Week 12

New York City is famous for its bustling high rise areas and its popular tourist attractions. New York is also very well known for its places like the Bronx. A place well known for the wrong reasons. The Bronx is a classic example of racial and environmental injustice that is present in the United States today. Statistics say that black people living in America are twice as likely as a white people to live in an area where air pollution poses a great risk to their health. These people are five times more likely to live within walking distance of a power plant. It is an unfortunate fact that a persons race and class are extremely reliable indicators as to whether someone lives in a community with things like parks and trees or whether someone lives in a community with things like power plants and waste facilities.

These conditions are clearly seen in the Community of South Bronx. Despite being only a small part of New York City, this area handles more that 40% of the entire city’s commercial waste including a sewage treatment palletizing plant, a sewage sludge plant, four power plants, the world’s largest food distribution centre and other industries that bring more that 60,000 diesel truck tips into the area each week. The area also has a very low ratio of parks to people compared to other parts of New York City.

Examining these concerning facts leaves us with a Question. How did the South Bronx become like this? During the forties, South Bronx was culturally a very different place. Populated mostly by white, working class people. Over the years more black people moved into the area, shifting the ratio significantly. This influx of black people caused white flight to become common in The South Bronx as well as in many cities around the country. White flight is defined as the move of native-born white city-dwellers to the suburbs to escape the influx of immigrants or migrants. As these white, working class people felt they were no longer the dominant demographic in the South Bronx, they fled to other parts of New York.

The combination of the influx of black people into the community and racial injustice caused the South Bronx to be redlined. This means that certain areas of the city that have been redlined are off limits to any sort of investment. Many landlords believed it was more profitable to torch their buildings and collect insurance money, instead of trying to sell under these new conditions. The increase in segregation of black and white communities is a cultural change that has had a huge impact on the South Bronx. One example of this is the plan to build the Sheridan Expressway that allows residents of wealthy communities to go to Manhattan without having to travel through the South Bronx. This expressway has ended up being underutilized, going virtually unused even during rush hour. This expressway was planned with no regard for the neighborhoods that are divided by it.

The South Bronx is an example of a chain reaction causing degradation in many areas. Economic degradation caused environmental degradation, which causes social degradation. New York City’s old and outdated zoning and land use regulations have caused the South Bronx to become a very unhealthy and polluted area, which as a result has caused a number of social issues such as obesity, diabetes and asthma. Why would someone leave his or her home to go for a brisk walk in a toxic, polluted neighborhood? The community has a 27% obesity rate, which is high even in the United States. One if four South Bronx children has asthma and their asthma hospitalization rate is seven times higher that the national average.  The neglect that was given to the South Bronx set a foundation for this environmental injustice that has developed. 50% of residents live at or below the poverty line and 25% of residents are unemployed.

The South Bronx had very much become a dead end to its residents and to New York City. The South Bronx had developed a strong and very negative image and reputation. The common belief was that only pimps, pushers and prostitutes were from this area. Many people who grew up in the South Bronx grew up believing and being told that nothing good is going to come from their community. If you are told growing up that you will never be anything good, then chances are that is how you will turn out.

Majora Carter is a visionary city planner who fights for environmental justice in her hometown of South Bronx. She aims to hold back the polluters who target low-income neighborhoods as well as make the South Bronx greener and create more green jobs in the area. Carter believes that no community should be saddled with more environmental burdens and less environmental benefits that any other. Carter also believes in a bottom line, which is designed to motivate people. Her bottom line is that sustainable development can produce.

Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx) is an organization that works with the South Bronx and other underserved urban communities, helping them transform into stronger and more sustainable places to live. They provide solutions that address environmental, economic and social concerns through policy change, green job training, environmental education and community greening programs.

Greening the Ghetto is a program that was developed by SSBx that is designed to help improve the environment and sustainability of the South Bronx. This program consists of two main projects. South Bronx Greenway (SGB) and Green Roofs. The South Bronx Greenway will create bike and pedestrian paths around the Hunts Point and Port Morris areas of the South Bronx. The South Bronx Greenway will provide many benefits to the community. SBG will provide safe and attractive public spaces where residents can get exercise in a safe, non-toxic environment. SBG will also create better transportation policy. Including the design of new truck routes that will keep trucks away from residential areas. This will allow residents to integrate physical activity into daily life.

