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One Block at a Time: Community-driven planning and implementation of multi-benefit green infrastructure in marginalized neighborhoods across the Great Lakes was funded through a $100,000 award from the Special Projects “M”: Water Equity in the Great Lakes opportunity from the National Sea Grant Program in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Program Office.

This work was prepared by M. Rodman, K. Salazar, T. Sprague, S. Stahlman and S. Winnike McMillan using federal funds under award A/RCE-GLOW1, under: NA18OAR4170101 Amend. 19 from Minnesota Sea Grant, National Sea Grant College Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA, the Sea Grant College Program or the U.S. Department of Commerce.

This material is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct requests to Madison Rodman, mrodman@umn.edu, 218-726-8536. 

Great Lakes communities experience frequent severe storms, flooding and degraded water quality from expanding urbanization. Marginalized communities of low income, communities of color, and those lacking access to safe and stable neighborhoods are most impacted, yet often have the fewest means to adapt to water quality and quantity concerns. Three Sea Grant programs (Illinois-Indiana, Minnesota and Pennsylvania) and key collaborators and community organizers have partnered to address the impacts of flooding and extreme weather events through paired projects in four marginalized communities, focusing local project coordination at the scale of a city block. 

This Google Site shares our community engagement toolkit and summary information on accomplishments in each of our four project communities in Duluth, Minnesota; Erie, Pennsylvania; Michigan City, Indiana; and Hammond, Indiana. For more information or if you have questions, please contact Resilience Extension Educator Madison Rodman at mrodman@umn.edu.

In 2019, Minnesota Sea Grant developed the Ready for Rain One Block concept (adapted from the Center for Neighborhood Technology’s RainReady™ approach) as a way to engage local government and residents in addressing the challenge of flooded basements in the vulnerable Lincoln Park neighborhood of Duluth, Minnesota. The concept envisioned pilot community-planned public and private projects that included both green and gray infrastructure practices within one city block. These projects could then be duplicated across nearby city blocks. The Ready for Rain One Block concept is a genuine opportunity to engage community residents because it is:

• visible, compared to diffuse implementation activities across a community that may go unnoticed by community members;

• concentrated, support from municipal and community leaders grows with noticeable momentum in both engagement and implementation;

• multi-beneficial, green infrastructure addresses more than water quantity issues, providing beautification, recreation, food, and connection to nature within an urban space;

• a mix of private and public implementation projects, green and gray practices, such as rain gardens and gutters, addresses the needs of the public, as well as the individual homeowner or renter; 

• scalable, the type and size of projects are adjustable based on community needs and composition of the city block; and,

• reproducible, communities across the Great Lakes are able to leverage capacity to identify vulnerable communities, engage with residents, and implement practices to address climate challenges on a block-by-block basis.

1. Forming a collaborative, multi-community work team with partners from Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, Minnesota Sea Grant, and Pennsylvania Sea Grant, sharing experiences, processes and lessons learned throughout the life of the project.

2. Identifying and supporting four marginalized communities in Duluth, Minnesota; Erie, Pennsylvania; Michigan City and Hammond, Indiana to:

   1. Expand momentum and capacity of local partnerships focused on community resilience.

   2. Identify current community climate hazards and vulnerabilities to determine which hazards need to be addressed in these communities. 

   3. Conduct equitable, community-driven listening and visioning sessions to incorporate inclusive planning opportunities with regards to climate and resilience.

   4. Use listening sessions to prioritize future opportunities to address hazards, notably activities improving resilience to the impacts of flooding and drought from changing climate patterns and extreme precipitation events.

   5. Implement scalable multi-benefit green infrastructure projects, education and/or training, as guided by community needs.

3. Providing educational and professional development opportunities through the support of university students and the AmeriCorps VISTA program.

4. Developing a community engagement toolkit to replicate the one block resilience neighborhood concept across Great Lakes communities.