A Critique of Federal Grant Programs as a Source of Funding for Green Space in Environmental Justice Communities
![handle is hein.journals/envlnw52 and id is 827 raw text is: COMMENTS
A CRITIQUE OF FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS AS A
SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR GREEN SPACE IN
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES
BY
ALEXANDRIA MCCASKILL*
Public green spaces, such as parks, sporting fields, streams and
riverbanks, trails, and community gardens, are extremely beneficial
to the health and wellbeing of a community. Unfortunately,
environmental justice (EJ) communities, including low-income
communities of color, are largely excluded from these benefits
compared to middle and upper income communities. The federal
government has acknowledged this disparity by providing
competitive grants to fund green spaces in underserved
neighborhoods. However, the current grant-based system does not
address the systemic disenfranchisement that helps define EJ
communities, and is therefore unlikely to properly address the
absence of green space. This Comment explains the specific benefits
of green space and the level of disparity between EJcommunities and
middle and upper income communities. It then outlines the current
federal grant-based system, which primarily relies on state
applications and matching funds. Next, it discusses why the current
grant-based system is a poor solution to the lack of green space in EJ
communities. Finally, this Comment provides alternative methods of
properly funding equitable green spaces. While the current grant-
based system is ill-equipped to solve the disparity in access to green
'2022 Graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School, magna cum laude, currently working at a law
firm in Modesto, California. Alexandria wrote this Comment during law school. She would
like to thank Professor Lisa Benjamin for her inspiration and guidance while writing this
Comment and furthering Alexandria's interest in the field of Environmental Justice.
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A Critique of Federal Grant Programs as a Source of Funding for Green Space in Environmental Justice Communities
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