1. Environmental Impact and Immigration: A Conversation with Magybet Mendez
  2. Philadelphia Must Rethink Its Impact on Chester
  3. New Documentary Explores Philadelphia’s Struggle for Land Sovereignty and a Greener Future
  4. Capturing Hope: Power Circle Mentors Inspiring Youth Through Nature and Photography
  5. Roishetta Sibley Ozane and The Vessel Project: A Beacon of Hope in Sulphur, Louisiana
  6. ecoFEST 2023: A Celebration of Environmental Justice
  7. A is for asbestos: The environmental challenges facing Philly schools
  8. The Age of Preparedness: Securing Your Finances in the Face of the Climate Crisis
  9. A Former Sugar Plantation Up in Flames: The Lahaina Wildfires
  10. From Heatwaves to Hydration: Philadelphia’s Water Landscape Explored
  11. A Sizzling Summer: Philly Faces Extreme Temperatures
  12. Get to Know The New Host of ecoWURD: Tamara P.O.C. Russell
  13. Funding the Fight for Climate Justice: Local and Federal Grants Propel Environmental Initiatives
  14. Where There is Fire, There Will Be Smoke
  15. Lessons at Sea: Capitalism, Climate Change and a Path Forward
  16. Investing in Women, Investing in the Future: The Wise Fund’s Vision for a Greener World
  17. HOW DID “NIMBY” SUDDENLY BECOME THE NEW “N-WORD?”
  18. The Gentrification Problem: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  19. The Roots Run Deep: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  20. There Is No Cost to Live: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  21. Fixing Up Philly’s Homes: Charles Ellison for WHYY
  22. Punishment Past Prison Walls: Environmental injustice in the Carceral State
  23. RACISM IN THE WATER
  24. THE “INFLATION REDUCTION ACT” IS NOW LAW. SO, HOW DOES IT HELP BLACK PHILLY?
  25. PHILADELPHIA HAS AN AIR TOXIN PROBLEM. WHAT IS THE CITY GOVERNMENT GOING TO DO TO FIX IT?
  26. Want to end gun violence now? Let’s save Philly block by block
  27. Here are steps Philly could take to cool urban heat islands
  28. The gas prices conversation we should be having
  29. Reclaiming Black land is challenging but not impossible
  30. Black clergy: Churches can sway views on climate crisis
  31. Can old Philadelphia refineries be cleaned up and restored?
  32. Here’s how Black Philadelphia can help in the environmental justice battle
  33. City Launches Environmental Justice Advisory Commission
  34. FIXING THE STRUGGLE SPACE
  35. SOLAR POLICIES ARE FALLING BEHIND – SO, HOW DO WE CATCH UP?
  36. IS PHILLY’S “TAP” WATER PROGRAM WORKING?
  37. Ian Harris
  38. Melissa Ostroff
  39. THE WATER BILLS ARE WAY TOO HIGH
  40. THE KEY TO APPROACHING FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES ON ALL THINGS GREEN
  41. ICYMI: Watch highlights, panels at ecoWURD’s 2021 Environmental Justice Summit
  42. BLACK MOTHERS NEED CLEANER & SAFER ENVIRONMENTS – IT’S A PUBLIC HEALTH IMPERATIVE
  43. USING DANCE TO SAVE A RIVER
  44. TRACKING PHILADELPHIA’S AIR QUALITY
  45. GETTING RELIGIOUS ON CLIMATE CRISIS
  46. WE NEED MORE BLACK PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE
  47. WHEN THERE’S NO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, WE HAVE NOTHING
  48. A PREMATURE END TO EVICTION MORATORIUMS
  49. THE LACK OF BELIEF IN CLIMATE CRISIS IS JUST AS MUCH A THREAT
