Addressing Environmental Injustice through Hyperlocal Sensor Networks
In the face of long-standing environmental injustices, communities are taking a proactive stance to monitor and mitigate the impacts of industrial air pollution. The Curtis Bay (CB) neighborhood in South Baltimore, Maryland, is a quintessential example of an environmental justice (EJ) community that has borne the brunt of industrial encroachment for over a century. Residents have expressed concerns about the deteriorating air quality and its effects on their health and quality of life. In response, local community groups have partnered with academic researchers to develop a community-driven hyperlocal air monitoring network and capacity-building approach to address these persistent EJ issues.
This comprehensive article delves into the community-academic partnership’s efforts to characterize hyperlocal air quality in Curtis Bay, build bridges between residents and regulatory agencies, and nurture an effective collaboration toward achieving environmental justice. By leveraging low-cost sensor technologies and community engagement strategies, the team aims to empower the Curtis Bay community to become active participants in data collection, analysis, and advocacy for cleaner air and healthier living conditions.
Uncovering the Legacy of Environmental Injustice in Curtis Bay
The threat of environmental injustice in the Curtis Bay area can be traced back to the late 19th century, when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad established a coal pier in the region, known today as the CSX Curtis Bay Coal Terminal. Over the decades, the expansion of coal-related infrastructure and the addition of other industrial facilities, such as waste incinerators and power plants, have profoundly impacted the overall quality of life and environment of Curtis Bay.
Two historical examples of industrial overburden displacing residents are the communities of Wagners Point and Fairfield. These predominantly low-income and minority neighborhoods were gradually encroached upon by industrial development, leading to the eventual displacement of their residents through land acquisition and limited compensation.
In the 1940s, the transition from wartime industry to waste-to-energy facilities further intensified concerns about the respiratory health of the Curtis Bay community. This expansion of waste-related industries, including the establishment of the Baltimore Refuse Energy System Company Incinerator and the Curtis Bay Medical Waste Services Incinerator, has continued to exacerbate the environmental and health burdens on the community.
Community-Led Action and the Fight for Environmental Justice
The resilience and activism of the Curtis Bay community have been instrumental in addressing these longstanding environmental injustices. In 2011, a group of students from Benjamin Franklin High School (BFHS) in Curtis Bay, who were already meeting after school to better understand the social and environmental conditions in their neighborhood, learned about plans to build the nation’s largest waste-to-energy incinerator near their school. Recognizing the potential negative impacts on their community’s health, the students formed the Free Your Voice (FYV) group and successfully organized a campaign to halt the incinerator’s construction.
The courageous efforts of FYV led to the establishment of the South Baltimore Community Land Trust (SBCLT), a non-profit organization focused on housing justice and zero waste. Alongside the Community of Curtis Bay Association (CCBA), SBCLT developed a vision for community development centered on equitable land ownership and a just transition away from the prevailing waste-to-energy industry.
Partnering for Community-Driven Air Quality Monitoring
Amidst the continued industrial presence and its associated health and safety concerns in Curtis Bay, the community partners sought scientific and technical support to address their long-standing air quality issues. In response to an explosion at the CSX Curtis Bay Coal Terminal in 2021, the CCBA and SBCLT requested assistance from the Community Science and Innovation for Environmental Justice (CSI EJ) Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Maryland Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health.
Together, the community-academic team designed a hyperlocal air monitoring network to bring data-driven and responsive support to the community’s concerns about industrial air pollution. The network comprises 15 low-cost sensors deployed in residential and industrial areas of Curtis Bay, collecting real-time data on particulate matter, black carbon, ground-level gas species, and meteorological conditions.
To complement the air quality monitoring, the team also installed trail cameras near the CSX Coal Terminal to visually track industrial activities and correlate them with the sensor data. This ground-truthing approach, combining quantitative measurements and qualitative observations, enables the identification of potential air pollution sources and the communication of findings to both technical and lay stakeholders.
Cultivating Community Partnerships and Capacity Building
Recognizing the importance of long-term sustainability and community empowerment, the community-academic team has prioritized capacity building and youth engagement in this EJ initiative. A high school course at BFHS, co-led by the CSI EJ and Towson University researchers, educates students about the history of the environmental justice movement, the application of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, and the use of scientific evidence to support community advocacy efforts.
The students in this course have developed and administered a school-wide survey on youth perceptions of environmental injustice, and they have also analyzed air quality data from a sensor deployed at their school. By involving the next generation of EJ leaders, the team aims to nurture a cohesive and effective community-academic partnership that can sustain the air monitoring network and continue to address the persistent environmental challenges in Curtis Bay.
Leveraging Low-Cost Sensor Technologies for Responsive Air Quality Monitoring
The hyperlocal air monitoring network in Curtis Bay utilizes a combination of QuantAQ MODULAIR and Distributed Sensing Technologies ObservAir low-cost sensors. These devices provide real-time measurements of particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10, and total suspended particles), carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, ground-level ozone, black carbon, and volatile organic compounds, as well as environmental conditions such as temperature and relative humidity.
