California Air Resources Board

Scope of Work

Background

Urban green spaces are known to provide a wide variety of health and other benefits, as well as being an important strategy for storing ecosystem carbon, and sequestering CO₂. However, urban greenness is not distributed equally, and vulnerable communities and communities of color have less access to green space, as demonstrated in the qualitative analysis in the Scoping Plan, which highlights equity concerns for the distribution of greenness. Preliminary research funded by CARB examined the health benefits of urban greenness. This study estimated the health benefits of an increased level of urban green space statewide compared to current conditions in California and found substantial health benefits including thousands of avoided deaths and pre-term births and tens of thousands of years in life expectancy gained demonstrating the public health value of increased urban greening. However, this previous study quantified greenness by using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index NDVI, which lacks information on vegetation type and tree canopy. CARB’s analytical needs are now focused on quantifying urban greenness by urban forest type, tree number, and tree canopy. Thus, analyses linking quantifications of health and ecosystem services benefits to urban tree and canopy cover are important to meet CARB’s urban greening modeling needs. Furthermore, connecting the spatial distribution of current and future urban greening scenarios to the spatial distribution of vulnerable communities is critical for addressing urban greening equity concerns.  

In addition to health benefits such as reducing mortality and morbidity, urban greening produces additional benefits related to ecosystem services and community wellness. The qualitative review in the CARB Scoping Plan cites literature showing urban greening may influence community wellness by promoting physical activity and social contact; decreasing stress; and mitigating air pollution and heat exposure. This qualitative review also states studies that found evidence that expanding the urban tree canopy not only increases carbon sequestration directly, but also helps urban communities adapt to the adverse effects of climate change by providing shade to the public and reducing energy costs associated with cooling and filtering air pollutants. California Climate Investment (CCI) program for CARB has funded a number of urban greening projects and has calculated these ecosystem service benefits for the projects  *Ecosystem Service Benefits of Projects Funded by California Climate Investments (CCI) such as energy savings from urban trees and greening. 

A comprehensive statewide assessment of the many benefits from California’s urban green spaces that uses up-to-date high resolution land cover and tree canopy data is needed to help show the value of CARB programs to increase urban greening, particularly in low-income communities and other vulnerable communities in California. This project would need to assess the many health impacts, such as reduced mortality and adverse birth outcomes, and would explore the use of other health impacts such as mental health improvements. In addition to the health impacts, this research project would also explore ways to calculate the impacts from urban greening on ecosystem benefits such as benefits of cooling and reductions of heat island effects and energy savings, reductions in air pollution as well as other benefits from access to green space and greening of school yards in collaboration with CARB staff. The methodologies developed will be able to analyze the impact of current levels of greening and future greening scenarios at the statewide, regional and local levels. The methods will help to demonstrate the value of CARB’s urban greening programs, including those related to AB 1757 which is designed to increase nature-based solution and “would require the state board, no later than January 1, 2025, to develop standard methods for state agencies to consistently track greenhouse gas emissions and reductions, carbon sequestration, and, where feasible and in consultation with the Natural Resources Agency and the Department of Food and Agriculture, additional benefits from natural and working lands over time.”

Objective

The objective of this project is to develop methodologies that can be applied to both current levels of urban greenness and future projections of urban greening under climate change to assess the health benefits and ecosystem service benefits at the state, regional, and local level. The project will consider the distribution of vulnerable communities in California and how future urban greening efforts can be distributed to equitably support health and economic needs. This study will support CARB’s Nature-Based Solution programs to increase green space in California communities, including through street, neighborhood, and schoolyard greening efforts. The developed method(s) will (1) estimate the health impacts of urban greenspace, which may include effects on mortality, birth outcomes, or other health endpoints; (2) quantify the ecosystem service benefits of urban greenspace, such as reduced air pollution and urban cooling, and (3) quantify the economic impact related to both health and ecosystem service benefits due to current and future projected levels of urban greening. A fourth component of study will be to understand how these three urban greening attributes relate to the distribution of vulnerable communities and how future greening scenarios can remedy inequity in access to urban greenspace. CARB staff will collaborate and work closely with the selected investigators on all aspects of this project. 

