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Neighbors for Environmental Justice

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Neighbors for Environmental Justice
Formation2007
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois

The Neighbors for Environmental Justice (N4EJ) is an environmental justice group located on Chicago's Southwest Side. N4EJ was founded in 2017, in response to happenings of a local asphalt plant, MAT Asphalt.[1] As an environmental organization, N4EJ focuses its efforts on environmental justice, advocacy, public outreach, and education.[2] Additionally, N4EJ collects environmental data [3] and meets with local officials to discuss the prevention of future developments such as MAT Asphalt.

History

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N4EJ was founded in 2007 by a group of community members, including Robert Beedle and Anthony Moser. The organization formed as a response to the development of a hot-mix asphalt plant, MAT Asphalt, located in Chicago's McKinley Park neighborhood.[4] MAT Asphalt neighbors a school, park, and residential units in McKinley Park. Despite community protest, MAT Asphalt has continued their operations.[5] These operations, according to N4EJ, could potentially have harmful effects on lung health, asthma, or worse, as a result of exposure to the dust and fumes the asphalt plant creates.[6] N4EJ is organized by local community members who are concerned about air quality and air pollution. Developments in Chicago, like Mat Asphalt, have undergone controversy regarding air quality violations in the past.[7][8] In 2020, several complaints were filed against MAT Asphalt due to their failure in controlling airborne particles, foul odors, amongst other complaints.[9] With environmental concerns such as pollution in mind, N4EJ has partnered with other local and community-based environmental organizations including the Chicago Environmental Justice Network (CEJN), which also partners with organizations such as the Southwest Environmental Alliance (SEA), People for Community Recovery (PCR),[10] and the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO).[11]

Affiliate Groups

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Chicago Environmental Justice Network

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The Chicago Environmental Justice Network (CEJN)[12] is a community-based environmental justice coalition based on Chicago's South and West Sides. CEJN has a proposed mission of remediating environmental concerns, such as pollution, in Chicago residential areas. CJEN is affiliated with other local environmental justice organizations which are concerned with a variety of environmental, social, and economic issues. CJEN and its affiliates include the People for Community Recovery (PCR), the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), the Southwest Environmental Task Force (SETF), Blacks in Green, and The Neighborhood for Environmental Justice (N4EJ).

Southwest Environmental Alliance

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The Southwest Environmental Alliance (SEA) is a taskforce of environmental advocacy groups located near Chicago’s Southwest Side and neighboring industrial corridors.The alliance was founded in 2017. The areas covered by the alliance include Bridgeport, Canaryville, Brighton Park, and McKinley Park neighborhoods.[13] The environmental justice coalition was formed in response to community concerns regarding the industrial pollution in proximity to the Southwest Side.[14] The SEA's stated mission is to improve community health by mitigating the environmental concerns of the surrounding communities in the coalition.[15] SEA focuses its efforts on events that help the environment. An example would be the “Weed the Walk” event in which volunteers walk around learning about plants, animals, and how to take out weeds safely without damaging them. On top of that, SEA also set up dates to meet with electoral officials to discuss developers like Sims Metal Management, who cause harm to the environment.[16]

People For Community Recovery

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Founded in 1979 by Hazel Johnson,[17] People For Community Recovery (PCR) is an environmental justice group located near Altgeld Gardens. PCR was developed as a result of Johnson’s concerns regarding the correlation between cancer[18] and toxic waste sites, climate change,[19] equitable economic development,[20] and the overall environmental health of the neighboring communities which border industrial sites.[21] At the community level, PCR has developed or partnered with local programs, such as After School Matters, and Minority Worker training, which is intended for training locals for professions in the food and horticulture professions[22] as well as the construction industry that deals with the management of hazardous waste.

Little Village Environmental Justice Organization

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Main article: Little Village Environmental Justice Organization

Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) is a community-based non-profit organization based in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. LVEJO was founded in 1994 [23] following the concern of local parents who felt renovations at Joesph E. Gary Elementary might expose students to environmental hazards including pollution from air particulates, which could contribute to asthma and lead poisoning.[24] LVEJO's proposed mission is to promote environmental justice and community empowerment through sustainable community development, community organizing, and advocacy.

