We're currently hosting our discussions at Café Walnut, near the corner of 7th & Walnut in Olde City, just across the street from Washington Square Park. The cafe's entrance is below street level down some stairs, which can be confusing if it's your first time. Our group meets in the large room upstairs.
Since we're using the cafe's space, they ask that each person attending the meetup at least purchase a drink or snack. Please don't bring any food or drinks from outside.
The cafe is fairly easy to get to if you're using public transit. With SEPTA, take the Market-Frankford Line & get off at the 5th Street Station (corner of 5th & Market), and walk 2 blocks south on 5th and then turn right on Walnut Street and walk 2 blocks west. With PATCO, just get off at the 9th-10th & Locust stop and walk 3 blocks east & 1 block north. For those who are driving, I'd suggest parking in the Washington Square parking deck at 249 S 6th Street which is just a half block away.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE & HEALTHIER CITIES
UNPACKING THE DEBATES OVER CLEAN WATER, AIR POLLUTION & HEALTHY FOOD IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT
INTRODUCTION:
The central concept of this meetup is "environmental justice", defined by the EPA as "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws." "It will be achieved," says the EPA, "when everyone has the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn and work."
In the 1st section of our discussion, we'll look at the debates about environmental injustice in America, especially as it relates to the health & life expectancy gaps between urban & rural populations, the wealthy & the poor, and whites & minorities.
Then in the next 3 sections, we'll look at several debates over how cities should make the urban environment healthier & safer. We'll consider not only what city gov'ts should ideally do from an environmental ethics perspective, but also how economists suggest they pay for these reforms, and what potential problems social scientists foresee when we try to translate ideal policies into political realities.
In the 2nd section, we'll look at the state of municipal water systems, particularly in the wake of revelations about widespread problems with lead levels and overdue water bills leading to water shutoffs for poor people.
In the 3rd section, we'll look at the role of mass transit systems in reducing air pollution & traffic accidents and encouraging walking, and we'll discuss the various reasons that many commuters can't or don't want to ride mass transit.
In the 4th section, we'll look at the relationship between urban poverty and "food insecurity" - defined by the USDA as "limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate & safe foods". We'll explore how this ties into the debates over public policies that aim to not only encourage healthier diets but also discourage tobacco, alcohol & junk food consumption.
RELEVANT MATERIAL FROM PAST MEETUPS:
Back in March, we had a meetup entitled "Is The Working Class Dying of Despair?" where we discussed the negative effects on the working class's life expectancy from suicide, drug & alcohol abuse, and obesity & smoking. In recent years, the life expectancy of the white working class (i.e. whites without a college degree) has declined even as the life expectancy of blacks & Hispanics has continued to improve, leading them to now exceed that of the white working class. https://www.meetup.com/Philadelphia-Political-Agnostics/events/wpjnnqyzfbwb/
Way back in September of 2017, we had a meetup on healthcare reform, and some of what we learned may apply to gov't efforts to reform urban environments to make them safer & healthier. One of the major insights that relates to public health was the economist Robin Hanson's argument that the average layperson who favors expanding healthcare does so primarily out of an altruistic impulse and for "social signaling" - i.e. it's a way of "showing that you care" - rather than because they've engaged in a detailed cost-benefit analysis. Hanson found that healthcare access doesn't have nearly as much of an effect on a person's level of health or life expectancy as most people assume, due largely to the fact that doctors can't control patients' lifestyles and the fact that medical treatment sometimes causes harms that outweigh its benefits (e.g. opioid prescriptions can lead to addiction). https://www.meetup.com/Philadelphia-Political-Agnostics/events/zgmddnywmbfb/
While Hanson's critique of the healthcare system may make us wary of expecting big results from public health initiatives, we discussed the "lead-crime hypothesis" in a Skeptics meetup back in 2017 which suggests eliminating lead from paint & gasoline played a big role in the crime rate decline of the 1990s. The theory is that less lead exposure improved children's brain health & executive functioning enough that less of them turned to crime as adolescents. Some public health advocates think that further efforts to improve air & water quality and encourage better diets & more exercise could yield similarly impressive gains in quality of life & social outcomes. https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/239822337/
