Name: Greening the ghetto
Uploaded: 2006-06-27T00:11:00Z
Duration: 18 min 16 s
Description: In an emotionally charged talk, MacArthur-winning activist Majora Carter details her fight for environmental justice in the South Bronx -- and shows how minority neighborhoods suffer most from flawed urban policy.

Majora Carter: Greening the ghetto

Greening the ghetto

In an emotionally charged talk, MacArthur-winning activist Majora Carter details her fight for environmental justice in the South Bronx -- and shows how minority neighborhoods suffer most from flawed urban policy.

Sustainable development often skips over minority neighborhoods, leaving them with more pollution and fewer parks. In one South Bronx community, 40 percent of New York’s commercial waste and over 60,000 diesel truck trips a week created dire health risks, with childhood asthma rates seven times the national average. Yet, grassroots efforts turned a $10,000 grant into a $3 million park, showing that community-led change is possible. True progress demands putting those most affected by environmental injustice at the center of urban planning.