New Orleans Environmental Clean Up Conference

[AzaniaSpeaks]

RACE, PLACE, & THE ENVIRONMENT AFTER KATRINA: LOOKING BACK TO LOOK FORWARD
October 19 - 21, 2006 - Marriott New Orleans - New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, LA (BlackNews.com) - The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard University in New Orleans is sponsoring a national symposium on Race, Place, and the Environment After Katrina: Looking Back to Look Forward. Hurricane Katrina has been described as one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S history. The untold tons of lethal sludge left behind will require the "mother of all toxic cleanups."

A main objective of the symposium will be to examine the impacts of this disaster through an environmental justice lens with an emphasis on race and geography of vulnerability. The symposium will explore racial disparities in disaster preparedness, response, cleanup, debris management, recovery, rebuilding, reconstruction, and repopulation. Our intent is to bring together scholars, professionals, experts, government officials, and community leaders to discuss how race impacts natural disaster survivors' ability to rebuild, replace infrastructure, obtain loans, locate temporary and permanent housing, and return to and rebuild their homes, neighborhoods, institutions, and businesses in a safe and sustainable way.

Additionally, concepts of equitable development, clean production, and green chemistry will be explored for their benefits as it relates to the clean-up of environmental hazards and impact of natural and man-made disasters.

CALL FOR PAPERS
Abstracts and papers are solicited in the areas of health and environmental justice, the built environment, the natural and physical environment, and the social, economic, and cultural environment. These topics will be interdisciplinary in nature as successful submissions will explore the racial and societal implications for the given area.

TOPICS
Health and Environmental Justice: Averting a Second Disaster
* Emergency Preparedness and Response
* Addressing Pre- and Post-Katrina Health Disparities
* Toxic Contamination in the Air and Sediments
* Cleanup Fairness
* Prevention and Precaution
* Coming Home to Hazards
The Build Environment: The Costs of Building on Inequity
* Geography of Vulnerability
* Fair Housing
* Racial Redlining - Lessons Not Learned
* Housing Scarcity
* Livable Communities
* Gentrification and Displacement in Rebuilding
* Transportation Apartheid and Access to Opportunity
* Physical Infrastructure
* Levee Placement and Flood Control
* Greenbuilding Construction and New Housing Codes
* Clean Production
* Debris and Waste Management
* Land Use and Flood Maps
Natural and Physical Environment: Respecting Mother Nature
* Environmental Restoration
* Coastal Erosion
* Climate Change, Health, and Vulnerability
* Green Justice
Social, Economic, and Cultural Environment: How Costs and Benefits Get Distributed
* Disaster Capitalism
* Minority and Small Businesses Participation in Rebuilding
* Education and Schools - Public Schools and HBCU's
* Repopulation and Right to Return
* Livable Wage and Worker Rights
* Occupational Health and Safety
* Insurance, Grants, and Loans
* Equitable Development
* Political Empowerment and Voting Rights
* Human Rights and Civil Rights

REGISTRATION FEE
Early bird registration fee is $155. The deadline for early bird registration is Friday, October 6, 2006. The registration fee is $175 after October 6th.
For more information contact Mary Williams at mivorywill@aol.com or 225-201-1662.
LODGING
Marriott New Orleans (marriott.com/property/propertypage/msyla) 555 Canal Street New Orleans, Louisiana $169 per night - Single/Double
Please call the hotel directly to make room reservations at 504-581-1000 ext. 4313. To receive the discounted rate, state that you are attending the Race, Place, & the Environment After Katrina conference.