The Toxins of Camden

Ariel Aberg-Riger

September 28, 2018

It wafts and weaves through the struggling industrial city, disproportionately affecting its public school students.

Editor’s note: This month, CityLab’s visual storyteller Ariel Aberg-Riger looks at America’s deteriorating public schools through the lens of Camden, New Jersey’s economic decline and environmental degradation.

Further Reading:

State of Our Schools, 21st Century School Fund
For Poor and Minority Children, Excessive Air Pollution Creates Toxic Learning, PRI
Air Pollution: Black, Hispanic, and Poor Students Most at Risk From Toxins, The Guardian
The Invisible Hazard Afflicting Thousands of Schools, The Center for Public Integrity
2017 Infrastructure Report Card, The American Society of Civil Engineers
Public School Buildings Are Falling Apart and Students Are Suffering for It, WaPo
Why America’s Schools Have a Money Problem, NPR
Good School, Rich School; Bad School, Poor School, The Atlantic
The Environmental Protection Agency Puts a Top Children’s Health Official On Leave, Pacific Standard
Interactive Map: How Much Does Your District Spend Per Student?, NPR
Interactive Map: Is Your School By a Busy Road?, The Center for Public Integrity

About the Author

Ariel Aberg-Riger

Feed

Ariel Aberg-Riger is a self-taught artist and visual storyteller who lives in Buffalo. By day, she works as a Creative Director in New York.

Most Popular

Transportation
Inside Bloomberg's $1 Trillion Infrastructure Plan

Drawing on his time as New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg proposes handing power and money to urban leaders as part of his Democratic presidential bid.
1. Laura Bliss
3:05 PM ET
Environment
Neighborhoods With a History of Redlining Are Hotter on Average

Housing discrimination during the 1930s helps explain why poorer neighborhoods experience more extreme heat.
1. Linda Poon
3:00 PM ET
Transportation
In Paris, a Very Progressive Agenda Is Going Mainstream

Boosted by big sustainability wins, Mayor Anne Hidalgo is pitching bold plans to make the city center “100 percent bicycle” and turn office space into housing.
1. Feargus O'Sullivan
January 21, 2020
Equity
What New Research Says About Race and Police Shootings

Two new studies have revived the long-running debate over how police respond to white criminal suspects versus African Americans.
1. Brentin Mock
August 6, 2019
Equity
What ‘Livability’ Looks Like for Black Women

Livability indexes can obscure the experiences of non-white people. CityLab analyzed the outcomes just for black women, for a different kind of ranking.
1. Brentin Mock
January 9, 2020

×