Next American City's Hamida Kinge reviews the "State of the Air" report from the American Lung Association and finds dire news for the majority of Americans.
Emphasized in the report is the disproportionate impact on lower impact communities.
"America is dirtying its own air in cities from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh. And it's getting dirty via coal-fired power plants, oil refineries and other industrial sources, massive ocean-going vessels, and diesel- and gasoline-powered engines of all kinds – from trucks to bulldozers to lawn-mowers. Despite the fact that the most prominent of politicians rarely if ever utter the words "air pollution" – the focus in the last few years has been on clean energy for the sake of decelerating climate change, although clean energy also has tremendous benefits for air, water and land. More than 50 percent of the country lives in areas where the air is unhealthy."
FULL STORY: State of the Air: Issue 23 Preview
Comment: EPA Cuts will Send Atlanta Back to Eye-burning Ozone, Lung-damaging Smog, and Raw Sewage in the Chattahoochee River
A veteran political journalist takes stock of the hard-earned ground Georgia stands to lose with slashed environmental protection.
Poorest NYC Neighborhoods Pay Price for Delivery Boom
The rise of ‘last-mile’ e-commerce warehouses — and their attendant truck traffic and air pollution — is disproportionately impacting the most historically disadvantaged parts of the city.
Study: London ULEZ Rapidly Cleaning up Air Pollution
Expanding the city’s ultra low-emission zone has resulted in dramatic drops in particle emissions in inner and outer London.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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