Mapping Environmental Justice in NYC with Paul Lozito, AICP

In this episode of Critical Conversations in Transportation Planning, hosts Em Hall and Divya Gandhi sit down with Paul Lozito, AICP, Deputy Executive Director of the NYC Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, to explore how environmental justice is reshaping urban planning in New York City. Lozito traces the roots of the EJNYC report and mapping tool back to decades of environmental justice organizing, and explains how the city is using data to identify "have" and "have-not" communities across heat, flooding, and tree canopy access. The conversation dives into Resilient Acquisitions, a first-of-its-kind proactive buyout program for flood-prone properties, and the city's new Urban Forest Plan, which targets tree planting and stewardship in historically underserved neighborhoods. Along the way, Lozito shares practical lessons for planners anywhere — not just in a city with New York's resources — on grounding climate work in community history, hard data, and tangible ac...