Earlier this year, as part of a project by the Philadelphia Collaborative for Health Equity, 33 high school students in North Philadelphia took and shared photographs to document everyday life in their neighborhoods. While some of the young artists produced images of litter and dumping, as well as vacant lots and dilapidated houses, others highlighted the gardens, murals and stunning skylines that make them proud and hopeful for their community.
In the neighborhoods featured, the poverty rate hovers around a startling 40 percent, while the life expectancy of a child at birth is 20 years lower than it is for children born in Center City. Demographically, residents are mostly Latino and African American.
The project is a stark illustration of a complicated issue. Communities of color and areas with high poverty rates suffer the most from environmental abuses, from litter to industrial waste to air pollution. But still, there’s a misconception that people in those communities don’t have the knowledge or time to care about the environment.
That myth was disproved by this 2018 study, which showed that the majority of the public underestimate the environmental concerns of minority and low-income Americans.
It was disproved by those 33 North Philadelphia students who took the time to create and share art about their environment. And it’s disproved by many other residents of Hunting Park, one of the neighborhoods featured in the project.
Continue reading Green Philly here, courtesy of Brianna Baker.