Climate Justice Action Plan

Developing the Plan

The Climate Justice Action Plan was co-created with our neighbors most impacted by the climate and intersecting crises.

Facilitated by One Square World, we partnered with Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), a leading environmental justice organization in Roxbury, to establish a Steering Committee charged with ensuring that the process aligns with the priorities and needs of local frontline communities.

Steering committee members

CO-CREATION PROCESS

Building a Shared Understanding of Systems

Building a shared understanding of systems

Steering Committee members, Hub staff, community members, and other project partners kicked off the process by attending environmental justice trainings that provided a shared understanding of systemic oppression, racism, and the connections to environmental issues. 

These trainings had almost 50 participants and were conducted over the course of three sessions that took 13 hours in total. Trainings were conducted by 1SW with ACE acting as participant and trainer, connecting the concepts to local issues. 

Identifying Community Priorities

Identifying Community Priorities

Following the trainings, the process provided a generative space for the residents most impacted (residents in the surrounding community and students) to raise their priorities and concerns. 

The community conversations were virtual and in-person spaces for education, collaborative visioning; adhering to a model of popular education infused with art. Our approach focused on understanding the lived experience of people most impacted by the climate and intersecting crises. We asked questions centered on the four elements: earth, air, water, and fire. For example, for air we asked, “What has your experience with air been like in Boston? Do you or your loved ones struggle with respiratory conditions like asthma? Do you experience poor air quality in Boston? Do you smell gas leaks?” For fire, we asked about energy burden and how people heat and cool their homes. We also asked about what their ideal day in Boston would look like and what their current relationship to Northeastern is and what they would like it to be in the future.

Using Art to Connect and Learn

Using Art to Connect and Learn

Art was an important engagement tool throughout the process. It was a prominent feature of the trainings, helping convey the humanity in the work and the impact that environmental justice issues have on people’s lives. Below you’ll see a sampling of these signs.

We also used art to report out what was heard from community members throughout the process. Three animations were made to share the ideal day of an NU student, worker, and community member. The stories were a compilation of what was heard from various survey responses. The project team also contracted with the artist D.S Kinsel, who collaborated with Boston-based artist EYEVAN to create signs based on quotes from the CJAP surveys. The project was an extension of Kinsel’s Sign O The Times: Protest Sign and Archive Reproduction which aims to reimagine and recreate protest signs from the #blacklivesmatter movement and civil actions that have taken place worldwide since the beginning of the 2020 pandemic.

WHAT WE HEARD

The Steering Committee collaborated with their communities to contribute to and advise the direction of the CJAP. In addition, there were two broader opportunities for input from community members, staff, faculty, and students. First was the survey and community conversations during which priorities and concerns were identified, and then again at the end of the process, where we presented the final plan for final feedback. 

We hosted two final meetings in March of 2024 to showcase the draft plan and help ensure that the plan addresses community priorities and concerns. The meeting included local artists who shared their reflections on the plan and the themes that came up through the process. The art took the form of spoken word, poetry, and hip hop. The artists were instrumental in centering community voices in the meeting. We captured participant’s feedback through an online survey as they explored the plan through a gallery walk, the art created during the process, and the performances. 

Community Priorities and Concerns

Some of the key issue areas that came up from community members included housing and gentrification, accessible and well maintained public spaces, and transportation. Throughout the feedback, there was also an evident sense of a general lack of access or inequality of access to resources and services. Our goal with this plan is to consider the ways in which we can contribute positively to addressing these social issues and eliminate or reduce associated harm. Explore the art to understand the community priority and concerns that guided our solutions.

Feedback on the Final Plan

Over 150 people attended the two final community meetings, and we received 100 survey responses. Over half of the attendees were community members, and the response from both neighborhood and Northeastern attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Overall, 92% of community members and 96% of students said that CJAP strategies were “very good” or “good” for their community.

In the open responses on the survey, the most common comments were about how to build on the current strategies, questions, and gratitude for the work. We received constructive feedback about the importance of housing and affordability, as well as comments about how Northeastern could be doing more for its surrounding communities. Below are some representative responses. The complete analysis is available here.

“How can Northeastern expand on campus housing without cutting more into Roxbury?”

—Northeastern Student

“Beyond engagement, how can research and academic [….] be co-led with community organizers in a way that offers them equal benefits, pay, and reciprocal outcomes.”

—Community member

“Such a great idea to bring NU and the surrounding Roxbury community together, this is going to build a great space for brainstorming and sharing creative, multi-generational, multicultural, on a group project.”

—Community member

“This is an exciting and life-changing opportunity for both NU students and the community and potential NU students of Roxbury as well! LOVE the local scholarships piece you have going!

—Community member