New York, NY Strategic planning and engineering consulting firm Buro Happold and community-centered urban design nonprofit Hester Street will partner with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice to create an environmental justice report and online data portal to map the policies, infrastructure, and investments that contribute to inequities in vulnerability and risk from environmental hazards across the city.
This report and web portal, which will be accessible to the public, will inform the creation of a comprehensive environmental justice plan in a subsequent phase of work. The report will outline areas of focus for promoting environmental justice in New York City and analyze existing policies, programs, and procedures across the city that affect its commitment to environmental justice.
The creation of the data portal and report is the result of Local Laws 60 and 64, environmental justice legislation passed by the City Council and signed into law by former Mayor Bill deBlasio in 2017. It requires a citywide study of environmental justice, and for the findings to be made public. The report and web portal will be critical to ensuring that environmental justice is a driving force in any environmental policy launched in the city.
To support their work on this project, Buro Happold and Hester Street have engaged as subcontractors HOUSEOFCAKES, Creative Urban Alchemy, Lion Advisors for Community and Environment, UHope Consulting, and Tishman Environment & Design Center at The New School.
“The Environmental Justice for All report and data portal is a critical step in assessing the cumulative impacts of environmental hazards on communities of color and low-income communities, and identifying the City of New York’s contributions to environmental justice,” said Chris Rhie, associate principal at Buro Happold. “We are thrilled to work with the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice and Buro Happold to ensure greater transparency and accountability for NYC climate policy that centers environmental justice,” said Sadra Shahab, Director of Data & Research at Hester Street.
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