INFORM POLICY
Real change requires systems that support it.
Education and collective action are essential. But they can only go so far without policies and infrastructure that make sustainable living accessible for everyone. The decisions made at the city level — about transportation, zoning, waste systems, school budgets — shape what's possible in our neighborhoods every day.
Urban Green Lab makes sure those decisions are informed by what communities actually know and need. We don't just deliver programs. We contribute evidence, build relationships with civic partners, and ensure that Nashville's sustainability agenda reflects the people most affected by environmental challenges — especially those who have been impacted first, worst, and longest.
Aligning with Nashville's Commitments
Nashville has made meaningful sustainability commitments — through the Climate Action Plan, the Zero Waste Master Plan, the Complete Streets Policy, and more. Urban Green Lab's work is designed to move these city-wide goals forward at the neighborhood level. We connect what happens in classrooms and community centers to what gets measured, funded, and tracked at the city level. When the city sets a goal, we're working to help Nashville meet it.
Community Knowledge Shapes Policy
We work with elected officials, school system leaders, and agency partners to ensure that sustainability policy reflects lived experience — not just technical expertise. Our role is to inform and translate: to bring community voice into policy conversations, and to bring policy opportunities back to the communities we serve. Good policy requires trust. We spend a lot of time building it.
Contributing Evidence
We measure what we do and share what we find. Our program data — on behavior change, geographic reach, and participant outcomes — helps build the case for sustainability investment in Nashville and contributes to national conversations about what sustainability education can accomplish. Good policy needs good evidence, and we're working to produce both.
Policy works best when it's built on real community knowledge.
Learn how Urban Green Lab contributes to Nashville's sustainability agenda — and how you can stay informed.
Policy work from the inside looks less like testimony at a podium and more like sitting with residents around a table and translating what they're living through into language a city council can act on. I've watched a room go quiet when someone from a neighborhood that's dealt with extreme heat shares their experience, and watched that testimony show up in the decision-making process. We don't treat policy as a separate lane from education or community action. It's the same mission, just operating at the scale where a single change protects thousands of people instead of one household.
Todd Lawrence, Executive Director
We Want to Hear from You
Join the conversation about making Nashville a sustainable city for everyone. Email us at connect@urbangreenlab.org.