The Pillars

Just Communities starts with an unwavering commitment to racial equity in every phase of neighborhood-scale community development. The legacy and impact of structural and spatial racism and environmental injustice in land use policy and development – in the form of segregation, disinvestment, and displacement – has led to trapping millions of Black and historically disinvested communities of color in generational poverty (while others sustain wealth and privilege). The Protocol integrates practical asset-based actions, strategies, and metrics to ensure racial equity is considered in all phases of organizing, planning, and implementation.

Racial equity is when people of all races have fair access to opportunities and resources, and race no longer determines someone’s life outcomes. It recognizes that Black and historically disinvested communities of color require specific types of support to achieve fair results because of historical disadvantages and existing barriers. Racial equity work typically involves:

• Identifying and addressing systemic barriers and disparities
• Creating policies and practices that distribute resources according to need
• Ensuring meaningful participation and voice for historically marginalized communities
• Transforming institutions and systems that perpetuate racial disparities

Racial equity acknowledges that racism operates at various levels—individual, institutional, spatial, and structural—and that achieving equity requires interventions at all these levels rather than simply addressing individual prejudices.

The climate crisis is here, and our cities and communities are now frequently experiencing the impacts of a warming planet. Over 85% of the world’s population has experienced a climate-related disruption, and every year, the number of climate-related events grows more frequent and devastating. The Protocol integrates a set of actionable steps and strategies in all phases of organizing, planning, and implementation to assess and combat climate change, especially in the most disinvested and at-risk neighborhoods, which are disproportionately impacted by extreme heat events, floods, fires, droughts, disease, and storms.

Climate resilience refers to a community’s capacity to prepare for, withstand, recover from, and adapt to climate-related events and disruptions while also strengthening the long term health and well-being of its residents. The Protocol focuses on two key climate resilience priorities:

• Reducing Stresses:  Slow-developing, chronic conditions that gradually undermine community stability. Examples included sea level rise, drought, changing precipitation patterns, gradual temperature increases, persistent economic, food, and housing insecurity. These challenges require long-term planning and systematic adaptation strategies, and often create “background conditions” that make shocks more damaging when they occur.
• Mitigating & Managing Shocks: Typically sudden, isolated events or disturbances that threaten a neighborhood and core functions. Examples include hurricanes, floods, wildfires, heat waves, severe storms, ad energy and water infrastructure failure.  These are characterized by their intensity, relatively short duration, and potential for immediate damage, and typically require emergency response and rapid mobilization of resources.

While climate-related shocks may be more visible and dramatic, the underlying stresses often determine how severely a shock impacts a community and how quickly it can recover. Building resilience therefore involves both immediate preparedness for acute events and long-term adaptation to changing baseline conditions.