November 16, 1999

Members of the Northfield City Council

City Hall

801 Washington Street

Northfield, Minnesota 55057

Dear Members of the Northfield City Council:

We are two sophomores at Carleton College, and as part of a final project for the introductory Environmental and Technology Studies class, we investigated the possibility of the existence of environmental injustice in Northfield. Our study focused on the trailer home communities off Highway 3, which are predominantly made up of Mexican immigrants.

For purposes of our study, we defined environmental justice as equal rights under the law regarding environmental decision-making by the government and industries without discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or class. This includes the consistent application of environmental regulations to the entire community, that certain communities do not receive direct benefits from industrial production while the costs are sent elsewhere, and finally that environmental decisions reflect the goal for equality regarding race and class.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether environmental injustice exists in Northfield and, if found, to document it and propose possible solutions to the problem. In the case of the nonexistence of environmental injustice, then that, too, would have been documented and we would have reported on the positive measures being taken by the Northfield community.

To determine if environmental injustice existed in Northfield we:

[1] Visited a frequented food chain store, Petricka's, where we were bound to find Northfielders of all types of backgrounds. We conducted a series of informal question-and-answer conversations with various people about their feelings about Northfield, their particular neighborhoods, and other neighborhoods in Northfield. We then asked them about their feelings on environmental issues in those three aspects. By these informal conversations, we gained a better idea of what areas to look into in order to determine if environmental injustice existed in Northfield: waste disposal, water quality, and placement of low-income housing.

[2] We conducted formal investigative interviews with residents of the trailer home communities (Las Floreillas and Viking Terrace), the owners of Mexican businesses in town (Las Delicias and the Mexican store at Second Street and Highway 3), and a Carleton faculty member who resided in town (Gary Wagenbach, Professor of Biology and co-instructor of the introductory Environmental and Technology Studies course.)

[3] Finally, we conducted a formal interview with Peggy Prowe, a member of your 1999 council, and discussed our conclusions with her.

We have synthesized the information gathered from our different sources into a comprehensive portfolio that includes a log of the conducted interviews, a report on the status of environmental injustice in Northfield, and a report of our subsequent recommendations for problem solving. We found that the Mexican community is not suffering from any grave environmental injustices such as major waste disposal problems, the presence of landfills in their neighborhoods, water quality problems, or industrial problems from the factories around them. However, there are numerous social and economic problems breeding there. The city of Northfield, in terms of planning and development of affordable housing, has done a poor job at integrating the growing low-income Mexican population to the town. This segregation can be seen as racist and promotes feelings of inadequacy between the different races and economic classes. Therefore, we conclude that a social kind of environmental injustice exists in Northfield in the form of segregated city planning.

Enclosed is this comprehensive portfolio of our findings and conclusions regarding environmental injustice in Northfield. We hope you find our study informative and useful. Please contact us through the college if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Kizzy Charles-Guzman, Class of 2002

Kristin Wallace, Class of 2002

Interview Log

[1] Our first interview at Petricka’s was with a couple of middle-aged white women who were friends and fellow church members. One of the women had lived in Northfield for 20 years and the other for two years. Both women, who live on the East Side of Northfield, about a mile from the Carleton campus, are very happy living in Northfield and are not planning on moving. The woman who had lived in Northfield for 20 years said that she is happy with the aesthetics of her neighborhood: "there are lots of different sizes of houses, different kinds of people, old and young, and lots of trees." She described her neighborhood as "messy" and unplanned, but remarked that this did not bother her. She was hesitant to respond to the question about which parts of Northfield she would not like to live in. Environmentally speaking, this woman commented on a past problem of the emission of an invisible, odorless cancer-causing substance from a Northfield plant.

The woman who had lived in Northfield for only two years said she liked her neighborhood because of its "variety": there was a Filipino and a Chinese family living there. She said there were lots of "Orientals" at the school in her neighborhood. The "Oriental" children were considered white because they had white parents. When asked where in Northfield she would not want to live, the woman responded with "the two projects," Greenvale (home to people of color) and Jefferson Square, where there is "constant uproar, police harassment, and general hassle." This woman said that "this is a very racist town." She commented that it is no coincidence that even though many Latinos shop at Petricka’s, there is only one Latino worker. She also related an experience at More4 where she was waited on first before a tall, dark, handsome Latino (she went on at length about this) even though he had come to the counter first.

