State of Equity Practice in Public Sector GSI

State of Equity Practice in Public Sector GSI Report

Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange’s ‘State of Equity Practice in Public Sector GSI Report’ tells the equity story of a shared vision for future investments needed to accelerate equitable implementation of GSI from the perspective of those public sector entities primarily responsible for managing stormwater. Drawing mainly from a comprehensive survey issued to capture equity-focused experiences, the report is an attempt to develop a national baseline understanding of the extent to which equity considerations are being centered within GSI planning, implementation and monitoring and are contributing towards achieving the equity objectives of communities. Future editions of this report will include additional data that informs a collective understanding of the extent to which this is playing out in different parts of the country.

Approaching GSI work with equity front of mind compels practitioners to better understand who benefits from green infrastructure and who is marginalized from these benefits. Further, it reminds practitioners that one’s race, wealth, zip code, or other forms of identity do not and should not define the benefits one receives. This report is broken into a number of sections that address different parts of the GSI lifecycle. Each section includes:

1. A brief introduction to the section topic
2. The presentation of public sector GSI survey results, complemented by findings from relevant external reports or research that support, refute or expand further on the survey results
3. A selection of ‘spotlights’ celebrating good practices of public sector entities across the US, and
4. A ‘gaps and opportunities’ table capturing practical opportunities to support the acceleration of equity-targeted actions relevant to the section focus.