 2016 - Connecting Shaded Spaces for Public Health in South Florida - Phase II
- 2016 - Farmers’ Markets Help Low-Income Residents Purchase Healthy, Local Food in Minneapolis
- 2016 - Carbon Reduction Efforts Benefit Low-Income Neighborhoods in Portland, OR
- 2016 - Improving the Food-Based Economy for Latino Residents in Tucson
- 2016 - Open Space in Underserved Communities in Los Angeles CA
- 2016 - Equitable Access to Solar in Berkeley CA
- 2016 - Green Infrastructure in Low-Income Neighborhoods in Bridgeport CT
- 2015 - Complete Street Planning in Northampton MA
- 2015 - Diverse Participation in Environmental Progress in Seattle WA
- 2015 - Food Security through Urban Ag in New Bedford MA
- 2015 - Lower-Income Home Energy Retrofits in Blacksburg VA
- 2015 - Neighborhood Greening in Louisville KY
- 2015 - Neighborhood Resiliency in Baltimore MD
- 2015 - Residential Climate Change Adaptation in Cleveland OH
- 2014 - A Chinatown Community Engagement Program in San Francisco
- 2014 - Equity in Climate Action in Cleveland
- 2012 - A Mobile Food Market in Low-Income Communities of Chattanooga TN
- 2012 - Tools for Climate Equity in the Portland OR Climate Action Plan
Innovation Lab - Concept Developing and Prototyping: Learning resources to understand the topic.
Green Infrastructure for Environmental Justice and Flood Mitigation in Hackensack, NJ: A project to enhance existing Combined Sewer separation plans with community designed green infrastructure to mitigate storm water flooding in low income neighborhoods addressing Environmental Justice issues. (Partners for Places, 2024).
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Lihu'e Community Placemaking, Forestry & Gardens Initiative in Kauai, HI: A project to support the installation of native street trees and community gardens in Lihu'e and create a plan/partnership framework for future green infrastructure. (Partners for Places, 2024).
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Assessing the Cost Effectiveness of Mobile Home Decarbonization in San Luis Obispo, CA: A research project to evaluate the cost effectiveness of electrification in mobile homes and determine whether a climate and public health solution can co-solve for the acute energy burdens faced by mobile home residents. (Emergent Learning Fund, 2024).
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Cultivating a Regenerative Food Culture in Waco, TX: A project to provide education and infrastructure for composting and gardening with goals for food waste recovery, food production, and methane reduction at the landfill. (Partners for Places, 2024).
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Collaborative Design of Federal Funding Proposal in Santa Clara County: A project to collaboratively develop a federal funding proposal in partnership with community-based organizations, local jurisdictions, and the County of Santa Clara to drive equitable approaches for environmental justice and climate resilience. (Emergent Learning Fund, 2024).
Community-Centered Climate Training Cohort and Government Partnership in Alameda County, CA: A project that will build a relationship for County government agencies to collaborate on wildfire/extreme heat training, communication, and preparedness needs with community-based partners, and to co-create and co-design replicable, relevant, and modifiable training and educational materials to support the health, safety, and resilience of priority and frontline communities during and beyond these events.(Emergent Learning Fund, 2024).
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Collective Impact and Climate Art Community Innovation: A project that brings together several city-wide and community-based climate and social well being organizations, as well as youth and local artists from equity deserving communities to collectively design, coordinate and implement a climate art project(s) in North Scarborough. (CNCA Climate Justice Fund, 2024).
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Power-sharing in the Implementation of Vancouver’s Climate Justice Charter (CJC) in Vancouver, CAN: A project that uses processes to draw from the fields of social innovation and systemic design as alternatives to the standard policy-making, program delivery, and public engagement processes that we use at the City. (CNCA Climate Justice Fund, 2024).
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FPAC Expanding Membership around Justice and Joy: A project that supports inclusive, tiered membership options, to expand capacity to mitigate historical harms in our city’s food system as a key component of the Food Policy Advisory Council’s (FPAC) Strategic Plan “to grow membership around justice and joy”. (Emergent Learning Fund, 2023).
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Richmond’s Community Climate Funding Table: A project that introduces collaborative working sessions, convened by the Office of Sustainability, to gather Richmond’s sustainability leaders to prioritize project ideas and co-create pathways and materials to apply for and be awarded Federal funding to bring them to fruition.(Emergent Learning Fund, 2023).
