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Articles 1 - 30 of 47
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Urban Energy, Hannah J. Wiseman
Urban Energy, Hannah J. Wiseman
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Growing domestic energy development—the extraction of fuels and construction of electricity generation facilities—poses new challenges to a country accustomed to importing much of its energy. As has always been the case, fuel in the form of oil, gas, sunlight, wind, water, or other energy sources must be extracted wherever it happens to be found. Compounding this challenge is the fact that some of our most abundant remaining energy sources exist in low concentrations and are widely distributed. As we tap these sources in ever more numerous locations, energy development bumps up against certain human population centers. The City of Fort …
Changes Spark Interest In Sustainable Urban Places: But How Do We Identify And Support Them?, John R. Nolon
Changes Spark Interest In Sustainable Urban Places: But How Do We Identify And Support Them?, John R. Nolon
Fordham Urban Law Journal
No abstract provided.
The City And International Law: In Pursuit Of Sustainable Development, Ileana M. Porras
The City And International Law: In Pursuit Of Sustainable Development, Ileana M. Porras
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This article argues that the internationalization of cities and the localization of sustainable development have combined to turn cities into the international loci of sustainable development. The author contends that while it is positive that cities are willing to engage in addressing sustainable development and climate change, there are dangers in allowing cities to take on the primary function of defining sustainable development. Problems caused by privatization of city services and the tendency of cities to consider local interests primary in engaging in the trade-offs required by sustainable development are discussed. Finally, the author concludes that sustainable development requires a …
What Local Climate Change Plans Can Teach Us About City Power, Katherine A. Trisolini
What Local Climate Change Plans Can Teach Us About City Power, Katherine A. Trisolini
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Discussions of city power have long focused on cities’ power relative to higher levels of government and to each other. The diffuse causes of climate change offer an opportunity to revisit the question of city power by focusing more closely on the intended object of influence. Although these two perspectives on power will at times overlap, they are not identical. If we consider greenhouse gas emissions as the target, cities can employ their relatively minor powers to substantial effect and many of them appear to be trying to do so. But consideration of cities’ climate change policies alters the usual …
The International Significance Of An Instance Of Urban Environmental Inequity In Tijauna, Mexico , Tseming Yang
The International Significance Of An Instance Of Urban Environmental Inequity In Tijauna, Mexico , Tseming Yang
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Environmental equity problems are not exclusive to any one nation. With a lack of regulations, communities of color and poor, and the prevalence of social marginalization, issues of environmental inequality may occur even more vividly in countries with this climate. In Tijuana, Mexico, Metales y Derivados, an abandoned lead smelter, left its surrounding community, Colonia Cilpancingo, with a litany of health related issues and a hunt for justice from its failure to act with appropriate environmental stewardship. Having gained attention in the international news and exposing a failure of regulatory policies and transnational exploitation, Metales is an example of the …
It Takes A Region , Angela Glover Blackwell
It Takes A Region , Angela Glover Blackwell
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Suburbanization and sprawl present new issues and challenges of regional inequity and equal opportunity. As awareness of the effects of the impacts of uneven and unhealthy development patterns grow, the debate for dealing with the fallout of sprawl is being taken up and policy agenda is emerging to address smart growth. With the emergence of the region rather than the city as the dominant economic and social geographic unit and key policy changes, the article propounds that the mistakes of the past fifty years can be reversed and regional equity achieved. The article makes it clear that life changes are …
More Trees Please: Utilizing Natural Resources In The Urban Environmental Management Of New York City, Vivian D. Encarnacion
More Trees Please: Utilizing Natural Resources In The Urban Environmental Management Of New York City, Vivian D. Encarnacion
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This Article discusses the impact of urban development on trees. It discusses the importance of having trees in urban neighborhoods by increasing property value and highly benefiting the ecological system. It also discusses alternative policies that other cities have implemented to deal with the impact of development on the environment. Finally, the Article proposes various solutions to the problems faced by New York City specifically, arguing that the city should adopt a comprehensive urban forestry program that would asses the current status of the urban forest, evaluate the environmental impact of development, and protect tree and landscaping ordinances.
