I love his quote on how the nature of society and the environment are interconnected; "Understanding one cannot be done without understanding its relation to the other." Oaklands racialized socioeconomic landscape clearly shows this. Demarcated devaluation is a process I have never been aware of before. But can now recognize the systemic decrease of value in certain neighborhoods in places like Philly and New Jersey where similar conditions to Oakland are present. The worst part about these devaluated zones is that no one is winning inside of them. The environment in these zones is unkept and contaminated, and the people living in them are in no position to assist because they are facing even worse conditions like: hunger, malnutrition, worsened standard of living, and scarily low rates of unemployment.
It is scary how the black/white housing projects implemented by the Oakland Housing Authority were so effective that the people of Oakland are still facing the effects even after such a large amount of time has passed. As the sweet idea of industrial garden faded away, capital was finally found in Oakland in the form of federal urban redevelopment. Except this capital didn't favor minorities and thousands of residents ended up being displaced as a result. It is sad, but almost a little humorous to hear how almost 1/3 of the vacant housing in the flatlands were categorized has having "building deficiencies" despite the spike in rent pricing.
Overall, the people in these food deserts are already suffering and malnutrition and the lack of access to healthy foods does not help anybody. However I agree with Jesus' blog that I read earlier, I think the programs that McClintock talked about are a good start, but more must be done on a larger scale in order for it to become affordable for everybody in Oakland.
1 comment:
I really resonate with this response, especially that quote that you pulled out--I think it can be applied to many food justice cases. I read a book (I think it was called the tipping point?) back in 10th grade, and in one chapter it talked about the relationship between crime, mental health, addiction etc and the environment. One study found that something as simple as cleaning up graffiti and trash along with planting more trees was directly correlated to a decrease in crime levels. Our surrounding environment plays a much deeper role in shaping our subconscious mind than we realize. At my previous university, I also took an environmental justice course, and one of the texts we read was called Sacrifice Zones. It talked about how predominantly minority and low income populations are systematically "sacrificed" by government and city planning officials to live in highly polluted, industrial zones. There is a massive inequality and injustice when we look at exposure to toxic pollutants, contamination, industry, etc.
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