Trecia Cintron, Letha Imler, Marley Renner
The average tree canopy cover in Indianapolis is 33% with almost half of all neighborhoods failing to meet this threshold. We have identified these particular neighborhoods to also share an absence of various markers of privilege: higher life expectancy, income, education attainment, and homeownership. Communities of color have always been subject to attacks on their livelihoods by political and commercial institutions. As cities expand infrastructure such as highways, predominantly Black and Hispanic populations have historically been forced into areas of increased urban heat island and decreased urban canopy. Increased heat is tied to a substantial number of health issues, respiratory and cardiovascular disease, infant mortality, and diabetes. Another issue that cuts the lives of many people in marginalized communities short is over-policing.
In service of environmental and racial justice, we propose the Indianapolis police department is defunded. Gaining access to over 200 million dollars in funds to assist communities of color and the entirety of the Indianapolis working class. We hypothesize that the need for police will decline greatly if citizens’ material needs are taken care of. This means increasing the availability of jobs, access to mental and physical health services, and demonstrating government assistance for issues brought forth by citizens. As well as increasing tree cover and building green infrastructure without displacing communities. Overall, after looking at demographics in relationship to urban tree canopy, we feel that discrimination has segregated our tree canopies and racism is a public health crisis that impairs quality of life.
