As cities strive to improve their environmental sustainability, so too are they grappling with the nation’s shortfalls in the arena of social justice and racial equity.
Often these issues are linked in the sense that communities of color and lower-income communities tend to live in areas most impacted by climate change, Urban Sustainability Directors Network program director Rich Freeh said Wednesday during a panel discussion at BizWest’s Net Zero Cities event.
Sustainability and equity were too often ignored by the federal government under the Donald Trump administration, he said, leaving “cities to lead on climate in the absence of federal leadership.”