PSE Announces Just Communities
On the 10th anniversary of the founding of EcoDistricts and Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE), we are proud to announce a new name and ambitious agenda to reimagine EcoDistricts as a liberatory model of community development.
Just Communities is a bold reimagination of how communities grow – focusing on places where the inseparable forces of racial and environmental injustice persist- largely places that Black and brown and historically disinvested communities have occupied but have not flourished, and places around the world stunted by a dearth of economic mobility and extraction.
Just Communities is a comprehensive and practical program to unlock the power of resident leaders, community-based organizations, developers, and municipalities in advancing racially equitable and environmentally regenerative development of our built environment.
It includes:
1. A Framework for Equity & Regeneration
Just Communities is an implementation tool to guide the planning and implementation of neighborhood development projects.
2. A Rigorous Certification Standard
The Just Communities certification program provides verification services to communities looking to successfully apply the framework in their neighborhood. Certification is a mark of leadership and a global peer-to-peer learning network.
3. A Learning & Leadership Platform
The Just Communities Accredited Practitioner (AP) program is a continuing education and learning platform to support community leaders, city officials, and planning, design, and development professionals committed to applying the Just Communities Framework in their work.
Just Communities is a call to action to learn, unlearn, and commit to a new model of community development. For those who have been part of EcoDistricts and PSE’s Just Growth communities or are new to PSE, welcome! Join us in helping to grow the vision that every community is a Just Community.