Separate And Unequal: A Comment On The Urban Development Aspect Of Brownfields Programs, Georgette C. Poindexter
Separate And Unequal: A Comment On The Urban Development Aspect Of Brownfields Programs, Georgette C. Poindexter
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Several states and the federal government have proposed and enacted what are termed "Brownfields Programs." These initia- tives have two goals: 1) creation of employment in economically distressed areas surrounded by urban "brownfields" (contami- nated properties); and 2) preservation of "greenfields" (pristine land) from development. This Article discusses the efficacy of the urban development aspect of these initiatives. Specifically it argues that while cities (notably those in the northeast and northcentral United States) may have suffered the impact of deindustrialization disproportionately to their respective suburbs,these programs create a duality of environmental protection that will consign the cities to permanent second …
Municipal Solid Waste Flow Control In The Post-Carbone World, Eric S. Peterson, David N. Abramowitz
Municipal Solid Waste Flow Control In The Post-Carbone World, Eric S. Peterson, David N. Abramowitz
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Garbage will always ultimately be the government's problem. Evolving environmental standards and state and federal policies will continue to require reasoned responses from local governments and municipal solid waste flow control is a vital cog in many jurisdictions' solid waste management solutions. Without flow control of some form, governments' ability to plan and provide for the most environmentally sound and economically acceptable solutions will wane, leaving the public vulnerable to the vagaries of a private market that does not have a duty to protect the public health and safety. The Carbone decision has blunted one of the local governments chief …
Balancing The Scales Of Environmental Justice, Charles J. Mcdermott
Balancing The Scales Of Environmental Justice, Charles J. Mcdermott
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This Essay discusses various ways to weave principles of justice and equity into solving the problem of environmental racism. This Essay also demonstrates the enormous potential of the waste management industry to act as an agent for environmental equity. Part I identifies problems that have led to accusations of environmental racism and conditions that have contributed to the definition of environmental racism. Part II discusses issues of the actual and perceived risks posed by waste treatment facilities, and the need for an understanding of these risks. The Essay next considers the issues raised in siting facilities, and the importance of …
Foreword, Bruce A. Green
Foreword, Bruce A. Green
Fordham Urban Law Journal
The "Urban Environmental Justice" symposium took place at Fordham University School of Law, and explored how low-income communities and communities of color in our nation’s cities may have been disproportionately burdened by various environmental harms. It considered what should be done about this problem, from the perspectives of civic and citizens’ groups, the government at the federal, state, and city levels, public interest lawyers, corporations, and others. The participants in the March 3rd program represented a variety of backgrounds and experiences. The keynote speaker, Gerald Torres, Counsel to the United States Attorney General, had only weeks earlier been designated to …
City Versus Countryside: Environmental Equity In Context, A. Dan Tarlock
City Versus Countryside: Environmental Equity In Context, A. Dan Tarlock
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This Article takes an approach to the problem of environmental equity that is different from the remedies advocated by the leaders of the environmental equity movement. The plea that the benefits of environmental protection be extended to all groups in society is, of course, a legitimate one, but the movement is too narrowly focused and its aims are too modest. I dissent from the two central premises held by environmental equity advocates. First, the movement assumes that judicially recognized and enforced rights will lead to improved public health. Second, the movement asserts that disadvantaged communities should adopt a “Not in …
The Victims Of Nimby, Michael B. Gerrar
