Sustainability and Justice Model
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Sustainability and Justice Model -
Key Terms
Sustainability
We define sustainability as the deliberate planning and management of our natural and built environments, ensuring they work in harmony to sustain life on Earth for the long term. This includes actions like planting trees at a faster rate than they are cut down to enhance carbon sequestration and oxygen production, transitioning to renewable energy for all types of buildings to address climate change, and implementing comprehensive composting programs to divert billions of pounds of food waste from landfills. Sustainability is about conserving, preserving, building, and redeveloping with longevity and ecological balance at the forefront.
Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice acknowledges that marginalized and oppressed communities, particularly people of color and those residing in the Global South (including Africa, South America, South Asia, and Indigenous Australia), are disproportionately affected by the severe impacts of anthropogenic climate change, pollution, and ecological degradation. These impacts manifest in various forms, such as deforestation, flooding, wildfires, tsunamis, monsoons, hurricanes, earthquakes, and poor access to clean air, water, soil, food, energy, and shelter. These communities bear the brunt of systemic divestment and are often located closer to polluting facilities and activities.
In contrast, those in developed countries—primarily White and middle- to upper-class individuals—who contribute the most to climate change and industrialization face significantly fewer challenges related to a changing climate and the industrialized world.
Environmental justice movements strive to cultivate equity by ensuring those responsible for contributing to climate change and ecological degradation are held accountable and pay for solutions that mitigate and adapt to these issues. By empowering affected communities with the capital necessary to invest in climate resilience measures and sustainable development, we address their immediate challenges and provide them with the political, legal, and economic power to prevent such injustices from occurring again.
Sustainable Communtiy Development
Sustainable community development is a holistic approach to ensuring that respective communities meet their needs in a way that allows future generations to do the same. It fuses building, agricultural, energy, forestry, transportation, ecological, and economic practices that are mindful of what resources they consume, how much they consume, and the ratio in which those resources are replenished.
Development on any level requires highly skilled and knowledgeable professionals to go from ideation to completed projects. Equitable and fair sustainable community development should involve community leaders and residents through all project steps to ensure success. Those professionals in tangent with local, state, and federal governments have been
Just Transition
A Just Transition is a vision-driven, community-centered approach that aims to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative one that is ecologically sustainable, equitable, and just for all. It prioritizes the value of every contribution and strives to create an inclusive economy where resources and local ecosystems are respected and treated as sacred. Instead of merely taking from the earth, Just Transition advocates for a system of regeneration—where we sustain, renew, and ensure that every resource contributes to a cycle of continuous growth and ecological balance.
Types of Land Ownership That Allow For Sustainable Communtiy Development
Community Land Trust
A Community Land Trust (CLT) is a nonprofit organization that acquires and holds land on behalf of a community, ensuring that it is used for the public good. CLTs protect land from speculative development and maintain it as a community asset, often for affordable housing, community gardens, or other public uses. By removing land from the speculative market, CLTs help ensure that the community benefits from the land in the long term, preventing displacement and fostering community stability. Engaging with a CLT can effectively secure land for sustainable community projects, as the trust prioritizes equitable access and community control over land use.
We are planning the development of the East Side Land Banking Trust to ensure community spaces like CS53 Communtiy Garden remain and that systemic disinvestment in Black Buffalo residents and businesses do not continue to improvish and displace them.
Land Bank
A Land Bank is a public or nonprofit organization created to acquire, manage, and repurpose vacant, abandoned, or tax-delinquent properties. These properties, which often contribute to urban blight, can be transformed into community assets through strategic redevelopment. Land banks work to return these properties to productive use, aligning with community goals for sustainable development. By partnering with a land bank, community organizations can gain access to land that might otherwise remain underutilized, allowing for the creation of green spaces, affordable housing, or other community-driven projects.
