The City of Orlando’s Green Transition: the need for inclusion and community input
Jennifer Torres, Poder Latinx, Environmental Organizer
June 30th, 2021
The City of Orlando’s Green Transition: the need for inclusion and community input
With the signs of climate change all around us, from record-breaking temperatures to unstable weather, the City of Orlando has made encouraging first steps towards becoming a greener city. Yet, in a city that thrives thanks to the work of the service industry and low-wage workers, not enough is being done to listen and implement their needs and concerns.
Programs created by the city's Office of Sustainability and Resilience have helped some residents of Orlando make small changes that help our planet and communities, such as providing composting bins, planting more trees, increasing electric vehicle charging stations, and making buildings more energy efficient . As the city continues expanding these programs and pursues a bold and necessary transition to a greener city, we must remember the need for inclusion and community input.
A green transition guarantee’s our city meets the requirements to halt the global climate crisis and places Orlando at the forefront of bold climate action. To achieve this goal, the city's initiatives included the 2018 Community Action Plan. This plan detailed the city's strategies to reach their environmentally friendly 2040 goal. Along with this, the City of Orlando has partnered with the Institute for Market Transformation to give voice to Orlando residents in future sustainable building strategies. This ensures climate goals are met by reducing the electricity usage in buildings around the city of Orlando.
As a community organization that aims to educate and empower the Latinx community, we applaud the city for their efforts to create a more sustainable city while also knowing there is so much more work to be done. This is especially true for communities like ours that are hit first and worst by the climate crisis, energy burdens, and environmental racism. In 2020, over 78% of Latinx voters said they were impacted by climate change, and in a city like Orlando where over 32% of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latinx, the impact is critical. The city of Orlando must consider community voices from those impacted to ensure an equitable transition that leaves no community behind. Many green initiatives tend to center more privileged residents, such as the implementation of green building plans and accessibility for electric car charging stations. Our community has been struggling to make ends meet in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and these initiatives do not alleviate our needs.
Poder Latinx’s new partnership with IMT and the City of Orlando will help bridge the gap that exists between our communities and the City of Orlando. This new grant will allow us to widely engage our community members, identify their priorities and expand our efforts. Our goal in this partnership is to present the city with policy recommendations that center those most impacted. As part of this effort, we will host biweekly community meetings starting July 15th at 6pm. For more information on how to join and how to get involved, please visit poderlatinx.org/ecopoder. We look forward to seeing the City of Orlando implement meaningful and bold policies for all communities in Orlando.