The Victims Of Nimby, Michael B. Gerrar
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Not In My Back Yard, or NIMBY, in its various forms, has three principal types of targets. The first is waste disposal facilities, primarily landfills and incinerators. The second is low-income housing. The third is social service facilities, group homes and shelters for individuals such as the mentally ill, AIDS patients, and the homeless. This Article addresses the issue of the victims of NIMBY, with special reference to the effects of project opposition on racial minorities. Because the effect of facility opposition varies widely with the type of project involved, Part II arrays the types of relevant projects and shows …
The Question Of Risk: Incorporating Community Perceptions Into Environmental Risk Assessments, James S. Freeman, Rachel D. Godsil
The Question Of Risk: Incorporating Community Perceptions Into Environmental Risk Assessments, James S. Freeman, Rachel D. Godsil
Fordham Urban Law Journal
The environmental justice movement has seen some successes. After years of neglect, the federal government and several states are directing legislative and executive efforts towards reforming siting processes and remedying discriminatory enforcement of environmental regulations. Community opposition in general has proved to be quite powerful in some instances. Since the passage of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in 1976, there has been only one new siting of a hazardous waste landfill and few new sitings of hazardous waste incinerators. To a lesser extent, municipal solid waste and medical waste incinerators have also been successfully blocked or delayed. However, certain …
Environmental Justice Litigation: Another Stone In David’S Sling, Luke W. Cole
Environmental Justice Litigation: Another Stone In David’S Sling, Luke W. Cole
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This Article attempts to synthesize some of the lessons environmental justice lawyers have learned, in order to offer a practitioner’s perspective on environmental justice cases. The author’s ambition in setting out these lessons is to allow community groups and attorneys entering the struggle to learn from mistakes, emulate successes, and avoid re-inventing the wheel. Without addressing the strategic and tactical drawbacks of litigation, this Article assumes that a community group has decided to pursue litigation. This Article will only discuss siting cases, as siting disputes have been the primary context for environmental justice litigation thus far. The Article proposes a …
Achieving Environmental Justice: The Role Of Occupational Health, George Friedman-Jiménez, M.D.
Achieving Environmental Justice: The Role Of Occupational Health, George Friedman-Jiménez, M.D.
Fordham Urban Law Journal
The current rapidly growing interest in environmental justice is both timely and important. Occupational health is an integral part of assuring environmental justice. Concrete examples of environmental inequity leading directly to unequal health status can be found in occupational health literature and among the patients of occupational health clinics which serve populations that include low wage workers and workers of color. The toxic properties and health effects of many environmental contaminants were originally discovered in workplace settings where workers were repeatedly exposed to high doses of such contaminants. In the future, clinical occupational medicine, occupational epidemiology, occupational toxicology, and occupational …
Issues Of Classification In Environmental Equity: How We Manage Is How We Measure, Rae Zimmerman
Issues Of Classification In Environmental Equity: How We Manage Is How We Measure, Rae Zimmerman
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This Article addresses how concepts of race and ethnicity have been operationalized as a basis for defining and locating subpopulations (either explicitly or implicitly) for the purpose of analyzing environmental equity issues, and recommends some future directions. Part II focuses on how subpopulations are currently defined and on some problems encountered to date. The implications of these inconsistencies on the accuracy of health and environmental risk measures for a given subpopulation are addressed. Part III focuses on how spatial areas have been defined to aggregate these subpopulations within confined geographic boundaries.
