Environmental racism has been an ongoing environmental, social, and economic challenge for communities across the country. Ensuring our communities have a safe, clean environment is crucial to the advancement and integration of sustainable, resilient, equitable development. Unfortunately, immigrant and refugee communities, along with communities of color, tend to be more adversely affected by air pollution, water contamination, climate change, and other environmental factors. This can lead to poor health, social, economic, and environmental outcomes. How has economic development contributed to this in the past, and how can economic developers today overcome this history to build resilient, equitable economies?

In this session, you will hear from communities and practitioners from across the country that are integrating economic development approaches that restore environmental justice and offer low-income, BIPOC, tribal, and overburdened communities some solutions that respond to their needs and reflect their values.