Gowanus: Fighting for Environmental and Housing Justice Along the Canal

During our annual Cultural Organizing for Community on Dec 8, 2020, Michael Higgins, organizer with Fifth Avenue Committee and Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice, hosted a “Gowanus: Fighting for Environmental and Housing Justice Along the Canal” walking tour. If you were not able to attend, keep an eye out for Gowanus neighborhood walks consistently arranged through Social Justice Tours.

Gowanus is a community of public housing, brownstones and increasingly new luxury development along one of the most polluted bodies of water in America. The tour explored what the city has planned for this community and what will it mean for its future as it faces both gentrification and climate change. Michael also discussed of the history of environmental degradation and an emerging movement for housing and environmental justice along the canal being led by the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice (GNCJ), including a locally curated iteration of Designing the WE’s Undesign the Red Line exhibition, commissioned by GNCJ and Fifth Avenue Committee.