Akron chosen to host Bloomberg project exploring climate change and racial wealth gap

Akron has been selected as one of 25 cities to receive help tackling two intertwined issues: climate change and racial wealth inequality.

On Tuesday, Mayor Shammas Malik announced that Akron will receive a Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded innovation team with as many as three dedicated staff members provided through a $200 million, three-year initiative that uses federal funding to address both issues.

“So, this is not a traditional grant," said Casey Shevlin, Akron's director of sustainability and resiliency. Rather, the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities is footing the bill for a team that specializes in data analysis, insight development and project management instead of awarding the city a "chunk of money."

"Through the program, Bloomberg will fund added staff capacity for us," said Shevlin. "So, they’ll be providing up to three staff [local to the greater Akron area] who will help us be innovative and community-centric as we develop ideas/initiatives at the intersection of climate change and racial wealth equity.

"We’re also getting access to a range of Bloomberg partner organizations who will provide additional support and resources — from community engagement help to project ideation to federal grant writing. And then also, we obviously get the opportunities for collaboration and best-practice sharing that the 25-city cohort allows for.”

Esther Thomas, the city's director of diversity, equity, and inclusion, said climate change and racial wealth inequality are interconnected topics, "[interacting] with and [worsening] existing societal inequalities."

"For example," Thomas wrote in an email to the Beacon Journal, "Black households spend 43% more of their income on energy costs than non-Hispanic white households."

Lack of tree canopy and living in old, energy-inefficient homes — legacies of prejudicial practices like redlining in communities of color — are two causes she pointed to for disparity in energy costs.

"By tackling this, we reduce greenhouse gases and improve efficiency, reduce energy disparities for burdened communities," Thomas said. She said she is eager for the city to take part in the project "because it acknowledges that climate action requires an approach that recognizes the overlapping social and economic issues that have led to divergent outcomes along racial and ethnic lines.”

The city is seeking qualified local candidates for a director and a civic designer for the innovation team.

According to a news release, the initiative will provide support to selected cities to pursue solutions through partnerships with PolicyLink, Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University, and Natural Resources Defense Council.

Additionally, Akron will receive multiyear, in-depth, customized policy and technical assistance in collaboration with community-based organizations to mobilize public, private and philanthropic investments.

Malik's predecessor as mayor, Dan Horrigan, established Akron ties with Bloomberg Philanthropies that have benefited the city, including support for a financial empowerment center, the inclusion of Horrigan in a yearlong Harvard leadership program and the city being named a 2021 Global Mayors Challenge Champion city for an effort to train medical students to support Black entrepreneurs.

Malik said the latest project is a boost for the city and his fledgling administration's goals.

"With the added staff capacity and the network of other cities working towards similar solutions," Malik said, "we will be more innovative and engaged with the community in ideating, developing, and executing projects that create local solutions to the problems facing not only our city but the entire world.”

Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Bloomberg bringing climate change, wealth gap project to Akron