The Just Communities Blog
News and Updates from Our Team
EJScreen
EJScreen is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) environmental justice screening and mapping tool. It combines environmental and socioeconomic indicators to identify communities that may be experiencing higher environmental burdens and vulnerable populations.
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool
The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, developed by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), is a geospatial mapping tool that identifies communities facing significant burdens across eight categories: climate change, energy, health, housing, legacy pollution, transportation, water and wastewater, and workforce development. It helps policymakers and communities target resources and interventions to these disadvantaged areas.**This link will take you to a preserved version of the original CEQ website. The official CEQ site was removed by the White House and is no longer accessible through its original source. This version is provided for archival and informational purposes only and does not reflect any current updates or positions from the White House or the Council on Environmental Quality.
WalkScore
Walk Score is an online tool that provides a numerical score to locations based on their walkability. It evaluates the proximity of amenities such as grocery stores, restaurants, schools, parks, and public transit, helping users find walkable neighborhoods and make informed decisions about where to live or work.
ParkScore
The ParkScore® index by the Trust for Public Land (TPL) ranks the park systems of the 100 most populous U.S. cities based on five key categories: equity, access, investment, amenities, and acreage. This tool helps communities understand how well their parks serve residents and identifies areas needing improvement.
Breathe Easy Millvale Air Quality Planning
This Air Quality Planning guide is an example of a high-quality indicator report from an EcoDistricts Project. The Breathe Easy project recommends future actions and projects to catalyze change at the individual scale, in the borough, and in the region. This initiative, supported by the Heinz Endowments, is a result of Millvale's EcoDistrict Pivot 2.0 Plan led by evolveEA.
Equity in Sustainability: An Equity Scan of Local Governments Sustainability Programs
This guide from the Urban Sustainability Directors Network is an important read that highlights the interdependence between socioeconomic and racial equity and sustainability. It highlights 10 “Good Practices” for community leaders to help integrate equity into sustainability efforts, and highlights cases from around the country using the “Good Practices.”
Community Energy: Planning, Development, and Delivery
District Energy is the local production and distribution of thermal energy used for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. This guide is an important read for municipal officials, planners, and neighborhood champions interested in building a district energy system in their community.
Neighborhood Climate Action Planning Handbook
Developed by Portland State University, this handbook details climate action strategies to help neighborhoods reduce carbon footprint and fossil fuel dependency. While primarily focused on planning for Southeast Portland, this tool is certainly applicable to any neighborhood planner or advocate that is looking to bring the community together to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change.
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