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Equitable Involvement: Reimagining a Community Climate Advisory Committees in Watsonville, CA: A project that reinvigorates a currently minimally active climate advisory committee by applying an equity lens to capacity-building with the intent to deliver; increased transparency, recognition and application of community wisdom, and the governance framework necessary to transition the committee’s engagement from level 2 (consult) to level 3 (involve) on the spectrum from engagement to empowerment. (Emergent Learning Fund, 2023).
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Enhancing Transportation Equity: A Bike Repair Workshop Open to Everybody Bikes in Burlington, VT: A project to create a new Everybody Bikes Open Shop to provide access to tools, knowledge, and expertise from trained mechanics enabling OSH to empower riders with the skill set to maintain and fix their own bikes. (Emergent Learning Fund, 2023).
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City of Minneapolis Climate Equity Plan (CEP) Equitable Engagement : A project to broaden and deepen the City’s engagement with BIPOC and immigrant community members in the Minneapolis Climate Action and Equity Plan update through deliberate partnership with community organizers, organizations and artists and to highlight impacts and best practices to ensure a just and equitable transition to a net-zero carbon future. (CNCA Game Changer Fund, 2023).
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Increasing Community Sustainability through Housing Stability in Detroit, MI: A project to address inter sectional housing issues by empowering and equipping limited income homeowners to address lead hazards, energy inefficacy, and other home repair needs. (Partners for Places, 2023).
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Multnomah County Community Climate Justice Vision: A project to develop a frontline community centered vision of climate justice that will serve as the foundation for a Multnomah County government and community climate justice plan. (Partners for Places, 2023).
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Multilingual Engagement-Game to Spur Climate Action! in Seattle, WA: This work will use the Seattle Department of Transportation’s (SDOT’s) robust transportation emissions “Climate Calculator”, to develop an innovative DIGITAL GAME to engage Seattle residents and workers on key strategies to deliver on Seattle’s climate and equity goals through the Seattle Transportation Plan.(CNCA Game Changer Fund, 2023).
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Empowering Local Communities in Melbourne to Advance Climate Justice: A project to develop a guide to enable deeper and more deliberative collaboration between disadvantaged and marginalized communities and local governments to address climate justice issues.(CNCA Game Changer Fund, 2023).
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Climate Equity Collaborative Principles of Equitable Engagement in Berkeley, CA: A project to Convene a new Climate Justice Collaborative with the support of a skilled equity coach and facilitator to build capacity within community organizations and strengthen the network of community-based partners and leaders working in the nexus of climate and justice.(Emergent Learning Fund, 2023).
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Growing the Circular Economy through Community Trust Building in Ann Arbor, MI: This project built community trust and informed Ann Arbor’s Circular Economy strategy in a way that is visible, appealing, and accessible to Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County residents of all income levels, and that engages the expertise of Ann Arbor’s BIPOC and frontline residents in developing Circular Economy goals. (USDN Emergent Learning Fund, 2023).
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Strengthening Frontline Capacity for Climate Resilience Planning in Palm Beach County, FL: This project strengthened the capacity of frontline communities for climate resilience planning to ensure more equitable processes and outcomes when the County creates its forthcoming county-wide climate change vulnerability assessment and resilience action plan (VARAP). (USDN Emergent Learning Fund, 2023).
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Carbon Offsets for Indigenous Land Regeneration in Sydney, Australia: A project to establish a market signal, precedent and ethical system for secure long-term finance streams to traditional custodians and Indigenous enterprise to undertake and maintain regeneration projects. (CNCA Game Changer Fund, 2021).
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Centering Justice: Monterey Bay Climate Response in Santa Cruz, CA: A project to co-create a vibrant climate justice network serving the northern Central Coast of California to rapidly scale up capacity and investment in work at the nexus of climate and justice. (USDN Emergent Learning Fund, 2022).
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Neighborhood-Level Climate Leadership in City Sustainability Planning in Cincinnati, OH: A project to institute community leadership throughout climate action planning for neighborhood representation in city policy-processes across intersectional climate work.. (USDN Emergent Learning Fund, 2022).
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Human Centered Design Project: This project funded an in-depth workshop to explore human centered design techniques to help center racial equity and social justice in climate action planning. (CNCA Innovation Fund, 2019)
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Collaborating for Climate Preparedness - Insights from a 2015 Workshop: A 2015 workshop of local government and community organization representatives about how they can better collaborate within local communities to enhance climate preparedness and equity, highlighting secrets to successful collaborations and examples of collaboration for climate preparedness. (USDN Special Project, 2016).
