NYC Bans Building Schools By Highways To Protect Children From Pollution
In a move to protect school children from the harmful effects of pollution, New York City has passed a law that bans all further construction of schools near highways.
The Schools Impact by Gross Highway Act, or SIGH, was passed by the New York City Senate and Assembly. The law states that schools cannot be built within a distance of 500 feet of a highway, and only in severe cases where there are no other building site options will the law be pardoned.
People who live, work or attend school in areas close to highways have been known to show higher symptoms of asthma, asthma attacks, inhibited lung development for children, and other health problems.
A study by Localize has shown that 224 of New York’s schools attend schools within a 500-foot radius of major highways in the city. To also protect children in schools that had been created before the law, the SIGH act has tasked schools to limit outdoor activities during peak hours, seek better insulation against noise pollution, and install HVAC systems to better filter the air in schools.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) has done a study that shows that of the students who attend schools near highways, 80% are of color. Within that group, 66% are from low-income households.
The bill takes note of this, saying that years of systemic discrimination have sidelined the Black and Brown communities and have left them no choice but to attend schools that put their health at risk. The new law quotes a study done by the American Lung Association that says a reason for the prevalent number of respiratory illnesses in these communities is because highways are being built with no regard for the living communities around them.
The Senate is working on the next portion of the bill, SIGH Act II, that seeks to prevent highways from being built from already existing schools. The bill will only take effect next July.
[via ArchDaily and Archinect, Photo 170537023 © Khairil Junos | Dreamstime.com]