  50. YOU CAN’T HAVE RACIAL JUSTICE WITHOUT FAIR HOUSING
  51. RUN OVER THE SYSTEMS: THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM
  52. PENNSYLVANIA IS “WAY BEHIND” ON SOLAR. HOW DOES IT CATCH UP?
  53. Pandemic Relief For Black Farmers Still Is Not Enough
  54. A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEXT URBANISM
  55. THAT ELECTRONIC & CLOTHING WASTE PILES UP. SO WHERE TO PUT IT?
  56. THE WOMB IS THE FIRST ENVIRONMENT
  57. WILL THERE BE ANY MASS TRANSIT LEFT AFTER PANDEMIC?
  58. A FRIDGE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S HUNGRY
  59. OLD SCHOOL FOSSIL FUEL ECONOMY VS. NEW SCHOOL CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY
  60. ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IS THE TOP SOCIAL JUSTICE PRIORITY
  61. IN 2020, DID “BIG GREEN” BECOME LESS WHITE?
  62. CLIMATE ACTION CAN POWER OUR RECOVERY
  63. IN PANDEMIC, AN HBCU DOES IT BETTER
  64. A DANGEROUS LACK OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROTECTIONS
  65. HOW FAST CAN A BIDEN PRESIDENCY MOVE ON CLIMATE ISSUES?
  66. CRAFTING A BLACK-DRIVEN CORONAVIRUS AND CLIMATE “STIMULUS” AGENDA
  67. Penn to donate $100 million to Philadelphia school district to help public school children
  68. BLACK ECOLOGIES IN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA
  69. WHAT IS “FROM THE SOURCE REPORTING?”
  70. LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
  71. THE ECOWURD SUMMIT LAUNCH
  72. National Geographic Virtual Photo Camp: Earth Stories Aimed to Elevate Indigenous Youth Voices
  73. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2020
  74. THE PLAN FOR A 100 PERCENT CLEAN FUTURE IS SAVING NATURE
  75. WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AGENDA LOOK LIKE?
  76. THE NEED FOR ABOLITIONIST TEACHING
  77. PUBLIC LANDS & SAVING NATURE
  78. TOO MANY NATURAL GAS SPILLS
  79. GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK
  80. BLACK VOTERS ARE THE ECO-VOTERS CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARE LOOKING FOR
  81. CANNABIS PROFIT & BLACK ECONOMY
  82. THE NATURE GAP
  83. BLACK PEOPLE NEED NATURE
  84. WHAT IS TREEPHILLY?
  85. IS AN OBSCURE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE IN HARRISBURG DOING ENOUGH?
  86. AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALISM’S RACIST ROOTS
  87. “THERE’S REALLY A LOT OF QUIET SUFFERING OUT THERE
  88. “WE NEED TO GET INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN”
  89. “AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW THAT GIVES YOU A VOICE”
  90. URBAN PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR WHITE SUPREMACY
  91. HEAT WAVES REMIND US CLIMATE CHANGE IS STILL HERE
  92. Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
  93. IN PANDEMIC, MAKING SURE PEOPLE EAT & HOW HBCUs HELP
  94. WE’RE NOT DONE, YET – MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IS NEEDED AT THE PES REFINERY SITE
  95. COVID-19 IS LAYING WASTE TO RECYCLING PROGRAMS
  96. THE PHILADELPHIA HEALTH EQUITY GAPS THAT COVID-19 EXPOSED
  97. THE POWER OF NEW HERBALISM
  98. THERE’S NO RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
  99. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit
