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stephanie.niev…

"'Environmental Justice and Cumulative Impacts' is intended to create stronger environmental and land use policy tools at the local level to prevent and mitigate additional pollution associated with a variety of development and redevelopment projects. It also addresses environmental justice by helping to prevent Newark, which has a disproportionate number of low-income and residents of color, from having a disproportionate number of polluting projects placed within its borders" (Hislip par. 1).

"showed a graph developed by environmental justice community organizers, which detailed the differences between communities that experience pollution versus the predominant race of those communities, which showed that as the number of people of color or the level of poverty in a neighborhood increased, so too did the cumulative impacts. In New Jersey, the amount of pollution you experience is directly correlated to your income and skin color" (Hislip par. 5).

"She explained that zoning laws in Newark are slowly changing, including rezoning and getting rid of outdated rules that were grandfathered in. But the impacts from the pollutants that were allowed to run rampant are very evident. Before Newark’s zoning laws were updated in 2012, the last time they had been updated was in 1954 and therefore had little regard for quality-of-life issues. The Ironbound district later became a hotbed for environmental justice movements due to its adjacency to industrial areas. Many heavy pollutants that were planned for this area saw heavy protest from EJ activists, like automobile shredding plants and chicken crematoriums" (Hislip par.8).

"The ordinance itself requires individuals applying for commercial or industrial developments within Newark to take the following steps:

  1. Reference the city’s ERI and prepare a checklist of pollutants
  2. Submit checklist and development application to the city
  3. Checklist goes to the Environmental Commission
  4. Checklist goes to the Planning or Zoning Board (where appropriate)" (Hislip par. 9)

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stephanie.niev…

The main sources of resilience are: discussing the list of pollutants that are spread across through a demographic structure, how pollutants affect and become more apparent to different race and economic levels; the information about possible new pollutants that could appear due to the addition of new companies; and the reconstruction on the zoning laws in Newark. Additionally, there are numerous environmentalists of all types behind this new addition to the zoning and land use regulations. 

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rramos

The first point that peaked my interest is when Dr. Nicky Sheats brought up the real world example of a powerplant that was placed in the Ironbound District. It's an example of how government standards don't reflect or align with individual standards. I thought this was interesting to see how the people didn't have their due justice in deciding to have a polluting plant in their neighborhood. The other fact that caught my eye is that Newark zoning laws, previous to being updated in 2012, had been grandfathered in since 1954. This goes to show the complete lack of awareness for public health that has resided in New Jersey's History. The last point that truly shaped this article is how steps were being taken to prevent environmental justice issues. Commercial and Industrial developers have to go through the following process when proposing for a building: "

  1. Reference the city’s ERI and prepare a checklist of pollutants
  2. Submit checklist and development application to the city
  3. Checklist goes to the Environmental Commission
  4. Checklist goes to the Planning or Zoning Board (where appropriate)

The public has full access to this checklist to weigh in on it and make their voices heard." 

pece_annotation_1524538482

rramos

A process is placed that allows for social justice to take place in the development phase. 

"Commercial and Industrial developers have to go through the following process when proposing for a building: 

  1. Reference the city’s ERI and prepare a checklist of pollutants
  2. Submit checklist and development application to the city
  3. Checklist goes to the Environmental Commission
  4. Checklist goes to the Planning or Zoning Board (where appropriate)

The public has full access to this checklist to weigh in on it and make their voices heard." 

pece_annotation_1524538745

rramos

One process to consider is that alot of Newark Environmental and Public Health laws had not been changed since the 1950's, so that allowed for continuing of neglegence over the course of history in terms of environmental justice. Other social processes that might have played a part is race and class. Low-rise and dense housing for low-income and minority civilians have become major victims of careless industrialization.