One Block at a Time: Addressing Erie's Water Challenges through Community Visioning
About the Project
Pennsylvania Sea Grant, the Community Resilience Action Network of Erie (CRANE) and other local partners are working together to create neighborhoods and communities that are resilient to climate challenges such as flooding, high winds, and blizzards.
Through a series of listening and planning sessions, the project team will work with the community to discuss local challenges, barriers, and potential solutions for Erie’s neighborhoods.
The “One Block” concept is part of a broader partnership to increase community resilience across the Great Lakes. Three Sea Grant programs (Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, Minnesota Sea Grant, and Pennsylvania Sea Grant) will form a multi-community work team to address climate hazards in Michigan City and Hammond, Indiana; Duluth, Minnesota; and Erie, Pennsylvania, respectively.
The project is broken out into three phases:
Phase 1: Background Assessment
Phase 2: Community Visioning
The second phase of the project involves multiple community listening sessions with community leaders and members to allow for co-learning about community needs, selection of the One Block implementation site, and collaborative visioning of a resilient neighborhood.
Phase 3: Implementation
The final phase of the project will be to identify a One Block pilot project at a high priority location in Erie County. Additional funding will support implementation of a additional climate resilient projects such as inclusion of green stormwater infrastructure, tree plantings, community gardens, or other projects as identified by the One Block team.
Climate-Ready Listening Session
On June 21, 2023, Pennsylvania Sea Grant and CRANE held a listening session to discuss community needs on climate and water challenges, solutions, and barriers. A report on the outcomes of this session is being prepared and will be available soon.