  100. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit 2020 Press Release
  101. Too Much Food At Farms, Too Little Food At Stores
  102. THE LINK BETWEEN AIR POLLUTION & COVID-19
  103. CORONAVIRUS REVEALS WHY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS STILL THE CRITICAL ISSUE OF OUR TIME
  104. FROM KATRINA TO CORONAVIRUS, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
  105. COVID-19 SHOWS A BIGGER IMPACT WHERE BLACK PEOPLE LIVE
  106. THE CORONAVIRUS CONVERSATION HAS GOT TO GET A LOT MORE INCLUSIVE THAN THIS
  107. MEDIA’S CLIMATE CHANGE COVERAGE KEEPS BLACK PEOPLE OUT OF IT
  108. “WE DON’T HAVE A CULTURE OF PREPAREDNESS”
  109. PHILADELPHIA HAS A FOOD ECONOMY
  110. HOW URBAN AGRICULTURE CAN IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY IN U.S. CITIES
  111. MAPPING THE LINK BETWEEN INCARCERATION & FOOD INSECURITY
  112. PHILLY’S JAILS ARE, LITERALLY, MAKING PEOPLE SICK
  113. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2019
  114. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit
  115. “We Can’t Breathe: Zulene Mayfield’s Lifelong War with Waste ‘Managers’”
  116. “Is The Black Press Reporting on Environmental Issues?” by David Love
  117. “The Dangerous Connection Between Climate Change & Food” an interview with Jacqueline Patterson and Adrienne Hollis
  118. “An Oil Refinery Explosion That Was Never Isolated” by Charles Ellison
  119. “Philly Should Be Going ‘Community Solar'” an interview w/ PA Rep. Donna Bullock
  120. “Is The Litter Index Enough?” an interview w/ Nic Esposito
  121. “How Sugarcane Fires in Florida Are Making Black People Sick” an interview w/ Frank Biden
  122. Philly Farm Social – Video and Pictures
  123. #PHILLYFARMSOCIAL GETS REAL IN THE FIELD
  124. THE LACK OF DIVERSE LEADERS IN THE GREEN SPACE Environmental Advocacy Organizations – especially the “Big Green” – Really Need More Black & Brown People in Senior Positions
  125. PLASTIC BAG BANS CAN BACKFIRE … WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER PLASTICS TO CHOOSE FROM
  126. WE REALLY NEED POLITICAL STRATEGISTS LEADING ON CLIMATE CHANGE – NOT ACADEMICS
  127. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN A MUCH MORE CLIMATIC WORLD
  128. A SMALL GERMANTOWN NON-PROFIT “TRADES FOR A DIFFERENCE”
  129. IS PHILLY BLAMING ITS TRASH & RECYCLING CRISIS ON BLACK PEOPLE?
  130. BUT WHAT DOES THE GREEN NEW DEAL MEAN FOR BLACK PEOPLE?
  131. HOW GREEN IS PHILLY’S “GREENWORKS” PLAN?
  132. The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy event recap #ecoWURD #phillyisgreen
  133. Bike-friendly cities should be designed for everyone, not just for wealthy white cyclists
  134. RENAMING “GENTRIFICATION”
  135. FOUR GOVERNORS, ONE URBAN WATERSHED IN NEED OF ACTION
  136. JUST HOW BAD IS THE AIR HURTING PHILLY’S BLACK FAMILIES?
  137. EcoWURD Presents:The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy
  138. IF YOU ARE LOW-INCOME OR HOMELESS, THE POLAR VORTEX IS LIKE A FORM OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
  139. NOT JUST FLINT: THE WATER CRISIS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
  140. DO THE TRAINS STOP RUNNING? THE SHUTDOWN’S IMPACT ON MASS TRANSIT
  141. BLACK WOMEN & THE TROUBLE WITH BABY POWDER
  142. A WHITE COLLAR CRIME VICTIMIZING NICETOWN