To ensure data quality, the team has conducted co-location studies with regulatory and regulatory-grade monitoring instruments to develop correction factors and validate the low-cost sensor data. Additionally, the team has established a fog flag for PM10 and total suspended particles data, accounting for the potential impact of high humidity on particulate matter measurements.
The air quality data, combined with the visual observations from the trail cameras, enables the community-academic team to identify potential sources of elevated air pollution events, such as industrial activities at the CSX Coal Terminal. This ground-truthing approach allows the team to provide real-time health and safety alerts to the community during emergent events and inform data-driven enhancements to enforcement and compliance practices for local industrial facilities.
Empowering the Community through Data-Driven Advocacy
The partnership between the Curtis Bay community and the academic researchers has not been without its challenges. The community members have historically expressed a mistrust in local and state environmental regulatory agencies, stemming from the perceived slow response and lack of communication following the 2021 explosion at the CSX Coal Terminal, as well as the long-term persistence of industrial polluters in the area with seemingly little oversight.
To address this trust gap, the team has established a direct line of communication and collaboration with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Air and Radiation Administration. The regular meetings and technical support from MDE, as well as the engagement of the community partners in decision-making, have contributed to a greater level of empowerment within the Curtis Bay community, particularly in pushing for stronger standards and addressing long-standing EJ concerns.
The hyperlocal air quality data generated by the monitoring network has also been instrumental in supporting the community’s advocacy efforts. By merging the air pollution data with the visual observations from the trail cameras, the team can identify potential sources of elevated air pollution events and use this evidence to inform policy and regulatory actions, ultimately aiming to improve long-term community health outcomes.
Expanding the Reach and Impact of Community-Driven Air Monitoring
The success of the Curtis Bay community-driven air monitoring initiative has inspired the team to explore ways to expand the network and its impact beyond the local area. The community-academic partnership recognizes the interconnectedness of environmental issues, with the CSX Coal Terminal’s operations affecting not only the residents of Curtis Bay but also neighboring South Baltimore communities.
As the air monitoring network matures, the team plans to engage with interested neighboring communities that share similar environmental justice concerns, offering technical support and capacity-building opportunities to establish their own hyperlocal monitoring efforts. By fostering a regional collaborative approach, the team aims to amplify the impact of community-driven air quality data and empower a broader coalition of EJ advocates to drive systemic change.
Furthermore, the team is exploring the integration of additional air pollutant parameters, such as volatile organic compounds and air toxics, to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the air quality challenges in Curtis Bay and surrounding areas. This expansion of the monitoring network’s capabilities will help address community requests and acknowledge the uncharacterized air pollution that continues to burden the residents.
Lessons Learned and Best Practices for Community-Academic Partnerships
The community-academic partnership in Curtis Bay has yielded valuable insights and lessons that can guide other groups seeking to address local environmental justice issues through data-driven approaches. The team has compiled a set of best practices for establishing fruitful and equitable collaborations:
- Commit to Long-Term Engagement: Recognize the multigenerational nature of environmental injustice challenges and be prepared to invest time, energy, and resources in building trust and sustaining the partnership.
- Center Community Knowledge and Expertise: Honor the lived experiences and intrinsic understanding of residents, and resist the tendency to dismiss or redirect their concerns.
- Prioritize Anti-Racist and Inclusive Practices: Explicitly acknowledge and combat historical and systemic racism, classism, and discrimination as drivers of environmental and health inequities.
- Embrace Interconnectedness and Collaboration: Look for patterns and connections between communities facing similar challenges, and foster cross-community dialogue and collective action.
- Foster Co-Learning and Shared Decision-Making: Emphasize the co-creation of knowledge, co-learning, and community participation in all stages of the research and action process.
- Ensure Transparency and Accountability: Be transparent about your institution’s historical relationship with the community and maintain accountability to the community’s needs and priorities.
By adhering to these principles, community-academic partnerships can establish strong foundations for effective, equitable, and sustainable efforts to address environmental injustice through data-driven approaches like hyperlocal air quality monitoring.
Conclusion: A Blueprint for Community Empowerment and Environmental Justice
The community-driven air quality monitoring initiative in Curtis Bay, Maryland, serves as a blueprint for how sensor networks and community-engaged research can empower environmental justice communities to address long-standing air pollution challenges. By leveraging low-cost sensor technologies, ground-truthing methods, and capacity-building strategies, the community-academic partnership has generated data-driven evidence to support the Curtis Bay community’s advocacy efforts and push for regulatory changes to improve air quality and protect public health.
As the network expands and the team explores new avenues for collaboration and technical advancements, the Curtis Bay project demonstrates the transformative potential of community-driven sensor networks in the fight for environmental justice. This model can inspire and guide other marginalized communities across the country to take control of their environmental health, forge powerful partnerships, and drive systemic change towards a more equitable and sustainable future.
Engage with the https://sensor-networks.org/ website to stay informed about the latest developments in sensor network technologies, IoT applications, and community-based environmental monitoring initiatives like the one in Curtis Bay.