Green Justice Zones: A Solution to Environmental Inequality 

The founding of the REJC was inspired by eco-municipalities in Sweden and elsewhere, which are local governments focused on achieving sustainability through community engagement.

Holguin used the word “co-governance” to describe the kind of collaboration the REJC advocates for. An eco-municipality is about ensuring that as policies and decisions are made “that will impact people on the ground, making sure that they are actually engaging with them in an intentional way,” Holguin said. 

This means doing work on both sides — with the government and with the community. The REJC has conducted green justice training with municipal workers, based off of Holguin’s curriculum, in the Office of Sustainability, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health. The goal was to “intentionally bring folks in and not tokenize them.” Tokenization can happen when the voices of minorities are not fully considered or valued, but rather used for the sake of diversity.

On the community side, the REJC tries to ensure that people have the tools and language to engage with the local government effectively. 

Green zones, sometimes called ecodistricts, have become an increasingly popular tool in local governments. Broadly speaking, they are districts designated by local governments to encourage sustainability in the community, reducing negative environmental impacts which can affect people’s quality of life. 

The concept of green zones is flexible, and can meet the needs of the government and communities enacting them.

The city of Los Angeles has begun implementing variations of green zones. The city created Clean Up Green Up (CUGU) districts to try and reduce negative health impacts from problems with land use. These districts have stricter rules than others, for example different building height and surface material requirements.

The city also created three ecodistricts in neighborhoods which are known to be vulnerable to environmental problems. In these areas, one requirement is to have one tree for every four spaces in a parking lot; another is that air filters must be installed for buildings within 1000 feet of a freeway. 

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the city government created its own Minneapolis Climate Action Plan, spurring the designation of green zones, which are similar to the green justice zones in Providence. The criteria to qualify for a green zone in Minneapolis include economic and health disparities, the impact of pollution, and negative effects of climate change. 

A group, made up of 11 community members and four city staff, determines what steps the city should take to reach its goals of improving air quality and increasing “green” jobs, among others. This group then gives recommendations to the City Council for approval. 

Two neighborhoods in Providence were identified by the city as green justice zones: Olneyville and the Port of Providence. 

The Port of Providence has historically been an area of environmental injustice. It has been the site of fuel operation since 1975, and contains multiple environmental hazards, including a scrap yard, propane tanks, a chemical plant, and water treatment facilities. 

The Washington Park and Lower South Providence neighborhoods near the Port of Providence fall within the 80th-95th low-income percentiles, and are 74-97% people of color. 

The company Sea-3 Providence, which operates in the Port of Providence, is trying to expand their business by adding six 90,000-gallon horizontal storage bullet tanks for liquid propane gas (LPG) to their one 19-million-gallon storage tank for LPG. Their proposal also includes a pipe system which takes from the Providence River.

Sea-3 argues that its expansion would not increase environmental or human health impacts. 

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha claims that the project would increase emissions, creating pollution and negatively impacting community health. The proposal would hinder the state’s emissions goals as outlined in the Act on Climate, which was signed into law in 2021. The act establishes mandatory emissions reduction goals, with the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

The City of Providence argues that the proposal will have an impact on environmental and public health. The Port of Providence is considered by the city to be an environmental justice community.

The People’s Port Authority, an organization which fights for environmental justice in the Port of Providence neighborhood, protested the proposed expansion of Sea-3’s facilities, along with others in the community, including state senators Tiara Mack and Cynthia Mendes. The Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) and the Providence City Council ruled that a review by EFSB is necessary before the expansion is approved.

To proponents of green justice zones, they have the potential to bridge the gap between the residents and government, ensuring that community voices are heard, and that people have a say in the sustainability of their cities. They operate under the principle that the community should determine whether or not a project such as the Sea-3 expansion could pass. 

Right now, Holguin is working on building a curriculum to show how governments can be part of the spectrum of community engagement and engage with the community in a meaningful way. 

“It is right here right now,” Holguin said, pointing to their head. A key goal of the REJC is to have local governments receive input from the community while avoiding the tokenization of Black and Indigenous people. 

Although the REJC is based in Providence, their work is not entirely limited to the city. They traveled to Colorado in order to speak to various counties about their experiences, hoping to help other municipalities use the knowledge they have gained in order to connect the community and government. 

“[We’re] hoping there’s REJC of Central Falls, Pawtucket…spaces where they see environmental justice as a concern,” Holguin said. They hope people elsewhere can utilize their ideas, and support the process of environmental justice.