The Guide offers resources around seven core Goals. It helps strengthen each organization’s Internal Readiness to advance equity, and to hone internal Policies and Programs, as well pathways to collaboratively advance goals related to Centering Community, Siting and Investment, Benefits-Driven Project Development, Economic Stability, and Preventing Displacement.
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The report provides an Urban Forest and Health Menu that compiles nature-based adaptation actions from peer-reviewed research. The menu includes nine adaptation strategies that are designed to be used with the Adaptation Workbook–a step-by-step process that helps users consider … Continued
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From the San Juan Bay Estuary Program (Estuario), the Community Preparedness Guide for Hurricanes is a guide (in Spanish) that suggests practical tips that can be applied in the community and in individual homes. The goal is to educate residents … Continued
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The Urban Wetlands Protection and Restoration Guide summarizes the findings of a two-year project carried out by the Association of State Wetland Managers to identify ways to enhance, protect, and restore wetlands within and surrounding urban areas to maximize economic, ecological, and social benefits for urban communities.
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The City of Seattle, in cooperation with community partners, the Duwamish Valley Action Plan: Advancing Environmental Justice & Equitable Development in Seattle. Priority areas include: Healthy Environment, Parks and Open Spaces, Community Capacity, Mobility and Transportation, Economic Opportunity and Jobs, … Continued
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The American Flood Coalition and the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management convened a roundtable series with eight community based organization in 2020 to discuss the effects of flooding on historically underserved communities. The report–Conversations with Communities: Considerations … Continued
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The Community Cans Artmaking Guide grew from projects and partnerships in the City of Philadelphia to reduce the amount of litter found in the streets and water bodies. “The Community Cans Program was founded in 2018 as a collaboration between … Continued
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This River Network Equitable Infrastructure Toolkit is a one-stop shop for community stakeholders, advocates, and leaders to: Identify the factors that affect water affordability; Become familiar with water infrastructure funding and financing mechanisms; and Understand the role and impact of … Continued
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River Network has developed new Tools for Equitable Climate Resilience with two methods for addressing climate risks: (1) Leadership Development, and (2) Community Based Participatory Research. In this toolkit – Fostering Community-Led Research and Knowledge – three methods are described … Continued
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Waste in Our Waters: A Community Toolkit for Aquatic Litter Removal is a step-by-step guide for addressing litter in your community, both before and after it reaches your local waterway. River Network created this toolkit with support from The Coca-Cola Foundation. Within, you’ll find a variety … Continued
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The Green Values Strategy Guide from the Center for Neighborhood Technology describes how community benefits are related to Green Stormwater Infrastructure, defines different green stormwater infrastructure strategies, and includes information about (1) Health Benefits, (2) Economic Benefits, (3) Climate Benefits, … Continued
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River Network is developing Tools for Equitable Climate Resilience with two methods for addressing climate risks: (1) Leadership Development, and (2) Community Based Participatory Research. In this toolkit – Fostering Community Leadership – methods for creating successful leadership programs are … Continued
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The Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience lay out an 8-point plan for ensuring equity in resilience and environmental work.
