Thinking environmentally in the Elm City

REBECCA ROSENTHAL/YH New Haven should protect and promote its environment as a rsourve for the community.

Too often, so-called "environmental" issues are thought of as luxury concerns—the kind of policies we should only consider once we have the things we really need. In a city like New Haven, that view could not be further from the truth. Environmental issues here are directly tied to almost all aspects of the quality of urban life—from health concerns, to business and economic strength, to community cohesiveness and pride, to housing, to industrial and infrastructure development, as well as the ecology of local plant and animal life. This is not about saving the whales or the rainforest—it's about grappling with how our city is structured and sustained.

Like many other Connecticut cities, New Haven has felt the pain of environmental injustice—the concentration of pollution in poor, often minority communities with less political power to protect themselves against toxic health threats from dirty industries.

One clear example is air pollution. New Haven is home to one of the so-called "Filthy Five" power plants, which are given special allowance to pollute at levels that have been considered unsafe by the EPA for 25 years. New Haven also carries the pollution burden of Connecticut's two major highways, which trisect the city. As if this weren't enough, New Haven's air is polluted by Yale's two smaller power plants and is facing the possibility of the even older English Station plant reopening in Fairhaven. With one of the highest rates of asthma in the state, New Haven's children and elderly are devastated by this pollution. How can we build vibrant communities when we are warned to stay indoors during the summer and kids get sick from playing outside during recess?

The mayor of New Haven should consider it a personal responsibility to defend and improve air quality in a community that has borne more than its share of the damages of pollution. This may involve working with officials in the state legislature and Department of Environmental Protection. In addition to working on power plants and factory emission sources, policies should be aimed at decreasing traffic, imposing stricter limits on diesel fuel, and perhaps buying city buses that run on ethanol. Less pollution will mean less human suffering from asthma and other respiratory ailments, as well as reduced hospital costs and more people enjoying time outside.

Enjoying the outdoors is both an end and a means—more walking means less traffic and exhaust, more business for local shops and restaurants, and a more closely knit community. To encourage people to walk, the streets need to be walkable—tree-lined streets with sidewalks that are not cluttered with trash or pushed up against bare ugly concrete buildings. Benches, flowers, and murals are not just extras—they can transform wasted blocks into pleasant avenues for strolling and commuting. When trees need trimming because of phone lines or construction, it should be done with care and respect.

In commercial areas the city should support local businesses and work to rebuild neighborhood centers. Malls located outside existing neighborhoods increase traffic and drain business away from real communities, allowing large national chains to easily dominate more precarious local stores. In downtown New Haven, the city should work to revitalize the Chapel Square Mall and continue work that has already been begun to improve the surrounding streets. Neighborhoods in New Haven also need to be better connected. Currently they are separated by barren industrial areas and mazes of highway exits and connectors. Through projects like the Vision Trail, groups have worked to link the city's natural attractions.

New Haven has a wealth of beautiful parks that the city should continue to maintain, protect, and promote as safe, beautiful assets for relaxing and appreciating nature. In addition, the city can work to build and clean up smaller neighborhood parks. In residential areas, community gardens in abandoned lots can bring people together in an activity that beautifully fills in the neighborhood while also providing food, flowers, and enjoyment. The city government is already working on revitalizing neighborhoods through programs such as Empowerment Zones and the Urban Resource Initiative, a partnership between New Haven and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (FES). The next mayor needs to show commitment to these programs by working closely with local residents to set and reach goals for their own home areas.

Industry is also a vital part of an environmental vision for New Haven. The Elm City is currently home to a large number of brown fields—former industrial sites that have limited future use because of residual contamination. These sites could be used in the development of an "eco-industrial park," a coordinated system of industries that uses waste products internally and doesn't generate excess pollution. In fact, Yale undergraduates and FES students in Professor Thomas Graedel's industrial ecology class have been working on such plans through a joint project with the city planning department. Some designs involve the recycling of waste heat between adjacent factories and an assortment of glass blowing, recycled plastic product manufacture, industrial materials storage, and a recycling transfer station. Such a system could provide a large number of jobs with little pollution or negative impact on the surrounding residences, since they would be located in areas that are already heavily industrialized. Making use of old industrial sites for new development helps prevent the destruction of more natural areas to locate new industries. The mayor should work to realize these visions and make New Haven into America's leader in this kind of industrial planning. New Haven doesn't have to wait for average income to rise to become a leader in green industry—the two can go hand-in-hand.

Thinking environmentally sometimes simply means evaluating the effects of our actions on our lives and communities. A mayor or any other community leader must be part visionary, part defender, part healer, part educator, and part consistent and patient worker. It will be hard work, but in the long term it is work that will result in a beautiful, livable city—one that improves rather than degrades its own human and natural resources. New Haven is just the place to do it.

Jon Braman, ES '02, is co-coordinator of Yale Green Corps.

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