New Report Reveals N.Y.C. Areas Most Hurt by Environmental Inequities
The New York Times
The project uses census data and an interactive map to identify areas with high levels of pollution and other socioeconomic risks.
A new report from the Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice digs deep into the social inequities that contribute to environmental problems in New York City neighborhoods.
In 2017, a new law required the city to publish a data-driven study and mapping tool that identifies areas with disproportionate levels of pollution, as well as contributing socioeconomic factors.
Seven years later, it’s here.
Mayor Eric Adams said that the report and mapping tool would help locate “the communities that have been most impacted by environmental inequities.” And those insights, he added, will help guide government policies.
Nearly half of the city’s population lives in what the report describes as an “environmental justice area.” (It determined these areas, which typically have histories of societal neglect resulting in elevated levels of pollution and health issues, using census data.)
Polluting infrastructure, like high-emitting power plants and hazardous waste generators, tends to anchor these neighborhoods, many of which also lack green space and public transit. Several of the areas are near highways and warehouses, which can expose residents to contaminants.
