PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Environmental justice was in the spotlight in Philadelphia last week with Mayor Jim Kenney naming the members of an Environmental Justice Advisory Commission and City Council getting new legislation on the issue.
Since 2014, the EPA has designated February as Environmental Justice Month. “Environmental justice” describes a movement led by communities of Black and indigenous people and people of color advocating for decision-making that accounts for economic fairness, community self-determination, and environmental stewardship that includes people of all races and backgrounds.
Like every city, Philadelphia is feeling the impact of climate change. And, as with many cities, some neighborhoods are feeling it more acutely than others — with higher rates of asthma and pollution-related illness and greater energy burdens. In the summer, some neighborhoods can be as much as 22 degrees hotter than the rest of the city.
Eleanor Sharp, executive director of the planning commission, says it has been no accident.
“Planning and land-use decisions, redlining, disparate zoning has negatively affected especially Black and brown populations,” Sharp said.
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Everyone remembers the guy who dived into the flooded Vine Street Expressway after Hurricane Ida. But far fewer people even know that, a year earlier, Tropical Storm Isaias flooded 600 homes in Eastwick.
Kenney calls Eastwick a “textbook example” of environmental injustice, citing an urban renewal project that left the flood-prone area racially and geographically isolated.
Deputy managing director Mike Carroll says there are others.
“There are too many examples of infrastructure decisions that have disrupted thriving communities, undermined well-being and health, or cut people off from resources and opportunities,” Carroll said.
The Advisory Commission, approved by City Council in 2019, is intended to safeguard against discriminatory practices and address the harms done in the past. The Kenney administration is also establishing a community resilience and environmental justice grant fund and a working group involving several city departments working cooperatively to address the issue.
Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole says, for instance, her department will take environmental justice complaints and improve reporting about air quality emergencies.
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Also last week, Councilmember Helen Gym introduced a bill to map the cumulative impact of past policies and to use the information in reviewing and approving some permits and licenses.
“This legislation will make Philadelphia a national leader in bringing environmental justice considerations directly into city policies,” she said.
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