Gowanus Canal Walking Tour: Where Environmental Justice and Housing Justice Meet

With Michael Higgins
Meet on the steps of the of Brooklyn Public Library.

Although people around the world are increasingly living in cities such as New York City, we still exist in and are dependent on the natural environment. Whether we live in rural or urban places, we are greatly influencing Earth system processes, such as how water cycles between places, how soils are intricately linked to the movement of water, exchange of gases, and growth of plants even on the Whole Foods rooftop garden along the Gowanus Canal, and how the composition of the atmosphere affects incoming and outgoing energy, which then impacts global climate change.

Come join in for a walk from Prospect Park to the Gowanus Canal.

Gowanus is an intensely contaminated community that is simultaneously undergoing multiple processes of environmental remediation and gentrification. The tour will explore these dynamics and the challenges and opportunities posed by the Gowanus Canal Superfund Clean Up, the rapid disappearance of commercial establishments and services that are affordable to low- and moderate-income households and the recently announced housing authority plan to build market-rate apartments at Wyckoff Gardens. Tour attendees will also learn about the Turning the Tide initiative, a multi-neighborhood effort that focuses on building social and environmental resiliency in five Brooklyn public housing developments.

Michael Higgins, Jr. is a member turned organizer at FUREE, Families United for Racial and Economic Equality. A native of Fort Greene, Michael works with public housing tenants in developments around Downtown Brooklyn, building power in low-income communities around issues of accountable development, environmental justice and municipal governance.

This tour will benefit The MEP and FUREE