Working at the Nexus of Climate Justice and Nature-Inspired Solutions

Abstract

This work represents a partnership between the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) and the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability (UM-SEAS) as part of the requirements for the completion of graduate studies. Working at the Nexus of Climate Justice and Nature-Based Solutions focuses on significant modification of internal local government processes, including climate action, and provides guidance to center racial equity holistically throughout. The analyses conducted for this project, obtained through literature review and expert interviews, also consider how biomimicry—learning from and mimicking natural or ecological strategies and systems to more sustainably solve human-driven challenges—may enhance and support existing guidance on solutions that local governments can implement in the pursuit of centering racial equity. In addition, the project identifies deeper connections and opportunities for climate action and makes recommendations for establishing an awareness of power dynamics and a commitment to power shifting. The provided recommendations help delineate methods to embed and integrate biomimicry at all stages of decision-making processes. Particular focus is placed on the USDN Nexus framework because of its applicability to a variety of local governments and its grounding in fundamentally transforming traditional approaches to climate action planning. This project is rooted in the notion that human needs and quality of life must be at the forefront when attempting to address issues related to climate change. To make that a reality, those involved must be willing to come to terms with the fact that racial injustice and global climate change come from the same place. By reshaping how local government operates by embedding racial equity, climate justice, and biomimetic principles into the center of all planning processes, resulting in a comprehensive response, practitioners stand a chance at facilitating positive change for all involved. This work can surely be categorized as novel—most efforts to enact change do not prioritize these efforts at their core, choosing instead to work within existing frameworks—but the process and payoff of nature-inspired planning promise to be more rewarding and enduring should they prove successful.