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Deep Carbon Reductions in the Transport Sector - Impacts on Affordability and Displacement: A case study on Portland OR and the impact of deep carbon reductions in transportation on displacement and gentrification, including household research on the neighborhood, a literature review on transit-oriented development and gentrification, a rental properties typology report, a memo on population change, and an emissions summary. (CNCA Innovation Fund, 2016).
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Equity and Sustainability Scan: A scan of best practices for how local governments have defined equity and incorporated it in sustainability programming, lessons they have learned, innovative tools they can use, and opportunities to collaborate to build on these successes. (USDN Special Project, 2014).
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Innovation Lab - Refinement: Tools and guides to inform developing programs.
Communicating Climate Justice Issues Through Art in Multnomah County, OR: A project to work with community-based artists to help bring visions of climate justice to life through art. (Emergent Learning Fund, 2023).
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Heartland Carbon Drawdown Initiative: A suite of carbon management spatial analysis tools that equip cities with new capabilities to quantify carbon drawdown potential across trees, soils, and organics to achieve carbon mitigation objectives. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2021)
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Redesigning Municipal Organic Material Systems for Climate & Community Resilience & Equitable Economic Diversification: A tool to help cities quantify and redirect organic waste streams into climate stabilizing resources in ways that generate new economic opportunities and enhance equitably distributed community benefits for both urban and adjacent rural communities. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2021)
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City Playbooks for the Equitable Electrification of Multifamily Buildings: These playbooks provide details on electrification upgrades and technologies for multifamily buildings, resources for building decision makers, and recommendations for policymakers to inform programs and policies that advance building electrification equitably in multifamily buildings. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2020)
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Community Choice Aggregation 3.0 Project: This project explored the next generation of Community Choice Aggregation to maximize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in the participating communities, contribute to community resiliency, equity, localization, additionality, sustainability, and economic development. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2020)
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From Community Engagement to Ownership: This project developed an engagement plan with case studies so that city staff and frontline communities of color can work together towards racially equitable decision-making. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2019)
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USDN Socioeconomic Mapping Tool for Climate Risk Planning: This project produced a practical and scalable mapping tool that enhances cities’ ability to use socioeconomic information and connect it to climate risks. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2019)
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Ensuring Equity in Energy Transformation and Innovation: This project developed actionable resources for local governments and partners to use in advancing social equity in clean energy program design and implementation in their communities. Products included a guidebook for equitable clean energy program design, an inventory of best practice programs and four in-depth case studies. This work outlines a path forward for municipalities and their partners to create programs that prioritize making clean energy technologies accessible and beneficial to low- and moderate-income households, communities of color, and indigenous communities. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2018)
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USDN Fact Sheet - Equity in Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention: The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide guidance to hiring managers seeking to diversify their sustainability staff by applying an equity lens. Recent and historical studies have shown that sustainability and environmental fields lag in their ability to recruit, hire, and retain employees of color. This can be due to a variety of systemic factors including access to social and professional networks and exclusion from the practices of environmental campaigns and organizations, as well as implicit and explicit racial bias in hiring processes. (USDN Equity Leaders Program, Updated 2018)
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A Guide to Equitable, Community-Driven Climate Preparedness Planning: Few climate adaptation guides address equity issues through specific adaptation solutions, inclusive community engagement tactics, or the root causes of inequities in climate risk. This document addresses these gaps and provides guidance to local governments in designing and implementing a more inclusive, equitable planning process. The Racial Equity Evaluation Tool, a companion to this guide, is an interactive tool to assess racialized power in climate preparedness planning. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2017).
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Seattle Extreme Heat Scenario-Based Pilot-Project in Frontline Communities - Racial Equity Evaluation: A pilot program in Seattle to understand how these municipal agencies can better support low-income communities and communities of color during extreme heat events. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2016).
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Southeast Equity and Energy Efficiency Toolkit: A toolkit to help build capacity for the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network (SSDN) members to integrate meaningful equity considering into their implementation of municipal sustainability policies and practices. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2016).
» View toolkit
Adoption Accelerator - Standards Emerging and Scaling: Implementation examples to show how it is being done.
Housing Anti-displacement and Energy Equity Pilot in Sacramento, CA: A project to deliver energy efficiency improvements, electrification retrofits, and home repairs to low-income households in conjunction with the City of Sacramento’s anti-displacement and home rehabilitation program. (Emergent Learning Fund, 2023).
» Download
A neighbor-led greening plan centers people impacted by climate injustice in Richmond, VA: A neighborhood- greening plan to center people who are directly impacted by climate justice and seeks to repair decades of systemic disinvestment in South Richmond.
