Green Infrastructure and Food Systems: Building Climate Resilience in New Orleans

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 to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Including food productive strategies into 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?

What opportunities exist within the Downtown Tulane campus footprint and Central Business District to demonstrate, experiment, and integrate food and non-food productive green infrastructure into the urban landscape? What impacts would these initiatives have on the environment (heat island effect, air quality, stormwater management), safety (heat-related deaths, vandalism) and aesthetics (real estate value, tourism)?

The Growing Greener Urban Environments symposium objectives:

Highlight current green infrastructure projects, policies and plans in New Orleans, the Central Business District and other neighborhoods that demonstrate 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 next steps to incorporate food-productive and non-food productive green infrastructure into the Greater New Orleans region.