Urban geography and history from an environmental justice perspective
john williamsis a geographer, historian and professor who teaches the geography of environmental justice and sustainability in the United States Sustainable development program in Columbia Climate SchoolHe is also the associate director of student affairs for the Climate Institute and is currently writing an upcoming book on urban history, geography, and mobility.
John Williams teaches “The Geography of Environmental Justice and Sustainability” at the Columbia Climate Institute.
Williams lives in Harlem and is originally from Albany, Georgia; I spent a lot of my formative years in Louisiana, so we naturally started college football conversations, then complained about the cold and our shared love of New Orleans .
We meet in Williams’ Morningside office on a chilly afternoon to discuss his work on environmental justice and the inequalities it creates, particularly in the Deep South, and the parallels he sees in New York City neighborhoods .
The following is an edited version of our conversation.
What is your definition of environmental justice?
It’s interesting because this week my students have an assignment to discuss the question: “What is environmental justice?”
it depends. It’s a broad definition, rooted in your personal environment. When instructed to develop my course, I was told to teach a course that grounded the foundations of environmental justice in the struggle for civil rights and social equality.
For me, thinking as a geographer, environmental justice is the arena for examining historical, social, cultural, and environmental issues. It becomes the framework for addressing these built environment issues.
Robert Bullard, known as the father of the environmental justice movement, said environmental justice is more important than racial justice because the right to breathe air is a basic right that overrides civil rights. So looking at my work solely from a civil rights-centered perspective is narrow, but looking at it from an environmental justice perspective broadens it.
What are you doing?
Much of my interest and research in environmental justice focuses on man-made structures, transportation, and affected communities. Right now, I think my biggest focus is the class I teach and the preparation for it: the details to talk about and how to include all of that information in one semester. This is an ongoing battle.
My interests remained centered around the research for my book—anything to do with highways and their impact, especially how they impacted the African American community. For example, I went to Los Angeles for Christmas break last year and had the opportunity to explore the vast freeway system and the neighborhoods the highway passes through.
Some say America has Automobile Industrial Park. Is there a “highway industrial park”?
When I entered my Ph.D. In the Georgia program, it was with this idea that I was going to look at highways and their impact on African-American communities, but the project grew so much more.
It all ties together. When you think about a city like Los Angeles, it grew because of the highways, because of the huge investment in defense contracts. If you look at Southern California, there are countless military bases, and the highways will take you there. Military bases bring with them a need for housing, support and jobs – and the development of highways is directly related to all of these.
Take a local example and look at the environmental impact of the Trans-Bronx Freeway. The South Bronx has the highest rate of asthma in the nation. When you look at other highways in areas with similar characteristics, to me, that’s where the environmental justice issues come in.
When I started this research, I didn’t look at it from a climate change perspective, I looked at it from a historical perspective. When my research started to receive attention from federal legislation and the environmental justice movement that matched my interests, I realized that this really was environmental justice.
We’ve seen time and time again that those regions that are least responsible for climate change (and least prepared to deal with it) will be worst affected — and the problem will continue to grow. Unfortunately, the same problem happened in Harlem, Columbia’s “backyard.”
This is where environmental justice also becomes a voting rights issue. It’s been an eye-opener to be able to connect environmental justice to so many things going on around you.I live in Harlem a few blocks away and there is a stark difference red line areas like harlem Compare that to South Harlem and Lower Manhattan. The only thing that separates us is physical geography, which is out of our control. In terms of urban planning, I’m sure this has been considered as a natural divide between red line areas and more premium geographic areas. It’s the same as you go further out on the island.
How can these issues of environmental injustice be raised with people and communities when they are trying to organize them, and when many of them are not represented on these city councils?
One of the biggest problems with environmental justice is that activism often hinders economic development. I mean, the South Bronx is the best place to build a giant Amazon warehouse. why is it like this?
Because all the highways are already there. The South Bronx has public transportation and often has wild or designated wasteland, which means it’s easier to go there and build a large factory or warehouse. And because it’s an area with so much public housing, you have a workforce that’s willing to work. So activists fighting the new warehouses say “I’m thinking about all these trucks coming onto the highway and asthmatic rates” but they also have to think about the jobs and economic development that Amazon can bring!
Often, this is where environmental justice activists get stuck in the middle. if you look’Cancer Alley in Louisiana, in that stretch between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, you have all these chemical plants that bring a lot of jobs to the area. Many of the scientists who work for companies like ExxonMobil live in these places away from the chemical plants, but in the shadow of the plants you have low-income communities: people who probably do manual labor in the facilities, not chemical plant engineers.
Economic development money silences those most affected because money controls politics in town, who gets elected, political interests.
When it comes to working in the environment, you usually hear from a lot of people things like, “I don’t have the ability to give up my job or ask these questions because my livelihood is tied to it.”
How does the experience of observing patterns of injustice in the South (given its own stereotypes and socioeconomic issues) feel compared to what you see in New York?
The region of Georgia where I am from is considered Georgia’s “Black Belt”. For the most part, the county has a majority of African Americans, so there’s a lot of community, but it’s still in Georgia. Even “Blogia” in 2018, it’s still a red state, as demonstrated by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Education. It still holds remnants of the segregation past, even as we move towards blue.
I’m not from Atlanta either, I’m from the real Georgia. Atlanta is very progressive; outside of it, Georgia looks very different.
When I got to New York, there was more of a liberal mentality. I’m not saying racism doesn’t exist, but education plays an important role and being exposed to so many different cultures has created a comforting community for me. That’s why New York is such an ideal place until it gets cold. But Georgia is my home, so I can feel the same comfort in Georgia.
And not cold.
And not cold.
In New York, I have recently seen evidence of environmental improvement.Dolphins, an important species, are just found in the bronx river For the first time in 6 years, I just read Tibbettsbrook Revival. What other success stories am I missing?
Dolphins are so fascinating. New York used to be a huge center for oysters, and I know the area is going through some “re-oystering,” if you will, right now. Even just committing to keep the Hudson, Harlem, East and Gowanus Canal clean can boost the overall health of the city. Having clean waterways is physically attractive.
New York City will continue to serve as a model for other cities in many areas. I think environmental justice is no exception. This often puts people in New York City at the top of their game on those particular topics. Because of this, I think New York City will be the epicenter of a lot of green change and green jobs.
Along these lines, the City of New York appointed someone as Responsible Environmental Justice. I think these types of actions make New York City a leader on many issues in the world, and environmental justice fits right in with that.
Would you say you are optimistic about the future? How do you stay positive in the face of these tough questions?
Oh, I’m a total optimist. For me, as a black person in America, as a black person who studies and tries to perfect the craft of being a historian, I have to be optimistic. It’s all too easy for me to be a pessimist.
I am optimistic about the future of environmental justice because I work in a field that has an impact on the next generation. If you equip people with the right tools and skills, then you create sustainability managers who understand not only sustainability, but culture and equity. To achieve true sustainability, equity goes hand in hand.
Many times, older people may not be so optimistic because they are nearing the end and may not see changes in their lifetime, but if I think about the future and the next generation of practitioners, I am still very optimistic.
Olivia Colton graduated from LSU in 2018 with a degree in Conservation Biology.She is currently studying her first semester of a master’s degree sustainability science Columbia University courses.
