The Earth & Environmental Science Spring 2024 Senior Thesis Research Conference

Mapping Disadvantaged Communities in New York City

New York City is a historically redlined urban center that has exposed people of color to disproportionate impacts of pollution and economic distress. To remediate this, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) agreed to allocate 35-40% of climate funds to “Disadvantaged Communities” (DACs). This study uses the data gathered and synthesized by New York State’s Climate Justice Working Group (CJWG) to create a visual representation of the environmental and economic vulnerabilities found across census tracts that define a DAC. The study leverages a dataset comprising 45 distinct “Environmental Burden” and “Social Vulnerability” indicators, analyzed to provide a multifaceted understanding of each census tract’s unique challenges and needs. The resulting bivariate map of “Combined Vulnerability” highlights the most vulnerable census tracts in New York City. Additionally, ranking the tracts by population shows that taking population into consideration widely changes the number of people that can benefit from the provisions of the CLCPA. This ranking can be used as a tool for policymakers and climate justice advocates to catalyze climate investments.

PRESENTED BY
Other
College of Arts & Sciences 2024
Advised By
Teresa Gimenez
Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
PRESENTED BY
Other
NA
College of Arts & Sciences 2024
Advised By
Teresa Gimenez
Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese

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