Public-Facing Works
Explore environmental justice-related projects created by our research team.
Organizing Environmental Justice: Air Pollution Drives Bridgeport, CT Residents to Empower Community (2026)
Created by Isaac Moore
This video was originally published by Planet Forward and selected as an honorable mention for Best Short Video of 2026.
In Connecticut’s wealthiest county, neighboring towns face significant disparities. Bridgeport, Conn., has the lowest average income in Fairfield County, and has the highest percentage of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals. It is also home to the largest incinerator in the state.
Incinerators are notorious polluters and, according to a report by the Tishman Environment and Design Center, their major pollutants include dioxins, heavy metals, chlorine, polystyrenes, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, lead, and PFAS/PFOA among others.
Bridgeport faces a disproportionate amount of environmental hazards such as air pollution, raising environmental justice concerns. Where governments fail to protect their citizens, community-based solutions like PT Partners and their collaboration with EmpowerED are making Bridgeport residents more informed and resilient.
Podcast: Extraction (2021/2024)
Created by Chie Togami
Extraction is a three-part podcast that traces the history of the United States Steel Corporation (the world’s first billion-dollar company) from its founding in 1901 through today, presenting stories of people and places from which U.S. Steel has extracted natural resources and labor.
Episode 1 (“Ore”) of this series examines the creation of U.S. Steel, the origin of two of steel’s critical ingredients, iron ore and coal, and how the extraction of these resources has impacted the people and regions that have supplied them.
Episode 2 (“Steel”) considers the rise and decline of the steel industry in and around Pittsburgh, the pivotal role of unions in the fight for more fair and humane working conditions, and how the story of steel has and continues, to be shaped by larger global forces.
Episode 3 (“Air”) discusses U.S. Steel’s continued impact on the local environment, specifically focusing on the issue of air quality. Interspersed with interviews with local residents, the final episode explores the company’s social and environmental legacy and highlights the local struggle for clean air to the global fight for a healthy environment and a stable climate.