  143. IN NORTH CAROLINA, CLIMATE CHANGE & VOTER SUPPRESSION WORKED HAND-IN-HAND
  144. LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD GAIN THE MOST FROM GREEN ROOFS
  145. YOUR OWN HOOD: CLOSING THE GENERATIONAL GREEN DIVIDE IN BLACK PHILADELPHIA
  146. THE PRICE OF WATER: LITERAL & FIGURATIVE THIRST AT WORK
  147. THAT CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT TRUMP DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE? YEAH, WELL, IT’S THE LAW
  148. RACIAL & ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO WILDFIRES
  149. NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS Philly Has a Cigarette Butt Problem
  150. HOW SUSTAINABLE CAN PHILLY GET?
  151. USING AFROFUTURISM TO BUILD THE KIND OF WORLD YOU WANT
  152. UNCOVERING PHILLY’S HIDDEN TOXIC DANGERS …
  153. WILL THE ENVIRONMENT DRIVE VOTERS TO THE POLLS? (PART I)
  154. ARE PHILLY SCHOOLS READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
  155. 🎧 SEPTA CREATES A GAS PROBLEM IN NORTH PHILLY
  156. 🎧 BREAKING THE GREEN RETAIL CEILING
  157. That’s Nasty: The Cost of Trash in Philly
  158. 🎧 How Can You Solarize Philly?
  159. 🎧 “The Environment Should Be an Active, Living Experience”
  160. Philly’s Lead Crisis Is Larger Than Flint’s
  161. Despite What You Heard, Black Millennials Do Care About the Environment
  162. Hurricanes Always Hurt Black Folks the Most
  163. Are You Going to Drink That?
  164. The Origins of ecoWURD
  165. We Seriously Need More Black Climate Disaster Films
  166. 🎧 Why Should Philly Care About a Pipeline?
  167. 🎧 Not Just Hotter Days Ahead… Costly Ones Too
  168. Philly’s Big and Dangerous Hot Mess
Monday, March 18, 2024
  1. Environmental Impact and Immigration: A Conversation with Magybet Mendez
  2. Philadelphia Must Rethink Its Impact on Chester
  3. New Documentary Explores Philadelphia’s Struggle for Land Sovereignty and a Greener Future
  4. Capturing Hope: Power Circle Mentors Inspiring Youth Through Nature and Photography
  5. Roishetta Sibley Ozane and The Vessel Project: A Beacon of Hope in Sulphur, Louisiana
  6. ecoFEST 2023: A Celebration of Environmental Justice
  7. A is for asbestos: The environmental challenges facing Philly schools
  8. The Age of Preparedness: Securing Your Finances in the Face of the Climate Crisis
  9. A Former Sugar Plantation Up in Flames: The Lahaina Wildfires
  10. From Heatwaves to Hydration: Philadelphia’s Water Landscape Explored
  11. A Sizzling Summer: Philly Faces Extreme Temperatures
  12. Get to Know The New Host of ecoWURD: Tamara P.O.C. Russell
  13. Funding the Fight for Climate Justice: Local and Federal Grants Propel Environmental Initiatives
  14. Where There is Fire, There Will Be Smoke
  15. Lessons at Sea: Capitalism, Climate Change and a Path Forward
  16. Investing in Women, Investing in the Future: The Wise Fund’s Vision for a Greener World
  17. HOW DID “NIMBY” SUDDENLY BECOME THE NEW “N-WORD?”
  18. The Gentrification Problem: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  19. The Roots Run Deep: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  20. There Is No Cost to Live: The Environmental Crisis of Unaffordable Housing
  21. Fixing Up Philly’s Homes: Charles Ellison for WHYY
