Viewing Grant Proposal: City of Ann Arbor_Bryant Neighborhood Decarbonization

This project will help create the nation’s first fully decarbonized existing neighborhood, and do that by centering the goals, aspirations, and strengths of low‐income and BIPOC residents. Led by a coalition of residents, nonprofits, and governmental organizations, for more than two years, stakeholders have been envisioning what a carbon neutral Bryant neighborhood could look like. This grant will help implement some of the solutions identified – focusing on making significant energy, electrification, health, safety, and comfort improvements in 50 low‐income homes.
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Comments
Comment Date: Comment:
4/2/2024 1:57:46 PM
The City's sustainability work within the Bryant neighborhood serves as a model for the City of Ann Arbor and state. We need more of these kinds of projects!
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4/3/2024 7:45:06 PM
This Grant Funding would go a long way to bringing the Bryant neighborhood residents' homes more healthy and reduce their monthly costs for energy.
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4/5/2024 11:22:20 AM
Decarbonizing low-income housing is complicated, nuanced, and time-consuming. This project team has been very mindful every step of the way and has put in significant time and care to nurture the relationships necessary to implement this critical work. I hope to see a lot more projects like this in the future but for now, this model needs to be invested in so I hope it is funded.
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4/7/2024 11:22:26 AM
This ambitious project is exactly what we need - to demonstrate and test our ability to transform our energy usage and change our relationship to and impact on the earth.
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4/11/2024 2:10:31 PM
The Center for Sustainable Systems (CSS) at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability wholeheartedly supports the City of Ann Arbor’s Bryant Neighborhood Decarbonization project proposal. Over several decades, CSS has partnered with the City on a variety of projects that share the goal of accelerating sustainability transformations, including the production of the City’s initial GHG Emissions Reduction Plan in 2002; development of its water baseline benchmark; research on the City's reusable takeout container program; and decarbonization in the Bryant neighborhood most recently. Through our ongoing work with the City, we have seen them effectively engage with, educate, and include residents in decision-making. The approach the City is taking to decarbonization – electrification, efficiency, and renewable energy – is a well-accepted path supported by extensive scientific research, including our own. Their important decision to apply this approach in the low-income / BIPOC Bryant neighborhood takes direct aim at the (mis)perception that sustainability is only for the most affluent and focuses on households where the project funds can have the greatest impact, not just on decarbonization but on the quality of life of families in Bryant. As a research organization, we see incredible value in the Bryant neighborhood serving as a test-bed for net-zero innovations, given its unique characteristics: lower income, in the Midwest, where a cold climate and stressed electricity grid make many decarbonization pathways especially challenging. By studying what works in Ann Arbor and in Bryant, we are able to draw lessons that can help other communities across the nation. We urge the MPSC to support this high-impact and important project.
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