In regard to environmental concerns, this woman said that her house gets bad water. Manganese crystals had blackened the back of her toilet, and she has to filter the water in her house, which is thirty years old. The other woman said that the water is fine where she lives. They both commented that the water at church tastes funny, but that it is because of the pipes there. Some other general environmental concerns of the two women were: the continually running bus motors cause air pollution, the fumes from trucks smell bad, the very heated argument over urban sprawl (Target), telephone towers (one down the street from the two-year Northfield resident), interference in radio waves, and the pollution caused by dogs and cats who are not locked up (they leave quite a mess in sandboxes). Something that the two women were happy about was that the city did not put a lot of salt on the road, so there was not a lot of dirty runoff into the river.

[2] Our second interview at Petricka’s was with an older white man, probably in his late sixties. He had been living in Northfield for eight years, liked the town "alright", and was not planning on moving. He lives in the northeast part of town in a "good" neighborhood, middle class and "somewhat diverse" (one family of color). This man said he would not want to live in the neighborhood south of Petricka’s where the housing is "marginal". In response to the question about any environmental concerns or problems he may have about Northfield, he said there are none where he lives and that he doesn’t know where there would be any in any other part of town.

[3] We interviewed a Mexican couple, residents of the trailer home community Las Floreillas, at the Petricka's supermarket. The couple is between twenty-five and thirty years of age, and they have three children. They have lived in Las Floreillas for four years in a three-bedroom house. In general, they think that they live in a "nice" neighborhood where there really are not environmental concerns. "But who's really thinking about the environment?" the husband asks. Waste disposal is effective since "the landlady takes good care of the garbage". There is a cliff at the back of the complex which leads to the Cannon River and "people sometimes throw garbage down the hill" but it is not a problem. "People do try to keep everything clean…At least we do." Water quality is not a problem either "since we buy our own water to drink". "We don't have any complaints that way. We're just glad to be here." When asked what it is, in general, that they dislike about their neighborhood and Northfield, they both agreed on two things: the lack of space and harassment by police officials. They think that even though their house is big enough for their family, the children don't really have space to play. There are too many kids in the neighborhood and the playground gets crowded. As for their harassment claim, they think that the Northfield police stop them needlessly and constantly to check their drivers’ licenses "even if we're not doing anything wrong" just because they are Mexicans and probably undocumented. They think that this is an unfair and racist practice. "The people in Faribault don't get harassed the way we do," the husband said.

[4] At the Mexican restaurant "Las Delicias" we interviewed two twelve-year-old girls. One was Mexican and the other one was white and they have been friends for years. They have both lived in Northfield for about ten years. The Mexican girl lives in Viking Terrace and the other girl lives in Mayflower Hill. Environmental problems are not a concern to them. What does effect them is the social barrier of which they are victims. Apparently they are not supposed to be friends because of the social and economic divisions between their neighborhoods. The white girl's mother does not like it when her daughter visits Viking Terrace because she says that it is drug infested, "the people live like animals" and the guys are too aggressive and are likely to rape her. In school, the two girls get the same attitude from their other friends who cannot understand why they would even want to cross the barrier and associate with people of other backgrounds.

[5] At the Las Floreillas, we got an overall positive review of the neighborhood. We interviewed four Mexican people: three men and one woman. Two of the men were visiting from Faribault, and their ages were between 40 and 45 years. The other man (about 30 years old) is married to the woman (between 25 and 30 years old) and they have lived in Las Floreillas for nine months. They have two children and no plans of moving. In general, they think that Minnesota, especially the city of Northfield, "takes good care of its people". Housing is affordable and their neighborhood is great because "people are conscious of their space and try to keep it clean and nice-looking". The garbage is picked up once a week, and the neighborhood's manager is good about "meeting their needs". They said they are "grateful of having the opportunities that America offers," and "Thanks be to God and the Americans".

[6] After talking with several residents of Las Floreillas, we interviewed the manager of the park, Florence, a middle-aged white woman. We found Florence working hard cleaning and grooming the area. When we began questioning Florence, the first thing she did was to correct our use of the term "trailer home". Florence informed us the living-quarters in Las Floreillas are in fact homes, not trailers. These living complexes, which are not government owned, are not movable, and are therefore not trailers. She seemed very sensitive about this terminology. She preferred that we use the term "manufactured homes". Florence told us about how she spends a lot of time making sure things look nice in the area, such as landscaping. She circles the area four times a day cleaning up. She also spends time educating the residents about recycling and waste-management practices. She has bilingual pamphlets that she distributes and also has people who help her translate. Florence was very proud of her community. They "act as a community", as they have bible study together every week. "The kids have lots of space to play," she says, "and they enjoy fishing and playing in the river." When we asked if she thought the proximity of the river posed any environmental risks, she said no because Las Floreillas is on high ground, so there is no risk of flooding. Regarding waste management, Florence said that residents can only deposit trash in specified bins, to avoid numerous trash bags taking up space outside, and also that residents must take care of big trash items within a day, to avoid unsightly trash outside for extended periods of time. Florence said she thought the reason many of the residents buy bottled water is because of culture, not because the tap water is contaminated. When we asked about the cliff that people sometimes throw trash, Florence said that the people who live in Las Floreillas do not do it, that sometimes people from outside the community come in and dump trash there.

