University of Massachusetts Amherst
EN-10: Community Partnerships
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Ezra
Small Sustainability Manager Physical Plant |
Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:
The Western Massachusetts communities of Amherst, Chicopee, Easthampton, Holyoke, Northampton, South Hadley, Springfield, and West Springfield, along with the University of Massachusetts and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (and soon expanding to Westfield and Hadley), have contracted a collaboration and partnership with Bewegen Technologies to bring bike share to our region in 2018. After just completing the fifth year of operations, to meet Pioneer Valley’s unique challenges, ValleyBike Share is designed to promote short bike trips within core communities, where clusters of large employers, colleges, shopping, tourist destinations and residents can readily be connected. Six stations are conveniently located on the UMass Amherst campus. With 80 stations, and all 760 bikes being pedal electric-assisted (Pedelec) bikes, the system is one of the largest electric assisted bike share program in the world.
Social equity – the fair access and full participation of all residents and visitors – in ValleyBike is a top priority. ValleyBike Share Access Pass Program - ValleyBike wants to make sure that bike share is fun, convenient, and affordable to all residents in Pioneer Valley. Qualified residents who are currently receiving S.N.A.P. Benefits or Section 8 Housing, or MassHealth Standard are eligible for the ValleyBike Access Pass. ValleyBike provides Access Pass users an annual membership for $10.00 per year, this can be paid with a Debit Card, Credit Card or Money Order. The pass will allow users unlimited 1-hour rides. Rides longer than 1-hour will incur a $.19 per minute fee. More info here: https://www.valleybike.org/equity-programs
UMass Amherst contributes $6600 annually in community admin feeds to ValleyBike Share as part of this agreement. UMass also pays for all costs associated with installing the new stations (pad pouring and electrical work).
Found within the Regional Bike Share Feasibility Study the Advisory Committee has established the following goals for this project:
1. To use bicycles to enhance and extend the range of the transit and rail services
2. To promote healthy, active living and support recreational use of bikes
3. To build demand for bicycle infrastructure, including bike lanes and bike parking
4. To provide visitors and local residents with an effective means of moving around the region, that is equitable and inclusive of elderly, lower income and other traditionally underserved populations
5. To promote economic development including jobs and schools
6. To promote green transportation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
7. To create a bike share system that is financially sustainable
8. To create a bike share system that functions regionally
9. To make use of local opportunities to support bike sharing, such the prevalence of large health care institutions, the number of higher-learning campuses and large student population, and supportive local businesses.
10. Create more livable communities, and reduce the need for new areas to be developed for additional parking in our urban core and commercial areas.
More info: https://www.valleybike.org/
Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
The UMass Clean Energy Extension (CEE) developed a Community Planning for Solar Toolkit to empower municipal governments with the knowledge and tools to pro-actively plan for solar development in their communities. To deliver the toolkit, the Clean Energy Extension is now working with ten municipalities through a Carbon Zero Living Lab senior capstone course to train students on the toolkit to lead the solar planning process with each town.
Link: https://ag.umass.edu/clean-energy/research-new-initiatives/solarplanning
CEE also provides a resource to reduce market barriers and accelerate the adoption of clean energy for Massachusetts cities and towns, businesses, institutions, farms, low income and multi-unit housing, and others. CEE carries out this work by helping entities to understand their energy use and increase their energy efficiency and use of renewable energy through energy audits, energy profiles and technical assistance. CEE assists entities in evaluating and implementing clean energy opportunities and supports applied research to address technical and policy challenges facing clean energy.
Besides helping these entities become more energy efficient and adopt sustainable energy plans, CEE also promotes the adoption of Pollinator-Friendly Solar PV and on-farm Solar PV installations, researches the design and implementation of large scale energy storage projects, and works on initiatives to green municipal fleets.
UMass Amherst provides base funding for CEE and material support in the form of office space, equipment, transportation, logistics and academic facilities.
Link: https://ag.umass.edu/clean-energy
Valuing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice is a cornerstone of the work of the Clean Energy Extension mission and programs. More information on how CEE integrates these aspects into their work can be found here: https://ag.umass.edu/clean-energy/about/valuing-diversity-equity-inclusion-justice-in-our-work.
Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
The Northeast Center for Coastal Resilience (NCCR) will serve as a regional knowledge hub to provide actionable coastal science, inform policy and local decision making, support sustainable blue economy development, and facilitate strategic regional collaborations. NCCR is a multi-institutional collaboration with:
UMass Amherst
UMass Boston
UMass Dartmouth
UMass Lowell
Woods Hole Group
Essex County Community Foundation
Additionally, there are formal and informal opportunities for organizations, agencies, businesses, and stakeholder groups to get involved.
The NCCR mission is to “advance actionable coastal science, inform policy and decision making, and support Blue Economy development” in coastal New England and beyond.
NCCR is a proud UMass system collaboration partnership. Leveraging world-class scientists and scholars from across the Commonwealth’s public universities, the Center aims to be a catalyst, accelerating resilience, adaptation planning, and a just blue economy in New England. Each university brings collaborating units to NCCR, including:
UMass Amherst: School of Earth & Sustainability, Gloucester Marine Station, and Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center
UMass Boston: School for the Environment, Stone Living Lab, and Nantucket Field Station
UMass Dartmouth: School for Marine Science & Technology
Mass Lowell: Rist Institute for Sustainability & Energy
Together, the NCCR’s research team includes over 60 faculty with expertise ranging from physical sciences to engineering, technology, socio-economic and behavioral sciences, and stakeholder engagement. To explore our expertise and research strengths, check out our NCCR Faculty Directory for further details about faculty members and their research programs. Serving as a hub, the NCCR team is also actively developing collaborative partnerships with municipalities, planning agencies, public agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, and other local stakeholders.
A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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