The Repair Lab

Heyy (: It's been awhile. Here's a little update from us -- you can check out our new air sensor map here (Newport News) and here (Lambert's Point). We'll have more for you soon, but til then, check out our friends at Making Contact! From Frequencies of Change Media.

Friendship Malcolm Jones and Lathaniel Kirts are lifelong friends who are teaming up to deal with harmful coal dust that clouds the air in their hometown. The source: coal terminals that together form America’s largest coal export system.   For decades, residents in two Black neighborhoods in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia have complained about the coal dust that coats the inside and outside...

Gentrification may be leverage needed to push environmental mitigation in neighborhoods coated in coal dust in Hampton Roads, Virginia. But changes in the neighborhood can also push residents out of their homes. And people wonder – how will the coal dust affect newcomers to the neighborhood, who may not know about the problem? CoalDustKills.com IG @coaldustkills X @therepairlab

Since the earliest days of railroads in the US, Black and poor residents have covered the costs of the coal and rail industries with their health and well-being. It’s a tax they pay to wealthy fossil fuel corporations, who continue to escape accountability. This isn’t just in Hampton Roads – all along the railroad tracks, from West Virginia to Baltimore, the coal and rail industries displace costs...

There is a new study that could offer more information on the coal dust in Hampton Roads, Virginia. But will it be enough to reduce coal dust? Doubt hangs in the air. The only thing residents know for sure is they want the coal dust gone. CoalDustKills.com IG @coaldustkills X @therepairlab

Residents of Hampton Roads are demanding an end to the coal dust after decades of struggle. But the road to environmental justice is long and winding, full of setbacks and switchbacks. What does it mean to have faith that change is possible and that effort is worthwhile? CoalDustKills.com IG @coaldustkills X @therepairlab

Crosswinds People struggle to breathe in two predominantly Black neighborhoods on Virginia's east coast. Toxic coal dust clouds the air in Southeast Newport News and Lambert’s Point in Norfolk, Virginia. The source: two terminals that together form America’s largest coal export system. For decades, residents in both neighborhoods have complained of coal dust that coats the interiors of their homes...

A live panel takes us deeper into themes of housing, race and sea-level rise particular to Norfolk, VA. This panel features Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, Monét Johnson and Kim Sudderth. Some highlights: Dr. Newby-Alexander quotes from "Frozen 2" Monét doesn't hold back Kim gives some solid advice This was recorded live at the Attucks Theatre as part of our Community Listening Party on A...

“If we are to save our city, we're going to have to throw everything at it.”   Different approaches to resilience in Norfolk reflect different ideas about what resilience means. Big solutions have big effects, but leave some residents behind. Others aim to fill gaps left behind by the big ones.   www.twotitans.org @therepairlab on Twitter   Archival selections via the City of Norfolk.   Read the C...

“What is gonna happen for us – or to us – with this project?”   April lives in Grandy Village in Norfolk, VA. Her waterfront neighborhood floods a lot, but that’s getting fixed with the Ohio Creek Watershed Project. The project is a dream come true, but the reality is more complicated.    www.twotitans.org @therepairlab on Twitter   Archival selections from the Virginia General Assembly and via th...

A redevelopment flood-proofs a mostly Black neighborhood, but it’s not the families who dealt with the construction, the multiple forced moves, or the chronic flooding who get to reap the benefits of the new infrastructure. The St Paul’s quadrant in Norfolk, VA, gets redeveloped in a historical pattern that disperses Black and poor residents.   www.twotitans.org @therepairlab on Twitter   Archival...

How are East coast urban landscapes complicated by 1930s home loans? In this short interview, hear how racist and classist redlining policies are just one example of the American home finance system working exactly as it’s supposed to. LaDale Winling is an award winning urban and digital historian and an expert on redlining and housing discrimination.     Explore redlining maps for your city, or a...

“I have only lived where white folks have allowed me to live.” Historically racist patterns in the housing market are built upon and replicated by new climate resiliency plans in Norfolk, VA. This episode takes us from an early hub for Black community in Norfolk to a white neighborhood on the outskirts of town, hostile to Black newcomers. We’ll hear how Norfolk’s Vision2100 document reinforces the...

The ocean is Norfolk’s greatest ally and worst enemy. It bore enslaved Africans to the city’s shore and hid them as they escaped bondage. The ocean supports the region’s biggest industry: Naval defense. And the ocean creeps into the homes of Norfolk residents, as well as the Naval station—threatening livelihoods, histories and futures. Transcriptions for this and all episodes are available at www....

A new podcast from The Repair Lab about place, race and power in the time of rising tides. This limited series investigates climate gentrification, sea-level rise and historic processes of racism. The podcast aims to tell the story of these processes and imagine potential solutions. As sea level rises and shorelines shrink, who gets to stay? Who has to leave? How did we get here? And what can be d...