[7] At the trailer home community Viking Terrace, we also got an overall positive review of the neighborhood. We interviewed a couple, a Mexican man of about 30 years of age and a white woman of about 45 years of age. They live in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house and have three kids. They think that they have a lot of space "compared to where [they] lived before". They are not concerned with environmental problems around them. The one complaint they have in terms of waste disposal is the fact that, in Viking Terrace, the garbage truck does not collect the garbage from their doorstep. All the residents are required to take their garbage to the common dumpster, where it is collected daily by the truck. They think that this is inconvenient, "especially if you don't have a car."

[8] Also at Viking Terrace, we talked to an eleven-year-old girl who has lived there for about two years. In general, she likes the neighborhood, except that the guys are "way too aggressive". She thinks that people in general don't think much of environmental problems. In fact, the only thing she can see people minding is the garbage dump, "but that's just the people who live close to it. Maybe they mind the smell". In her house, her family also buys bottled water but she thinks that it has more to do with cultural practices as opposed to concern with water quality.

[9] Then we interviewed a woman who lives with her husband right in front of the public dumpster. We noted that the dumpster was empty and fairly clean and, in general, there were no foul smells. The couple is in their late 30s or early 40s and has lived in Northfield for seven years and in Viking Terrace for one year. In general, she likes their neighborhood, stating that "[they] can’t complain". They don't mind living in front of the public dumpster because "it never smells, and the truck passes every day" She thinks that waste disposal is effective even if it is inconvenient for people who live far from the dumpster. "It's better to have garbage in one place as opposed that laying around all over the neighborhood." They buy bottled water mainly as a cultural practice, although she admits that they do not like the taste of the tap water and that they have heard that the chemicals in it "turn your teeth yellow."

[10] Our final interview in Viking Terrace was with a young white couple, the man probably in his early thirties and the woman in her late twenties. The couple had two young daughters in preschool or elementary school. The family had been living in Northfield for eleven years. The man was very upset about the "political system" in Northfield. He had a difficult time articulating exactly what about the politics of the city aggravated him, but in general he expressed that he didn’t approve of how much control the city has over residents, such as high taxes. In response to the question about whether the couple had any environmental concerns, the man said he didn’t like how loud the trash collector was on the mornings that he comes to pick up the trash in the main receptacle, which was only about 100 yards from the family’s trailer home. When asked about water quality, the man responded that the water is hard, and that "that is just how it is, there is nothing you can do about it." The woman commented that she did not like the overcrowding that happens in the trailer homes. She was angry because she thinks that the Mexicans can get away with things that she cannot, such as fitting "10 families" in one trailer home. She said if the government ever found her keeping that many people in her home that they would put her in jail and take away her children. She kept referring to America as "our country," and that it belongs to people who were born here. She assured us that she wasn’t racist, but she seemed bitter about the "benefits" that the Mexicans have in Northfield.

[11] We interviewed the owners of the Mexican restaurant "Las Delicias" who also own the Mexican grocery store downtown. The couple moved to Northfield seven months ago from Minneapolis, where they own a house. They are from Guatemala but lived in Mexico for two years which is how they were able to know enough about the culture to establish Mexican businesses in Northfield. "We wanted to satisfy the growing Mexican population here so we have to offer Mexican stuff." They have eight children ranging from twenty three to seven years old. In general, they don't have great environmental concerns. They like their neighborhood (they live in a predominantly white neighborhood called Hinden Valley). They think that despite the lack of diversity of the neighborhood (1-2% of people are non-white), there is a lot of respect and acceptance and the place is extremely hygienic, which they attribute to the fact that they are all "basically middle class." Interestingly enough, they don't get along with the Mexican community. They are highly offended that the Northfield Mexican community almost never eats at their restaurant, but shops at their store "because they don't have any other choice if they're looking for Mexican foods". They think that this barrier has to do with the fact that they are well off economically and the Mexican community downtown resents them for it thinking that "they're living off [them]". The owners think that they have worked very hard for what they have. The money to set up their business came from bank loans and such, not from the exploitation of the Mexican community, as the Mexicans believe. The couple would never like to live in places like Viking Terrace and Las Floreillas. "They live like animals, eight to ten people cramped up in a small trailer. Nothing good can come out of that. Plus, there are drugs and gangs there. We wouldn't want our daughters to grow up around that crowd." They think that the city has the residents of the low-income houses "secluded and neglected which is why they have so many problems. Still, I probably wouldn't want to have them as neighbors." Besides economic class, another source of tension is their nationality "They don't like that we're Guatemalan and 'trying to be Mexican' as they say". Despite their conflict with the rest of the Hispanics in the community, they think that Northfield is a great place to live. They cannot protest because it has given them opportunities they wouldn't have had in Guatemala. "Blessed be God and the Americans" was their concluding statement.

