Environmental justice is no longer just a concept, it has become a data driven tool for action in Philadelphia. We were joined by Genevieve LaMarr LeMee, Deputy Director of Environmental Justice at the Philadelphia Office of Sustainability, alongside project partners Winn Costantini and Alexis Schulman from the Academy of Natural Sciences, to discuss the City’s newly released Environmental Justice Mapping Tool and why it matters to everyday residents.
The interactive tool visualizes how environmental burdens such as pollution, flooding risk, extreme heat, and poor air quality overlap with long-standing social and economic inequities.
LaMarr LeMee explained that this tool is designed not just for policymakers, but for residents, advocates, and grassroots organizers. Community members can use it to identify where resources are most urgently needed, strengthen advocacy campaigns, and hold institutions accountable for environmental conditions.
Costantini and Schulman emphasized the importance of transparency and accessibility, noting that credible data can shift conversations from whether a problem exists to how it must be addressed. The mapping tool supports community-led solutions by giving residents the same level of information often reserved for city leaders and policymakers.