  22. Punishment Past Prison Walls: Environmental injustice in the Carceral State
  23. RACISM IN THE WATER
  24. THE “INFLATION REDUCTION ACT” IS NOW LAW. SO, HOW DOES IT HELP BLACK PHILLY?
  25. PHILADELPHIA HAS AN AIR TOXIN PROBLEM. WHAT IS THE CITY GOVERNMENT GOING TO DO TO FIX IT?
  26. Want to end gun violence now? Let’s save Philly block by block
  27. Here are steps Philly could take to cool urban heat islands
  28. The gas prices conversation we should be having
  29. Reclaiming Black land is challenging but not impossible
  30. Black clergy: Churches can sway views on climate crisis
  31. Can old Philadelphia refineries be cleaned up and restored?
  32. Here’s how Black Philadelphia can help in the environmental justice battle
  33. City Launches Environmental Justice Advisory Commission
  34. FIXING THE STRUGGLE SPACE
  35. SOLAR POLICIES ARE FALLING BEHIND – SO, HOW DO WE CATCH UP?
  36. IS PHILLY’S “TAP” WATER PROGRAM WORKING?
  37. Ian Harris
  38. Melissa Ostroff
  39. THE WATER BILLS ARE WAY TOO HIGH
  40. THE KEY TO APPROACHING FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES ON ALL THINGS GREEN
  41. ICYMI: Watch highlights, panels at ecoWURD’s 2021 Environmental Justice Summit
  42. BLACK MOTHERS NEED CLEANER & SAFER ENVIRONMENTS – IT’S A PUBLIC HEALTH IMPERATIVE
  43. USING DANCE TO SAVE A RIVER
  44. TRACKING PHILADELPHIA’S AIR QUALITY
  45. GETTING RELIGIOUS ON CLIMATE CRISIS
  46. WE NEED MORE BLACK PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE
  47. WHEN THERE’S NO CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, WE HAVE NOTHING
  48. A PREMATURE END TO EVICTION MORATORIUMS
  49. THE LACK OF BELIEF IN CLIMATE CRISIS IS JUST AS MUCH A THREAT
  50. YOU CAN’T HAVE RACIAL JUSTICE WITHOUT FAIR HOUSING
  51. RUN OVER THE SYSTEMS: THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM
  52. PENNSYLVANIA IS “WAY BEHIND” ON SOLAR. HOW DOES IT CATCH UP?
  53. Pandemic Relief For Black Farmers Still Is Not Enough
  54. A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEXT URBANISM
  55. THAT ELECTRONIC & CLOTHING WASTE PILES UP. SO WHERE TO PUT IT?
  56. THE WOMB IS THE FIRST ENVIRONMENT
  57. WILL THERE BE ANY MASS TRANSIT LEFT AFTER PANDEMIC?
  58. A FRIDGE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S HUNGRY
  59. OLD SCHOOL FOSSIL FUEL ECONOMY VS. NEW SCHOOL CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY
  60. ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IS THE TOP SOCIAL JUSTICE PRIORITY
  61. IN 2020, DID “BIG GREEN” BECOME LESS WHITE?
  62. CLIMATE ACTION CAN POWER OUR RECOVERY
  63. IN PANDEMIC, AN HBCU DOES IT BETTER
  64. A DANGEROUS LACK OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROTECTIONS
  65. HOW FAST CAN A BIDEN PRESIDENCY MOVE ON CLIMATE ISSUES?
  66. CRAFTING A BLACK-DRIVEN CORONAVIRUS AND CLIMATE “STIMULUS” AGENDA
  67. Penn to donate $100 million to Philadelphia school district to help public school children
  68. BLACK ECOLOGIES IN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA
  69. WHAT IS “FROM THE SOURCE REPORTING?”
  70. LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
  71. THE ECOWURD SUMMIT LAUNCH
  72. National Geographic Virtual Photo Camp: Earth Stories Aimed to Elevate Indigenous Youth Voices
