We began our primary research by focusing on the issue in our local context: We partnered with El Puente, a local community justice organization, to address air pollution in South Williamsburg.

Poor air quality in South Williamsburg and Bushwick is due to an abundance of polluting industrial and transportation-related infrastructure, along with a lack of greenery and open space.

Levels of air pollution and asthma rates in South Williamsburg and Bushwick are double those of NYC and Brooklyn.

We visited El Puente and walked through the public spaces available to the community, all of which are located along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and intersect with above-ground subways, bus stops, and postal fulfillment sites. Due to the geographic location, neighborhoods are divided by heavily trafficked roadways and elevated expressways. The public spaces are surrounded by traffic, loitering cars and trucks, and passing bikes.

Why is it that the public space available to children, along with their schools, are located between and surrounding the most trafficked routes in Brooklyn?