Developing a Community Action Roadmap to Engage in Port of Wilmington Expansion
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The case study outlined below is an example of how one community group is working to empower and organize local residents to secure local environmental protections as part of a planned expansion project at the Port of Wilmington, Delaware. This case study was developed to share lessons learned that may inform other near-port communities with similar efforts.
Background
- When the Port of Wilmington, Delaware announced its intentions to open a new, multi-use containerized cargo facility, leaders from the adjacent community began organizing to ensure their neighborhoods’ concerns and voices would be taken into consideration during the expansion. They established the Delaware Community Benefits Agreement Coalition (the “Coalition”) to engage stakeholders at the Port on how to best secure local environmental protections and deliver local economic benefits.
- In early 2021, EPA provided technical assistance to the Coalition to help the group create a tailored, practical, and actionable roadmap to engage with Port representatives and voice concerns.
- For more detailed information on the Coalition’s planning efforts, go to the full Case Study: Developing a Community Action Roadmap to Engage in Port of Wilmington Expansion (pdf)
Project Overview
Using the EPA Ports Initiative’s Community Action Roadmap tool, a step-by-step guide to help near-port communities engage in port decision-making, the Coalition worked to organize its efforts, expand its network, and amplify community voices when speaking with port stakeholders. Each planning session focused on a distinct step of building a roadmap:
- prioritizing goals and concerns
- identifying levers for change
- building relationships
- developing an action plan
- making your case
- building momentum
Outcomes
As a result of the six virtual sessions, guided in part by both the Coalition’s own set of clear goals as well as EPA’s Community Action Roadmap, the Coalition produced a comprehensive set of action items and next steps, a digital toolkit of all the resources and materials from the sessions, and positive momentum to develop a planning document and implement its recommendations.
Lessons Learned
Lessons learned from the Coalition’s planning sessions that could be helpful for other near-port communities include the value of:
- Creating actionable roadmaps to keep groups organized and on track.
- Sharing perspectives, challenges, and lessons in peer-to-peer exchanges with community groups in different parts of the country.
- Working with culturally competent facilitators.
- Creating digital “toolkits” of resources and materials from planning sessions to help maintain momentum and build capacity of local residents.
Next Steps
Since the planning sessions were completed, the Coalition has met with the Port operator, continued its work in education and community building, and has engaged in a dialogue with the State of Delaware to address ongoing issues of concern to near-port communities.