Environmental Justice (EJ) is a broad issue that touches upon various aspects of land use planning. A key concept in EJ is transparency and community engagement in the process. In order to create implementable and effective planning tools, the Green Zones Program employs a data-driven approach and robust stakeholder outreach strategy. It consists of the following components:

Land Use Policy

EJ issues are inherently related to land use incompatibility and regulations. Toxic pollutants emitted near residential neighborhoods or schools pose serious threats on public health as well as the environment. The Green Zones Program includes land use policies and zoning regulations to help improve such conditions in neighborhoods.

Community Engagement

The Green Zones Program was developed through a rigorous community engagement process that raises awareness of environmental justice, identifies community needs, and encourages meaningful participation and transparency. Groundtruthing activities in Green Zones Program pilot communities, in partnership with community-based organizations and residents, helped document environmental hazards block-by-block and inform the Program’s land use policies and toxic hotspots map.

Environmental Justice Screening Method

The Green Zones Program’s environmental justice screening method (EJSM) was used to identify stationary sources of pollution and analyze cumulative environmental impacts, based on experts’ recommendations and the information gathered from groundtruthing activities. This tool serves as a public resource and provides a foundation for environmental justice policies.

Prevention and Mitigation

Prevention and mitigation strategies are essential to environmental justice. The Green Zones Program seeks to improve coordination among various regulatory agencies and to support businesses to become better neighbors, helping to mitigate current and prevent future environmental impacts.