The Visible Spectrum, Nancy E. Anderson, Ph.D
The Visible Spectrum, Nancy E. Anderson, Ph.D
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Today, the national environmental movement is entering a new phase, led by new players, just as the still young environmental protection movement is becoming more politically influential at the local level. The political power of the environmental justice and equity movement and its links with racial and social justice organizations makes its potential impact reach far beyond “NIMBY” (not-in-my-backyard) protests. NIMBY was the first wave of quasi-organized local environmental protests, usually rooted in a single issue. Environmental justice is the next wave, drawing in a broader range of concerns. The focus of this analysis is on how environmental issues are …
Race, Gender, Age, And Disproportionate Impact: What Can We Do About The Failure To Protect The Most Vulnerable?, Samara F. Swanston
Race, Gender, Age, And Disproportionate Impact: What Can We Do About The Failure To Protect The Most Vulnerable?, Samara F. Swanston
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Hard economic times and social conditions are driving a reordering of environmental protection priorities that threatens to sacrifice the most vulnerable groups. Environmental regulatory agencies acknowledge that vulnerable populations face the greatest risk of harm from environmental insult and that these groups are not adequately protected. Although a risk-based prioritization of resources benefits the greatest number of people, such allocation would disadvantage minority communities, which contain disproportionate numbers of sensitive subgroups. Our regulatory bodies must therefore develop new strategies to adequately protect sensitive subgroups identified in minority communities. Part II of this Article looks at some of the considerations that …
Communities Of Color And Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Expanding Public Participation In The Federal Superfund Program, Deeohn Ferri
Communities Of Color And Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Expanding Public Participation In The Federal Superfund Program, Deeohn Ferri
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Superfund is the nation's program to clean up the most dangerous hazardous waste sites. The Superfund law mandates that parties responsible for hazardous waste sites (i.e., waste generators, site owners, site operators, and waste transporters) shall be financially liable for cleaning them. If responsible parties cannot be located, are unable to perform cleanups, or refuse to do so, EPA can conduct the cleanup action and seek recovery of associated costs from these delinquent parties. As the Superfund reauthorization effort ensues, it is clear that few unequivocally applaud past Superfund performance. Collectively, communities, industry, and government are critical about whether the …
Planning, Power And Politics: A Case Study Of The Land Use And Siting History Of The North River Water Pollution Control Plant, Vernice D. Miller
Planning, Power And Politics: A Case Study Of The Land Use And Siting History Of The North River Water Pollution Control Plant, Vernice D. Miller
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This Essay discusses one example of environmental racism in New York City – the planning and construction of the North River Water Pollution Control Plant in West Harlem. This case study of the West Harlem community depicts how race-based land use planning and environmental policy-making transformed West Harlem, one of this city’s most beautiful communities, into a giant dumping ground. Since 1968, the North River Water Pollution Control Plant has irritated the residents of West Harlem. Initially, countless public hearings and community meetings were held to address why this facility was being built in this community. After the Plant was …
Issues Of Community Empowerment, Peggy M. Shepard
Issues Of Community Empowerment, Peggy M. Shepard
Fordham Urban Law Journal
The environmental policies and concerns of local, state, and federal governments have failed to protect their citizens. More particularly, the nation's environmental agenda neglects to account for the urban environmental problems of people of color. This Essay first considers how environmental injustice and racism has impacted the West Harlem community. It next considers some of the particular health implications, such as lead poisoning and asthma, in the Harlem community. The needs of all communities of color and poverty are considered. The response of West Harlem Environmental Action to these needs is examined. Finally, the Essay concludes by briefly examining some …
Notes From The Front Line, Nancy E. Anderson, Ph.D
Notes From The Front Line, Nancy E. Anderson, Ph.D
Fordham Urban Law Journal
In the last five years, local thinking about environmental protection started to take shape. It is indisputable that cities are not neutral or homogenous geographies in terms of distributing benefits and burdens by class and race. This fact is applicable to local environmental politics. Environmental justice and fair share advocates – and in some instances the courts – are finding that cities like New York are extremely heterogeneous in terms of environmental conditions and the impact of implementing environmental laws. This Essay describes the Environmental Benefits Program, which the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has undertaken in order …
The Meaning Of Urban Environmental Justice, Michel Gelobter, Ph.D.
The Meaning Of Urban Environmental Justice, Michel Gelobter, Ph.D.
