The term “environment” is defined as “what surrounds you.” For urban dwellers, environment includes their quality of life, housing, transportation, parks and many factors beyond traditional urban environmental issues such as clean air and clean water. Earth Day Network’s goals include broadening and diversifying the environmental movement and expanding the definition environment to include issues that are of greatest concern to all urban dwellers, including public health issues, access to parks, safe and affordable housing, etc. Accordingly, EDN’s Urban Environment Report reviews almost 200 sets of data falling within this expanded definition of the environment to more accurately judge the true condition of our cities.

EDN believes that no evaluation of the environmental condition of America’s cities would be complete or accurate without taking into consideration the particular vulnerability of the inhabitants of that city to hazardous or harmful environmental conditions. Residents of lower income communities may suffer disproportionably from air and water pollution not only because of the siting of undesirable facilities in their neighborhoods but also because they lack knowledge, understanding, or access to information about the nature of local pollution and the means for preventing or mitigating harm and they suffer from health ailments, lack of opportunity, or the added stress of poverty. Other segments of the urban population that may be particularly susceptible to negative environmental conditions include children, the elderly and disabled individuals.

EDN developed the “Vulnerable Population Index” (EDN VPI) to determine the percentage of a city’s population that may be at greater risk because they are more susceptible to environmental change. The methodology for calculating the VPI is available for review. The VPI for each city is then applied in calculating the overall rank of each city in each of the seven categories in our study (Drinking & Surface Water, Air Quality, Toxics & Waste, SITES (Quality of Life), Parks and Recreation, and Human and Public Health, and Global Climate Change).

Resources

Environmental Defense Scorecard
     http://www.scorecard.org

Environmental Protection Agency
     http://www.epa.gov

U.S. Public Interest Research Group
     http://www.uspirg.org

OMB Watch
     http://www.ombwatch.org