Letters to the Editor | Aug. 14, 2023

Green balance

Nate File’s recent Inquirer article perfectly articulates the catch-22 that comes from balancing the creation of green space while avoiding further gentrification and displacement of people in our city. This catch-22 also extends to health. Simply put, we know that greening improves health while gentrification disproportionately has a negative health impact on those most vulnerable. Research by the University of Pennsylvania’s Eugenia South has shown that when you replace vacant houses and empty lots with green space, people feel less depressed, feel safer in their neighborhoods, and have decreased heart rates to show for it. Her work also shows that with more greening comes less gun violence.

While greener communities are healthier to live in, gentrification has repeatedly been associated with undesirable health effects among economically vulnerable and elderly residents. Black residents displaced from gentrified neighborhoods have more chronic illnesses, such as asthma and heart disease, poorer birth outcomes, and higher rates of emergency room visits and hospitalizations. As a physician, I think it is important that we add considerations of health equity and justice to this conversation. As the article says, we must ensure that created green spaces stay within our communities — especially our Black and brown neighborhoods — to ensure we also receive the health benefits we deserve.

Olivia Familusi, physician and health policy researcher, Philadelphia

Let kids play

I was disappointed but unsurprised when I read The Inquirer’s article on the Central Bucks school board considering a policy proposal that would ban transgender students from playing on sports teams aligned with their gender identities. This would not only harm transgender youth, it also misses the entire point of sports at the school level. It’s appalling that the third-largest district in the state continues to attempt to prevent transgender children from living in accordance with their gender, which research has shown is associated with decreased rates of depression and anxiety.

Moreover, participation in sports at school age has been associated with improved time management skills, increased social interaction, and increased self-esteem. Policies like these ask these children to choose between living in accordance with their gender and participating in an activity that belongs to all kids, not just to cisgender children. While most kids ultimately don’t end up playing sports professionally, the main purpose of school sports is to let children play — period. Trans youth should not have to sacrifice their mental well-being to have the same opportunity.

Delia Rospigliosi, Philadelphia

Darker skies

As Philadelphia embarks on replacing the city’s streetlights with energy-efficient bulbs, I wonder whether it considered sky-friendly streetlamps that focus the light downward and don’t interfere with viewing the night sky. There are children who have never seen a star-studded view of the heavens. Consequently, some cities in the West have become “dark sky compliant.” Pittsburgh is working toward becoming the first city in the Eastern U.S. to do so. Wouldn’t it be great to look up and see constellations again without driving hours to a national park? How about it Philly?

Jackie Fitzpatrick, Philadelphia

Brighter future

Both evidence and voter concerns back the city’s plan to replace the lightbulbs in 130,000 streetlights to make the city’s neighborhoods brighter and safer. A welcome sign that Philadelphia’s elected leaders are listening to their constituents. At first glance, many may see this as routine upkeep rather than a plan to address crime — but it isn’t. In a landmark study of 40 New York City public housing developments, the half that received new lighting experienced a 36% decline in serious crimes (including murder, robbery, and aggravated assault) compared with the developments that did not.

Recent polling shows that crime is a top concern in Philadelphia. Yet, counter to conventional wisdom, concern about crime does not equal support for more “tough-on-crime” measures. By a measure of 3-1, Philadelphia voters surveyed said that funding good schools, jobs, and housing is a more effective way to improve public safety than a more traditional approach. Everyone deserves to be safe where they live, no matter the color of their skin or how much money is in their pockets. Improving streetlights to prevent crime is an acknowledgment of that basic truth — and one that is not only good policy but good politics, too.

Insha Rahman, vice president for advocacy and partnerships, Vera Institute of Justice, New York City

Fair retirement

Having devoted my 30-year career to public service, I knew that my pension would be a vital component of my retirement income. Yet, the reduction in my Social Security benefits due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) has taken a toll on my financial stability, leaving me with far less than what I had anticipated. This unjust double-dipping penalty — which reduces benefits for those who receive a pension based on earnings from work not covered by Social Security — has left me questioning the recognition of the contributions made by public servants such as myself. The Social Security Fairness Act presents an opportunity to rectify these inequalities and provide hardworking public servants with the retirement benefits they rightfully deserve. It seeks to eliminate the WEP and GPO, ensuring that individuals like me, who have paid into both Social Security and their pension systems, receive fair treatment and financial security in our golden years.

Thomas Burman, West Deptford, eburman@comcast.net

Pay it forward

Veronica Montes’ recent op-ed about asylum-seekers arriving in Philadelphia reminded me of my own experience of arriving in a foreign country. Not knowing the language or culture made me completely vulnerable, and the initial confusion and fear were almost paralyzing. The first person I met who spoke English became my savior as he guided me toward an airport kiosk that helped travelers from other countries find their ultimate destination. Though I speak only English, Montes has inspired me to volunteer to help new arrivals make their way to a new beginning in America.

Jacques Gordon, Devon

A Florida education

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who wants to be America’s next president by out-trumping Donald Trump, has effectively censored the state’s teaching of African American history. He has also stated that Black people learned valuable skills as a result of their enslavement. This has been sharply rebuked by those pushing back against the governor’s ignorance, but his uninformed opinion also points to another fundamental oversight in the American discourse about slavery: that Africa and its people, long before a white person set foot on the continent, had a fully functioning assortment of societies with complex language and belief systems, social structures, and institutions.

Historians, anthropologists, and religious leaders, as a means of justifying the rape and exploitation of the land and its people, characterized Africans as uncivilized and the land mass was labeled the “dark continent.” Within the context of African life on the 11.7 million-square-mile continent, there were medical, architectural, agricultural, and pharmaceutical skills practiced for untold generations. Rather than skills being learned because of slavery, African men and women, bound in chains, brought with them knowledge and skills that enabled slaveholders to build and acquire wealth and power in the Americas.

The enslaved Africans who survived the slave trade were also botanists, textile experts, sculptors, musicians, dancers, orators, ironworkers, educators, and belief leaders who ultimately helped to build and shape what is now America. One of the lasting effects of the brutality of slavery is that even African Americans absorbed the belief that Africa was uncivilized and devoid of cultural heritage prior to colonization. So perhaps DeSantis has done Black Americans a favor. Maybe his ignorance will force Black people to reexamine curriculums in all our educational institutions. Maybe the governor is inadvertently helping us to be even more woke.

Karen Warrington, Philadelphia

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