A few Saturdays back, something significant happened in a small space at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. It was, according to a long-standing activist, the most significant environmental justice development since. Shingle MountainIn 2021, it was cleaned out.
The City Hall’s top org chart sat on a podium with community leaders who had spent years organizing to eliminate environmental disasters in their communities. It was the first time that the public heard them all speak together.
T.C. is the City Manager. Broadnax was present, as was Julia Ryan (the citys director for planning) and Carlos Evans (the Dallas director for environmental quality and sustainability). They shared the stage together with Marsha Jackson (the homeowner who has been troubled for years by Shingle Mountain); Evelyn Mayo, Paul Quinns urban researcher fellow; and Janie Zisneros, founder of Singleton United/Unidos neighborhood advocacy group, who has protested the GAF Shingle Manufacturer near her West Dallas home for months.
This roster is vital. Jackson, Mayo and Cisneros have been trying for the past few decades to get City Hall to pay more attention to them. Jackson and Cisneros are residents of communities surrounded heavy industry. This is the result of decades-old land-use planning that hasdisproportionately exposed Black and Latino residents in these communities to dust, pollutants, and disturbances. (Cisneros, an organization representing Black and Latino residents, called on the city to force GAF out of its current location. They cited a variety of federal and state emission concerns that date back to 1979 as proof that GAF should not be near human settlements.
The people in control were giving a platform to those who were affected by their decisions, the people who are vocally critical and frustrated at the lack action of policymakers.
It was critical that the city see what was actually happening in their neighborhoods,” said Jim Schermbeck, the director of the environmental justice nonprofit Downwinders at Risk. (He also contributed the quote at the end of this story.
Paul Quinn College organized the event as part the Dallas-based EarthX global environmental forum. This forum has traditionally emphasized global threats like rising sea level than how particulate material from concrete batch plants damages the quality life for residents on windy day.
The Broadnax panel concluded a day of events focusing on neighborhoods. They discussed how highways have destroyed the 10th Street Historic District, Love Field’s impact on Elm Thicket/North Park, and how residents are measuring particulate material from Joppa industrial plants. They also discussed how the city used federal funding to subsidize housing in southern Dallas. They also discussed how GAF shingle manufacturing uses chemicals and odors that force families into the house.
City staffers were busy bouncing between sessions for most of the day. They were exposed to some hard truths. Caleb Roberts (a senior associate at Gap Strategies in Buda) argued that African American communities often live in conflict with their cities. They treat your community like an infected spot, he said. Why is there so much industry around it?
Here’s what he means: zoning decisions have stuffed these neighborhoods with the types of industrial uses that would never fly in Whiter, more affluent areas. Mayo’s work in Dallas is a continuation of her research into Shingle Mountain’s origins. Paul Quinns report titled Poisoned using ZIP CodeThe city zoned industrial land in large part in southern and western Dallas, often near homes and neighborhoods. Dallas devalued this land and made it harder for these communities to create generations of wealth than other neighborhoods in the city.
Roberts explained that this means that your grandmas house, which could be worth $200,000 or $300,000., is only worth $75,000. She is not the structure or proximity to resources.
The day was structured to convey a message: Dallas must reform its zoning code. The city is currently working to update a comprehensive plan for land use called ForwardDallas, which, in layman’s terms, will dictate what can be built and where. Ryan, chief planner, admitted that the city does not have a land-use strategy to support strategic decisions.
Evans stated that people have been left out of land-use decisions in the past.
It was crucial that everyone be present in the same room: those organizing on the ground, residents who live among industry, and policymakers who can change the future direction of the city. It’s why UTD professor David Lary explained. His mapping project on particulate matter (PM),The first of its type, allowing Dallasites to see the amount of PM in any given time period. SharedAirDFWTracks emissions in neighborhoods that are supposed be the front window to the Great Trinity Forest, according to Schermbeck.
The city recently approved 24 air monitors to monitor pollution and inform land-use decisions. Broadnax said something remarkable: A person in his office suggested to Broadnax that the city not study this matter because it might pose a legal issue for the city. Here’s the complete quote:
I recall a conversation with someone who used work for me and that raised questions about the value of those. [monitors]It is the risk that the city could take in finding out what is actually in the air. I said, “Why wouldn’t you want to know?” As an asthmatic, I want the truth about what I breathe in.
Mayo hoped to receive this kind of admission through the event’s programming. She believes that language is important and that accountability starts with admission. She said that she hopes to see some direct communication between frontline groups, T.C., Julia and Carlos. I was surprised that they all agreed. It is a sign that they are willing to admit to their mistakes and try again.
Recent progress has been made in Dallas. A new Environmental Commission tracks the progress of the city’s climate plan. It supported a plan to require concrete batch plants to receive special use permits before being allowed to operate. This effectively added another layer of regulation and gave the city more control over where they can operate.
The City Council Spend $2 million approvedThe land that once contained Shingle Mountain was being remediated. It has been found that it contains lead and other contaminants that were present in a landfill that was present in the 1970s, 1980s. Evans was recently fired. The Environmental Protection Agency, where he enforced Clean Air Act standards and helped to determine penalties for operations that violated them.
Ryan suggested looking at the areas where industry is near residential areas and proposing transition zones, which are basically areas of town that get rid of industrial uses. Cisneros stated that we just want clean air. We want the same quality and life as our more wealthy neighbors.
Mayo believes reforming the city’s plan for land use is the way to go. Mayo will hold the discussion as ForwardDallas digs into the details. Broadnax stated that these things don’t happen by themselves.
It will take many years. It is true that Cisneros is still in existence. Living next to GAF. Jackson said that she has eight items on her wish list Illegal industrial operationsFloral farms were in her immediate vicinity. Broadnax instructed her to email him and said that he would do better.
If the event opened a door, now the organizers have a pathand they’ve got city officials on record as they call for accountability.
Broadnax stated that we can work together with you guys if you are willing to work with us.
Author
Matt Goodman
Matt Goodman is the online editor director D Magazine. He’s written about a surgeon who killed, a man who…
