In this artifact, there is evidence showing resilience in Newark, New Jersey. After hurricane Sandy, Newark is now planning more for climate change and future threats to public safety and the environment
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: "
The public has full access to this checklist to weigh in on it and make their voices heard."
NJPAC and the performing arts school are providing relief to communities vulnerable and affected by the hurricane. These people include the homeless, people that lost their homes to damage, and people that lived near the shore.
Once the abandoned waste was discovered, authorities sent trained professionals with the best safety gear to remove the waste from the abandoned home quickly and cleanly.
The policy is to have stronger land use and environmental rules on a local level. It aims to mitigate use of pollutants, and give careful attention to low-income, minority citizens as to not pollute their communities.
In the article, the authors used data from the 2011-2015 American Community 5-Year Estimates by the U.S. Census, 2010 U.S Census, and George C. Galster, “The Mechanism(s) of Neighborhood Effects: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Implications.”. They looked at data follwing children under 18, and followed poverty trends such as census tracts for concentrated areas of high poverty. They used the number of children in Essex County Cities and compared it to the the amount of children in poverty in those cities, for the years of 2000 and 2015. Henceforth, they created an arguement stating that Child Poverty rates have risen within those 15 years, and even by 50% in some areas. The only issue I have with some of this data is that in some cities, we see a decrease in child population - and while there is an increase in child poverty in those areas, I feel like the reduced number of children in that area plays a big part in the so called "Increased Child Poverty Rates".
After Hurricane Sandy, John Schreiber, the CEO of NJPAC, announced that he along with the arts center was going to provide relief for victims of the hurricane. This agency is working hard to minimize the damage of the victims of the hurricane
This article from 2009 focuses on the controversy of a garbage incenerator in the Ironbound that has sparked civil engagements to make the facility practice clean emmisions. Despite their reports of emmision reductions in 2005, the community argued that the garbage incenereator looked over many occassions where they violated those regulations, and how it still effects those communities. Here we see how the governments and people's interest don't line up.
Brian Conover, the man convicted of abandoning the waste, had left vials of blood along with needles that still had blood on them. The law requires that he properly dispose of these materials, but he had left the objects in his home when he moved out.
The EPA has been working to raise funds to launch this ambitious cleanup project. The EPA has also began looking for solutions to cleanup the polluted waterways in the Hudson River.