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A brief essay about St. Louis' notorious eminent domain history--

--along with 2 recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch articles about "urban renewal" projects that are scheduled to reoccupy the Mill Flats area, which hosted the most notorious episode of displacement of African-American communities: the Chouteau Greenway project (will it serve or displace low-income St. Louisans?); and SLU's Mill Creek Flats high-rise project, which certainly will, and whose name seems to me an especially tone-deaf if gutsy move...

https://humanities.wustl.edu/features/Margaret-Garb-St-Louis-Eminent-Domain

https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/steelcote-developer-plans-more-apartments-brewery-space-in-million-midtown/article_811eaf96-76e1-5c20-a870-1e79abd3f06e.html

https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/chouteau-greenway-project-aims-to-knit-st-louis-neighborhoods-together/article_55fea4e6-6829-5c80-9168-313305b4e3bb.html

This report is about an initiative taken by the government to rectify a century's worth of pollution dumped into the Passaic River and the means used to do it.

This image shows that as the number of family members increase, so does the annual income needed to provide the essential necessities for the whole family. This may be a problem for those working a less-paying job or a job paying the minimum wage. So, although everyone plans to have a family one day, if they want to save money in today`s working society, they either have to have less children or find a good-paying job or petition/request for a raise in their wages. 

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.

The policy is a program funded by the EPA called C.A.R.E. (Community Action for a Renewed Environment). The aim of this program is to build the public voice in environmental matters, and to give access to different sources of information from the community. 

"If I`m driving and I don`t want this bottle in my car..throw it out the window.." (Wolfe line 30) - This shows how easy it is to litter and how there are many people who littler like this individual, disregarding the fact that they may be creating a bigger problem in the near future - lots and lots of trash.

"Residents need to do their part in the cleanup effort" ( Wolfe line 40). - This describes a possible solution the problem. If everyone resists littering and cleans up after themselves and do other things like recycle, the problem may persist but the amount of garbage may be less than the current amount.

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." 

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." 

The main point of the article is that child poverty is a big issue and in order to address it effectively, the former Child Poverty Act of 2010 will be revised and replaced with a new act that will focus better on the real causes of poverty.

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.