Over a dozen people gathered at a recreation center in the East Mount Airy neighborhood Monday evening to talk about environmental issues plaguing the area.
The event was the first in a series of workshops led by the city’s Office of Sustainability that will result in Philly’s own environmental justice mapping tool. Officials hope the finished map will identify communities in Philly that are disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards, such as air pollution, and also lack environmental amenities, such as green space.
“This tool will be …
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Over a dozen people gathered at a recreation center in the East Mount Airy neighborhood Monday evening to talk about environmental issues plaguing the area.
The event was the first in a series of workshops led by the city’s Office of Sustainability that will result in Philly’s own environmental justice mapping tool. Officials hope the finished map will identify communities in Philly that are disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards, such as air pollution, and also lack environmental amenities, such as green space.
“This tool will be Philadelphia-specific,” said Akilah Chatman, community science specialist at Drexel’s Academy of Natural Sciences, which is helping run the project. “This event today is to figure out how this map can be useful for community members.”
Other mapping tools, like the state’s PennEnviroScreen, identify environmental justice communities using metrics such as race, income, levels of diesel particulate pollution and asthma or cancer rates.
“There’s nothing that’s specific to Philadelphia and gets into the nuance between neighborhoods, between blocks,” said Alexa Bosse, a leader of the design and planning firm Hinge Collective, which is also collaborating on the project.
Attendees raised a range of concerns, including pests and wildlife; air and water pollution; a shortage of trees; poorly maintained trees that damage their surroundings; the lack of convenient recycling and disposal options and slow city response times when residents report illegal dumping.
“It seems like it’s the same things, the same location people are illegally dumping,” said Rev. Chester Williams, president of the Chew & Belfield Neighbors Club. “We’re hoping the city will step up that patrol.”
How exactly the map is used will be determined through the community engagement process, Chatman said. For example, it could be a useful tool for community groups looking to fight proposed facilities that would bring more pollution to their neighborhoods.
“As a city, it’s really important that we make better decisions,” Genevieve LaMarr LeMee, deputy director for environmental justice in the Office of Sustainability, told participants of Monday’s workshop. “This tool can inform our decision making and policy … help us prioritize staff, dollars, things like that.”
