Equity impacts
EJ communities are less likely to be aware of and benefit from circular, low-carbon, safe and healthy construction processes. Targeted outreach and education are needed to highlight how these processes can decrease waste, support lower housing costs, and incentivize the local workforce. Intentional outreach that prioritizes inclusion of and focus on EJ communities will be important to ensure the equitable distribution of benefits like community resilience, adaptation, recovery, and nontoxic materials.
Recommendations
- An explicit focus on EJ communities would ensure they benefit from these opportunities.
- Ensure that work is done to provide opportunities for EJ communities to benefit from trainings and education, through targeting MBEs and ensuring language used prioritizes EJ communities and leverages tools to incentivize local hire programs.
- Prioritize strategies and programs to target EJ communities and ensure they benefit first and foremost from strategy implementation.
- Co-create guidelines for tenant improvements with tenants (or tenant serving nonprofits/CBOs) to ensure communities have a greater say in the process.
- Programs and guidelines could be developed with the collaboration of EJ communities and CBOs to best incorporate the needs of those who could most benefit from healthier housing.
Suggested edit to the draft
Suggest modifying the strategy as follows: "Implement circular, low carbon, safe and healthy construction processes and materials across the building and infrasturcture sectors and prioritize EJ communities and MBEs."
Adopted in the final plan. Final Strategy CE-1 reads "…that center environmental justice communities and minority business enterprises"; CE-1-7 co-creates tenant-improvement guidelines with CBOs.