Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx) is a community organisation dedicated to Environmental Justice solutions through innovative, economically sustainable projects that are informed by community needs. In 2001, SSBx was created to address policy and planning issues like land use, energy, transportation, water, waste, education, and, most recently, design and manufacturing.
The Hunts Point neighbourhood in the South Bronx is one of New York City’s last remaining industrial areas. On the one hand, the neighborhood has numerous assets, including a waterfront location on the Bronx and East Rivers, proximity to Manhattan, the economic engine of the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center (the second largest in the world), new City-led development projects, waterfront parks, and a strong local organisational infrastructure. Simultaneously, it exhibits one of the highest poverty and unemployment levels in the City, with poor community health, noxious uses and commercial traffic, substance abuse, and prostitution issues.
Caught in the middle of these pressures are approximately 11,000 residents who have been neglected, under-served by the neighbourhood local economy. The one-square mile area of Hunts Point is bound by the Bruckner Expressway to the north and west, and the Bronx and East Rivers to the south and east.
Sustainable South Bronx has a diverse range of ongoing projects which deliver multiple benefits. The South Bronx Greenway, for example, will create bike & pedestrian paths to connect key areas, but will also provide spaces for physical recreation, improve local travel options and create more employment, as well as improving air quality and reducing the heat island effect.
Visit their website here for a better insight into the range of programs this 9-year old organisation delivers.
