Urban hydrology and the green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) that supports a healthy watershed are too often invisible or inaccessible to the general public. GSI, which offers a multitude of stormwater, health, social and ecological benefits, has received less implementation funding in underserved communities relative to other areas of higher socio-economic status. Yet, when GSI is constructed in underserved areas, it has the potential to contribute to gentrification in those neighborhoods. To implement GSI in underserved communities in a way that serves the local residents and does not exacerbate gentrification, the process of this implementation must be inclusive, engaging and culturally relevant. In the communities of East Oakland and Richmond, this work seeks to deepen understanding of the urban watershed, build community insight into GSI design, provide employment opportunities to build and revitalize existing GSI, and illuminate the flow of water through our communities to enhance both community and watershed health.

 

Green Stormwater Infrastructure by and for Communities brings together environmental justice-focused community-based organizations with deep relationships to the Richmond and East Oakland communities, the most advanced environmental and social justice engineering research from UCB’s Liberatory Infrastructures Lab, SFEP’s broad community support and engagement capacity, and SFEI’s strengths in the areas of water quality, resilience in urban nature, and dynamic mapping and modeling to develop and implement a new, collaborative model for GSI planning. The intended outcomes of this work are power-building in historically underserved communities, and the creation of community-led sustainable GSI with demonstrable water quality benefits, both of which will continue to yield many co-benefits for years to come.

 

This work is supported by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency San Francisco Water Quality Improvement Fund.