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Collaborative Partnerships Tackle Local Environmental Justice Issues

A new report from the International City/County Management Association finds that collaborative partnerships offer one potential solution to the challenges of environmental justice at the local level.

Despite rising to national attention nearly 20 years ago, environmental justice- the exposure of people of color and low-income individuals to environmental hazards and public health risks at greater rates than the general population-remains a troubling problem for many U.S. communities. A new report from the International City/County Management Association finds that collaborative partnerships offer one potential solution to the challenges of environmental justice at the local level.

In "Not Business As Usual: Using Collaborative Partnerships to Address Environmental Justice Issues," ICMA researchers Cory Fleming and Katrena Hanks present 12 major findings to guide community leaders as they consider forming an environmental justice collaborative partnership. From using a discussion of the challenges of environmental justice as a way of unifying a community to involving the local government to ensure a partnership's long-term sustainability, the report provides clear examples of what and how environmental justice collaborative partnerships can do to foster change within a community.

"Not Business As Usual" is based on case-study research conducted among the following four U.S. communities and their program partners:
  • Anniston, Ala., and the Vision 2020 Children's Health Environmental Justice Partnership

  • San Diego, Calif., and the Barrio Logan Environmental Justice Partnership

  • Spartanburg, S.C., and the ReGenesis Environmental Justice Partnership

  • Washington, D.C., and the Bridges to Friendship Environmental Justice Partnership
Harold Mitchell, executive director of the ReGenesis Development Organization and a leader in the ReGenesis Environmental Justice Partnership, points out that collaborative partnerships create change. According to Mitchell, "Change is something that people are afraid of, but it also can provide an opportunity to take advantage of something good."

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