How the city is addressing Chicago’s environmental injustice issues
by Deborah Bayliss
May 16, 2024
The release last year of the Chicago Cumulative Impact Assessment found that Austin, East Garfield Park, West Garfield Park and North Lawndale communities are among the areas disproportionately impacted by higher heat-related illnesses, industry pollution, increased amounts of ground level ozone and particulate matter, flooding, lack of green space, higher density of buildings and pavement — and historic disinvestment.
All of these environmental conditions intersect to play a role in the life-expectancy gap between Black and white Chicagoans. Studies show on average, Black Chicagoans live 8.8 years less than whites do.