Center for Urban Environmental Reform

Mission

The Center for Urban Environmental Reform (CUER) at the City University of New York School of Law was founded on the belief that environmental justice is a critical aspect of social justice and that communities are entitled to participate fully and meaningfully in environmental decisions that affect them. CUER will be a clearinghouse and focal point for the data, experts, and training needed to ensure a level playing field. The goal is to expand participation in public decision-making and to increase transparency and overall access to information in order to enhance both the legitimacy of environmental decision-making processes and the fairness of decisions reached.

Numerous environmental laws require consultation and local consent before certain activities can proceed. The National Environmental Policy Act itself specifically states that its purpose is to "insure that environmental information is available to public officials and citizens before decisions are made and before action is taken." Yet, the reality of environmental racism highlights the widespread failure to include diverse voices across a wide swath of regulatory decision-making. CUER's mission is to foster equal environmental citizenship, in both New York City, and the wider world.

To that end, CUER provides resources for community groups wanting to obtain full and meaningful participation in environmental decision-making. The Center also produces scholarly research to influence an ongoing theoretical discourse about urban environmental justice and participatory democracy; and then converts that research into policy tools useful to planners, policymakers and advocates, including grassroots community-groups. The Center will publicize on-going environmental decision-making processes to ensure that communities know what is happening or is being considered, and will focus on developing training workshops, on-line tutorials, and sample documents to facilitate wider and more effective participation in those decision processes.

Visit our website at www.centerforurbanenvironmentalreform.org