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Empty Field Into a Programmable Greenspace in Cleveland, OH: A project to transform an empty field into a programmable greenspace, nurturing connection among community members and providing educational opportunities while mitigating local flooding and stormwater issues.
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Abandoned Roadway Into a Community Greenspace with Green Infrastructure in New Haven, CT: A project to transform an abandoned roadway, in an undeserved community, into a community greenspace with green infrastructure connecting an urban community to parkland and the river. (Partners for Places, 2022).
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Aging in Place Efficiently in Ann Arbor, MI: A project to improve the quality of life and health outcomes for low-income seniors while simultaneously reducing energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions. (Partners for Places, 2022). » Download
Climate Justice Through Collaborative Design in Multnomah County, OR: A project to establish a “third space” for frontline communities and local governments to come together as equals to co-create intersectional solutions that advance climate justice. (Partners for Places, 2022).
» Download
Luchando para Salud y el Ambiente (Fighting for Health and the Environment) in Princeton, NJ: A project to improve the sustainability of suburban landscaping practices to positively impact the health of landscape workers and the environment. (Partners for Places, 2021)
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Affordable, Resilient Net-Zero Homes in Evanston, IL: A project to identify and ultimately remove barriers to achieving affordable, resilient net-zero homes in Evanston, Illinois. (Partners for Places, 2021)
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New Bedford Resilience Hub and Community Alert System Pilot Project: A project to evaluate the feasibility of creating Resilience Hubs in two New Bedford communities, identify a community-based organization to lead each, and create business plans for funding. (Partners for Places, 2021)
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Boston's Resilient Homes Initiative: A project to ensure vulnerable multifamily affordable housing, which is home to some of Boston’s most socially and economically underserved residents, is ready to withstand future climate shocks. (Partners for Places, 2021)
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Equity in Burlington’s Transportation Transformation: A project to build equity into the process of transforming Burlington’s transportation system to meet the City’s net zero emissions by 2030 goals and by extension, into the system itself. (Partners for Places, 2021)
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Climate Equity in San Diego: A project to build community voice and action among communities in Southeast San Diego in implementation of the City of San Diego's Climate Action Plan. (Partners for Places, 2021)
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Chicago's Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD) - Process, Plan and Engagement Strategy: A project to create and implement an innovative policy process, plan and engagement strategy for Chicago’s transit-oriented development ordinance, with an emphasis on equity, affordability, and connectivity between neighborhoods. (Partners for Places, 2021)
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Living Cully Community Engagement Plan: A project to implement a community energy plan in the Cully neighborhood through community-led investments that address both environmental needs as well as economic and social disparities,ensuring efforts directly benefit low-income residents. (Partners for Places, 2021)
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Community Planning Piloted in Indianapolis, IN: A project to create a comprehensive, equitable, and socially just sustainability, climate action, and resilience plan for Indianapolis, with actions initially implemented within revitalization-focused neighborhoods. (Partners for Places, 2020)
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Equity and Environment Initiative in Seattle, WA: A project to implement the Equity and Environment Agenda to ensure people of color, immigrants, and refugees, people with low incomes and limited-English proficiency lead and benefit from Seattle’s environmental progress. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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A Socially Just Employment, Energy and Climate Transition in Boulder, CO: A project to guide Boulder’s Climate Action Plan and implementation to be equitable, inclusive, socially just and sustainable and to cultivate model green economic development projects. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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Community Climate Resiliency Project in Salt Lake City, UT: A project to initiate inclusive engagement of low-income and minority Salt Lake City residents in efforts to mitigate climate change impacts, improve community resilience, and ensure social equity. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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Agriculture Park in Columbia, MO: A project to expand Columbia’s Urban Farm as a central feature of a health-focused, community agricultural, recreational, commercial, and educational facility in a low-income neighborhood. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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PlanItGreen: Solar for All Project in Oak Park, IL: A project to drive action, education and outreach on solar development and procurement in Oak Park, River Forest, and surrounding low and moderate-income (LMI) communities. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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Growing a Just and Healthy Food System in Tacoma, WA: A project to support community members' research, and provide them the tools, resources, and influential audience needed to implement resilient food system ideas and projects. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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The Save Our Sons Jobs Project: Advancing Equity and Opportunity for Knoxville’s Youth of Color: A project to align partners in Knoxville to advance opportunities for youth of color to succeed more equitably in local green and traditional economies. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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Equity in Climate Action: Resilient Communities for a Sustainable City in New Orleans, LA: A project to engage the community in making equity a priority in implementation of the City of New Orleans’ Climate Action Strategy and to help the City meet the strategy’s climate mitigation goals equitably. