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Is the Environmental Racism of the Past Repeating Itself in Buffalo’s Expressway Project?

Summary

Lanessa Owens-Chaplin and Simon McCormack discuss concerns over the redevelopment plan for Buffalo's Route 33, known as the Kensington Expressway. The original construction of the expressway in the 1960s displaced a predominantly Black neighborhood, resulting in lowered property values and adverse health effects for residents. The current proposal aims to create a "cap" over a section of the expressway, turning it into a tunnel covered with greenspace. However, the authors argue that this plan may worsen environmental racism by trapping pollution inside the tunnel, affecting nearby Black communities. The New York State Department of Transportation's lack of a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement is criticized, and the authors call for a more thorough assessment to avoid repeating the history of the Kensington Expressway's negative impact on the local Black community.

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