[12] The interview with a Carleton faculty member was with biology professor and professor for our introduction to Environmental and Technology Studies class Gary Wagenbach. Gary is no longer a resident of Northfield, but he did live on Maple Street by Carleton College from 1969 to 1986. He still feels very connected to the Northfield community. Gary was very happy with his neighborhood in Northfield. He feels that there are lots of opportunities for outdoor activities, he appreciated the yard space (he had a garden that he was very proud of) and the many trees in his neighborhood. Gary also commented that the Carleton arboretum was basically in his backyard, which was desirable and comfortable for him. When asked if there was a part of Northfield where he would not want to live, Gary responded with the trailer parks. He said that they seem like rough neighborhoods with not a lot of tranquility. In regard to environmental issues, Gary said that city planning and development is a big issue right now. Gary hopes that Northfield can implement "smart growth" and deal justly with the current issue of urban development. He cited the house on Washington Street as a good example of how the people of Northfield can come together and work for a common purpose to support those in need. Gary also related the need for more transitional housing support. When asked about how he felt about the placement of the trailer home communities, Gary said that is negative how they are located so close to the highway.

[13] The first person we discussed environmental injustice with in particular was Peggy Prowe, a member of the 1999 Northfield city council. We told her about our previous interviews and what we had come up with in terms of environmental injustice. The one environmental injustice she spoke of had to do with the districting for the elementary schools. There are three elementary schools in Northfield: Sibley, Greenvale Park, and Bridgewater. The Sibley attendance area extends east from Highway 3, north of Woodley Street, and east of Division Street/Gates Avenue. The Greenvale Park attendance area is north of Highway 19 and west of Highway 3. The Bridgewater attendance area is south of Highway 19, south of Woodley Street, and west of Division Street/Gates Avenue. These districts are unbalanced in terms of class representation. Greenvale Park has about three to six Latino students per classroom, Bridgewater has about one Latino in every ten students, and Sibley has virtually no Latinos in the classrooms. Peggy was worried that the Sibley community is more attractive to upper-class families which are looking to move to Northfield, thus heightening the class-barriers in town. She tells us that this is a perfect example of suburban ghettoism and an example of environmental justice that needs to be stopped.

Peggy said that in order to qualify for government-sponsored low-income housing, one must make less than nine dollars per hour. In the Greenvale apartments, residents pay based on their ability to pay. They pay thirty percent of their income. The average home in Northfield today costs $116,000, in contrast to $80,000 in Faribault. The houses that have been built in the past two years range in price anywhere from $150,000 to $400,000. To accommodate this high cost of living for those with low incomes, Northfield has a variety of low-income housing developments, including four "projects". The trailer home communities have been prohibited by the city to expand. Trailer home parks are very susceptible to tornadoes. The Housing Redevelopment Authority is currently looking to build a cheap housing development in the southeast part of town. One will have to be poor to be able to live there.

When asked about Northfield’s feelings about having new low-income housing developments in town, she said people were willing to let it happen, but that "no one wants it next to them." She herself admitted that even though there is an empty lot next to her home, she would not want it to turn into a low-income housing development. She did not tell us why. Developers are having a hard time finding places in Northfield to build these new low-income communities because residents are not willing to have them in their neighborhoods. The city council is creating a new full-time paid position in response to the crucial need to deal with the growing diversity of the town. The position title is Human Diversity Facilitator. Currently, the city has hired lawyers to deal with the excessive noise created by the train that runs through town, and very close to the trailer-home communities. The trailer park homes are property tax exempt, since they are mobile homes. Florence reminded us that urban sprawl is an issue, but that Northfield is not dealing with it as a suburb; Northfield is a freestanding town, and residents are sensitive about this.

