A draft city plan to address environmental inequities across Evanston proposes designating large parts of the 2nd, 5th and 8th wards, as “green zones.”

The study was launched late last year and consultant teams preparing it found, among other things, disparities in life expectancy by census tract that generally map to lower-income areas in the city.

The new draft includes a set of recommended action items for the city to address in the coming years, from addressing community services and green space disparities to housing, streets and transportation improvements

In Evanston, the study found life expectancy in the 5th Ward is around 75 years old, about 10 years older than Chicago’s worst-ranked neighborhood by life expectancy, but several years less than other wards in Evanston.

Life expectancy in portions of the 2nd Ward around ETHS stand closer to 80 years old with life expectancy in the 8th Ward around 78.

Life expectancy ranges as high as almost 89 years in census tract 8088 in northeast Evanston, a portion of the 7th Ward. That’s more than 13 year range across the city’s census tracts.

By comparison, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday that life expectancy in Chicago, has a greater overall span — a nearly 20-year range in life expectancy across neighborhoods and the lowest life expectancy there — in West Garfield Park is just 66.6 years — nine years less than the lowest census tract life expectancy in Evanston.

The Evanston draft report was presented to the city’s Environment Board Thursday night.

Now, the city is being presented with “action items,” much like other city plans, identifying potential solutions and recommendations to address the inequities.

Some key recommendations include:

• Continue to prioritize public tree planting in areas with higher urban heat island effect and higher air pollution
• Develop sustainable funding mechanisms to improve and maintain park facilities
• Work with commercial and industrial property owners to identify potential green infrastructure for their sites
• Improve existing transit stops to make them more accessible, safe, inviting, and comfortable
• Develop programs and outreach that help property owners with electrification, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and weatherization home upgrades
• Advocate for inclusionary zoning and increased housing diversity to mitigate housing cost burdens and gentrification that are impacting Evanston’s most vulnerable residents
• Expand programming and education about city services, like the public service guide, to 6+ unit multifamily residential, mixed-use, and commercial properties.
• Created targeted outreach programs to increase youth participation in local governance and civic engagement

The full draft executive summary can be found here.