Minneapolis Looking to Rehabilitate Green Zones

In hopes of helping areas of the city that have suffered from some of the worst pollution, the city of Minneapolis has designated a number of "Green Zones."

"With input from an Environmental Justice Working Group, the Climate Action Plan included the creation of a Minneapolis Green Zones Initiative, identified as areas of the city that have historically been overburdened by environmental conditions such as air pollution, brownfield sites, blight and substandard housing, and face cumulative impacts of social, economic and political vulnerability," Randy Rodgers reports for Sustainable City Networks.

Minneapolis' Sustainability Program Coordinator Kelly Muellman will not just focus on pollution. "Muellman said the Green Zone plan will also focus on job opportunities, particularly in the new green economy, as well as the quality and affordability of housing in the city’s two designated Green Zones," writes Rodgers. The program will include making city-owned lots available for community gardens and offering some funding to local food businesses.