Overview
As the effects of climate change worsen, the heaviest burdens fall on underinvested urban communities and neighborhoods, which already experience more than their share of environmental challenges, including air and water pollution, flooding, a lack of trees and excess heat. The Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative (BSEC) recognizes that in order to be just and effective, climate solutions for urban areas must be co-designed with communities. These solutions also must be responsive — and adaptive — to community concerns. The BSEC offers a new approach in which climate scientists work in close partnership with the citizens of Baltimore to identify community priorities that guide the scientific questions being asked. Then, as data is gathered and findings are made, the work continuously evolves in response to community needs and input. Ultimately the BSEC’s mission is to create a truly community-centered urban climate observatory — based not just on theory but in real neighborhoods — to contribute to climate action plans that make environmental justice a priority.
Learn about who we are here. See recordings of past events and seminars here. Access data and maps from the project here. Learn more about our work in news articles here. Read our principles for community engagement here. For more information about the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative, email us at BSEC@jhu.edu.
