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Public Policy Project facilitates

The Minneapolis Northern Green Zone Taskforce exists to address the environmental justice overburden in North and Northeast Minneapolis and design and implement a plan of action to improve environmental and population health, and social, economic and environmental justice. Task Force members will serve for two years: October 2018 – September 2020. There will be once per month meetings, at which we will review and propose actions on recommendations regarding implementation of work on the twelve objectives identified in the City of Minneapolis City Council Resolution, authorizing this Green Zone, as of September 21, 2018.

The Northern Green Zone resolution crafted by Minneapolis City Council Members: Cunningham, Ellison, Reich, and Fletcher

Establishing the Northside Green Zone Task Force to serve as an advisory board to the City Council on the creation, implementation, and evaluation of the Northside Green Zone Work Plan.

Whereas, the City Council of the City of Minneapolis unanimously passed a resolution on April 28, 2017, establishing a Northside Green Zone; and

Whereas, that same resolution stated that the work of Greens Zones shall focus on the needs of those community members who are over-burdened and live in low-wealth areas, as well as people of color, Indigenous people, youth, people with disabilities, low-income residents, and elders; and

Whereas, since the creation of the Northside Green Zone, the Environmental Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC) adopted the following goals for the Northside Green Zone:

1. Clean up soil and water contamination and redevelop brownfields;
2. Improve air quality, livability, and pollinator habitat through vegetation, clean energy, and energy efficiency.
3. Improve air and environmental quality in business and transport.
4. Increase ‘green’ jobs and career opportunities.
5. Increase the availability of affordable housing and environmentally high quality housing.
6. Increase access to healthy affordable food by supporting local systems of growing, production and distribution.
7. Advance environmental awareness and education in community and schools.
8. Foster community healing from historical trauma and root shock, using community-based approaches to healing and health;
9. Stop the patterns of community violence and the cradle to prison pipeline with which it is associated.
10. Develop an Environmental Justice Scorecard that assesses how well businesses, and branches of government do in practicing responsible and responsive environmental stewardship and partnership around environmental justice. Use the scorecard as a tool to drive policy change toward greater environmental justice.
11. Organize the community to develop ecological consciousness and foster a healthy future that takes care of the earth, takes care of the people and takes care of the future we choose to create together.
12. Work with stakeholders and Native Nations statewide to create an environmental justice partnership that fosters a common platform among environmental justice communities, using a Minnesota Environmental Screen to provide a common basis of measurement and protocols for action.

Whereas, in the Green Zone, the City and community are committed to co-creating conditions for increasing environmental and population health simultaneously. We accept and add to what the World Health Organization recognizes as necessary conditions for health

• Peace
• Shelter
• Education
• Food
• Income
• Stable ecosystem
• Sustainable resources
• IT Connectivity
• Mobility
• Health Care
• Social Responsibility
• Social and Environmental Justice