A popular misconception is that those who live in inner-city, under-served communities have little interest in environmental issues. At ACF, we emphatically disagree. People everywhere share a stake and interest in improving the environment around them; the problem is that residents of urban communities do not often feel connected, empowered or informed enough to take on an active role as stewards of their environment.
Protecting the environment and reversing the legacy of environmental racism in our cities is a major focus of ACF. To address this, we promote sustained environmental activism at the neighborhood level that supports sound environmental stewardship within our communities. One example is Project NEAT (Neighborhood Environmental Action Teams), an environmental education demonstration project that engages and informs residents in targeted Philadelphia neighborhoods around an issue of particular importance to urban communities—stormwater runoff.
Even a light rainstorm can produce two inches of rain over a 24-hour period. While this may not sound significant, consider this: even two inches of rain falling on the roof of a small rowhouse can send over 600 gallons of water down the drain spouts. Combine this vast volume with the runoff from other surfaces that dominate urban communities—like sidewalks, driveways and streets—and the problem gets even bigger.
The biggest problem is that this water picks up and carries trash, oil, animal waste, and other pollution into the public sewers. During a typical major storm event overflows happen which result in the water going into the tributaries and rivers directly having an impact on our drinking water filtration system.
Project NEAT provides community leaders with the tools and information they need to begin to impact this important issue in their communities. We offer a series of innovative educational programs designed to reduce the pollution of stormwater by encouraging urban greening, neighborhood clean-ups, and changes in behavior to reduce litter.
The following case studies illustrate how NEAT operates and the impact we are having within our targeted communities.