Scope of Work

This project will develop methodologies to evaluate the benefits from current and future projections of levels of urban greenness in California. First, the researchers will develop and evaluate methods to quantify the health benefits of greenness. Second, the researchers will develop and evaluate methods to quantify the ecosystem service benefits of greenness. The types of ecosystem services to be evaluated will be determined in collaboration with CARB staff. These two methods will then be used to assess the health impacts of current levels of greenness and future scenarios for greenness in California. Both health and ecosystem service benefits must be quantified in terms of their economic impact to help inform the implementation of urban greening policy. A final component of the project will be to understand how health, ecosystem services, and economics of urban greening all relate to the distribution of vulnerable groups and communities throughout the state.

The research team will have experience working on the health and ecosystem services impacts of greenness and will be familiar with some of the latest methods in assessing levels of greenness, such as detailed land cover classification and state-wide individual tree monitoring maps. In addition to collaborating with CARB staff, the investigators will collaborate with other scientists conducting contracted research funded by CARB that relates to this project.

Proposed Project Tasks and corresponding deliverables

Health Analysis of Current and Future Scenarios for Greenness in California 

Task 1: Literature Review of the Health Impacts of Greenness and the Methods used to Quantify Health Benefits.

A literature review will be conducted on the health impacts of greenness and the current methodology used to quantify benefits. CARB staff will work with the investigators to determine the scope and direction of the literature review. This literature review will build from previous CARB funded research but will expand and reevaluate the results of this previous work. For example, in developing the dose response relationships for the analysis of the health impacts, it is important to consider methods used in the previous studies cited.

Task 1 Deliverable: Comprehensive reviews of the literature on the health impacts of greenness and the methodology and tools currently used to quantify the health benefits of greenness. Reviews will assist in the development of the methodology for the project. CARB staff will work with the investigators to determine the scope of the literature review. This deliverable is required before the next task is started.

Task 2: Data Collection for Exposure and Health Impact Analysis

Exposure data will be collected, including high resolution remote sensing data on landcover classification and statewide individual tree monitoring maps. Data will be collected in collaboration with CARB staff and using a current CARB project with CNRA and NASA 

Health data, which may include mortality data, hospital and emergency room visits, and birth outcomes data, will be collected from publicly available sources.

Task 2 Deliverable: An easy-to-use dataset of all relevant data needed to perform all aspects of health benefits analysis. The types of data collected will be determined by the types of analysis that will be conducted, based on the literature review and collaboration with CARB staff. The dataset will be clearly organized and contain metadata, including data sources and processing workflows. 

Task 3: Development of Methodology to Quantify Health Benefits of Current and Future Urban Green Space Levels in California 

The researchers will develop a methodology in consultation with CARB, including development of concentration response functions, to evaluate the mortality and morbidity improvements from urban green space that are based on measurements of urban forest and tree canopy. The endpoints used may include, but not be limited to mortality, birth outcomes and mental health outcomes and will be determined by the results of the literature search in Task 1 and in collaboration with CARB staff. The previously funded study applied dose-response values selected from the literature review and used the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program - Community Edition (BenMAP-CE) platform and geographic specific (census tract and zip code) models to estimate the changes in health outcomes from different urban green space scenarios in California. This study quantified the benefits to mortality, life expectancy, and adverse birth outcomes with increased green space exposure. The current study will review this methodology and revise and update the methods as needed. To the extent possible, the methodology will provide health impacts by racial/ethnic subgroups in addition to population averages. The methodology should also quantify health benefits in economic terms when possible. The study methods used to assess greenness may include landcover classification and individual tree monitoring maps. The methodology will include an analysis of the health impacts of greenness at a fine spatial scale that can provide information on the distribution of impacts in vulnerable communities. Methods will include analysis of impacts for vulnerable communities to identify areas that can most benefit from increased greenness. The methodology should be developed for application at a statewide, regional, or local level.

Task 3 Deliverable: A method to quantify health impacts for current and projected levels of greenness to include at a minimum mortality, life expectancy, and adverse birth outcomes with data by racial/ethnic subgroup to the extent possible. The method will also include calculation of the economic benefits to health. Concentration response functions for health endpoints will be provided to use in the methodology and will be developed in consultation with CARB staff and based on the literature review in TASK 1. Methods, including necessary code, will be well documented, transparent, and reproducible.  These methods will be able to assess effects statewide, regionally, and locally and will be used to analyze the distribution of impacts in vulnerable communities in California and between vulnerable communities and other communities. The methods developed will be designed to assist staff in calculating the health and economic benefits of increased greenness and will not be a public facing tool. Investigators will work closely with CARB staff and investigators working on related contracts funded by CARB to define the methods.

