Earth Day Op-ed: Greenspace Equity Program

In each legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly, legislators introduce many environmental bills, some of which would have important and far-reaching impacts should they become law. While PFAS, known as“forever chemicals,” and electrification of the grid are both vital and sexy topics to discuss these days, we thought it prudent to address a more subtle policy that will have crucial environmental and cultural impacts on our lives.

House Bill 503, cross-filed with Senate Bill 923, would create the Greenspace Equity Program. The program will increase all types of greenspaces: parks, community gardens, urban farms, bike-and-hike trails, etc. in Maryland’s underserved and overburdened communities. Unfortunately, many Maryland communities simply were not developed with greenspaces. As a result, some communities and neighborhoods have no public outdoor spaces and may have no trees. This is quite apparent in many of the older communities of Baltimore County. Providing green space addresses several community needs. First, public health studies over the past 25 years have documented the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of people spending time in outdoor spaces—benefits that became more pronounced during the initial years of the COVID pandemic. In addition, greenspaces have proven environmental benefits. Greenspaces aid in abating air pollution, mitigating heat desert effects, and reducing stormwater loads, and can help communities become more resilient against the impacts of climate change.

While Maryland has been a leader in land conservation and protecting places for people and nature, we need to be more equitable regarding which communities benefit and how the state’s conservation dollars are invested. Maryland has many great state parks, but residents in overburdened and underserved communities often lack the mobility to visit these open spaces. Therefore, we need to provide accessible greenspaces within these communities so they can also experience the health benefits.

The centerpiece of this legislation is a new grant program, the Greenspace Equity Program, which will directly support the acquisition and stewardship of communities across Maryland that have historically been denied investment in and access to these spaces. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will administer the program, and funding will come from Program Open Space. Grant funds will be available to local land trusts, local governments, and community partners to acquire, maintain, and develop greenspace projects. The grants would enable community leaders and members to access the necessary resources to guide how land parcels within their neighborhoods are used to meet residents’ needs better.

The bill establishes an advisory board and criteria DNR would follow in evaluating annual grant applications. Two main criteria an applicant must meet are 1. a strong showing of support by area residents and organizations—including area businesses—and 2. the ability to demonstrate collaboration with other entities, such as land trusts, local governments, and nonprofits. The availability of grants under this legislation will encourage local officials and planners to consider land conservation in their communities as a vital component of their climate change preparedness as well as a mechanism to provide social justice to their residents, whose quality of life and property values would be enhanced by close proximity to greenspace.

House Bill 503 is the kind of legislation that can have real impacts on people and communities, and we are fortunate in Maryland to have legislators that think holistically about policies that improve everyone’s quality of life. Nevertheless, the hearing before the House Environment and Transportation Committee, and the corresponding Senate committee, was scheduled for March 30th, meaning that the bill’s status is precarious given the impending conclusion of the 2023 legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly. In any case, we plan to continue to look at these sorts of policies as ways to provide environmental justice and a buffer to the effects of climate change.

– Delegates Dana Stein, Esq. & Jon Cardin, Esq. Dana Stein is a lawyer, the executive director of Civic Works, the lead sponsor of HB503 and Vice Chair of the House Environment and Transportation Committee.

Jon S. Cardin practices in Baltimore County, serves on the House Judiciary Committee, and advocates for and cosponsors various pieces of pro-environment legislation.