  73. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2020
  74. THE PLAN FOR A 100 PERCENT CLEAN FUTURE IS SAVING NATURE
  75. WHAT SHOULD A PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AGENDA LOOK LIKE?
  76. THE NEED FOR ABOLITIONIST TEACHING
  77. PUBLIC LANDS & SAVING NATURE
  78. TOO MANY NATURAL GAS SPILLS
  79. GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK
  80. BLACK VOTERS ARE THE ECO-VOTERS CLIMATE ACTIVISTS ARE LOOKING FOR
  81. CANNABIS PROFIT & BLACK ECONOMY
  82. THE NATURE GAP
  83. BLACK PEOPLE NEED NATURE
  84. WHAT IS TREEPHILLY?
  85. IS AN OBSCURE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE IN HARRISBURG DOING ENOUGH?
  86. AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALISM’S RACIST ROOTS
  87. “THERE’S REALLY A LOT OF QUIET SUFFERING OUT THERE
  88. “WE NEED TO GET INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN”
  89. “AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW THAT GIVES YOU A VOICE”
  90. URBAN PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR WHITE SUPREMACY
  91. HEAT WAVES REMIND US CLIMATE CHANGE IS STILL HERE
  92. Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
  93. IN PANDEMIC, MAKING SURE PEOPLE EAT & HOW HBCUs HELP
  94. WE’RE NOT DONE, YET – MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IS NEEDED AT THE PES REFINERY SITE
  95. COVID-19 IS LAYING WASTE TO RECYCLING PROGRAMS
  96. THE PHILADELPHIA HEALTH EQUITY GAPS THAT COVID-19 EXPOSED
  97. THE POWER OF NEW HERBALISM
  98. THERE’S NO RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
  99. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit
  100. ecoWURD Earth Day Summit 2020 Press Release
  101. Too Much Food At Farms, Too Little Food At Stores
  102. THE LINK BETWEEN AIR POLLUTION & COVID-19
  103. CORONAVIRUS REVEALS WHY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IS STILL THE CRITICAL ISSUE OF OUR TIME
  104. FROM KATRINA TO CORONAVIRUS, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
  105. COVID-19 SHOWS A BIGGER IMPACT WHERE BLACK PEOPLE LIVE
  106. THE CORONAVIRUS CONVERSATION HAS GOT TO GET A LOT MORE INCLUSIVE THAN THIS
  107. MEDIA’S CLIMATE CHANGE COVERAGE KEEPS BLACK PEOPLE OUT OF IT
  108. “WE DON’T HAVE A CULTURE OF PREPAREDNESS”
  109. PHILADELPHIA HAS A FOOD ECONOMY
  110. HOW URBAN AGRICULTURE CAN IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY IN U.S. CITIES
  111. MAPPING THE LINK BETWEEN INCARCERATION & FOOD INSECURITY
  112. PHILLY’S JAILS ARE, LITERALLY, MAKING PEOPLE SICK
  113. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit 2019
  114. ecoWURD Environmental Justice Summit
  115. “We Can’t Breathe: Zulene Mayfield’s Lifelong War with Waste ‘Managers’”
  116. “Is The Black Press Reporting on Environmental Issues?” by David Love
  117. “The Dangerous Connection Between Climate Change & Food” an interview with Jacqueline Patterson and Adrienne Hollis
  118. “An Oil Refinery Explosion That Was Never Isolated” by Charles Ellison
  119. “Philly Should Be Going ‘Community Solar'” an interview w/ PA Rep. Donna Bullock
  120. “Is The Litter Index Enough?” an interview w/ Nic Esposito
  121. “How Sugarcane Fires in Florida Are Making Black People Sick” an interview w/ Frank Biden
  122. Philly Farm Social – Video and Pictures