LVEJO's work primarily focuses on addressing environmental issues such as air pollution, water quality, and waste management, as well as promoting policies and practices that support social, economic, and environmental justice.[25] Notably, LVEJO played a key role in the successful advocacy for the closure of two coal-fired power plants in the Little Village neighborhood.[26][27]

The organization offers various programs and services to fulfill its mission, including youth leadership development, community organizing training, and environmental education initiatives.[28] LVEJO also partners with other organizations and community groups to create green infrastructure projects that improve air and water quality in the Little Village neighborhood and beyond.

References

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  1. ^ "Friends of the Chicago River, Openlands and Others Join Chorus Calling on Pritzker To Halt Damen Silos Sale". WTTW News. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  2. ^ aqin (2022-01-25). "New Map Shows Pollution Near Your Kid's School — And Confirms Latino Neighborhoods Are Hit The Hardest". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  3. ^ Levine, Lily (2022-05-20). "Making the Invisible Visible". South Side Weekly. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  4. ^ "McKinley Park News - Environmental Justice Group Launches as Counterpoint to New Industrial Development". mckinleypark.news. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  5. ^ "McKinley Park asphalt plant fined after hundreds of complaints, owner is appealing". Chicago Sun-Times. 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  6. ^ "A Dirty Deal for McKinley Park?". Green Community Connections. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  7. ^ "MAT Asphalt says its air pollution is below state limits". Chicago Sun-Times. 2022-01-22. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  8. ^ "Polluters like Southeast Side plant often get a pass on air-quality violations in Chicago, Sun-Times finds". Chicago Sun-Times. 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  9. ^ "MAT Asphalt wins up to $141M in city contracts after settling pollution complaints". Chicago Sun-Times. 2023-04-10. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  10. ^ "Environmental Justice in Chicago: It's Been One Battle After Another". www.nrdc.org. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  11. ^ pcampillo (2021-05-26). "Chicago Environmental Justice Network Puts Forward Proposal to Address Cumulative Pollution Impact on Environmental Justice Communities". Illinois Environmental Council. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  12. ^ pcampillo (2021-05-26). "Chicago Environmental Justice Network Puts Forward Proposal to Address Cumulative Pollution Impact on Environmental Justice Communities". Illinois Environmental Council. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  13. ^ "Environmental Issues Take Center Stage at Mayoral Forum Held in Heart of Chicago's Overburdened Communities". WTTW News. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  14. ^ Levine, Lily (2022-05-20). "Making the Invisible Visible". South Side Weekly. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  15. ^ "Local groups ask residents to step up residents to step up to fight pollution". gazettechicago.com. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  16. ^ "Pilsen and Little Village activists want mayoral candidates to make environmental issues a priority". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  17. ^ "How Hazel Johnson became 'the mother of the environmental justice movement'". WBEZ Chicago. 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  18. ^ Bellandi, Deanna (2023-01-20). "Working Together to Prevent Cervical Cancer". University of Illinois Cancer Center. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
  19. ^ September 13; Sumter, 2022 Gina Ramirez Kyler. "Healthier Buildings as a Climate Solution for Chicago". NRDC. Retrieved 2023-03-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Citing environmental racism, Southeast Side activists file civil rights complaint against Chicago: 'We've been a dumping ground for too many years'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  21. ^ "How a Spike in Poor Air Quality is Impacting Chicago's Most Polluted Neighborhoods". WTTW News. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  22. ^ Requena, Richard (2022-08-11). "Altgeld Gardens Residents Can't Wait for Solar Project". South Side Weekly. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
  23. ^ Schastok, Rachel (2015-01-13). "Citizens for an Unpolluted La Villita". South Side Weekly. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  24. ^ "No al carbón: Environmental Racism in Chicago". War Resisters League. 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  25. ^ "No al carbón: Environmental Racism in Chicago". War Resisters League. 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  26. ^ "How Chicago's Mexican Immigrants Are Fighting Toxic Air Pollution". Pacific Standard. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  27. ^ "Fisk, Crawford coal plants had long history, as did battle to close them – Chicago Tribune". www.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  28. ^ "Little Village Environmental Justice Organization - GuideStar Profile". www.guidestar.org. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
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