In my understanding, environmental justice fits into the umbrella of structural racism and trauma. Environmental justice is one way to identify and address some of the inequities that contribute to the social determinants of health. I believe that environmental justice is an important goal but that we are far from accomplishing environmental equity. The rapid gentrification of San Francisco and Oakland's neighborhoods that were historically dominated by communities of color are perfect examples of the disproportionate ways resources are allocated that benefit the richer, whiter residents of our cities. Many of these neighborhoods have seen not only a rapid rise in new, expensive housing but also with the influx of richer, whiter residents, these neighborhoods have quickly cleaned up and become important to local governments. There is a greater investment in keeping the streets clean, bringing in better businesses and revitalizing the community areas. Suddenly there is greater attention brought to the area's recycling practices, access to clean water and renewable energy, and other environmental factors that also harmed previous community residents but were previously overlooked and ignored because the residents were lower-income and communities of color. Although I believe Bill Clinton's executive order and the EPA have made some strides in at least defining environmental justice and shedding light on this structural inequity, there is much more that needs to be done. Even in the Bay Area, we need to be thinking more strategically about the impacts of gentrification and planning better for the future of communities of color to ensure the neighborhoods we live in are equal to higher income, white communities.
In my understanding, environmental justice fits into the umbrella of structural racism and trauma. Environmental justice is one way to identify and address some of the inequities that contribute to the social determinants of health. I believe that environmental justice is an important goal but that we are far from accomplishing environmental equity. The rapid gentrification of San Francisco and Oakland's neighborhoods that were historically dominated by communities of color are perfect examples of the disproportionate ways resources are allocated that benefit the richer, whiter residents of our cities. Many of these neighborhoods have seen not only a rapid rise in new, expensive housing but also with the influx of richer, whiter residents, these neighborhoods have quickly cleaned up and become important to local governments. There is a greater investment in keeping the streets clean, bringing in better businesses and revitalizing the community areas. Suddenly there is greater attention brought to the area's recycling practices, access to clean water and renewable energy, and other environmental factors that also harmed previous community residents but were previously overlooked and ignored because the residents were lower-income and communities of color. Although I believe Bill Clinton's executive order and the EPA have made some strides in at least defining environmental justice and shedding light on this structural inequity, there is much more that needs to be done. Even in the Bay Area, we need to be thinking more strategically about the impacts of gentrification and planning better for the future of communities of color to ensure the neighborhoods we live in are equal to higher income, white communities.
Comments
Post a Comment