Green Is the New Black
Green is the New Black
Majora Carter grew up in the Bronx. In late 1940s, her father, a Pullman porter, son of a slave, bought a house in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx in pursue of an American Dream. There was soon racism, disinvestment, red lining on the areas where they lived. Later on they faced bigger problems when Robert Moses, one of the key builders of New York City, decided to expand the highway. The primary goal of the highway was to make it easier for the residents of wealthy communities to travel by car. The residents of the South Bronx were often given less than a month’s notice before their buildings were razed. About 600,00 people were displaced by this project.
Because of growing up in such a society Majora Carter feels that the antiquated zoning and land use regulations are still used to justify putting pollution facilities in politically vulnerable communities like hers. She thinks that “economic degradation begets environmental degradation and then social degradation. The disinvestment that began in the 60’s set the stage for the environmental injustices to come.” She feels that there is a link between environmental and racial justice. There is a link between class and the environment people live in. She states that a black person in America is twice as likely as a white person to live in an area where air pollution poses the greatest risk to health, five times more likely to live within walking distance from a
Limbu
power plant or chemical facility. All of the above factors create hostile conditions that lead to problems like obesity, diabetes and asthma
Majora Carter came up with a Sustainable Solution in order to address the economical and environmental degradation that has historically affected the South Bronx. Majora Carter and here group initiated the Bronx Ecological Stewardship Training (BEST), which provides job training in the fields of ecological restoration and Brownfield remediation so that people from the
Majora Carter grew up in the Bronx. In late 1940s, her father, a Pullman porter, son of a slave, bought a house in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx in pursue of an American Dream. There was soon racism, disinvestment, red lining on the areas where they lived. Later on they faced bigger problems when Robert Moses, one of the key builders of New York City, decided to expand the highway. The primary goal of the highway was to make it easier for the residents of wealthy communities to travel by car. The residents of the South Bronx were often given less than a month’s notice before their buildings were razed. About 600,00 people were displaced by this project.
Because of growing up in such a society Majora Carter feels that the antiquated zoning and land use regulations are still used to justify putting pollution facilities in politically vulnerable communities like hers. She thinks that “economic degradation begets environmental degradation and then social degradation. The disinvestment that began in the 60’s set the stage for the environmental injustices to come.” She feels that there is a link between environmental and racial justice. There is a link between class and the environment people live in. She states that a black person in America is twice as likely as a white person to live in an area where air pollution poses the greatest risk to health, five times more likely to live within walking distance from a
Limbu
power plant or chemical facility. All of the above factors create hostile conditions that lead to problems like obesity, diabetes and asthma
Majora Carter came up with a Sustainable Solution in order to address the economical and environmental degradation that has historically affected the South Bronx. Majora Carter and here group initiated the Bronx Ecological Stewardship Training (BEST), which provides job training in the fields of ecological restoration and Brownfield remediation so that people from the