Alternatives for Community & Environment

CONTACT:

2181 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02119
617-442-3343 x224
www.ace-ej.org

Kalila Barnett, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

What else are urban environmental issues about, but human ecology? What neighborhoods do you think are the hardest hit by environmental and public health hazards, dirty air, toxic contamination in soil, water and building materials - and generally have the least adequate resources with which to address these issues? If you said "inner cities," you're right, and one would expect there to be a huge, militant, urban environmental movement everywhere, battling the forces of human-environment destruction. But inner cities have so many other high-priority public problems that the environment is often neglected. ACE was founded in 1993 to help Massachusetts urban communities tackle environmental issues more effectively. Since then, it has worked with over 3,500 people in 35 community groups, focusing on creative out-of-court solutions to problems, and on citizen participation in decisions affecting their health and environment. It has many victories to its credit, both in bottom-line results and in environmental consciousness raising through working with existing neighborhood and community groups to teach environmental issues. ACE has been honored by the American Bar Association, the Association for Continuing Legal Education, and Parents Magazine, among others. They need your help.

(1999: NATURE: Environment: Urban Environment)