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Environmental justice is redress for the structures and situations arising from environmental discrimination and, particularly, environmental racism. Environmental discrimination is actions and practices, arising from both individual ideologies and social structures that preserve and reinforce domination of subordinate groups with respect to the environment, while such discrimination with respect to race is environmental racism. Part I of this Essay discusses how environmental injustice is a three-dimensional nexus of economic injustice, social injustice and an unjust incidence of environmental quality, all of which overwhelmingly assures the continued oppression of communities of color and low-income communities on environmental matters. Part II of …
Compensated Siting Proposals: Is It Time To Pay Attention?, Vicki Been
Compensated Siting Proposals: Is It Time To Pay Attention?, Vicki Been
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Many proposals to overcome the difficulty of siting locally undesirable land uses (“LULUs”) fairly and efficiently suggest that the problem could be resolved if victims of the siting were adequately compensated for the burdens the LULU imposes. This Article seeks to spur greater attention to the difficult moral and political issues compensation proposals raise by showing that compensation programs are widespread in actual siting practice. It argues that the success of compensation programs, while limited, has been sufficient to ensure that such proposals will continue to be a significant feature of siting programs. It urges those interested in environmental justice …
Environmental Justice And Sustainability: Is There A Critical Nexus In The Case Of Waste Disposal Or Treatment Facility Siting?, Kent E. Portney
Environmental Justice And Sustainability: Is There A Critical Nexus In The Case Of Waste Disposal Or Treatment Facility Siting?, Kent E. Portney
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Over the past ten years, two environmental "movements," have evolved and gained rapidly in both stature and import. One of these, the environmental justice or equity movement, has sensitized Americans to its contention that minority populations and people of lower socio-economic status have disproportionately borne the risks of environmentally impacting events. The other movement, advocating sustainability, focuses on fostering behavior and policies that contribute to economic growth in environmentally responsible ways. In actuality, as will be elaborated later, sustainability has several meaning, which can be categorized in at least three distinct and sometimes even contradictory ways. Any connection between the …
Environmental Burdens And Democratic Justice, Gerald Torres
Environmental Burdens And Democratic Justice, Gerald Torres
Fordham Urban Law Journal
To date, however, there has been relatively little academic discussion about how EPA and other federal agencies can achieve environmental justice. In addition, most legal academic literature has focused either on simply identifying the legal issues associated with race and environmental law or on developing a litigation strategy for remedying “environmental racism.” None of the legal academic literature has focused on the benefits of using an administrative framework to define or develop sustainable solutions to the distributional inequities of environmental laws. The purpose of this Article is to explain the benefits of pursuing an administrative model for change. Unlike other …
Protecting Endangered Communities, Clarice E. Gaylord, Geraldine W. Twitty
Protecting Endangered Communities, Clarice E. Gaylord, Geraldine W. Twitty
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Nontraditional environmentalists are struggling to protect and preserve communities, both urban and rural, that have become threatened by constant, multiple exposures to toxic air, contaminated water, and pesticide-ridden and chemical-laden soils. Numerous reports, including a 1992 study by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, have suggested that people of color and low income communities have been, for decades, the unwilling recipients of numerous hazardous waste sites, incinerators, chemical factories, and sewage treatment plants. Historically, these communities often lacked the essential resources necessary to oppose sitings of potentially hazardous facilities: money, organization, and political voice. Land in these communities is usually …
Newborn Hiv Screening And New York Assembly Bill No. 6747-B: Privacy And Equal Protection Of Pregnant Women, Kevin J. Curnin
Newborn Hiv Screening And New York Assembly Bill No. 6747-B: Privacy And Equal Protection Of Pregnant Women, Kevin J. Curnin
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Proposed New York Assembly Bill No. 6747-B5 attempts to answer one of the most urgent problems of the current HIV/AIDS epidemic: pediatric AIDS. Part I of this Note discusses the bill, which would respond to pediatric AIDS by mandating HIV testing for all babies born in the state and requiring disclosure to all mothers whose babies test positive. Part II of this paper briefly discusses the medical background of pediatric AIDS and HIV infection, particularly the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in women and children. Part III describes New York’s current HIV screening program and compares it to the changes proposed under …
Environmental Review And Economic Development: A Modest Proposal, Howard Goldman
Environmental Review And Economic Development: A Modest Proposal, Howard Goldman
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Environmental Review requires government, whenever taking discretionary action, consider the consequences on the environment. This essay briefly explores what exactly environmental review is and advocates for the exporting of the New York versions of Environmental Review requirements to all trading nations across the world.