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Welcome to NYC Greener! This is a safe space for readers to engage, discover resources and to stay informed when making decisions in their communities that are critical during this time of environmental change.
Source: https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/map
Our call to action
After meeting each other through the Human Impacts Institute UEHL fellowship, Kelly & I started to talk about the disparities BIPOC communities face in climate change and environmental health. We discussed how often the environment can negatively impact individual health in communities already strife with a lack of access to resources. I was born and raised in the Bronx and witnessed the disparities BIPOC face in Bronx communities, and particularly in communities within the South Bronx.
In the photo above it shows the risk index for a couple of neighborhoods in the South Bronx. FEMA's national risk index measures three factors: expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience. The risk index is calculated by taking the expected annual loss (which measures the expected loss of building value, population, and agricultural value per year due to natural disasters) multiplied by the social vulnerability of an area which is defined as the “susceptibility of social groups to the adverse impacts by natural hazards, and is divided by the community resilience of an area’s ability to: prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to the impacts of natural hazards. In areas of The Bronx that are already cut off from resources and plagued with high asthma rates, the impact of natural hazards can be disastrous.
Welcome Home
The environment we live in can make it easier or more difficult for New Yorkers to lead healthy lives. Welcome Home is a short film that depicts a day in the life of two people coming from different backgrounds. The film shows the juxtaposition on how socioeconomic status, building health, and the environment (natural and built) impacts the lives of the individuals, and how everyday decisions and activities have an impact on the evolving environment.
Screening: Will be screened on Pioneer Works platform, link will be embedded on home page (check back later for more details)