Colorado selects East Colfax neighborhood in Aurora for environmental study
Colorado health officials selected Aurora's East Colfax neighborhood for the state's first Environmental Equity and Cumulative Impact Analysis. It's an initiative aimed at understanding how environmental stressors affect residents' health and quality of life.
The project comes out of state efforts to address environmental justice. They will collect both scientific and community-based data to help guide future public-health decisions and investments.
Neighbors and business owners along East Colfax Avenue say the attention is long overdue.
"We've got a highway that divides the neighborhood. And for a neighborhood like this that is densely populated, minority-majority, there's a lot of information that we just don't know," said Aaron Vega, project manager for cultural services with the City of Aurora and a Ward I resident.
CDPHE says East Colfax was chosen based on community need, environmental exposure, readiness, and strong local partnership. Vega says it's especially important as the community looks toward a future of revitalization.
"Hopefully it creates a little more awareness where you do have so many vulnerable populations living in such a dense area," said Vega.
For Jason Romero, co-founder of Ollin Cafetzin, the statewide focus on environmental equity is needed, especially in a community where residents have raised concerns about pollution and health.
"It's part of that larger historical pattern. Primarily communities of color and lower-income people have always been overlooked and underserved," he explained.
The Environmental Equity and Cumulative Impact Analysis will be a comprehensive look at how multiple factors like air pollution, extreme heat, and other stressors affect a community's health and well-being when taken together.
Unlike traditional studies that may examine single factors in isolation, a cumulative impact approach offers a broader understanding of environmental health risks and disparities. Findings from the EECIA will be made public and are expected to inform future policy decisions.
As East Colfax prepares to be the first community in Colorado to undergo this analysis, local leaders and residents hope the data and attention will translate into meaningful improvements.
"This area really does provide a great opportunity for companies, for the state, for other groups, to get more input from a wider variety of people, which ultimately help them make better decisions down the road," Vega said.
CDPHE will work closely with the nonprofit Black Parents United Foundation to collect local data, listen to residents' experiences, and explore opportunities to improve environmental quality.
