Tech to regenerate Gresham, Chicago

  • August 20, 2024
  • William Payne

An urban regeneration initiative has been launched in South Side Chicago that aims to employ technology and community engagement to create sustainable urban development. The Green Era Campus in the Auburn Gresham neighbourhood will develop a renewable energy facility to generate clean energy and a series of urban farming initiatives to improve food security for the surrounding communities.

Green Era has partnered with a number of organisations to transform nine acres of former brownfield into a hub for green energy, jobs, fresh produce, small business incubation, educational programming and community green space.

Each partner organisation is responsible for a distinct financial or operational aspect of Green Era. Partner organisations include 501(c)(3) nonprofits Urban Growers Collective, a Black-woman-led organization focused on urban agriculture; Green Era Educational NFP, the land owner and site developer; and Green Era Sustainability, an organization that recycles food waste by converting it to renewable natural gas and fertilizer for urban farming.

The initiative includes using technology including an anaerobic digester to generate clean energy from organic waste, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting renewable energy adoption. Green Era Campus will also host urban farming initiatives aimed at promoting local food production and enhancing food security in the surrounding communities. The seven-acre Green Era Urban Farm will grow more than 125 varieties of produce per year, train young farmers, support new food businesses and entrepreneurs and, ultimately, build financial security and collective power for historically underserved communities.

“This is true change: a facility that can grow food, create energy and provide education and inspiration to young people and folks returning from incarceration—all happening within a community that represents the challenges we’ve been up against for the last 130 years; and we send an abundance of heartfelt gratitude to the organizations, community members and officials that helped make Green Era Campus a reality,” said Erika Allen, CEO for Urban Growers Collective, the president of Green ERA Educational NFP and co-owner of Green Era Sustainability Partners.