Conclusions: The Status of Environmental Injustice in Northfield

At the beginning of our project, we set out to find if environmental injustices were occurring against the Mexican communities in Northfield. We gathered from the interviews at the two trailer home communities that people are generally not concerned with environmental problems and they are, in a sense, happy with their neighborhoods. We concluded that a valid reason for this is that, as immigrants, they are not thinking about what is wrong with the environment around them. They are primarily concerned with making a living and being able to support their families. As immigrants, they are glad to be in America and to have the opportunities for a better life. "Compared to where they lived in Mexico, this place is paradise," commented the owners of Las Delicias. And as a resident of Las Floreillas put it, "Who cares about a cliff in your backyard where people sometimes throw garbage or about the water having chemicals. In Mexico, we lived around garbage and the water was pure poison-yet we still drank it. We can't complain."

Apparently, they are not suffering of grave environmental injustices such as major waste disposal problems, the presence of landfills in their neighborhoods, water quality problems, or industrial problems from the factories around them. What we did observe is the poor planning of the city of Northfield. These low-income housing communities are, in a sense, secluded from the rest of the town. This seclusion promotes feelings of classism and racism. Another problem we observed is that these low-income communities are built right next to the train tracks as well as to Highway 3. Hence, the residents have to stand the noise pollution of the train, cars, and trucks passing by throughout the day. Also, these vehicles may generate fumes and may be dangerous to the numerous little children of the neighborhood. This may contribute to the overall undesirability to live in these places which in turn intensifies the feeling of seclusion.

Therefore, there may not be grave environmental injustices affecting the Mexican population of Northfield but there are numerous social and economic problems breeding there. The city of Northfield, in terms of planning and development of affordable housing, has done a poor job at integrating the growing low-income Mexican population to the town. This segregation can be seen as racist and promotes feelings of inadequacy between the different races and economic classes.

Recommendations: Counteracting the Effects of Environmental Injustice

In general, the integration of the Mexican population into the wealthier parts of the city, will not only contribute to the diversification of the town but it may help alleviate some of the social problems that these communities deal with. For example, it is likely that if some of these families were not marked by the stigma of their low-income neighborhoods, police officials will not needlessly harass them. In addition, integration will aid the diversification of Northfield's school system, where minority rates in the elementary schools are unbalanced.

Another recommendation to the city council is the re-mapping of district lines for the elementary schools to ensure a more diverse student population in terms of race and class in the classroom. Diversity is essential for well-rounded education as well as to break down walls of prejudice and ignorance especially among children that results from segregated neighborhoods and school communities.

Because the environment is not the primary concern of the Mexican community, education is the most important tool to handle environmental matters. For example, Las Floreillas is one of those places that is becoming increasingly aware of things like recycling, which is a first step towards solving environmental problems. Florence, the manager of Las Floreillas, encourages them to recycle and sort their garbage in a timely fashion, and she provides them with informational bilingual pamphlets. We applaud Florence for her environmentally conscious initiatives and encourage the city to take similar measures to increase environmentally safe practices to the Mexican community, in the form of bilingual printed information. In addition to raising environmental awareness in the Mexican community, we believe that changing current waste management practices in the trailer home communities could change current attitudes about recycling. Currently in Viking Terrace, trash is collected in one particular spot in the community. This requires that each family take their trash to this single location, which can potentially be up to a five-minute walk. As a result, they do not sort their garbage because the only place to do it is at that one location, and people do not feel like sorting their waste at home if that means carrying three different trash bags to the waste disposal center. We propose that trash collection happen at each trailer home and that recycling bins are provided for each household to encourage waste sorting.

Another recommendation we have for the city of Northfield is to encourage involvement of the Mexicans in city decision making, such as encouraging attendance at public hearings. One of the best ways to ensure that environmental injustice does not occur is to make everyone a part of the decision making for the town. Plus, Mexican involvement in city affairs would help break down barriers that exist in Northfield at this time.

To summarize, our recommendations for the city are:

A Vision for the New Millenium: With Liberty and Environmental Justice for All

Environmental injustice is a real problem in today’s society. Hence, it is imperative that the city of Northfield does everything in its power to prevent the spread of this social disease. Throughout our investigation, we were happy to find that many of the grave environmental injustices that are happening in other parts of the country are not present in Northfield. However, as Northfield continues to grow and develop, it is becoming more prone to the plague of environmental injustice. It is the responsibility of the citizens of Northfield, especially the members of the city council, that the current environmental injustices are rectified and that others do not manifest.