Framework for participatory evaluation of greenery screens in environmental justice communities

A growing strategy to mitigate environmental harms is the implementation of green infrastructure in high-pollution zones, such as greenery screens, vegetation barriers, and living walls. This study synthesizes the outcomes of existing projects and proposes an evaluation framework that centers community participation. Greenery screens and sound walls are intended to mitigate noise and air pollution, which can reduce health disparities and improve quality of life in surrounding communities. Additional co-benefits may be observed when considering the role of this infrastructure during extreme weather events, such as flooding, extreme heat, and poor air quality from wildfires. Within the sustainability framework known as the triple bottom line, some studies have begun to examine the environmental, social, and financial benefits of green infrastructure, but initial findings on the effectiveness of greenery screens remain inconclusive. Expanding this framework to include the principles of equitable evaluation, methodological advancements are needed to account not only for distributional equity, but structural and procedural equity, as well. For example, integrating the cumulative impact assessments required by the National Environmental Policy Act into the infrastructure evaluation process could be one means of addressing structural equity, and practicing living labs where community members collect and interpret data from sensors tracking environmental determinants of health could be a technique to incorporate procedural equity into the evaluation process. The proposed systematic literature review will result in actionable strategies for working in collaboration with low-income communities of color who have been disproportionally harmed by freeway infrastructure to advance environmental justice. Findings from this study will provide recommendations to policymakers and analysts committed to advancing distributional, structural, and procedural equity.

• Record URL:
  https://metrans.org/research/framework-for-participatory-evaluation-of-greenery-screens-in-environmental-justice-communities

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Programmed
• Funding: $39964
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552348309

  65A0674

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  METRANS Transportation Consortium

  University of Southern California
  Los Angeles, CA  United States 
• Project Managers:

  Hong, Jennifer

  Bruner, Britain

• Principal Investigators:

  Borowski, Elisa

• Start Date: 20250101
• Expected Completion Date: 20260630
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Communities; Environmental justice; Equity; Low income groups; Noise barriers; Quality of life; Sustainable development; Urban design; Vegetation
• Subject Areas: Design; Environment; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01928222
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation Center
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552348309, 65A0674
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Aug 22 2024 4:05PM