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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Green Infrastructure and Water Conservation for Low-Income Neighborhoods in Grand Rapids, MI: A project to develop a strategy for implementation of residential green infrastructure practices and reduction in water utility costs. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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Community Climate Action Planning Initiative in Bend, OR: A project to engage diverse stakeholders to co-create a community climate action plan (C-CAP) with innovative strategies that balance equity, efficiency and meaningful climate benefits. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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Community-Centered Sustainability Decision Making in Philadelphia, PA: A project to identify Philadelphia populations disproportionately exposed to environmental stressors, and reduce disparities through community-centered decision-making. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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Washington Neighborhood Engagement Project in Dubuque, IA: A project to carry out authentic community engagement with a group of partners by making significant efforts and investments to support resilient neighborhood development in Dubuque’s Washington Neighborhood. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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Community Engagement for Equity in Las Cruces, NM: This project recorded video narratives of community members to help decision makers and others explore the relationship between data and the qualitative stories of marginalized residents. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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Healthy Homes Neighborhood Pilot in Newark, NJ: A project to develop and implement scalable strategies for promoting healthier, more energy-efficient homes through a pilot targeting children under six exposed to lead in two target neighborhoods. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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People for Parks - Community School Parks in Los Angeles, CA: A project to open vibrant school playgrounds to the public in underserved Los Angeles; empower low-income residents through enhanced community engagement; and advance local joint-use policies. (Partners for Places, 2019).
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Infusing Equity into Climate Planning in Washington, DC: A project to infuse equity into its climate planning through the creation of a community Equity Advisory Group and team of equity and resiliency consultants. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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Incorporating Social and Racial Equity into Sustainability Planning in Providence, RI: A project to use a community-driven process to institutionalize the prioritization of racial equity at the City of Providence via the Office of Sustainability. (Partners for Places, 2018)
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Equitable Climate Action in Cleveland, OH: A project to improve outcomes in health, access to green jobs, resiliency, and engagement through equitable climate action planning and implementation. (Partners for Places, 2018)
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Lincoln, NE South of Downtown Neighborhood Sustainability Implementation: A project to implement sustainability elements of a multi-year neighborhood planning process in an area of extreme poverty and diversity. (Partners for Places, 2018)
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Chicago Green Living Program in Chicago, IL: A project to create a residential package of all of the beneficial energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste & recycling, transportation, and other “green” programs that the City offers and to connect low and moderate income residents to this package of offerings (Partners for Places, 2018).
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Junior Sustainability Stewards Program in Broward County, FL: A project to bring knowledge around climate and environmental justice topics to underrepresented youth by introducing at-risk students to STEM/environmental citizen science, experimentation, mentoring, scholarships and a career path toward environmental science or advocacy/policy making (Partners for Places, 2018).
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Social Equity Through Sustainability Planning in Baltimore: A project to ensure social equity is a key consideration and lens in updating and implementing the city of Baltimore’s sustainability plan, in addition to becoming a model that can be replicated and used across departments (Partners for Places – Equity Pilot, 2016).
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Building Equity into the Local Sustainability Plan in Providence: A project to better understand the needs of the city’s most vulnerable, address them in an updated sustainability plan and make equity a fundamental part of Providence’s Office of Sustainability’s work (Partners for Places – Equity Pilot, 2016).
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Increasing Energy Efficiency in Low-income Neighborhoods in Chattanooga: A project to expand a successful program that helps low-income neighborhoods – which use 43 percent more energy per square foot during the winter than the city’s average home – increase their energy efficiency. Residents will be encouraged to create their own locally-based solutions (Partners for Places, 2016).
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Connecting Shaded Spaces for Public Health in South Florida - Phase II: A project to provide critical shade along public transit routes in two tree-deprived neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County, FL so that the low-income residents can comfortably walk to – and wait for – the bus. This effort expands the successful Partners for Places-funded SHADE project and makes riding the bus a more viable option, by creating a humane, comfortable and safe waiting experience for the bus rider (Partners for Places, 2016).
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Farmers’ Markets Help Low-Income Residents Purchase Healthy, Local Food in Minneapolis: A project to strengthen the local food system by helping Minneapolis’ 35 farmers’ markets work together, collect metrics on their impact and conduct a joint “Minneapolis Buy Local” marketing campaign. In addition, the program will expand an innovative program at the West Broadway Farmers Market’s that incentivizes low-income residents to purchase healthy foods by having doctors give patients food prescriptions (Partners for Places, 2016).
