Greening the Ghetto
The video, “Greening the Ghetto”, which featured speaker Majora Carter an example of the theoretical perspective known as conflict theory. She discusses how and why she has directed her time and energy toward sustainability power in rural areas, beginning with where she was born and grew up. Majora was born and raised in the South Bronx, in an area that over the years, became ravaged with crime, poverty and pollution. This not only became unsightly, it also affected the population in this areas health in adverse ways. In fact the asthma rate in South Bronx is much higher than in other areas with green space such as parks and trees. Majora is an exception to the norm in South Bronx (and many other urban ghettos throughout the United States) because she has risen above the expected outcome of a minority group in an urban ghetto, by being educated and giving back to her community by fighting for their rights, on a grass roots level. She has developed a water front park in South Bronx, where solid sewage and commercial waste used to be. She believes that environmental justice means that no area should have more environmental burdens than environmental benefits. South Bronx residents were feeling the affects of environmental injustice over many years. It is widely believed that because of the high poverty level in the Hunts Point area of So Bronx, developers redlined this area . Then a major highway was put through the neighborhood, displacing more than 6,000 residents, and making property in this area practically worthless. This planning was done without the best interest of the South Bronx people in mind. This is an example of where dominance (wealthy developers, planning boards, zoning and regulation) take unfair advantage of a minority group. In this case, that group was the low income residents of South Bronx. Majora Carter is working with Columbia University to shine light on these type of problems. She believes that community