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The guidelines in this toolkit created by The CREATE Initiative partners comes out of the question: “What does it look like to envision green spaces as sites through which to build a more equitable and just world?” Sharing in the … Continued
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The handbook was created from a collaboration between Blacks in Green (BIG) and the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), making connections between BIG’s programs—the Sustainable Square Mile, Grannynomics, and Green Village Building—and NRDC’s guidelines for Leadership in Energy and Environmental … Continued
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The River Access Planning Guide is a publication resulting from a collaboration between American Whitewater, the River Management Society, the Bureau of Land Management, the US Forest Service, and the National Park Service. The guide is designed for planners, river … Continued
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How to Prepare for Natural Disasters: A Pre-Disaster Toolkit for Small- to Medium-Size Communities Prepared by US EPA Urban Waters Federal Partnership, the toolkit was developed to help small- to medium-size communities jump-start their natural disaster planning process. The toolkit is … Continued
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The report examines the importance of environmental issues–like public lands, land and water conservation, climate change, heat and drought, and wildfires–for Latino voters. Each section includes an explanation of the environmental issue and why it is important to Latino communities, … Continued
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A publication from the Partnership for Working Families and the Community Benefits Law Center, the guide explains what community benefits agreements (CBAs) are and provides: principles for effective CBAs indicators of potentially weak CBAs case studies on ineffective and harmful … Continued
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Housing is one of the most important solutions to preventing displacement and creating equitable development. As quoted within the document, “Grounded Solutions Network created this toolkit to help communities understand their housing policy options and the approach that will work … Continued
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The guide was developed by community-based organizations for community-based organizations working to develop and implement climate solutions. The information is also useful to philanthropic institutions funding climate resilience strategies as well as to government officials developing climate action plans. The … Continued
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While many municipalities are planning for climate resilience, the process isn’t necessarily inclusive of the most vulnerable communities. This guide provides direction to local governments to design more equitable planning processes. The document includes: a primer on social inequities and … Continued
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This toolkit was created to guide NAACP units through the process of establishing an Environmental and Climate Justice Committee in order to develop a climate adaptation plan. The action toolkit provides 19 modules ranging from Developing a Community Climate Action … Continued
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“This toolkit is designed to guide NAACP units and their Environmental and Climate Justice (ECJ) Committees through the process of building equity into the four phases of emergency management: prevention and mitigation, preparedness and resilience building, response and relief, and … Continued
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River Network’s Drinking Water Guide is a first step in galvanizing a national network of advocates for safe, clean, affordable, and sustainable drinking water and drinking water systems. Supported by the C.S. Mott Foundation, and guided by a Great Lakes–based Advisory Committee, … Continued
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The guide–developed by the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership based on the Turning the Corner project–is designed to support the analysis of neighborhood change by government, university, and non-profit organizations. The guide starts by highlighting the importance of data to understand … Continued
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This report counters the notion that “gentrification is inevitable” by offering an alternative approach to development, one that directly involves and benefits the community in which the development is taking place. Focusing on the history and statistics of displacement affecting … Continued
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This guide—informed by a Partners for Places 2017/2018 pilot project by the District Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), Georgetown Climate Center, and other partners—outlines a community engagement model in which government and the community collaborate as equal partners. In … Continued
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The report was created by Master of Urban and Regional Planning students at Portland State University for the Living Cully partnership, which is a collaborative effort to create environmental infrastructure investments without displacing the community. The authors state: There is … Continued
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In order to get green infrastructure integration and implementation to the scale needed to maximize its many economic, social, and environmental benefits, we will need to rethink not only how government delivers services, but how communities receive and benefit from … Continued
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This resource from the Prevention Institute addresses the question: “What can people working on “healthy community” issues—like active transportation, parks, healthy food, planning, public health, healthcare, and more—do in their own work to improve community conditions without contributing to gentrification … Continued
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The guide was prepared by members of the Oregon Health and Outdoors Initiative—the Oregon Public Health Institute and the Willamette Partnership—in collaboration with the Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange. The guide proposes green infrastructure solutions to improving prevalent health issues in … Continued
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This report compiles informative case studies, focusing on programs that have successfully incorporated artists, art, and culture into their place-based, transformative approaches. These programs aimed to address affordability issues, make connections between people and their environment, promote holistic water resource management, increase community participation, mitigate and remediate damages, integrate community needs into infrastructure, and support community activism.
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The EPA is offering the Local Foods, Local Places Toolkit to help communities interested in using local foods to support downtown and neighborhood revitalization. Developed by EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities, it provides step-by-step instructions for planning and hosting the … Continued
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To understand the causes of this disparity, the Building Movement Project conducted the Nonprofits, Leadership, and Race survey with over 4,000 respondents. The study found few differences between white and people of color (POC) respondents in their aspirations or preparation for leadership roles—in fact people of color are more likely to be interested in becoming a nonprofit leader than whites. Survey respondents identified Boards of Directors and executive recruiters as key barriers to the hiring of more people of color executive directors/CEOs.
