The fund aims at greening US cities with better parks and community gardens
The Bezos Earth Fund has announced a $400m commitment to help establish and enhance green spaces in underserved urban US communities. The Greening America’s Cities initiative was launched with $50m for urban greening efforts in five cities – Albuquerque, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Wilmington in Delaware. The inaugural investment goes to 30 organisations in the cities and will be used to create more parks, trees and community gardens. Their work will include community engagement, land acquisition, project design and construction, local training, and long-term maintenance.
Bezos Earth Fund reports there is clear evidence that ‘greening’ US cities with more – and better – parks, trees and community gardens can improve physical and mental health, increase local resilience to climate impacts like extreme heat and reduce energy consumption. Health benefits come from improved air quality, more physical activity, reduced heat, the stress reduction effect of green spaces, and the opportunities green spaces create for social interaction.
Historic systems of segregation, exclusion, and land dispossession have led to many communities living in nature-deprived areas.
Consequently, these communities often do not benefit from nature’s benefits, like air and water purification, climate mitigation, or biodiversity. “Access to nature is deeply unequal, and the importance of green spaces to underserved communities is often overlooked and unaddressed,” said Lauren Sánchez, vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund. “Green spaces make a city more beautiful, liveable, healthy, and joyful, but studies show that they also lower extreme summer temperatures, reducing heat stress. They support the mental and physical health of communities and even improve students’ academic performance. This $400m commitment will impact communities across the country, making a tangible difference people can see.”
Momentum is building to expand access to green spaces in underserved urban areas. The federal government, under the Inflation Reduction Act, committed $1.5bn in funding to increase equitable access to green spaces and advance the Justice40 initiative.
The Bezos Earth Fund is Jeff Bezos’s $10bn commitment to fund scientists, activists, NGOs, and other actors that will drive climate and nature solutions. By allocating funds “creatively, wisely, and boldly”, the Bezos Earth Fund reckons it has the potential for transformative influence in this “decisive decade”. Funds will be fully allocated by 2030 – the date by which the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals must be achieved.
