WHAT'S THE STUDY: With support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, researchers from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University are examining who benefits from a city's sustainability efforts and who has a say in them. In addition to faculty and students, the project's collaborators also include community partners who are studying six different initiatives to advance clean energy technology deployment, reduce carbon emissions and increase energy affordability in Detroit, Chicago and Columbus.
- In Detroit, the study will focus on neighborhood-scale solar developments, including the city of Detroit's Solar Neighborhoods Initiative and the O'Shea Solar Park project.
- In Chicago, researchers will examine the Bronzeville's Community Microgrid alongside the West Woodlawn geothermal development.
- In Columbus, the team will study neighborhood energy efficiency retrofits in the Linden neighborhood and the American Addition net-zero energy neighborhood project.
WHY IT MATTERS: Cities nationwide are investing billions of dollars in clean energy and climate infrastructure, yet there aren't conclusive answers to how and whether these projects pay off for the residents living closest to them. This grant will use these case studies to learn how to better ensure that residents have a voice in efforts to decarbonize their cities and are sharing in the benefits of these projects.
HOW MUCH AND FOR HOW LONG: The $1 million collaboration is funded for three years.
WHO'S INVOLVED:
Tony Reames, the Tishman Professor of Environmental Justice at the School for Environment and Sustainability, or SEAS, founded the Urban Energy Justice Lab and Energy Equity Project. He directs the U-M SEAS Detroit Sustainability Clinic and served as deputy director for energy justice and principal deputy director for state and community energy programs at the U.S. Department of Energy in the Biden administration.
"This project gives us a unique opportunity to understand how residents participate in planning processes, how benefits and burdens are distributed, and how local governance shapes project outcomes," he said. "Those insights will help us better understand what it takes to advance energy transitions that are not only effective but also equitable."
Meghan Wilson, assistant professor of American politics and public policy at Michigan State University, researches issues at the intersection of public policy, urban development and race. She analyzes critical questions about how public institutions, and those influenced by them, imagine themselves in the future.
"This project puts residents' experiences at the center of how we define success," she said. "What sets it apart is that we are not just measuring outcomes, we are centering the people living through and shaping these transitions with partners like Blacks in Green, the city of Detroit, IMPACT Community Action and American Addition."
