The city of Springfield, Massachusetts is increasingly focused on enhancing resilience to extreme events and improving social equity and environmental justice. Because of issues such as poverty, unemployment, racism and segregation, and high rates of underlying health issues, many of Springfield’s residents are particularly vulnerable to extreme events.  Springfield received grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to develop a Climate Action Resilience Plan, published in 2017, to enhance social, economic, and ecological resilience.  The plan has spurred increased local interest in stewardship.

Dave Bloniarz of the USDA Forest Service Communities and Landscapes of the Urban Northeast Research Work Unit identified STEW-MAP as a tool that could both engage the local community and expand USDA Forest Service research efforts in Springfield to compliment the Climate Action Plan. A network of local partners including The City of Springfield, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and local NGOs such as ReGreen Springfield, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, and Greening the Gateway Cities collaborated to launch STEW-MAP in Springfield in the summer of 2020.

The Springfield STEW-MAP team focused on creating a streamlined version of the data collection methodology that could be replicated with other STEW-MAP projects across the country and world. This includes testing new digital data collection tools such as ArcGIS’ Survey123 application.

Once responses have been collected, the organizers are planning a series of community meetings in fall 2020. The purpose of these meetings will be to demonstrate how STEW-MAP can be used as a tool by local organizations to coordinate work and grow their networks with the goal of increasing cooperation and improving outcomes throughout the city.

Click below to view the:

• Map
• Dashboard
• Data

Point of Contact:  David Bloniarz