Task 4: Quantification of Health Benefits for Current and Future Projected Levels of Greenness in California

Using the methods developed in Task 3 the investigators will calculate the health and economic benefits of both current and future projected levels (2025-2045) of greenness in California. The benefits will be calculated both statewide and for regional and local areas of the state and should be calculated annually. The specific years to be analyzed and the scenarios for greenness used will be determined through collaboration with CARB staff.

Task 4 Deliverables: Quantification of the health and economic benefits for both current and future projected levels of urban green space in California at the statewide, regional, and local level and for vulnerable communities for the years and scenarios specified by CARB staff. Health and economic benefits will be provided by racial/ethnic sub-group where possible. The distribution of health impacts in vulnerable communities and between vulnerable communities and other communities will be provided.

Analysis of Current and Future Ecosystem Services Benefits for Greenness in California

Task 5: Literature Review on Ecosystem Service Benefits for Greenness and the Methods Used to Evaluate Them.

Ecosystem benefits, including reduction of heat, energy use and air pollution, are analyzed in literature as important results of increased greenness. Tools and techniques used to quantify and qualify ecosystem benefits from greenspace in California, including possible impacts to priority communities, will be reviewed. Tools can include those developed by the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) Urban Greening Grant Program (Urban Greening),*cnra_ug_finalqm.pdf (ca.gov) , where CARB staff developed an Urban Greening Quantification Methodology to provide guidance for estimating the net GHG benefit and selected co-benefits including reductions in energy use and reductions in pollutants ( http://www.arb.ca.gov/cci-cobenefits ) and developed an Urban Greening Benefits Calculator Tool (http://www.arb.ca.gov/cci-resourceshttp://www.arb.ca.gov/cci-resources ). Other potential tools can be found at the USEPA webpage on ecosystem services research  Ecosystem Services Research | US EPA , including the Ecosystem Decision Support Tools Eco-Health Relationship Browser | EnviroAtlas | US EPA.Eco-Health Relationship Browser | EnviroAtlas | US EPA. 

Task 5 Deliverable: A comprehensive literature review on the ecosystem impacts and the methodology and tools currently used or available for future use to quantify and/or qualify the benefits of greenness and to assist in the development of the methodology for the project will be completed. CARB staff will work with the investigators to determine the scope of the literature review. This deliverable is required before the next task is started.

Task 6: Collection and Analysis of Data for Ecosystem Service Benefits

Data will be collected and analyzed for the quantification of ecosystem services including heat reduction, energy use reduction, air pollution amelioration, access to quality green space and other benefits as determined in consultation with CARB staff. Data and analyses will enable the investigators to examine the effects of urban greening on select ecosystem service impacts. The impacts to be evaluated and necessary data will be developed in collaboration with CARB staff.

Task 6 Deliverable: Easy-to-use datasets and analyses needed to evaluate ecosystem service impacts using quantitative tools will be provided. The types of data collected will be determined by the types of analysis that will be conducted based on the literature review and collaboration with CARB staff. The datasets will be clearly organized and contain metadata, including data sources and processing workflows.

Task 7: Development of Ecosystem Services Analysis Methods

The specific ecosystem services to be evaluated will be selected in collaboration with CARB staff and may include decreased energy use from cooling and reduction of heat island effects, benefits from increased access to quality green space, reduced air pollution from filtration effects of greening, and increased greening of school yards Methods will be developed to evaluate the selected ecosystem service benefits. These methods should prioritize quantitative methods and include the economic impact of ecosystem services if possible. Methods will need to be adaptable to allow an assessment of the benefits for both current levels of greenness and for future projected levels of urban greenness in California. These methods will be able to assess effects statewide, regionally, and locally. The methods will also be used to analyze the benefits within vulnerable communities and between vulnerable communities and other communities in a spatially and temporally explicit way.

