On November 17th, a new type of detector was added to the Fieldston campus. Unlike any other device that’s called Fieldston its home before, this new addition detects the levels of particulate matter in the air that students and faculty breathe every day. The air quality monitor, placed on the exterior brick wall of the cafeteria facing the upper field, is now visible to all members of the community. The ongoing air monitoring project is happening thanks to South Bronx Unite and its mission.
South Bronx Unite is a nonprofit organization based in Mott Haven, Bronx, whose mission is to “bring together neighborhood residents, community organizations, academic institutions and allies to improve and protect the social, environmental and economic future of Mott Haven and Port Morris.” The organization envisions and strives to create a South Bronx where everyone in the community is thriving equally and sustainably; this means addressing all the social justice issues affecting the residents in the neighborhood through an intersectional and systemic lens. Some of the main issues revolve around affordable housing, nutritious food, good health care, jobs with liveable wages, public safety and access to recreational community centers.
Perhaps the lack of access to clean air is the most evident problem that many in the South Bronx experience daily. For decades, the South Bronx has been classified as a neighborhood with one of the lowest air qualities in the country; it has been given the name “asthma alley” because of its large impact on the community’s lung and heart health. This issue is in large part due to the implementation of large factories in the area such as the Fresh Direct flagship located blocks away from a large residential area in Mott Haven, or the placement of major highways such as the Deegan or Cross Bronx Expressway that emit extreme amounts of exhaust onto the neighborhoods below. Such instances are prime examples of environmental racism, which are presented through decades of discriminatory planning decisions and public policies by government officials who disproportionately put the community, (at least 98% BIPOCs) at risk of extremely poor air quality and living conditions. To create change regarding clean air for the residents of the South Bronx, founding member Mychal Johnson and his team at South Bronx Unite are finding ways to collect real data and proof that their area of the Bronx is facing heavy environmental injustice.
South Bronx Unite has partnered with researchers from Columbia University and QuantAQ, a real-time data collection site, for top-notch air quality monitoring. Mychal Johnson and his team launched The Clean Air Project this September, planting around 25 new monitors across MottHaven-Port Morris and collecting data for the next few years. Fieldston plays a unique role in the plan, as our monitor is now the only active one in the more Northern part of the Bronx. The team hypothesizes that air quality measured on the Fieldston campus will be substantially more clean, and better to breathe. If their assumption proves itself over the next few years, the data from our campus in comparison to that in South Bronx can be presented to policymakers, hopefully presenting enough data to convince officials that the air breathed in Mott Haven every day is extremely dangerous for its residents. This policymaking change would hopefully look like a package of air quality bills that work to eliminate carbon emissions that worsen the air quality in Mott Haven-Port Morris. These bills could include plans to electrify trucks and buildings or create more greenspaces to purify the air and provide more resources for the extreme summer heat that comes with poorer air quality.
Members of the Fieldston community are encouraged to follow along with the minute-by-minute data by scanning the QR code located on a yellow plaque at the monitor’s site. Clean Air Project Organizer Leslie Vasquez explains the root of this encouragement: “The Clean Air Project is an action item that is directly focused on students and youth. One of the acts we are determined to pass is the SIGH Act, which would ensure that no schools can be within 500 feet of a major highway, which creates major pollution and emissions. Because so many schools in the South Bronx are so close to highways like these, students and youth the same age as [Fieldston students] suffer deeply from poor air quality.” Vasquez later explained that the SIGH act has been repeatedly vetoed in years passed and that Fieldston students are encouraged to learn more to understand how this issue affects different communities and age groups. She also talked about the significance of viewing the monitor’s site in real-time, as opposed to raw data and graphs, which are often harder to digest. Instead, the QR code will lead those who scan it to a story map that presents “publically accessible” information about the air they are breathing, and how the data will be used in the Clean Air Project.
Want to learn more about how you can get involved in the fight for clean air in disadvantaged communities like the Mott Haven-Port Morris neighborhoods? Here are some of the ways Vasquez recommends those in the Fieldston community start out if they want to get involved: “Educating yourself and others — spreading awareness about the air pollution inequalities that exist in the Bronx is the first, most important step in joining the fight for clean air. Community action — this can include youth lobby days, organized protests or even creating petitions or signing premade ones (more information about organized events can be found at South Bronx Unite’s website listed at the bottom of this article). South Bronx Unite hosts community visioning and educational sessions regularly, and is always welcoming newcomers to help work and support alongside the team!” Vasquez highly encourages students to advocate for those the same age at other schools who are suffering from polluted and poor air and to become present activists in the field too.
South Bronx Unite’s website: https://www.southbronxunite.org/