  123. #PHILLYFARMSOCIAL GETS REAL IN THE FIELD
  124. THE LACK OF DIVERSE LEADERS IN THE GREEN SPACE Environmental Advocacy Organizations – especially the “Big Green” – Really Need More Black & Brown People in Senior Positions
  125. PLASTIC BAG BANS CAN BACKFIRE … WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER PLASTICS TO CHOOSE FROM
  126. WE REALLY NEED POLITICAL STRATEGISTS LEADING ON CLIMATE CHANGE – NOT ACADEMICS
  127. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN A MUCH MORE CLIMATIC WORLD
  128. A SMALL GERMANTOWN NON-PROFIT “TRADES FOR A DIFFERENCE”
  129. IS PHILLY BLAMING ITS TRASH & RECYCLING CRISIS ON BLACK PEOPLE?
  130. BUT WHAT DOES THE GREEN NEW DEAL MEAN FOR BLACK PEOPLE?
  131. HOW GREEN IS PHILLY’S “GREENWORKS” PLAN?
  132. The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy event recap #ecoWURD #phillyisgreen
  133. Bike-friendly cities should be designed for everyone, not just for wealthy white cyclists
  134. RENAMING “GENTRIFICATION”
  135. FOUR GOVERNORS, ONE URBAN WATERSHED IN NEED OF ACTION
  136. JUST HOW BAD IS THE AIR HURTING PHILLY’S BLACK FAMILIES?
  137. EcoWURD Presents:The Future of Work in Philly’s Green Economy
  138. IF YOU ARE LOW-INCOME OR HOMELESS, THE POLAR VORTEX IS LIKE A FORM OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
  139. NOT JUST FLINT: THE WATER CRISIS IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
  140. DO THE TRAINS STOP RUNNING? THE SHUTDOWN’S IMPACT ON MASS TRANSIT
  141. BLACK WOMEN & THE TROUBLE WITH BABY POWDER
  142. A WHITE COLLAR CRIME VICTIMIZING NICETOWN
  143. IN NORTH CAROLINA, CLIMATE CHANGE & VOTER SUPPRESSION WORKED HAND-IN-HAND
  144. LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD GAIN THE MOST FROM GREEN ROOFS
  145. YOUR OWN HOOD: CLOSING THE GENERATIONAL GREEN DIVIDE IN BLACK PHILADELPHIA
  146. THE PRICE OF WATER: LITERAL & FIGURATIVE THIRST AT WORK
  147. THAT CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT TRUMP DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE? YEAH, WELL, IT’S THE LAW
  148. RACIAL & ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO WILDFIRES
  149. NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS Philly Has a Cigarette Butt Problem
  150. HOW SUSTAINABLE CAN PHILLY GET?
  151. USING AFROFUTURISM TO BUILD THE KIND OF WORLD YOU WANT
  152. UNCOVERING PHILLY’S HIDDEN TOXIC DANGERS …
  153. WILL THE ENVIRONMENT DRIVE VOTERS TO THE POLLS? (PART I)
  154. ARE PHILLY SCHOOLS READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
  155. 🎧 SEPTA CREATES A GAS PROBLEM IN NORTH PHILLY
  156. 🎧 BREAKING THE GREEN RETAIL CEILING
  157. That’s Nasty: The Cost of Trash in Philly
  158. 🎧 How Can You Solarize Philly?
  159. 🎧 “The Environment Should Be an Active, Living Experience”
  160. Philly’s Lead Crisis Is Larger Than Flint’s
  161. Despite What You Heard, Black Millennials Do Care About the Environment
  162. Hurricanes Always Hurt Black Folks the Most
  163. Are You Going to Drink That?
  164. The Origins of ecoWURD
  165. We Seriously Need More Black Climate Disaster Films
  166. 🎧 Why Should Philly Care About a Pipeline?
  167. 🎧 Not Just Hotter Days Ahead… Costly Ones Too
  168. Philly’s Big and Dangerous Hot Mess