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Carbon Reduction Efforts Benefit Low-Income Neighborhoods in Portland, OR: A project to help this city ensure that its successful efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions directly benefit low-income neighborhoods by supporting a resident-led Community Energy Plan in the Cully neighborhood. Portland has seen impressive results from its carbon-reduction efforts – in 2014 per person emissions were 40 percent below 1990 levels – and seeks to support historically underserved communities in implementing low-carbon investments and solutions (Partners for Places, 2016).
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Improving the Food-Based Economy for Latino Residents in Tucson: A project to help the mostly Latino residents of the La Doce neighborhood strengthen their food-based economy by having citizen folklorists trained in ethnographic research assess local needs. The study will look at the informal economy and what home-based food businesses exist, how they and local supermarkets are faring, and what these businesses need to thrive. As UNESCO named Tucson a City of Gastronomy last year, honoring its rich food culture, the city wants to enhance the local food economy in neighborhoods (Partners for Places, 2016).
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Open Space in Underserved Communities in Los Angeles CA: A project to provide more open space in underserved communities in Los Angeles—a city where only 33 percent of children are within walking distance of a park—by transforming nine schoolyards into parks for use during non-school hours. (Partners for Places, 2016).
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Equitable Access to Solar in Berkeley CA: A project to bridge the solar divide and ensure that all residents have access to renewable energy sources by providing solar installations for low-income communities, including multifamily affordable housing developments, and offering free hands-on solar job training. (Partners for Places, 2016).
» Download
Green Infrastructure in Low-Income Neighborhoods in Bridgeport CT: A project to engage residents in developing a plan to create more tree canopy, open spaces and stormwater solutions that will reduce flooding in a low-income area of this city. (Partners for Places, 2016).
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Complete Street Planning in Northampton MA: A project to develop a Complete Streets plan for Northampton, with an emphasis on equity and prioritization of projects based on socioeconomic status of residents and connectivity. (Partners for Places, 2015).
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Diverse Participation in Environmental Progress in Seattle WA: A project to create opportunities for all residents, especially people of color, immigrants, refugees, low-income, and those with limited-English proficiency, to fully participate in and benefit from Seattle’s environmental progress. (Partners for Places, 2015).
» Download
Food Security through Urban Ag in New Bedford MA: A project to increase food security in New Bedford and advance the Sustaining New Bedford Plan goals by promoting use of the SNAP benefits program at city farmers’ markets and enhancing engagement with community gardens. (Partners for Places, 2015).
» Download
Lower-Income Home Energy Retrofits in Blacksburg VA: An energy retrofit program in homes of lower-income older adults in Blacksburg and the New River Valley in order to extend their independence and expand adoption of energy efficiency practices. (Partners for Places, 2015).
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Neighborhood Greening in Louisville KY: A project to implement a neighborhood-scale greening plan in a socioeconomically and environmentally-deprived neighborhood; this project will assess the impact of the natural environment on human health. (Partners for Places, 2015).
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Neighborhood Resiliency in Baltimore MD: A project to increase and enhance resiliency in neighborhoods most vulnerable to the impacts of natural hazards and climate change. (Partners for Places, 2015).
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Residential Climate Change Adaptation in Cleveland OH: A project to mitigate and adapt to climate change by engaging residents in improving tree canopy, transportation mode shift, and entrepreneurship, delivering tangible outcomes for neighborhood resilience and equity. (Partners for Places, 2015).
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A Chinatown Community Engagement Program in San Francisco: An effort to engage immigrant and monolingual communities to identify strategies to sustain Chinatown's unique culture and affordability by raising the environmental performance of the neighborhood’s infrastructure and buildings. (Partners for Places, 2014).
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Equity in Climate Action in Cleveland: An equitable model that develops and funds neighborhood projects that align climate action with the assets, concerns, and priorities of Cleveland residents. (Partners for Places, 2014).
» Download
A Mobile Food Market in Low-Income Communities of Chattanooga TN: A mobile market system/pilot to deliver fresh and locally grown produce to low-income families. (Partners for Places, 2012).
» Download
Tools for Climate Equity in the Portland OR Climate Action Plan: An effort to integrate equity metrics and criteria into the Portland OR / Multnomah County Climate Action Plan. (Partners for Places, 2012).
» Download