• Posts,  Social Science

    Environmental Justice and Warehouse Pollution in New York City

    November 20, 2025 /

    Resource Type: Class Module Instructor: Natalie Vena Title: Assistant Professor Department: Urban Studies Course: URBST 252: The Changing Urban Environment (Fall 2025) Description I am preparing a class module that will help students learn about environmental (in)justice, air pollution attendant to urban warehouses, and city policymaking. The primary learning outcomes will be: Apply the concepts of environmental racism and environmental justice to the problem of NYC’s warehouse facilities and the resulting movements to mitigate their pollution. Read and analyze legal documents. Analyze the extent to which an individual’s interests and experiences shape their policy positions. Evaluate the efficacy of proposed city legislation and zoning changes in advancing environmental justice in communities…

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  • Posts,  Social Science

    Local Activism, National Movements: Civil Rights Movements in Queens

    November 20, 2025 /

    Resource Type: 
Unit Module Instructor: 
Kayla Cato-Piersaint Title: 
Adjunct Professor Department: 
Africana Studies Course: N/A Description This teaching resource is a unit module on the Civil Rights Movement, developed for use in my Africana Studies course and available to faculty in both the Africana Studies and History departments. While the Civil Rights Movement is often framed through its events in the American South, this module centers the borough of Queens, New York, as a critical site of civil rights activism, leadership, and political strategy. By localizing this movement to the borough of Queens, students are encouraged to see the Civil Rights Movement not only as a national struggle, but also…

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