Centering frontline communities and ensuring equitable engagement practices
The City of Tempe and Vitalyst Health foundation created and funded a three-year process to ensure that Tempe’s community engagement and decision-making considers the needs of frontline communities and people of color. The grant pays social justice leaders and organizations to form a coalition that recommends changes to Tempe’s community engagement practices. There is funding for the coalition to test new ways of engaging frontline communities by investing in new types of community-based projects. Equity in Action is informed by work in Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Providence, Rhode Island to dismantle structural racism in city government processes, policies, and practices.
Key Features
- Creates a coalition of social justice organizations to advise the city on approaching equity and incorporating the needs of frontline communities and people of color into city decision-making process.
- Supported by a diverse group of city staff from departments across the city who have worked with consultants to create pathways for the coalition to engage with the city.
Outcomes of the Grant
- The effort builds awareness of the need to address white supremacy and structural racism.
- The process contributed to better sustainability problem solving, which is critical for high quality climate action and resilience efforts.
To learn more about the equity consultants behind this grant, see these pages.
Advances local food enterprises and sustainable food systems
The GLOCULL project is funded through ASU by the European Union focused on exploring the local food-energy-water nexus at eight international sites, the Phoenix metro area serving as one of them. The City of Tempe, along with the City of Phoenix and Local First Arizona, have partnered with ASU’s School of Sustainability and School for the Future of Innovation in Society to create an accelerator that supports the local sustainable food economy by building capacity, making connections, and facilitating partnerships in and among local food enterprises and actors.
Key Features
- Learning from existing sustainable food business front-runners and using that acquired knowledge with community stakeholders and in cities
- Design a capacity-building program for entrepreneurs to create and run sustainable food businesses, then deliver the program to entrepreneurs and others so that they may learn how to improve their methods.
Outcomes of the Grant
- The business accelerator/incubator was institutionalized following GLOCULL and used to develop our local food sustainability and Tempe’s local food economy.
- These pilot projects can serve as a model for sustainable food enterprises to scale and transfer these concepts to other communities across Phoenix and Arizona.
The Arizona Indigenous Foodways Yearbook:
The City of Tempe is committed to growing a sustainable, inclusive and resilient economy in our city and the state of Arizona. The City of Tempe Office of Sustainability created The Arizona Indigenous Foodways Yearbook as part of a global grant with partners in the indigenous food economy, ASU, Local First Arizona and the City of Tempe.
Read more about Accelerating the Transition to a Sustainable Food Economy in Arizona
To learn more about this grant, click here.
The purpose of this study is to explore current practices in emergency management and potential synergies with community resilience, quality of life, sustainability, and long-term initiatives in the City of Tempe.
Key Features
- The research team conducted a series of interviews with eight City of Tempe departments/offices and two Maricopa County Departments, for a total of 16 interviewees, regarding emergency management practice in local and regional government.
- A series of three panel events will discuss how FEMA-recommended Whole Community Approach for Emergency Management applies to local-level preparedness and disaster recovery.
Outcomes of the Grant
- Created a better understanding of how the City of Tempe might leverage the position of a new Emergency Manager to more effectively address hazards, respond to emergency events, build community resilience, and further advocate for overarching City visions and strategic priorities.
Further information:
Emergency Management Executive Summary
Emergency Management Final Report
- Executive summary: pages 2-3
- Recommended actions: pages 21-24
In a collaborative game, Tempe city officials and ASU faculty became decision-makers by taking creative approaches to solving complex problems.
Key Features
- This game was played by 50 people at the City of Tempe Resilience Workshop, which allowed the participants to think about how sustainability and resiliency can be embedded in city decision-making.
- The participants were divided into teams with a set of cards that had categories like assets, such as buildings and personnel; issues, such as lack of walkability and homelessness; priorities, such as financial stability and quality of life; and a shock, such as a terrorist attack or a pandemic. Each team had to create a scenario that would use resources and solve problems in a collaborative way.
Outcomes of the Grant
- Using the game as an opportunity to make deeper relationships through this shared experience
- By learning together and thinking of non-traditional solutions to problems, we can examine issues outside the confines of our system to address them holistically and without bias.
To learn more about the game developed from this grant, see these pages.
