Economic Development and Environmental Justice

[Emery Graham <egraham@dca.net>]

[NOTE: THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO ANOTHER SUBSRIBER'S (DAN) RESPONSE/REQUEST
FOR EXAMPLES OF HOW TO ADDRESS THE NOTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTIC AND
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT] 

Dan,
To the extent that EJ is defined as "distributive" justice, communities
who are experiencing commercial development on former brownfields may
want to invoke the practices implied by the phrase "all development is
local."

In Wilmington, Delaware our City Council passed an ordinance that
required businesses to cooperate with our local employment programs and
personnel department in assessing employment needs and giving Wilmingotn
residents first shot at new jobs. The issuance or renewal of a business
license was conditioned on their participation in our program. A similar
set of conditions were imposed on the issuance of building permits.

Unfortunately our Mayor vetoed the ordinance and, in conjunction with
the Governer, developed a voluntary program focused on our riverfront
development activities. The key practical idea is to link public
permission to engage in economic activities to activities that promote
the public purpose.

Emery Graham
Brownfields Coordinator
City of Wilmington, Delaware