Green Infrastructure, Food Systems, and Building Climate Resilience in New Orleans
Thursday, October 10, 2024
The food, agriculture, and land use sectors are crucial in addressing climate change. Integrating green infrastructure into urban environments can reduce heat island effects, mitigate catastrophic weather events, and help remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Including food-productive strategies in green infrastructure projects can improve fresh food access, foster community vitality, and connection, and provide innovative educational and research opportunities for organizations and institutions.
How can New Orleans address the negative impacts of climate change while fostering a thriving local and regional food system and more equitable access to local, healthy, and sustainably grown food?
The goals of the symposium included:
- Highlight current green infrastructure projects, policies, and plans in New Orleans, the Central Business District, and other neighborhoods demonstrating climate mitigation and city farming strategies.
- Identify local, non-commercial food growing projects and sustainable market pathways for fresh products that reach residents and consumers in urban environments.
- Facilitate conversations between institutions, organizations, and government agencies about the next steps to incorporate food-productive and non-food-productive green infrastructure into the Greater New Orleans region.
