Methodology
• Hunts Point neighbourhood of the Bronx, New York City during May
and June of 2010.
• 44 semi-structured interviews: organizational staff, program
participants, board members, funders, members of other local
organizations and community residents.
•
Direct observation at SSBx’s office and programs sites and
participation in local community events.
Conducting an interview at the
SSBx office
Accompanying students on a ‘toxic
tour’ of the neighbourhood
Ensuring Sustainable Neighbourhood Growth: Lessons
from New York City’s South Bronx
Kara Quennell
Research Question: How can environmentally based programs and policy
initiatives be used address environmental, political and economic
inequality?
Environmental Health and Equity: Global Strategies and
Innovation
April 30, 2011
McGill University
Intersection at entrance to Hunts Point
Riverside Park
Inside Hunts Point Riverside
Park
Organizational Challenges
In 2001, at its inception, SSBx was:
• A small organization
• Guided and propelled by founder’s vision.
• Had an antagonistic relationship with local government
• Had tense relationships with other local groups stemming from issues around
sharing and taking credit.
10 years later, SSBx has:
• Greatly expanded their staff and programming.
• Established themselves as an important and legitimate voice in activist and
political circles.
Furthermore, the political climate has evolved to acknowledge the disorderly
development of Hunts Point and the South Bronx.
Challenges in adapting to this growth and changing political context:
•Maintaining consistent mechanisms of soliciting community direction and
feedback.
•Developing collaborative (rather than antagonistic) relationships with local
government and other local groups.
•Adapting their vision and communication mechanisms to ensure that the
overall organizational goal, as well as how each program fits within it, is clear
to staff, funders and the community.
Hunts Point and the South
Bronx
Poverty and crime: Located in the nation’s poorest congressional district,
historically known as neighbourhoods characterised by poverty and crime as
well as the co-location of residential and industrial development.
Unemployment: Despite the presence of industry, community members
consider unemployment to be one of the neighbourhoods’ biggest issues.
Adverse health impacts: Approximately 60 000 trucks carry goods in and
out of Hunts Point’s industrial sector each week. This, along with
emissions from industrial processes, have lead to persistent air quality
and odour issues including high rates of asthma.
Lack of political capital: A lack of community pride and political
engagement is paired with a sense, on the part of residents, that
they have been disenfranchised and ignored by their government.
SUSTAINABLE SOUTH BRONX (SSBx)
ECONOMY
SOCIAL
ENVIRONMENT
“Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx) works
with the South Bronx and other
underserved urban communities as they
transform themselves into great
sustainable places to live. We do this by
providing a collaborative model that
addresses environmental, economic and
social concerns through policy change,
green job training, environmental
education, and community greening
programs.”
Sustainable South Bronx Mission Statement
Sustainable South Bronx was founded in 2001
by Majora Carter.
GOALS
1. Create solutions from a standpoint that sees communities as
embedded in their environments
2. Find ways to work with industry to promote a healthy
environment and provide economic opportunities for local
residents
3. Create accessible and inviting community Greenspace
PROGRAMS and INITIATIVES
*Greenjob training
*Neighbourhood greening initiatives
*Policy advocacy
*A green innovation laboratory and education program
*Active living promotion through community events (ie.
Hunts Point Hustle and biannual block parties)
Lessons Learned
• Convergence of economic, political and environmental
inequality: Programs and initiatives to address those issues
must take all the above aspects into account.
• SSBx strongest programs and initiatives are those
– with clearly articulated goals
– that are supported by partnerships with other organizations and
local government
– that pragmatically assess and work with the existing situation
• Intensity of programs: The BEST Greenjob training’s unique
success is related to the length, commitment required and
focus on individual development.
• Ongoing assessment: As organizations grow and political
contexts change, organizations must re-evaluate their
programs, goals and modes of operation.
The many issues faced by these neighbourhoods
exemplify the convergence of political, economic and
environmental inequality.
“there is a pattern of co-location of unhealthy land
uses and low-income or resource poor communities on
a national and a global scale and the issues that we see
in Hunt’s Point are issues that you see in low-income
communities of colour everywhere”
- SSBx Staff member
BEST Greenjob training
•
First job training program: BEST ECO, in 2003 in response to community
concerns and high unemployment.
•
The program lasts 17-19 weeks and targets those who have experienced
barriers to employment. Training includes:
– Practical skills for building and maintaining Green infrastructure
– Hazmat, OSHA and other certifications
– Life skills such as time management, budgeting, professional conduct and
conflict management
– Mock interviews, physical fitness and team building exercises
•
Post-training, SSBx job developers help participants to find
employment and then follow participants for ~3 years.
•
In 2009, SSBx expanded BEST to include BEST 4 Buildings, which
teaches the practical skills needed for Green construction.
•
In 2010, SSBx was running 3 cycles of each training program per
year, each with about 20 participants, training about 120 per year.
BEST Success:
Investing in Individuals
•
•
High success rates: job placement (~80%) and retention (about 2/3rds stay in their first job).
BEST participants: Former welfare recipients (2/3rd) and history of incarceration (1/3rd)
•
Why is the BEST Greenjob training program successful?
–
–
–
–
–
Clear, tangible and easily articulated goals to direct staff activities and programming decisions.
Pragmatic understanding of the contexts in which their participants will be seeking employment.
Program tailored to provide specifically tailored skills: technical abilities and certifications.
Intensity of program: Participation 5 days a week, from 8-4, consistently for over 3 months.
Individual development: Teaching participants self-assessment tools, problem-solving skills and
conflict management.
– Strong and talented staff: many of whom have completed the program themselves and thus serve as
a positive example to current participants.
– Job developers who actively make connections, look for opportunities for participants and follow
participants for at least 3 years providing support and mediating potential conflicts.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: SSBx, IHSP, community members in the South
Bronx and Hunts Point, members of other organizations in NYC, family and
friends who supported me. Thank you!
The Bronx River from Hunts
Point Riverside Park
Greenspace: Fostering neighbourhood
empowerment and health
SSBx’s neighbourhood greening initiatives have multiple benefits:
1) Environmental – Improving air quality and mitigating the effects of storm water
2) Economic – Providing Green maintenance jobs for BEST graduates
3) Health – Providing cleaner air and accessible and safe spaces for being active out of
doors
4) Political – Taking back public space, redressing historical privileging of industrial
development over that of Greenspace, and providing an example of positive tangible
change
“It will benefit people, realizing the treasures in their own neighbourhood. And it is a
reflection of your self-worth and we’re looking to change people’s perspective not only
from outside of the neighbourhood but from within the neighbourhood to see all of these
great things, to remind them that it’s there.”
Executive Director of The Point CDC
(An organization with whom SSBx partners)
Policy advocacy
•
Collaborations and Advocacy
SSBX works with other local groups and with the city in the
development of the Greenway and participates in many local,
statewide and national coalitions that advocate for policy change.
• Ensuring community voices are heard
SSBX ensure that local perspectives and concerns remain at the
forefront of the design and implementation of new infrastructure and
that development goals are maintained regardless of changing
administrations and political priorities.
• Mediator Role
In their coalition work, SSBx acts as a mediator between the interests
of large environmental organizations, local community groups and
government bodies.