Evaluating the Job-Creation and Community Social and Economic Benefits of Urban Forestry and Related Green Infrastructure (15-DG-11132544-034)

An analysis of the job creation and social and economic benefits of community-scale investments in urban forestry and related green infrastructure

Ecotrust, Verde, and PolicyLink propose an analysis of the job creation and social and economic benefits of community-scale investments in urban forestry and related green infrastructure. We will produce rigorous evidence of the impacts of these investments, particularly on low-income underserved communities; identify emerging green infrastructure markets; and detail a replicable model of community-based social enterprises that connects low-income people and people of color to the benefits of these investments. Our approach will combine a landscape analysis of projects across the U.S. with a more detailed analysis of case studies of urban forestry and related green infrastructure that bring environmental assets to low-income underserved neighborhoods, engage in local workforce training, and create contracting opportunities for minority-owned and women-owned businesses. Case studies will be based on Verde’s direct experience with
triple-bottom line social enterprises connecting green investment with communities of color and PolicyLink’s experience with, and access to, data on green infrastructure projects nationally. This data will allow us to test whether a strategy that combines greening infrastructure and targeting it to underserved communities of color with opportunities to train workers of color on new green technologies, can deliver triple bottom-line benefits that can be much more broadly realized.

Final Report Download

Click here to download the grant proposal narrative as a PDF.