Alternatives for Community & Environment Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE) works in partnership with low-income communities and communities of color to achieve environmental justice. ACE provides legal and technical support, educational programs, and organizing assistance to community groups throughout New England to solve environmental problems and develop local environmental leadership. Support from the Barr Foundation is helping ACE build the Greater Boston Environmental Justice Network (the Network) by: Building the capacity of member groups to be effective community leaders on environmental health issues Developing diverse and broad membership across the region Building the capacity of the Network's own staff Developing a proactive agenda for building sustainable and livable communities and achieving tangible improvements in public health Sharing the models the Network develops with groups in New England and other regions.

In Boston, as elsewhere, environmental hazards are disproportionately sited in low-income neighborhoods, while access to amenities is concentrated in more affluent ones. Helping to ameliorate this structural imbalance is a critical priority for Barr.

Primary Approaches

We are presently focusing our efforts on:

Supporting Preventative Approaches.

Exposure to toxic chemicals can be greatly reduced or eliminated by ensuring these chemicals do not get produced in the first place. We are interested in supporting efforts that encourage safer alternatives and strategies to reduce environmental health hazards.

Building the capacity of community residents to address acute environmental problems.
Because low-income areas and communities of color bear a disproportionate share of environmental burdens, we are interested in building the capacity of residents to advocate for change. We support efforts that increase awareness and identify appropriate tools and strategies for public participation and action.

Diversifying the local environmental movement.
The environmental movement has not been inclusive and is in danger of losing relevance and effectiveness unless it diversifies its staff, leadership and programs. We are helping build the diversity of traditional environmental organizations as well as strengthening that of more representative ones.

Desired Outcomes

We hope that through our work with nonprofits, funding peers, political and community leaders to influence five important outcomes for Boston:

• Increased public resources addressing the environmental problems of low-income areas and communities of color
• An overall decrease in environmental burdens and increase in environmental amenities.
• Increased consideration of environmental justice in policy decisions
• Increased diversity of the city’s environmental movement.

Measures

While we recognize that correcting environmental injustice may take many years, we are measuring and learning as we go. We keep track of environmental justice campaigns and their progress as well as compile studies on environmental hazards. We also support the work of the Boston Indicators Project, a collaborative initiative that provides objective information on such measures as the rate of childhood asthma, good air quality days, and number of buses using clean fuels. Where there is a lack of data, we look for opportunities to support research. For example, we are supporting the work of the Trust for Public Land’s Green Cities New England, which is using GIS tools to map green space and recreational amenities.  Download the most recent report on Boston’s environmental indicators.

In the area of diversity, we are working with the Diversity Initiative at Third Sector New England to extend their reach to environmental organizations. In partnership with the Environmental Leadership Program, we have created the Boston Diversity Collaborative to convene environmental organizations to explore opportunities for learning and action on diversity.

An Invitation

While our efforts are based on research and knowledge of the field, they remain our best bets. We're eager to learn from your insights, experience, and creative ideas. We invite you to use our suggestion form if you have an idea you believe will further the strategy outlined in this section.