“Greening the Ghetto” by Majora Carter Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Majora Carter is strongly committed to deal with environmental and social justice issues which affect residents of South Bronx, New York, where she grew up. She starts by revealing how South Bronx residents have been affected by the surrounding toxic environment due to poor zoning laws by New York City authorities.

Carter is selfless because she helped develop a park in South Bronx, an area which had been neglected by city authorities for more than 50 years.

She managed to enlist the support of New York Mayor and other community stakeholders to develop Hunts Point Riverside Park, in South Bronx, in an area that was previously used as an illegal dumping site. Carter advises urban authorities to have sustainable development plans which consider all residents to ensure they live in a good environment.

She argues that unsustainable development impacts negatively on people of color because they are victims of ineffective zoning laws. She reveals that many people in the South Bronx had their homes destroyed in the 1950’s, to pave way for the construction of the highway linking Westchester and Manhattan.

Poor zoning laws caused her family together with 600,000 other South Bronx residents to be displaced. majority of people affected by the displacement were African Americans. A combination of racial stereotypes and discriminative policies led authorities to zone off South Bronx as a low class district.

Many firms which pollute the environment have been allowed to operate there and this has exposed many residents to an unhealthy environment. Carter’s personal account shows how people of color in the US are subjected to institutionalized racial discrimination, which confines them in heavily polluted residential areas (Carter). This led her to start Sustainable South Bronx, a firm which advocates for sustainable development in South Bronx.

Her efforts have also encouraged sustainable development projects in San Francisco’s Baywatch area, by connecting firms with people who live there. She advocates against the pollution of big cities by big corporate firms, which fail to include locals in their plans. She describes the lack of commitment by big firms and government authorities to environmental conservation as economic degradation.

Carter argues that economic degradation begets environmental degradation, which leads to social disintegration in communities directly affected by these unethical practices. She argues that poor zoning laws by New York City authorities allow business firms which pollute the environment, to operate in South Bronx. Therefore, these practices have made poor people in major American cities to live in toxic environments, which expose them to many health problems (Carter).

Carter reveals that open urban spaces need to be made more habitable to people living nearby. She asserts that private firms need to establish partnerships with community residents to protect the environment from degradation, before any commercial project is done. She argues that sustainable development brings triple benefits to the government, communities and private firms involved in specific projects.

This is necessary because projected population increases in New York and other major American cities will affect environmental conservation in the country in future. She argues that major developments in urban areas should not exploit vulnerable communities living in neglected zones (Carter).

She uses the example of Bogota in Colombia, to show how sustainable development has transformed the lives of many residents there. The city’s mayor has improved the lives of many residents and the same model can be used to improve many American cities.

Works Cited

Carter, Majora. Greening the Ghetto, Ted Talk. You Tube, 2007. Speech.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2019, April 14). "Greening the Ghetto" by Majora Carter. https://ivypanda.com/essays/majora-carter/

Work Cited

""Greening the Ghetto" by Majora Carter." IvyPanda, 14 Apr. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/majora-carter/.

References

IvyPanda. (2019) '"Greening the Ghetto" by Majora Carter'. 14 April.

References

IvyPanda. 2019. ""Greening the Ghetto" by Majora Carter." April 14, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/majora-carter/.

1. IvyPanda. ""Greening the Ghetto" by Majora Carter." April 14, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/majora-carter/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. ""Greening the Ghetto" by Majora Carter." April 14, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/majora-carter/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1