Municipality Owned
Conservation Easement
Municipality-owned land with a conservation easement is protected from certain types of development to preserve its environmental and cultural value. Conservation easements are legal agreements that limit land use to maintain its conservation value, often protecting open spaces, wildlife habitats, or historical sites. While development is restricted, these lands can be utilized for community projects aligning with conservation goals, such as creating gardens, educational nature trails, or other public green spaces. Engaging with municipal authorities and demonstrating how a project aligns with conservation goals can open doors to using these lands for the community's benefit.
Unbuilt/Vacant and Neglected
Unbuilt, vacant, and neglected lands are often underutilized spaces in a community but represent opportunities for transformation. These parcels, which may have been overlooked or abandoned, can be revitalized through community-led initiatives. By organizing residents and collaborating with stakeholders, these spaces can be converted into thriving community assets such as gardens, parks, or cultural spaces. Addressing the neglect and activating these spaces improves the physical environment and fosters a sense of pride and ownership within the community. Engaging local government and organizations in these efforts can help secure funding and support for turning these neglected areas into vibrant, sustainable community spaces.
Privately Owned
Even if a plot of land is privately owned, there may still be opportunities to engage the owner in discussions about renting the parcel or entering a rent-to-buy agreement. Only some owners have a land option agreement or are actively developing their property. In such cases, it may be beneficial to draft a comprehensive plan for sustainable community development in collaboration with residents, potentially backed by a local elected official. This plan, shaped by community meetings and input, can serve as a compelling proposal when approaching the landowner, showing how the project aligns with broader community needs and sustainable practices.
Key Types of Sustainable Development Projects and Resources
Food
Soil
Community Solar and Small Wind Systems
Community-owned solar and wind systems are a powerful way for residents to take control of their energy future. By generating renewable energy locally, communities reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and lower their energy costs. These systems not only provide clean, affordable energy but also create opportunities for local employment and skill development in green energy sectors. Community members can be trained to install, maintain, and operate these systems, ensuring long-term sustainability. By integrating solar panels and small wind turbines into the community's infrastructure, we also mitigate the impacts of climate change and promote energy resilience in the face of power outages or extreme weather events.
Affordable, Weatherized Housing Made from Local Resources
Affordable, sustainable housing is crucial for building resilient communities. By using local, renewable materials, we can reduce both the environmental and financial costs of construction, making housing more accessible to low-income residents. Weatherized housing ensures that homes are energy-efficient and capable of withstanding climate extremes, reducing utility costs and increasing comfort for residents. This is especially important in regions vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, where marginalized communities often bear the brunt of environmental impacts. These housing solutions prioritize the use of local labor and materials, contributing to the local economy and promoting sustainable building practices that align with the ecological needs of the community.
Energy
Community Gardens
Community gardens are dynamic spaces where residents can come together to grow their own food and medicine, share horticultural knowledge and recipes, host events, and foster a sense of community. These gardens play a crucial role in neighborhoods facing food insecurity, where many residents rely on food assistance and have limited access to fresh, nutritious foods. For communities where traveling to supermarkets, grocery stores, or farmer’s markets is a challenge, community gardens offer a vital source of sustenance and connection.
To thrive, these green spaces require dedicated gardeners and stewards who consistently engage and maintain the garden, ensuring it remains accessible to all, either for free or on a sliding scale basis. Community gardens must be abundant in resources that reflect the specific needs of their local communities, culturally tailored to the residents, and committed to organic practices. This means avoiding the use of harmful chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, calcium chloride, or 1-MCP, all of which can negatively impact local health outcomes.
Community gardens mustn't replicate the oppressive systems of industrial agriculture, which often serve the interests of wealthy corporations at the expense of marginalized communities. Instead, these spaces should champion food sovereignty and justice, empowering residents to decide how food they eat, how it’s grown, and how land is utilized and developed in their neighborhoods. By activating these gardens as empowerment hubs, we can ensure they serve as more than just places to grow food—they become centers of community resilience and self-determination.
