University-Community Partnerships and Urban Environmental Justice

As part of Climate Week NYC, join us for a conversation with the authors of the Community Heat and Air Mapping Project for Environmental Justice report (CHAMP EJ), who will discuss the report prepared by NYC-EJA and five of its member organizations and why more university-community partnerships are needed. This event is hosted by the NYC Climate Justice Hub and the Center for Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center, and co-sponsored by CUNY Climate Consortium (C3).

Free and open to all. Please register to attend. This event will take place in Tue, Sep 24, 2024, 6:30pm in the, Science Center, Room 4102, at the CUNY Graduate Center, 365 5th Avenue, NYC.

According to the World Health Organization, up to 4.2 million people die prematurely every year due to outdoor air pollution. In New York City, PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) alone is estimated to cause more than 2,000 deaths each year. Meanwhile, as the climate continues to warm the health impacts of heat are becoming clearer and more concerning “[…] and Black New Yorkers are twice as likely to die from heat stress as white New Yorkers.” (CHAMP EJ, p6.) In this session, the researchers will talk about how they got connected, why they felt a partnership was needed and the implications of the report that was generated. They will also discuss the challenges of doing this work and why more equitably structured university-community partnerships are needed in this moment of political division, climate chaos and the pursuit of a just transition.

“Knowledge is power, and supporting communities to gather information central to their health and welfare empowers these communities to define problems they face and forge solutions tailored to their needs.”
–NY State Attorney General Letitia James (CHAMP EJ, from the foreword)

Alan Minor is the NYC Climate Justice Hub Coordinator for the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance (NYC-EJA). He comes to NYC-EJA formally trained as a journalist, writer, researcher, community organizer, and urban planner. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama. He received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Alabama–Tuscaloosa and a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Pratt Institute, where he wrote his master’s thesis on the concept of spatial justice and its applicability to the practice of urban planning and policymaking.

Victoria Sanders is the Climate and Health Programs Manager at the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance (NYC-EJA). At NYC-EJA, her work includes research and advocacy to support NYC-EJA’s environmental health initiatives to promote equitable, resilient, and healthy communities. Her work primarily focuses on climate change induced extreme weather, pollution prevention, air quality, and promoting green infrastructure in environmental justice communities.

Peter J. Marcotullio is Professor of Geography, Director of the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities (CISC) and faculty member in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. He is also Adjunct Professor of Urban Planning at Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). He is a Contributing Author (CA) for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (published 2014) and is a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the International Human Dimensions Program’s Urbanization and Global Environmental Change project (IHDP-UGEC).

Dr. Chris C. Lim is a professor in the Community, Environment and Policy department at the University of Arizona. Dr. Lim’s research examines how the environment impacts human health applying epidemiologic, statistical, and data science methods. Specifically, he is interested in the health effects of air pollution and climate change, and whether there are disparities in the exposures and associated health outcomes. He also explores the potential application of low-cost sensor technologies for personal-level exposure assessment, urban air pollution modeling, and community-based environmental justice projects. Lim currently leads a study examining the health and academic impact of green playground renovations in New York City public schools, and another study that will look at the impact of air pollution on pediatric asthma in Tucson schools. He completed his postdoctoral training at the Yale School of the Environment and obtained his PhD from NYU School of Medicine.

The session will be moderated by the Co-director of NYC Climate Justice Hub Prof. Michael Menser (Philosophy and Urban Sustainability Program, Brooklyn College & CUNY GC EES). The CHAMP EJ report is available to read here or below:

NYC CHAMP EJ ReportDownload

This event is hosted by the NYC Climate Justice Hub and the Center for Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center, and co-sponsored by CUNY Climate Consortium (C3).

Host or Publisher The Center for the Humanities at The Graduate Center, CUNY