PlaNYC isn’t just about the environment. Amid the worst recession since the Great Depression, it’s jobs, jobs, jobs that matter most. But will the “green collar” jobs created by PlaNYC initiatives benefit all segments of our society equally? One organization intends to make sure they will.

The Applied Research Center, a California-based think tank focused on justice issues, has selected PlaNYC one of five programs to serve as case studies of how local community activists can successfully promote racial, economic and gender equality in green job creation.

“Hopefully, it’s a story we can tell about how labor and community activists won equity in PlaNYC,” Yvonne Liu, the project’s coordinator, told The Green Standard.

One of the reasons the Center chose New York is “because there’s not a lot of community input and participation right now in the planning process,” Liu said. However, many community groups are now beginning to organize to give their input, she added.

The case study will examine what campaign tactics, policies, equity measures and principles they are using to make their voices heard.

“New York City is a compelling case study because, if it works in New York, just like if it works in Los Angeles, there’s real implications that it has for [it] to work in another place as well,” Liu said.

A Los Angeles case study will be unveiled on November 18th. New York’s case study is due out in late December or early January, Liu said.

Tags | green jobs, PlaNYC