by Anne Lusk | Harvard University

Designing for bikes has become a hallmark of forward-looking modern cities worldwide. Bike-friendly city ratings abound, and advocates promote cycling as a way to reduce problems ranging from air pollution to traffic deaths.

But urban cycling investments tend to focus on the needs of wealthy riders and neglect lower-income residents and people of color. This happens even though the single biggest group of Americans who bike to work live in households that earn less than US$10,000 yearly, and studies in lower-income neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Boston have found that the majority of bicyclists were non-white.

I have worked on bicycle facilities for 38 years. In a newly published study, I worked with colleagues from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston groups focused on health and families to learn from residents of several such neighborhoods what kinds of bike infrastructure they believed best met their needs. Some of their preferences were notably different from those of cyclists in wealthier neighborhoods.

Cycling infrastructure and urban inequality

Bike equity is a powerful tool for increasing access to transportation and reducing inequality in U.S. cities. Surveys show that the fastest growth in cycling rates since 2001 has occurred among Hispanic, African-American and Asian-American riders. But minority neighborhoods have fewer bike facilities, and riders there face higher risk of accidents and crashes.

Many U.S. cities have improved marginalized neighborhoods by investing in grocery stores, schools, health clinics, community centers, libraries and affordable housing. But when it comes to bicycle infrastructure, they often add only the easiest and least safe elements, such as painting sharrows – stencils of bikes and double chevrons – or bike lane markings, and placing them next to curbs or between parked cars and traffic. Cycle tracks – bike lanes separated from traffic by curbs, lines of posts or rows of parked cars – are more common in affluent neighborhoods.

Compared with white wealthier neighborhoods, more bicyclists in ethnic-minority neighborhoods receive tickets for unlawful riding or are involved in collisions. With access to properly marked cycle tracks, they would have less reason to ride on the sidewalk or against traffic on the street, and would be less likely to be hit by cars.

In my view, responsibility for recognizing these needs rests primarily with cities. Urban governments rely on public participation processes to help them target investments, and car owners tend to speak loudest because they want to maintain access to wide street lanes and parallel parking. In contrast, carless residents who could benefit from biking may not know to ask for facilities that their neighborhoods have never had.

Protection from crime and crashes

For our study, we organized 212 people into 16 structured discussion groups. They included individuals we classified as “community-sense” – representing civic organizations such as YMCAs and churches – or “street-sense,” volunteers from halfway houses, homeless shelters and gangs. We invited the street-sense groups because individuals who have committed crimes or know of crime opportunities have valuable insights about urban design.

We showed the groups photos of various cycling environments, ranging from unaltered streets to painted sharrows and bike lanes, cycle tracks and shared multi-use paths. Participants ranked the pictures according to the risk of crime or crashes they associated with each option, then discussed their perceptions as a group.

Studies have shown that awareness of criminal activity along bike routes can deter cyclists, and this is an important concern in low-income and minority neighborhoods. In a study in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, I found that African-American and Hispanic bicyclists were more concerned than white cyclists that their bikes could be stolen. Some carried bikes up three flights of stairs to store them inside their homes.

From an anti-crime perspective, our focus groups’ ideal bike system was a wide two-way cycle track with freshly painted lines and bike stencils plus arrows, free of oil or litter. Conditions around the route also mattered. Our groups perceived areas with clean signs, cafes with tables and flowers, balconies, streetlights and no alleyways or cuts between buildings as safest. They also wanted routes to avoid buildings that resembled housing projects, warehouses and abandoned buildings.

For crash safety, participants preferred cycle tracks separated from cars by physical dividers; wide cycle track surfaces, colored red to designate them as space for bicyclists; and bike stencils and directional arrows on the tracks. In their view, the safest locations for bike facilities had traffic signals for bikers, clearly painted lines, low levels of traffic, and did not run near bus stops or intersections where many streets converged. 

Rules for the road

We compared our results with widely used bicycle design guidelines and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principles to see whether those sources reflected our participants’ priorities. The guidelines produced by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the National Association of City Transportation Officials provide engineering specifications for designing bicycle facilities that focus on road elements – paint, delineator posts and signs – but do not describe design features that would protect vulnerable humans bicycling through an environment at night. Our study asked people about what kinds of surface markings and features in the surrounding area made them feel most comfortable.

As an example, our groups preferred street-scale lighting to brighten the surface of cycle tracks. In contrast, tall highway cobra-head lights typically used on busy urban streets reach over the roadway, illuminating the road for drivers in vehicles that have headlights.

In higher-income neighborhoods, cyclists might choose bike routes on side streets to avoid heavy traffic. However, people in our study felt that side streets with only residential buildings were less safe for cycling. This suggests that bicycle routes in lower-income ethnic-minority neighborhoods should be concentrated on main roads with commercial activity where more people are present.

Decisions about public rights-of-way should not be based on how many car owners or how few bicyclists show up at public meetings. Our study shows that city officials should create networks of wide, stenciled, red-painted, surface-lighted, barrier-protected, bicycle-exclusive cycle tracks in lower-income ethnic-minority neighborhoods along main streets. This would help residents get to work affordably, quickly and safely, and improve public health and quality of life in communities where these benefits are most needed. 

ANNE LUSK is a Research Scientist at Harvard University. This originally appeared in The Conversation.