Partnership for Social Justice in a Neighborhood at a Nexus of Development in Washington, DC: Residents in the Midst of Cement Plants, Construction, an Electrical Power Substation, and a Major Roadway

A partnership between residents and concerned citizens, including scientists, is working for environmental health and affordable housing in Southwest Washington, DC. Buzzard Point is a traditionally industrial area that has been home to a power station, commercial facilities, concrete processing plants and scrap yards. Residents of the near Buzzard Point neighborhood have been concerned about their environmental health. Common concerns are dust and diesel fumes; residents report asthma and breathing difficulties. The area is undergoing rapid redevelopment over a multi-year period: a soccer stadium, a new electrical substation, a new bridge, and new market-rate housing. The 2016 Community Health and Safety Study by the DC Department of Health, Office of Health Equity recognized the near Buzzard Point neighborhood to be most vulnerable to health impacts from this redevelopment. Compared to the larger area that shares the same zip code, the census tract capturing the neighborhood has a higher percentage who identify as non-Hispanic Black (89.7%) and a lower mean family income ($32,070). Many residents are children and seniors in poverty (55.7% and 32.0% respectively in 2014). The partnership working for social justice in this community takes a multi-pronged effort: collecting resident health data, making a film documentary to capture individual experiences, educating visitors to the new soccer stadium, providing legal advice, and keeping residents informed about their rights as tenants. A constant question is how scientists can best leverage their expertise to be effective partners. For the near Buzzard Point community, scientists have specific roles in interpreting data from air and soil testing, speaking up at neighborhood meetings with developer and government stakeholders, developing scientific questions around resident concerns, and collecting data (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) continuously over years to document the pollution. Working with a multi-media specialist who documents the pollution visually, scientists communicate the citizen science, with a goal of building more support. Important lessons have included sustaining engagement with the process and being ready for scientific action when new developments arise.