Study: Metro Atlanta's poor, minorities live near worst pollution

SOURCE:  T Wheatley 

It's not a shocker but it's still depressing to see: According to a new report (PDF) by an environmental law firm and advocacy group, metro Atlanta's minorities, people living on low incomes, and families who speak a language other than English are more likely to live near and be affected by pollution than whites and those with higher incomes. And in contrast to the federal government, the state lags behind when it comes to addressing such environmental justice issues. Researchers with GreenLaw, an Atlanta-based environmental law firm, broke the 14-county metro region up into equal-sized square blocks and analyzed the overlap between demographics and types of pollution including brownfields, landfills, and facilities emitting pollutants, inside each. (If you're curious how your neighborhood stacks up with others, you're in luck.)
The team identified five of metro Atlanta's "environmental justice hotspots" — the worst of which is the area where Douglas, Fulton and Cobb counties converge near Fulton Industrial Boulevard and the Chattahoochee River.

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Atlanta Beltline Brownfield Project Looks at Health Impact Assessment

SOURCE:  THE ATLANTIC CITIES, by E. Jaffe

In the musical chairs of urban planning, public health often finds itself left standing when the music stops. Often, by the time policymakers rouse support, local agencies rally funding, and land-use and transportation professionals exchange designs there's no one left to determine exactly how it will impact the health of those it's meant to serve in the first place.

That's where a "health impact assessment" comes in. An HIA, like an environmental review, evaluates the potential effects a major planning project might have on the public health of a surrounding community, and recommends certain actions needed to mitigate - or, in the case of health benefits, accelerate - those impacts.
The tool is used regularly in Europe and Canada [PDF], but it's beginning to gain some attention in the United States as well. A recent H.I.A. in northern California, for instance, pointed out that one potential barrier to public use of a walking-biking trail was safety, so it recommended proper lighting and the creation of a citizen watch group. A number of cities around the country have an H.I.A. planned, in progress, or recently completed.

Atlanta completed a two-year health impact assessment for its massive BeltLine project in 2007. The full report ran more than 200 pages [PDF], but a review of that effort, published in this month's issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, offers a compact summary of the committee's recommendations. As that paper makes clear, the study team is confident their HIA will "promote the health of local residents" far more than if the BeltLine had been built without it.

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"Where there is no vision, the people perish"

Who would have thought that King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, was also a Brownfield Expert?   You could also argue that Nehemiah should have won the first Phoenix Award for rebuilding the wall, but that's a blog for another day.  I've always found Proverbs to be a superb source of practical wisdom dealing with the art of living.  In Proverbs 29:18, Solomon stresses the importance of Vision.  You would be surprised at the number of environmental projects and assessments undertaken by well-intentioned leaders who lack vision for the project.  With over 3.5 million square miles of land, the United States has plenty of space to poke holes.  Narrow that area down to the jurisdiction of a typical southern mayor, and I'm still boggled by their rationale (or lack thereof) for conducting Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs).  My first question has always been, "Why?"

1. Why are you conducting an ESA at that location?


2. Why aren't you conducting ESAs in the areas with the greatest potential for redevelopment?


3. Why aren't you connecting the dots between the locations for the ESAs, brownfields, and your City's comprehensive plan?

Could it be that there is a lack of vision?  Kasim Reed, mayor of Atlanta, GA and Brian Leary, President and CEO of Atlanta Beltline, Inc. are two individuals that share a vision for their community.  As Brian Leary states in this video about the Atlanta Beltline Project, "the Beltline is really the synthesis of everything that's good when it comes to the environment, transportation, affordable housing, health, walkability, and access."  With the courage to think bigger than just Phase Is and Phase IIs and the vision to see the connection (or synthesis) of all of the issues that impact their community's quality of life, Leary and Mayor Reed have created an environment of positive, tangible change.

So, what is the vision for your community?  If you don't know, maybe you should find out.  In the coming weeks, Southern Brownfield Report will explore the importance of engaging with the community in search of the community vision.