People, Parks, and Power Spring 2023 Newsletter

Welcome to the second edition of the People, Parks, and Power newsletter on park and green space equity. We’ll be sending these emails every few months with news, events, and opportunities to connect with a growing national network. Check out past issues and P3 [at] PreventionInstitute.org (drop us a note) to let us know what you’d like to see featured!

🌱 What is People, Parks, and Power (P3)?
P3—a joint effort of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, led and managed by Prevention Institute—is the first national funding initiative in the U.S. to support power building by community-based organizations to advance park and green space equity in Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities across the country.

🌱 P3 Local Partner Spotlights
In each issue, we feature the work of some of our P3 local partners. Next up, meet The Conscious Connect Community Development Corporation, Make the Road Nevada, and Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles.

The Conscious Connect Community Development Corporation is a Black-led organization that reimagines and redevelops underutilized public spaces in Springfield, Ohio for health, education, peace, and culture. The Conscious Connect leads a coalition of local Black-led groups working to revitalize the city’s south side, including efforts to improve green space, food accessibility, housing, and business. In addition to transforming abandoned lots into vibrant pocket parks, they’re organizing Black, Brown, and low-income residents to advocate for city policies that remove barriers to creating parks and activating vacant spaces. Read about their work in the Springfield News-Sun and their newsletter, and follow them on Twitter and Instagram.

Make the Road Nevada is a member-led organization that builds power with Latinx and working-class immigrant communities. Having traditionally focused on immigration issues and workers’ rights, they came to environmental justice through their work to legalize street vending. Most Make the Road Nevada’s members live and work on Las Vegas’ East and North sides—neighborhoods that disproportionately lack green space, and where the urban heat island effect is extreme. They are organizing residents to advocate for policies that increase green space and tree canopy, combat extreme heat, and center historically underrepresented communities in local public infrastructure and development decisions. Follow their work and learn more on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok.

Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles is organizing South LA’s predominantly Black and Latinx communities to assess the environmental and health burdens associated with contaminated lands. Building on years of groundwork, PSR-LA and partners are advocating for policy and regulatory agency changes to institutionalize community-centered correction of brownfields into healthy green spaces in frontline communities. PSR-LA recently hosted a webinar, Brownfields 101: Transforming Contaminated Soil into Healthy Spaces, to build the capacity and knowledge of residents and health professionals. Follow PSR-LA on Instagram and Twitter to learn more about their work.

🌱News, Research, & Resources

• Living in a community with greater access to parks, greenery, and tree canopy is associated with longer life expectancy, lower mortality, and lower rates of hospitalization for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and related dementias. Several new studies affirm the health benefits of urban green spaces—even when controlling for factors like race, income, age, and education—underscoring the need for more equitable urban greening efforts.
• The Biden-Harris administration announced a commitment to advance racial equity through the federal government. The executive order directs all key agencies and departments to establish new Agency Equity Teams to ensure that federal policies, programs, and activities benefit all communities, especially those that have been historically marginalized. The order also calls for increased engagement and coordination with impacted communities. Read more about this historic federal effort from our partners at PolicyLink.
• Systemic inequities in access to parks and recreation were created over time. An interactive story map from the National Recreation and Parks Association examines U.S. history, the evolution of parks and recreation and urban planning, and inequities in access to parks and recreation from the 1600s to the present day.
• The America the Beautiful for All Coalition launched its 2023 policy agenda. The coalition represents nearly 150 organizations that are calling for equitably distributed funding and community-led policies and projects to achieve the Biden Administration’s “30x30” conservation goals—conserving 30% of U.S. land, waters, and ocean by the year 2030.
• Anti-racism in the Outdoors is a curated list of resources related to justice, equity, and inclusion of BIPOC communities in parks, green spaces, and the outdoors. It includes articles and books, podcasts, training materials, a list of organizations leading this work, and more. Resources are designed for educators, students, advocates, and community leaders alike.

🌱Events & Training

• Power Shift’s 2023 Convergence will be a space to build relationships, attend workshops and panels, and have conversations around radical multi-issue work because all justice organizing is climate justice organizing. (April 6-8, 2023 in New Orleans, LA)
• Social Movement Technologies offers free and low-cost training courses on digital organizing to build people power for justice in the digital age.

🌱Funding & Fellowship Opportunities

• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize celebrates communities across the U.S. that are addressing structural racism and other structural injustices in order to create conditions that advance health equity. Ten grants of $250,000 will be awarded. Apply by March March 29, 2023.
• Justice Outside’s Liberated Paths program supports BIPOC-led organizations working at the intersection of the environment and racial justice. It will soon expand to fund groups in North and South Carolina, and applications for grants will open on April 3, 2023.
• Emergent Fund’s Rapid Response Grants fund BIPOC-led organizing groups. Trust-based, no strings attached grants help communities respond to time-sensitive, rapidly changing conditions. Grants are between $10,000-$30,000. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
• Justice Outside’s Rising Leaders Fellowship supports the career development of people in entry- to mid-level positions within the outdoor, environmental, and environmental justice sectors, with an emphasis on BIPOC individuals and allies working towards social justice and racial equity in the outdoors. Apply by March 15, 2023.

Wishing you a healthy and abundant springtime. As always, thank you for reading and contributing resources!

The People, Parks, and Power (P3) team
Prevention Institute
P3 [at] PreventionInstitute.org (P3[at]PreventionInstitute[dot]org)