University-Community Partnerships and Urban Environmental Justice

Tue, Sep 24, 2024

6:30 PM–8:00 PM

The Science Center, Room 4102
CUNY Graduate Center, 365 5th Avenue, NYC
Free and open to all. Registration required.

As part of Climate Week NYC, join us for a conversation with the authors of the Community Heat and Air Mapping Project for Environmental Justice report (CHAMP EJ), who will discuss the report prepared by NYC-EJA and five of its member organizations and why more university-community partnerships are needed. This event is hosted by the NYC Climate Justice Hub and the Center for Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center, and co-sponsored by CUNY Climate Consortium (C3).

According to the World Health Organization, up to 4.2 million people die prematurely every year due to outdoor air pollution. In New York City, PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) alone is estimated to cause more than 2,000 deaths each year. Meanwhile, as the climate continues to warm the health impacts of heat are becoming clearer and more concerning “[…] and Black New Yorkers are twice as likely to die from heat stress as white New Yorkers.” (CHAMP EJ, p6.)  In this session, the researchers will talk about how they got connected, why they felt a partnership was needed and the implications of the report that was generated.  They will also discuss the challenges of doing this work and why more equitably structured university-community partnerships are needed in this moment of political division, climate chaos and the pursuit of a just transition.

“Knowledge is power, and supporting communities to gather information central to their health and welfare empowers these communities to define problems they face and forge solutions tailored to their needs.”

Letitia James, New York State Attorney General (CHAMP EJ, from the foreword) 

Presenters

The session will be moderated by the Co-director of NYC Climate Justice Hub Prof. Michael Menser (Philosophy and Urban Sustainability Program, Brooklyn College & CUNY GC EES). The CHAMP EJ report is available to read here or below:

NYC CHAMP EJ ReportDownload

Free and open to all. Click here to register.

This event is hosted by the NYC Climate Justice Hub and the Center for Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center, and co-sponsored by CUNY Climate Consortium (C3).

Moderator

Projects

Tags
Environment Climate Justice