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This U.S. Water Alliance publication summarizes the overarching and regional challenges that demonstrate the need for more equitable approaches, then outlines the “three pillars of equity” based on USWA’s original research, as well as data from PolicyLink. The report goes … Continued
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“The idea of an integrated systems approach to water is not new. Its full-scale implementation, however, has yet to be realized. There are many signs that water management in the US is entering another great era of change and innovation. … Continued
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This guide is a kind of “Green Infrastructure 101”. It summarizes the benefits of green infrastructure (GI), including economic, educational, and health benefits. It explains how GI can be less expensive and less difficult to maintain than gray infrastructure — … Continued
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This study of the highly urbanized Ellerbe Creek Watershed in Durham, North Carolina, provides an analysis of how stormwater control measures, best management practices, and implementation of green infrastructure can improve hydrology, increase ecosystem services, and reduce the negative impacts of urbanization … Continued
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This resource, developed by the Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange, summarizes key funding, financing and implementation frameworks for green stormwater infrastructure. This summary was created by participants of the Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange “Deep Dive” held on green stormwater infrastructure funding … Continued
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Executive Summary: “In an era rocked by climate change and other large-scale disruptions, our cities must be resilient in order to survive and thrive. But what does that mean, exactly? What is known about urban resilience, and what remains to … Continued
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The UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation presents Creating a Complete Los Angeles River Greenway: Stories and Guidance (Guide) to recognize the achievements of those who have successfully developed portions of the Los Angeles River (LA River) greenway while providing advice … Continued
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As different parts of the country become drier, wetter or hotter, community leaders and citizens are looking to green infrastructure to improve their community’s resiliency to the effects of climate change. In 2015, EPA convened charrettes, or intensive planning sessions, in … Continued
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This guide outlines a simple and logical methodology to promote street-based stormwater management that can address the complementary municipal goals of improving water quality and restoring natural hydrology. This methodology is guided by larger cities’ analysis of and commitment to green street strategies. Cities … Continued
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This wonderful guide, developed by the Chemung Soil and Water Conservation District in Horseheads, NY, has detailed, yet extremely understandable language and graphics (as well as humor) for people to be able to really understand our love-hate relationship with streams–especially … Continued
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Developed by Prescott Creeks in Prescott, Arizona, this guide offers practical tips on creek-friendly practices that will help keep our creeks, lakes, and community healthy––starting at your home or business. The stewardship guide is a water quality primer for residents … Continued
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This document from EFC EPA, published in 2014, was inspired by and written for local government leaders. Though effectively managing urban stormwater runoff requires leadership and bold decision making at all levels of government, it is at the local level … Continued
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Funded by EPA’s Urban Waters Small Grants, this guide was developed by the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments and Merrimack River Watershed Council, documenting the work they were doing directly with the environmental justice community to develop an effective program … Continued
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These posters were part of a program funded by EPA’s Urban Waters Small Grants. The Northern Middlesex Council of Governments and Merrimack River Watershed Council created these posters in the language of area residents–working with the community to idenify the … Continued
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The purpose of this document is to layout the framework for other organizations to start similar volunteer based water quality monitoring programs. Though the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper program is specifically geared towards monitoring freshwater and uses E. coli as an indicator … Continued
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UCLA and LA Waterkeeper were selected by EPA under the Urban Waters Small Grants Program to work with Jefferson High School in south Los Angeles to conduct a neighborhood-scale assessment of industrial sources of pollutants to Compton Creek. Working first … Continued
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This Trust for Public Land study shines a light on the successes and challenges of water-smart public parks, providing case studies of cities across the country. The document looks at both the technologies and the political agreements necessary for using … Continued
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A quality assurance project plan (QAPP) states the objectives and procedures to be followed for a project that uses or collects environmental information. This WORD document was provided by EPA Region 2 for organizations to provide guidance in developing their … Continued
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This issue of River Network’s quarterly newsletter describes how various river and water-focused organizations around the country are working to diversify their organizations and become more inclusive in their work. Download this resource
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Handbook developed for all Cleanup Organizers with tips to help host successful cleanup events.
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A guide to help communities better manage stormwater while achieving other environmental, public health, social, and economic benefits. Download this resource
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The book focuses on environmental education programs that contribute to human well-being and environmental integrity in cities.
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Homeowners guide to managing water on residential property. Step-by-step “recipes” to use on properties to reduce water pollution and small-scale flooding. Download this resource
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A guide of federal agencies and organizations with connections to brownfileds. Lists Programs that provide technical or financial assistance relevant to brownfield. Download this resource
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Keep It Clean – Neighborhood Environmental Trios (KIC-NET) is an educator’s guide to show the relation between water quality and land use with quality of life and environmental health to students.
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