Task 7 Deliverables: Deliverables will include quantitative methods to evaluate selected ecosystem services benefits and economic outcomes for impacts which may include reduced air pollution, increased access to green space, increased greening of school yards and decreased energy usage at a state, regional, and local level. Methods, including necessary code, will be well documented, open, transparent, and reproducible. The final areas for analysis will be determined in collaboration with CARB staff.

Task 8: Assessment of Ecosystem Service Benefits

Using the analytical methods developed in Task 7, the contractors will quantify the selected ecosystem service benefits for both current and future levels of greenness. The spatial scale to be used for this analysis will be decided in consultation with CARB staff.

Task 8 Deliverables: A quantitative analysis of selected ecosystem service benefits for both current and future projected levels of urban green space in California will be completed using the methods developed in Task 7. The future scenarios and years to be assessed will be determined through collaboration with CARB staff and will be at the statewide, regional, and local levels. The deliverable will include an analysis of the distribution of benefits within vulnerable communities and between vulnerable communities and other communities.

Task 9: Community Focused Advisory Group

A community focused advisory group will be developed to assist in providing additional expertise. The advisors will be composed of 6 to 8 individuals that are community representatives to provide a community focus on the health and community benefits of greenness. The group will meet at the beginning of the project to review and offer advice on the methodology to be used, including the assessment of both health benefits and ecosystem service benefits. The group will offer advice on promoting and considering equity in the distribution of benefits and offer advice on areas (such as energy cost, air pollution reduction) that may most benefit the communities in developing the ecosystem services for analysis. The group will meet again later in the project to discuss and offer advice on the research findings for the study.

For community engagement efforts, the contractor must co-create meeting materials, including presentation slides, flyers, prompts and speaking notes with CARB staff. The contractor must agree to not misrepresent CARB policies to the public. CARB participation in community meetings would be preferred as long as CARB presence will not impact community engagement efforts negatively.

Task 9 Deliverables: The Advisors will provide comments on the methodology and on the results of the study to be included in the final report.

Task 10: Meeting, Reporting, Methods Transfer, and Preparation of Draft and Final Report

This will be a collaborative project where the investigators will work closely with CARB staff in all aspects of the project including the determination of the dose response relationships to be used in the health, environmental services, and economic analyses, assembling and use of data in the analyses and determination of the types of endpoints assessed. The results will be helpful to CARB in evaluating benefits of future greenness scenarios for all communities including vulnerable groups and communities. The results may also be helpful to determine inequalities in greenness across communities and the benefits of implementing adaptation projects for greenness in vulnerable communities.

Task 10 Deliverables: At the discretion of CARB staff, up to weekly meetings will be scheduled between the investigators and CARB staff. Task 1 and Task 5 results will be delivered before other tasks are begun. No task will be started without discussion and finalization of the task by CARB staff. All code, documentation, and other analyses will be transferred to CARB staff and the contractor will ensure successful execution of the methods developed during this contract on CARB IT systems. A draft final report will be due 6 months before the end of the project and will be reviewed and modified according to input by CARB staff.

Deliverables

The project proposal must include but is not limited to the following deliverables:

At Beginning of Contract

• All researchers must undergo cultural competency training (examples include implicit bias training, racial equity training, etc.). Trainings should be completed or scheduled within 30 days of contract execution.

During Active Contract Period

• Contractors should develop interim milestones and timelines for deliverables to be included in the project proposal. 
• Quarterly Progress Reports and weekly conference calls; The progress reports will include plain-language summaries that can be posted publicly. A progress report template will be provided. 
• Community engagement materials: flyers, presentation slides, prompts and speaking notes shall be co-created with CARB input
• Consultation calls with CARB and key stakeholders. Will be on an as needed basis but not less than monthly. 

Submit deliverables at the end of each task to ensure that progress is being made. Task 1 results will be delivered before Task 2 is begun. Task 5 results will be delivered before Task 6 is begun.  No task will be started without discussion and finalization of the task by CARB staff.

