Where we live affects how much pollution we experience each day. It affects how long our commute is, how hot our neighborhood gets in the summer, whether we can afford winter heating bills, how much or how little open space we have around us, and whether we have access to healthy homes, nourishing food, and quality schools.
“Boston has the opportunity to be a national leader in tackling these overlapping crises head-on,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan, Vice President of CLF Massachusetts. “Climate, justice, and transportation issues affect everyone in Boston, and we’ve historically seen little progress on these issues. It’s time for Mayor-Elect Wu to make these issues a priority and commit to real progress that will positively impact the entire city.”
Tuesday’s verdict was one welcome step toward change. But at CLF, we believe that real progress lies in systemic policy change that will break down the racist systems that have been in place for generations – ending white supremacy in this country.
“It’s past time a police officer is finally held accountable for the murder of an unarmed Black man,” said Bradley Campbell, President of CLF. “But the months since George Floyd’s murder have shown that this is a pervasive and systemic problem that continues to cost innocent Black lives. Today’s verdict should not distract from the need for thoroughgoing reform of policing and a shift of resources to victimized communities.”
Biden’s flurry of executive orders addressing climate change, conservation, and environmental justice has us optimistic. Now we must ensure his administration follows through and turns these orders into meaningful and actionable policy.
COVID-19’s unequal impact on our communities has laid bare stark realities about health, wealth, and housing. As our Healthy Neighborhoods Study has shown – and as the map of COVID-19 infections bears out – low-income and people of color face community-level stressors resulting from public health inequities and environmental injustices. These stressors result directly from decades of discriminatory housing policy.
