Planting Money. Exploring the Implications of Federal & State Environmental Justice Policy in Relation to Funding for Green Space Projects in Baltimore Neighborhoods.

Abstract

Cities promote investing in green spaces as a step toward justice in neighborhoods that have lacked places like parks, gardens, and other vegetated spaces that can be a benefit to people who live nearby. Creating more vegetated spaces in cities has also been promoted as an action to reduce the impact of climate change and extreme weather events on city residents now and into the future. However, residents may see these projects as addressing surface-level eyesores and not investments in addressing deeper challenges in their neighborhood. This is because what may appear to an outsider as an eyesore can be connected to long-term, systemic disinvestment in neighborhoods based on racist policies. In Baltimore, where many neighborhoods are identified by recent environmental justice policy to be eligible for funding from a wide variety of federal programs related to climate change issues, I investigate how these policies can be accessed by resident groups to advocate for community-led development interests alongside green space investment in their neighborhoods. This research is guided by three themes: green space, funding, and environmental justice. Methods included participant observation fieldwork and informal interviews alongside document and screening tool analysis. Research outcomes include recommendations to align investments to both increase green space while also addressing other neighborhood challenges as one way to change perceptions of urban greening initiatives from surface-level investment to environmental justice action.