Prior to Contract Close

• All data, analyses and analytical tools generated through the course of this project including all documentation and instructions for using the methodologies developed. Methods, including necessary code, will be well documented, open transparent, and reproducible. An assessment of any gaps in methods and the limitations of the methods developed will be critical. Methods should contain an analysis describing associated error involved in any quantifications. All code and analyses will be able to run and be executed on CARB IT infrastructure. 
• Produce plain-language fact sheets, including information on the health and ecosystem benefits of greenness and these will be translated into Spanish 
• Draft final report
  • A copy-edited draft final report, reviewed and approved by the Principal Investigator
  • Include a plain language summary in draft final report 
  • Include an equity implications section in draft final report 
• Work with CARB to create plain-language outreach deliverables for public summarizing results and impact of project (available in multiple languages) 
• Final Report (ADA-compliant) and virtual or in-person seminar
• Peer reviewed publications should be publicly available (please budget for this expense; submission-ready publications shall be reviewed by CARB staff). 
• Additional deliverables to be determined in consultation with CARB staff.

Timeline

It is anticipated this project will be completed in 24 months from the start date. Cost shall not exceed $700,000.

Scoring Criteria

Responsiveness to the goals and objectives outlined in the proposal solicitation(15 points)

Proposers should demonstrate a clear understanding of the policy objectives and research needs that CARB seeks to address with this project, and should convey their knowledge of the subject. The proposal should have a clear research question or testable hypothesis. The proposal should consider various aspects of the research need and identify or acknowledge biases. The proposal should spell out, in adequate detail, exactly what the Proposer proposes to do to satisfy the requirements of the Solicitation. The draft proposal must propose work that would satisfy the objective(s) stated in the Research Solicitation.

The objective of the project is to develop a flexible methodology to quantify the health benefits and other impacts including ecosystem service benefits for all of California’s urban greenspaces statewide and to develop a methodology to calculate these impacts for future projections of urban greening under climate change.

Policy relevance/benefits to the state(10 points)

Does the proposal describe how the project will provide data, information, and/or products to help CARB accomplish its mission?

This project will provide CARB a methodology to demonstrate the value of urban greening including health benefits and ecosystem service benefits. Urban greening is a key action included in CARB’s Scoping Plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Previous work (15 points)

Do the researchers have relevant experience in this area? Is the team composed of a multidisciplinary team of experts? Do they discuss how they will build upon previous relevant work that was funded by CARB, other state agencies, and any other organizations you believe are appropriate? If including community engagement, the relevant research partner should describe previous experience in community engagement and provide letters of support, references or a community impact statement, describing how previous work impacted communities. 5 points will be reserved for project teams that meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. The project team is multi-disciplinary
2. The project team members come from various universities or include non-academic institutions or community-based organizations
3. The project team includes one or more members, contributing significantly to the project (i.e. a principle investigator, co-principle investigator or co-investigator, contributing 25% or more of their time to the project) who have not worked with CARB in the past 5 years.

Technical merit (25 points)

Describe the submission's technical strengths and/or weaknesses. Proposers should demonstrate the logic and feasibility of the methodology and technical approach to the project, spell out the sequence and relationships of major tasks, and explain methods for performing the actual work. The proposal should provide an explanation of how the proposed methods are robust and how results will be validated. Please factor in how well the draft proposal describes these areas:

1. Is this the correct measurement approach, are these appropriate technologies being examined, will their proposed analysis produce the relevant results, etc.
2. Does the proposed work address all the deliverables required in section “Deliverables”? If not, the proposal should not be considered for funding.
3. The review team will be selecting only one draft proposal for development into a full proposal. If this draft proposal has potential, what areas or topics should be prioritized or better explained in the full proposal?

Level and quality of effort to be provided(15 points)

Does the proposal allocate time and resources in such a way that the objectives of the study will be met? Is supervision and oversight adequate for ensuring that the project will remain on schedule? Is the distribution of workload appropriate for activities such as research, evaluation and analysis, data reduction, computer simulation, report preparation, meetings, and travel?

Cost effectiveness (20 points)

Does the cost seem appropriate for the proposed work?  Does the proposed work seem feasible within the requested budget?  Projects that provide co-funding should be evaluated more favorably.

Scoring Criteria Scoring Guidance

91-100 points. Exceptionally strong. The submission is technically strong, meets stated research objectives, is cost-effective, and has a high potential to be successfully completed.

81-90 points. Strong. The submission is technically sound.

71-80 points. Mixed. The submission has either strong technical merit or strong policy significance, but not both.

61-70 points. Weak. The submission is not sufficiently linked to needs of the Board and offers limited technical merit.

60 points or below. Unacceptable. The submission is not linked to interests or needs of the Board and lacks technical merit.