User:Hannahazimi/Environmental Planning

Environmental Justice
Environmental justice is the equitable inclusion and treatment of all human beings in all aspects of environmental planning, as well as in the enforcement of environmental legislation. It is increasingly recognized as a key part of environmental planning. Environmental justice issues are usually fought within communities to establish environmentally-friendly and accessible neighborhoods and living conditions, and to improve the local ecology. The Environmental Protection Agency has declared it essential that residents should play an active role in the reshaping of their neighborhoods. Many levels of government and international organizations agree on the need for equitable and sustainable housing and transportation, as core characteristics of environmental justice; these are considered today a part of the battle against the climate crisis. Environmental activists act as watchdogs on government support for the battles of underrepresented communities against environmental hazards that threaten their health or way of life.

United States
In the United States of America, there have been numerous examples of the state provisioning of environmental justice in multiple communities. Listed are some of such projects:


 * The Phillips community in Minneapolis, Minnesota: The Phillips community began a campaign against the city of Minneapolis to halt the construction of a garbage transfer station in their neighborhood. The city was ordered for the demolition of twenty-eight homes for the site, amassing ten acres of land; this project was soon stopped by the aforementioned Phillips neighborhood . The people of Phillips established an organization known as the “Green Institute” afterwards in order to repurpose this vacant ten-acre lot. The Green Institute partnered with the city of Minneapolis to create sustainable business enterprises to ultimately bolster the job market while improving Minneapolis' environment by reducing waste and promoting clean energy techniques . With funding from the city government of Minneapolis, the Green Institute has established city-wide projects such as the "ReUse Center" and the "DeConstruction" service. The ReUse Center's services provide systems to repurpose scavenged construction materials so that building waste is reduced; the DeConstruction service assists those who want to collect discarded construction materials from demolition or building sites to reclaim . With these services, it is estimated that up to 75 percent of unused structures can be repurposed and then sold for new uses . This idea for the Green Institute, first drummed up by the citizens of the Phillips community, was quickly incorporated as a government-funded project that advocates for environmental justice.