Farmer’s Markets
Farmer’s markets are vital hubs for local, fresh, and often organic produce, directly connecting farmers to the communities they serve. They provide an accessible, community-centered alternative to grocery stores, helping to reduce the food deserts often found in marginalized neighborhoods.
These markets allow residents to have a voice in how their food is grown and distributed, supporting local farmers who prioritize sustainable and culturally relevant agricultural practices. This direct relationship between farmers and the community helps foster trust, transparency, and a stronger local economy.
By promoting food sovereignty and access to affordable, nutritious food, farmer’s markets empower communities to make healthier choices while supporting environmentally responsible farming methods.
Transit and Mobility
Rainwater Catchment
For many marginalized communities, access to clean water is often a challenge, exacerbated by aging infrastructure and environmental inequities. Implementing rainwater catchment systems can help these communities build resilience by providing an alternative, sustainable water source that can be used for gardening, irrigation, and even filtering for drinking water. These systems reduce reliance on overburdened municipal sources and empower communities to steward their water resources sustainably.
Communal Water Desalinization System
In coastal or drought-prone regions, access to fresh water is increasingly scarce. Community desalination systems provide a sustainable way to convert seawater into potable water, offering a lifeline to communities struggling with water insecurity. These systems can be managed collectively, ensuring fair and equitable access to clean water. By investing in community-owned desalination infrastructure, we reduce dependency on large, profit-driven water companies. These systems can be solar-powered or wind-powered, integrating renewable energy sources and further supporting community sustainability goals.
Housing
Public Transit and Mobility Hub
Public Transit and Mobility Hubs serve as vital connectors, integrating neighborhoods through accessible, low-emission transit options that enhance community cohesion and environmental responsibility. Designed to reflect local needs, these hubs support seamless mobility, enabling residents to access essential services and fostering sustainable urban growth. Imagine accessible train stations with connected bus lines, parks, and rides, pedestrian crossings, bike racks, and designated bike lanes running along the street.
Walkable and Bikeable Mixed-Use Corridors
Walkable, bike-friendly mixed-use corridors are key to fostering sustainable, lively communities. By integrating residential, retail, and green spaces, these corridors create inviting, accessible pathways that boost local economies and improve environmental quality. This approach supports neighborhoods where people connect organically, businesses thrive, and green spaces contribute to a vibrant, inclusive atmosphere.
Water
Air Monitoring and Sequestration
Clean air is fundamental to the health and well-being of communities, yet many marginalized communities suffer from poor air quality due to nearby industrial activity, highways, and other sources of pollution. Air monitoring is a critical tool for tracking air quality and advocating for environmental justice. By installing air monitors in community spaces, residents can gather data on pollutants and particulate matter, creating transparency around local environmental hazards. This data empowers communities to advocate for cleaner air through policy changes and legal action. In addition to advocacy, air monitoring can inform local actions, such as planting more trees or installing green roofs to absorb pollutants and improve air quality over time.
Full Tree Canopies
Full tree canopies enhance urban resilience, offering cooling shade, cleaner air, and improved neighborhood aesthetics. By prioritizing mature tree cover, these green corridors provide habitat for wildlife, reduce energy costs, and create healthier, more inviting public spaces. This approach fosters a natural urban environment where community well-being and ecological balance go hand in hand.
Soil Testing and Remediation
Contaminated soil is a common issue in urban areas, particularly in marginalized communities that have suffered from industrial pollution and neglect. Soil remediation is the process of cleaning and revitalizing soil, making it safe for agriculture and green spaces. Community-led soil remediation projects empower residents to take control of their environment, turning toxic areas into safe, productive land. Techniques such as phytoremediation—using plants to absorb harmful toxins—can restore soil health without the use of harmful chemicals. By reclaiming and restoring urban land, communities not only improve their local environment but also create opportunities for urban gardening, affordable housing, and green infrastructure development.
