Confronting an unjust past for a healthier future The case for climate justice

Confronting an unjust past for a healthier future:

The case for climate justice

From environmental racism to environmental justice In the United States, the purposeful shaping of cities in favor of more “desirable” people (to quote the 1930s Home Owners’ Loan Corporation discriminatory redlining maps) has led to underserved communities and disparate health outcomes within those communities. Black Americans are more likely to live near hazardous facilities, lack access to safe drinking water, and endure “higher rates of poverty, shorter life spans and higher rates of chronic diseases including asthma, diabetes, hypertension, obesity and kidney disease.” 1, 2

These disparities were given the name “environmental racism” in 1979, when professor Robert Bullard formed a research group to support his wife’s lawsuit against a landfill in a middleclass Houston neighborhood where 82% of the residents were Black, citing racial discrimination in its environmental practice [Source 3]. Bollard became known as the “father of environmental justice,” and eventually the movement was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992 with the formation of the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ). 4

According to the OEJ, “Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. This goal will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.” 5

Above Pittsburgh Home Owners’ Loan Corporation map, 1930’s. Communities deemed EJ areas by the EPA have a greater exposure to rising temperatures and pollutants, are more vulnerable to natural disasters and disease, are at a greater risk to increases in energy and food prices, and are at a greater risk of displacement. The OEJ develops collaborative programs and policies to support and engage minority, low-income, tribal, and Indigenous populations and partner with other federal agencies to advance the principles of environmental justice. 4

As Bullard states, “America is segregated, and so is pollution.” Your Zip code is the best indicator of your health and wellbeing.6 Efforts in environmental justice strive to eliminate this indicator and achieve healthy outcomes for all, no matter your address.

Above Pittsburgh Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool.

Climate change at the intersection of race + class While the devastating effects of climate change will hurt populations across the globe, those effects will not be felt equally, a fact that is already evident. The climate justice

Photo credit : Hugo Duchesne

movement “work[s] to address the many practices that are harming communities nationwide and worldwide ... [and fights for] the policies needed to rectify these impacts and advance a society that fosters sustainable, cooperative, regenerative communities that uphold all rights for all people in harmony with the earth.” 7 The lasting legacy of redlining and presentday NIMBY, or “Not in my backyard,” zoning decisions in the U.S. have relegated vulnerable populations to low-lying areas and exposed them to greater health hazards from highways and polluting industries. In addition, disinvestment and a lack of resources that allow communities to be healthy and thrive, such as parks, green space, access to fresh food, and infrastructure funding, put these communities at an even greater risk for experiencing the harms of climate change.

According to researchers who conducted a study on the link between redlining and climate burden, “many of the nation’s historically redlined districts ‘now contain the hottest areas’ in the United States,” and “air pollution and extreme heat are killing inner-city residents at a higher rate than almost all other causes … and as average temperatures continue to rise … death and illness from the effects of climate change are expected to rise further [Source 8].” Vivek Shandas, a study co-author and professor of urban studies and planning, recognized that “the relationship between once-redlined neighborhoods and today’s elevated climate risk ‘suggests a woefully negligent planning system that [benefits] hyper-privileged richer and whiter communities.’” 8

From rising temperatures and waters, persistent threats of extreme weather events, and displacement due to mining for new energy resources, climate justice and civil rights are inextricably linked. As young architects address climate change, it is important to acknowledge past environmental injustices and discrimination in conjunction with the disproportionate effects taking place today.

Getting engaged At first, it may look like a daunting task to tackle these issues that are so ingrained in the foundation of our built environment. However, there are many organizations that are taking on the challenge at local and national levels, by focusing on specific issues, raising awareness, and advocating for change.While one person may not be able to address and fix all the challenges on their own, even being a small part of this greater network of voices can create lasting, real change. From volunteering your time and expertise, attending community meetings and becoming more engaged in local politics to exploring the EPA EJScreen or EJAtlas to learn more about disparities in your region [Source 9, 10], educating yourself and getting involved at the local level are the first steps toward real impact.

Photo credit : Hugo Duchesne

Above Environmental Justice Atlas Map

Start by learning more about some of these groups and their efforts:

• 350.org: Named after the safe parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, 350 provides networking, tools, and resources for those interested in being a part of the greater climate actio.

• Blackmillennials4flint.org: A program with a very specific mission that reflects its name, this group advocates and seeks justice for Black and Latino communities who are dealing with lead exposure in their water supplies.

• Weact.org: With teams in New York and D.C., We Act seeks to call attention to environmental racism and the creation of fair policies and practices in the city with participation from affected residents.

• crpe-ej.org: The Center on Race, Poverty and the

Environment is based in California and addresses the disproportionate effect that issues like climate change and toxic-waste dumping have on low-income communities.

“A vibrant, fair, and regenerative future is possible, not when thousands of people do climate justice activism perfectly, but when millions of people do the best

they can.”— Indigenous youth activist Xiye Bastida, “Calling In” essay featured in “All We Can Save”

Case Studies on climate change as a climate justice issue The following case studies are a representation of the devastation various communities across the United States have or are currently enduring. Explore more examples of climate and environmental justice, from wildfires to improper waste management, using the Environmental Justice Atlas. 10 residents to the now less desirable, but more affordable lowlying areas threatened by climate change. [Sources 11, 12]

Thus far, insufficient efforts have been made toward improving the resilience of Miami’s vulnerable shoreline, and of the few projects that have been initiated, the majority are concentrated in wealthier, albeit low-lying neighborhoods. 11

Above Case Study Map

Development and displacement in Miami, Florida “Miami’s vast racial and economic divisions have been shaped by Jim Crow laws, discriminatory redlining of residential real estate, race riots, and freeways built over bulldozed Black neighborhoods. This created a city where the brownfield sites and urban heat islands are disproportionately concentrated in Black neighborhoods” [Source 11] and kept Black citizens away from the highly desired beachfront property.

