{"id":36,"date":"2020-12-04T18:18:36","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T18:18:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/162.243.175.124\/?page_id=36"},"modified":"2021-05-11T04:03:49","modified_gmt":"2021-05-11T04:03:49","slug":"citizens-of-cobbs-creek","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/cobbswatershed.org\/?page_id=36","title":{"rendered":"Citizens of Cobbs Creek"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Mallory Kastner<\/em>, Sam Olivares-Mejia<\/em>, and Griffin Kaulbach<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Cobbs Creek’ Neighborhood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cobbs Creek is the name of the largest neighborhood in West Philadelphia, with about 15,000 residents (1). Note that this is not the number of residents along the creek itself, which includes many other residents from Haverford, Ardmore, Upper Darby, and more, until the stream merges with Darby Creek in Southwest Philadelphia. The Cobbs Creek neighborhood itself has a demographic makeup of predominantly Black residents, and there are significant socioeconomic differences along the creek (2,3). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Socioeconomic disparities along the Cobbs Creek Watershed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The history of housing segregation is fundamentally tied to environmental racism, as low-income communities of color are often found near environmental hazards, and lack adequate access to green spaces. This can result in environmental and health inequalities, where BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) communities are significantly more impacted by pollution and over-heating of cities. In particular, polluted air is associated with the higher rates of lung disease, cancer, asthma, heart disease, and COVID-19 seen in communities of color (4). Structural racism is a driving force behind this demographic segregation. The Storymap below outlines the segregation along the Creek (inspired by maps made by the New York Times on poverty<\/a> and segregation<\/a> in America):<\/p>\n\n\n\n