In 2005, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) awarded the Western Justice Center Foundation a Community Partnership grant to fund a collaborative partnership between the Western Justice Center, the UCLA Institute of the Environment, and the UCLA School of Law's Evan Frankel Environmental Law and Policy Program. This partnership was to explore the application of conflict resolution techniques to environmental controversies.

The Western Justice Center was able to research the efficacy of environmental mediation for low income and minority communities and the circumstances surrounding the successful negotiation of landmark Community Benefit Agreements relating to the Staples Center and Los Angeles International Airport expansion efforts.

In partnership with the UCLA Frankel Program, the Western Justice Center also hosted an Environmental and Public Policy Facilitation Training in September 2006.  This three-day training was the first of its kind in Southern California and featured renowned trainer Mike Hughes of The Keystone Center. 

Currently, through its Collaborations on the Urban Environment (CUE) program, the Western Justice Center is working with the Los Angeles Department of City Planning and other local organizations on the public engagement process for the Cornfields/Arroyo Seco Specific Plan (CASP).  This process is designed to explore and address the local community’s ideas and visions for the future development of an environmentally, economically, and culturally important piece of Los Angeles.  More information about the CASP and the public engagement process is available on the CASP website and through this article from Los Angeles Downtown News.