The “Green Living and Community Planning Community Voices” event featured two speakers, Jaime Stein from Sustainable South Bronx, and Adam Friedman from the Pratt Center for Community Development. The event focused on different aspects of environmentalism and sustainability and how these different components are interwoven.

Stein’s lecture involved environmental justice, using the South Bronx as the main example. Environmental justice is the equal sharing of environmental burdens, such as pollution or waste management. The concept came about as a result of poor, underserved communities, such as the South Bronx, having to take on the burdens of the negative effects of industrial processes. Stein specifically mentioned NYOFC, which is the New York Organic Fertilizer company. The factory was built in the South Bronx to convert sludge into fertilizer. Since the factory was located in the South Bronx, it created repercussions for the community. Putting facilities such as these creates environmental justice problems. The factory created air pollution and other environmental problems that led to health problems such as obesity, asthma. The South Bronx was a neighborhood that was especially susceptible to environmental justice problems because so much industry was concentrated in the area.

Stein discussed some of the ways that environmental justice could be addressed. One of these ways was changing land use patterns to share environmental burdens. One example was setting up waste management facilities in many different neighborhoods regardless of their social or economic standing, such as on the Upper East Side. She also emphasized the importance of understanding the repercussions planning policies can have. For example, the shutting down of Fresh Kills landfill caused NYC to ship its waste to other areas. Transport of this waste by trucks would create problems, especially for the neighborhoods that these trucks were stationed in and had to pass through. Transport by barge would alleviate some of these problems, and solutions like these are important to recognize when planning policies. Another main point Stein made was the creation of jobs for individuals with low incomes in overburdened communities. The Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training program was one example of how jobs could be created. By teaching individuals certain skills that would promote sustainability, individuals would be more likely to see the economic benefits of a sustainable environment and be more willing to make personal sacrifices such as using less paper cups, because they are more aware of how sustainability can help them economically.

Adam Friedman’s presentation further elaborated on this idea of economic development and environmentalism. Economic growth and environmentalism need to go hand in hand to obtain the highest output with the least input. Sustainability requires a behavior change and a change in values along with economic practicality. People will be more willing to change their beliefs and values about the environment if they are fully aware of the economic benefits of sustainability. According to Friedman, the creation of jobs that promote sustainability is very important. He mentioned the PlanNYC 2030 plan and how it failed to provide for the growth in income disparity and creation of jobs for the local economy. The plan made no linkage between economic development and sustainability, and without this linkage it is difficult for people to accept sustainability policies such as using less paper or plastic. The manufacturing sector can be sustainable by following economic principles. Friedman used the term “Green Manufacturing” to describe this idea. Green manufacturing is manufacturing that has a small impact on the environment and uses minimal resources to still produce a high output of products. Friedman believed that small businesses were especially capable of doing this.

Friedman also focused on the importance of individual impact. He used Chris Jordan’s photograph of the amount of plastic cups used on airlines every six hours to illustrate this. Individual efforts to make a community green and sustainable can have large impacts on the environment. Friedman discussed the use of energy audits, retrofits, block-by-block analysis of the energy use of houses rather than analyzing house at a time, and fixing churches to make them more environmentally friendly.

Friedman and Stein both stressed the importance of the practicality of green living. Planning and initiative, the demand side of the equation, needs to focus on the importance of individual impact, which can be accomplished by training people in jobs that promote sustainability. This leads to sustainable production and green manufacturing, which makes up the supply side. People then realize the economic benefits of a green community, and work towards achieving sustainability. This leads to sustainable community development.

Friedman and Stein presented a practical model to achieve green living, and one that I believe could have positive impacts. By focusing on the economics of sustainability and environmentalism, it would be easier to show people that they can benefit from forming sustainable communities, and they would be more willing to change their behavior and values to work towards that goal.