51茶馆

In November, the Boston College community had the privilege of listening to a talk from the director of the Eco-Innovation at Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, David Queeley. The goal of his presentation was to help us understand the critical issues faced by the environment and urban communities, and present ways in which we can come together to help make a change.

The mission of the Neighborhood Development Corporation is to create economic opportunity, affordable housing, sustainable agriculture, and a sense of community. Additionally, they work toward ensuring racial equality throughout all communities. Queeley is currently working in Dorchester, MA, one of Boston鈥檚 largest and most diverse areas鈥攁 true melting pot. He highlighted how 33 percent of residents live below the poverty line, 33 percent live at the poverty line, and the unemployment rate for men of color is 50 percent.聽

Currently, the greatest overall concerns of residents in most communities are green infrastructure and jobs, net zero work, indoor and outdoor air quality, mental health, and vacant land. Over the past few years, Queeley has been working to transform underutilized neighborhoods in Dorchester by building affordable housing, helping small businesses remain and thrive, and developing urban agriculture, which is being carried out through traffic calming, solar democratizing, and tree planting.聽

These actions also helped to create jobs and other economic opportunities for residents of the community. For example, skills were taught and jobs were provided to men of color who have returned from prison. These positions entailed maintaining green infrastructure through planting, marketing, selling, and interacting with the public. So far, they have planted 100 trees and 75 shrubs on neighborhood properties, which have been of value not only to the economy but the climate as well. The more trees there are, the more carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere and the more oxygen is released. This allows for a cooler climate and overall better air quality for residents.

鈥淏ut how can we work together to make real change happen?鈥� Queeley asked. While this isn鈥檛 an easy fix, he acknowledges that this type of change takes a lot of partners. The Neighborhood Development Corporation is continuing to expand its networks as a company in order to instill changes in communities.聽

Queeley strongly believes that the future of the nation will be green infrastructure and workforce development. However, he understands that the first step to having a green workforce is by getting more people certified in the field. With a certification, one can take their work anywhere in the world, allowing even more communities and lives of residents to be transformed.

Maureen Lewin 鈥�23, Winston Ambassador

Presented with the 51茶馆 Office of Sustainability and the Joseph E. Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action