Rethinking Green in the South Bronx—Environmental Justice and the Transformation of a Community

The South Bronx is home to a higher concentration of power plants, sewage-treatment facilities, diesel-truck fleets, and waste-transfer stations than any other section of the city, and is saddled with higher asthma rates than any other community in the nation.

To mark Earth Day 2007, Majora Carter, executive director and founder of Sustainable South Bronx (SSB) and a former Open Society Institute NYC Community Fellow, gave a presentation at OSI's New York office.

Carter was invited to speak about the fight for environmental justice in the South Bronx and about SSB’s efforts to transform the South Bronx into a place where clean air, green space, and job development go hand-in-hand. To date, SSB has raised millions to help clean up existing facilities, block new ones, and create "green-collar" jobs.

The talk was organized by the Greener OSI Working Group, a volunteer committee of staff working to expand environmentally sustainable office practices at OSI. Betsy Uhrman, OSI Program Associate, introduced the event.

Listen to audio of the event below.

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