Environmental Justice Action Plan

Environmental Justice Action Plan Cincinnati

Project Summary: The Cincinnati area has had a history of environmental justice crises in several of its most vulnerable neighborhoods. As part of Cincinnati’s Green Plan and sustainable initiatives, the city is hoping to address EJ issues held on by create its own Environmental Justice Action Plan. During a graduate course, my group was tasked with completing background research and drafting an outline for such a plan. Our report inventoried the city’s Environmntal Justice history, prioritized the current and future threats and offered best practices from around the country to address these issues. The report will be influential in guiding future EJ response efforts in Cincinnati.

My role: research, plan outlining and development, report writing and editing

Partnerships:

Full PDF Report

Highway Traffic Ari Pollution

Industrial Pollution Brownfields Landfills Wastewater Treatment Food desserts Lead Paint Climate Change Environmental Gentrification

Inform • Gather Inventory of all known and potential threats • Using GIS, create an interactive online map illustrating these threats • Case Study review of successful environmental justice response

Assess • Identify “hotspot” neighborhoods with history of environmental injustice and high risk to threats • Community engagement in

“hotspot” neighborhoods • Community participatory testing • Publicize results of air and health testing to pressure air pollution regulation reform

Restore • Vegetation & built wall barriers for highways and high traffic roads • Adopt an Air Filter Ordinance for buildings near highways • Adopt Buffer Zoning near highways • Utilize phytoremediation practices to clean and restore brownfield sites

Plan • Planning to mitigate environmental gentrification • Planning for climate change resiliency