Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Community Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Community Psychology
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Part I Foundational Concepts
- Part II Research, Assessment, and Program Evaluation
- Part III Community Psychology in Action
- 10 Women and Leadership
- 11 Community Resilience
- 12 Building Community Resilience and Supporting Disaster Risk Reduction through Social Action Efforts
- 13 The Consumer Recovery Movement in the United States
- 14 Taking Back the Streets
- 15 Promoting Adolescent Mental Health
- 16 Gowanus Canal and Public Policy
- 17 Family Support Services at Ronald McDonald House Promotes Healing of Seriously Ill Children
- 18 Community Psychology and a Fresh Look at Faith Healing Camps
- 19 Community Impact of Social Media
- 20 Supporting Communities through Educational Access
- 21 Psychological Impact of Climate Change on Communities
- 22 Optimal Local Government and Public Service Provision
- 23 A Public Health Approach to Delinquency and Incarceration
- 24 Public Service Organizations and Community Empowerment
- 25 Women and Immigration
- 26 Community-Based Transition Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
- 27 Mental Health on College Campuses
- 28 LGBTQ+ Communities
- Part IV Where Do We Go from Here?
- Index
- References
16 - Gowanus Canal and Public Policy
Community Well-Being at a Superfund Site
from Part III - Community Psychology in Action
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 December 2021
Edited by
Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Community Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Community Psychology
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Part I Foundational Concepts
- Part II Research, Assessment, and Program Evaluation
- Part III Community Psychology in Action
- 10 Women and Leadership
- 11 Community Resilience
- 12 Building Community Resilience and Supporting Disaster Risk Reduction through Social Action Efforts
- 13 The Consumer Recovery Movement in the United States
- 14 Taking Back the Streets
- 15 Promoting Adolescent Mental Health
- 16 Gowanus Canal and Public Policy
- 17 Family Support Services at Ronald McDonald House Promotes Healing of Seriously Ill Children
- 18 Community Psychology and a Fresh Look at Faith Healing Camps
- 19 Community Impact of Social Media
- 20 Supporting Communities through Educational Access
- 21 Psychological Impact of Climate Change on Communities
- 22 Optimal Local Government and Public Service Provision
- 23 A Public Health Approach to Delinquency and Incarceration
- 24 Public Service Organizations and Community Empowerment
- 25 Women and Immigration
- 26 Community-Based Transition Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
- 27 Mental Health on College Campuses
- 28 LGBTQ+ Communities
- Part IV Where Do We Go from Here?
- Index
- References
Summary
Using historical, ethnographic, and archival research, this chapter examines the intersection of environmental policies and community well-being through the lens of community psychology, particularly its attention to the entwinement of socioeconomic and environmental conditions. Focusing on the Gowanus community in Brooklyn, New York, which is midway through a federally mandated environmental cleanup as a Superfund site, we describe how advancing the collective well-being at the scale of the neighborhood can also entail challenging entrenched power structures that have supported systemic inequalities and working within a diverse group. The collective efforts of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group illustrate how chronic toxic environmental degradation can be addressed within an extended collaborative process. We conclude that while endeavoring to improve the surrounding physical environment, the Group’s efforts have also strengthened collaborative engagement across groups to foster community well-being and social justice.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Community PsychologyInterdisciplinary and Contextual Perspectives, pp. 331 - 343Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
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