A new partnership between Baltimore researchers and community organizations, led by Johns Hopkins University, has received funding to advance understanding of environmental conditions at the neighborhood level and prioritize environmental justice
February 15, 2023
Originally published in the JHU Hub.
In coming years, climate change will be more and more obvious. It will include significant impacts on cities like Baltimore, and the heaviest burdens are likely to fall on underinvested communities and neighborhoods.
That’s because cities in general, and underinvested neighborhoods in particular, already experience more than their share of environmental challenges, including air and water quality issues, flooding, general lack of trees, and excess heat. As an industrial city with historically segregated neighborhoods, Baltimore faces particular risk.
A group of Baltimore researchers and community organizations, led by Johns Hopkins University, wants to build up Baltimore’s defenses against the impacts of climate change. The partnership, called the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative, or BSEC, received a $24.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance understanding of environmental conditions at the neighborhood level, integrate climate and environmental science with community discussions of investment priorities, and ultimately contribute to climate action plans that make environmental justice a priority.