SBG will also make an environmental impact on the South Bronx community. Concrete and pavement will be replaced with parks, trees and planted strips. Vegetation such as this has the ability to capture pollution that is in the air as well as rainwater that would normally collect pollutants from the street and flow into rivers. SBC will not only help the health of community members but also help to clean nearby bodies of water.

Through the South Bronx Greenway program, SSBx also aims to reduce crime and create jobs in the area. Research has shown that residential areas with higher amounts of green spaces see less crime than areas with limited green spaces. The SSBx project aims to improve the quality of life for many and deter criminal activity. New trees and parks on the South Bronx Greenway will need to be maintained and kept healthy. This will bring much-needed green collar jobs to the community.

Green Roofs is another idea that SSBx has used to help improve the South Bronx.

A Green Roof is a system of soil and plants on top of a roof. These layers include: protection fabric, root barrier, drainage soil and plants. These green Roofs will cover and protect a rooftop, while providing many economic and environmental benefits. Through this project SSBx is demonstrating the positive connection between living wage jobs and a cleaner environment. Green Roofs have an even greater impact on a community when it is installed and maintained by well-trained members of that community.

Using these Green roofs can provide a number of environmental and economic benefits for a community. Energy consumers could save 5 million dollars by reducing cooling costs through the installation of Green Roofs on just 5% of New York City buildings. A similar number of Green Roofs could also cause an annual reduction of 350,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Green Roofs could also retain 810 gallons of storm water for every $1,000 of investment. This would ease the pressure on the city’s overworked sewer system and would reduce the overflow of untreated sewage from combined sewer overflows. This may in the long run mean there is less of a need for such sewage treatment plants that have been polluting areas such as the South Bronx. Green Roofs can also reduce energy consumption and help manage storm water. A typical 2 or 3 level building such as an apartment block could experience between 15-25% saving in summertime energy costs. They also prevent water from flooding the subway and sewer systems by capturing over 50% of storm water, filtering pollutants and reducing the flow of peak storm water by approximately 75%. One high School in Bronx created an education course, which incorporated SSBx’s Green Roof into its educational curriculum. These roofs also help to regain some of the biodiversity that has been lost by providing new habitats for birds, bee, butterflies and other types of wildlife. Green Roofs have a longer lifespan and can last up to 2-3 times longer that typical rooftops. This is because they use the sun’s rays rather than being abused by them. These roofs face significantly less wear and tear caused by the sun.

An urban heat island is a metropolitan area, which is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas. The significant number of surfaces like rooftops and pavements that are absorbing and generating heat causes this. On Average New York City is 5-7°F warmer than surrounding rural areas in the summertime. As a result this causes increased levels of smog and asthma. Green Roofs cool and filter the air, improving overall air quality.

Bogota, Colombia is a very good example of the transformation of a similar community and was a big inspiration to Carter and her team. Bogota had a similar reputation to the South Bronx as gun violence and drug trafficking surrounded it. In the late 1990s the city gained a highly influential mayor, Enrique Penalosa. Penalosa studied the demographics of his city and made decisions with the people very much in mind. As only a small percent of residents drove cars, Penalosa minimized the number of lanes on roads, expanded pedestrian walkways and bike lanes and created one of the most efficient bus mass transit systems in the entire world. As the people began to see that they were being put first when planning was being done, they started to become a happier community. People stopped littering, crime rates dropped because the streets were alive with people. Not only did he attack several urban problems at once but he did it with a third world budget. Penalosa’s people first agenda aimed to provide the opportunity for all residents to participate in the city’s resurgence.

Majora Carter and Sustainable South Bronx strive to help underserved communities with bad reputations such as the South Bronx. These ideas from SSBx and from Penalosa were designed to help repair the damage done by economical change and as a result environmental and social damage done to these communities. They will help bring environmental and economic justice to these areas. Carter and SSBx aim to make green the new black.