Today, however, these Black residents are in danger of being displaced as developers move toward the previously undesirable inland territory. With sea levels rising and threatening to erase the current shoreline in southern Florida, developers are looking toward higher ground to build on. Affordable neighborhoods are being eyed for demolition to make way for high-density development, often with a luxury price tag. The resulting gentrification is causing a reversal — pushing the displaced Hurricane Sandy’s acute aimpact in New York and New Jersey While Hurricane Sandy’s effects were felt along the Atlantic coast in 2012, the devastation disproportionately affected lowincome and minority residents in New York and New Jersey.13

The low-density neighborhoods zoned for single-family residences with resiliency planning and white, more affluent populations fared much better than the large, high-density public-housing developments along the at-risk coastlines with majority Black and Latino populations. These residents endured flooding and sewage backups, weeks without power, and arduous, years-long processes for repairs.

Beyond public housing, predominantly minority communities hit by the storm were uninsured or underinsured. “In damaged areas of Brooklyn with predominantly African-American residents, only 14 percent of homeowners were insured. Those without insurance had to await FEMA or New York state grants, which often took years to arrive.” 14

New York and New Jersey are now addressing resilient design and preparedness for their most vulnerable coastal communities as climate change threatens storms of increased intensity and frequency. 13

Climate refugees evacuate Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana The Houma people settled on a lush island of 22,000 acres after being ousted from their homeland during the Indian Removal Act of 1830. They sustained themselves through farming, hunting, and gathering, but today, the Isle de Jean Charles has lost over 98% of its land mass due to rising waters, and plans to restore or protect the remaining land have proved futile and been abandoned. 15

While many residents have resisted uprooting their homes and losing their history and way of life, they now have little choice but to evacuate and are the first officially recognized climate refugees in the United States. “Thirty-seven of the island’s 40 families — mostly members of the United Houma Nation tribe and the Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees — have elected to move to New Isle, the new $48 million HUD-funded village, located on 515 inland acres. Yet at a cost of more than $1 million per household moved, New Isle is not a viable precedent”.15 Consider that cost when multiplied to relocate the millions of Miami residents living in threatened locales.

Historically, emergency funds from FEMA and HUD have been used after the devastation and trauma of an acute disaster has occurred, but this instance of preemptively addressing climate concerns and learning how to account for a different type of trauma from a “slow-moving” disaster will present a new set of challenges.

Threats to sacred lands in Thacker Pass, Nevada As America attempts to break its reliance on fossil fuels to address the effects of climate change, electric vehicles have surged in popularity. Electric cars rely on lithium batteries and are leading to a new set of environmental and humanitarian challenges to meet demand and supply this so-called “white gold.”

Lithium is a metal that naturally occurs in clay, and the largest known deposit in the United States is in Thacker Pass. “To the Paiute people, however, it’s [known as] Peehee mu’huh, or rotten moon, for its crescent shape and ugly history. It’s one of the few remaining places where tribal citizens can still gather traditional foods … and medicines … or honor their ancestors at the site where 31 Paiute people were massacred by government soldiers in 1865”. 16

A proposed open-pit lithium mine in Thacker Pass would encroach on sacred lands, and its fast-tracked approval process has faced criticism from the tribe and environmental groups that say “the mine would wreck their land, resources and culture, depleting or poisoning water supplies, destroying sacred sites, degrading wildlife habitat and leaving behind hazardous waste.” While supporters of the mine cite investment in alternative, green energy, new jobs and tax revenue, support for local business, and investment in Thacker Pass community services, proponents say the benefits are “short sighted” and a “false solution to climate change”. 16 FOOTNOTES: 1. https://www.npr.org/sections/healthshots/2020/11/19/911909187/in-u-s-cities-the-healtheffects-of-past-housing-discrimination-are-plain-to-see 2. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/12/21/thesiege-of-miami 3. https://www.vox.com/2021/12/10/22826247/robertbullard-environmental-justice-vox-conversationsinterview 4. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-09/ documents/epa_office_of_environmental_justice_factsheet. pdf 5. https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice 6. https://slate.com/podcasts/a-word/2021/08/i-cantbreathe-racial-justice-and-the-environment 7. Environmental & Climate Justice 8. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/past-racistredlining-practices-increased-climate-burden-onminority-neighborhoods/ 9. https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen 10. https://ejatlas.org 11. https://e360.yale.edu/features/as-miami-keeps-buildingrising-seas-deepen-its-social-divide 12. https://www.wlrn.org/news/2019-11-04/as-seas-risemiamis-black-communities-fear-displacement-from-thehigh-ground 13. https://ejatlas.org/conflict/hurricane-sandy-and-lowincome-residents-usa

Monica Blasko, AIA

Blasko is a project architect at Mary Barensfeld Architecture, serves as the AIA Young Architect Forum advocacy director, and is involved with Women+ in Design Pittsburgh.

Trevor Boyle, AIA

Boyle is a design architect at HuntonBrady Architects in Orlando and is the Florida and Caribbean young architect representative.