NSF Abstract

Green Era Educational NFP (Green Era) and the University of Michigan are working together in partnership to transform the landscape of waste management by fostering community resilience and social equity through the innovative use of bioenergy solutions. Green Era has developed a 9-acre vacant brownfield lot in the South Side of Chicago into a vibrant campus, hosting a renewable energy biodigester facility that uses food waste for operation and hub for urban agriculture and green jobs. Together, we envision a Research-Centered Pilot Project that will focus on optimizing their technological processes, engaging with their local communities, and developing educational materials to strengthen and amplify their positive community impact now and in the future. The work proposed will take a community-centric approach and contribute to broader positive impacts in the local community and beyond, such as increased economic opportunities, offset carbon, and support for healthier lifestyles. The outcomes of this work can be used to empower other communities and support economic and environmental prosperity, as well as community resilience.

In the planning scope of this project, we are motivated by the following research questions: 1) How might we characterize food waste streams and design an optimal blend of food waste sources as the substrate for biodigestion operation for Green Era? and 2) What are community priorities related to Green Era?s bioenergy operations and how do their priorities align or conflict with Green Era?s current processes? To answer these questions, we plan to run two workshops at Green Era?s campus to conduct technical analysis and community mapping to gather information and deepen our collective understanding. This information gathering will include community consultations, which will include semi-structured interviews with identified community partners, and technical feasibility studies, which will include laboratory characterizations of food waste and process optimization trials. Ultimately, the goal of the planning phase is to co-develop a strategic plan for Green Era based on our sociotechnical learnings that will be implemented in the project's next phase.

This project is in response to the Civic Innovation Challenge program?s Track A. Climate and Environmental Instability - Building Resilient Communities through Co-Design, Adaption, and Mitigation and is a collaboration between NSF, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Energy.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Award Abstract #2431089