We are developing Neighborhood Senses, a new platform that collects the sensory experiences of community members using ordinary mobile phones and represents them in a high-impact, web-based graphical format. Communities can adopt this system as part of campaigns to document and improve any facilities' performance or environmental impact. In one campaign, participants will use Neighborhood Senses to document their exposure to point-source pollution from a local steel mill. In another campaign, communities in Indonesia will use this system to document the reliability and service of water and sanitation services.

Background

The ubiquity of mobile phones, combined with open source software that aggregates and visualizes data, offers Mittal neighbors the unique opportunity to document their sensory experiences of industrial pollution and represent them in compelling, graphical formats, including interactive maps. In that form, individual, anecdotal data become a powerful story about industrial impact which can strengthen neighbors. arguments for industrial facilities to reduce their pollution. Other communities. similar experiences create the opportunity.and the need.for the technology to become a community enterprise. Once Nexleaf Analytics has designed and tested a system for the Mittal neighbors that translates sensory experiences into graphical reports, the Neighborhood Senses community enterprise will market the system to other low-income and minority communities living with industrial pollution. The software underlying the system will be freely available. Neighborhood Senses will generate revenue by charging fees for helping other communities implement the system, adapt it to their particular circumstances, and integrate it into their grassroots environmental campaigns.

Neighbors of Mittal Steel, Cleveland Ohio

We are working with Ohio Citizen Action and the Neighbors of Mittal Steel in Cleveland Ohio to document community member's exposure to industrial pollution. The low-income, minority neighborhoods surrounding the Mittal Steel plant in Cleveland, Ohio, regularly smell and even taste toxic chemicals released from the plant, hear the noises of steel production, see flares and fires when accidents occur, and feel the effects of plant operations on their health. Their experiences are typical of many communities located near manufacturing plants, refineries, power plants, and incinerators, among other industrial polluters. Since 2004, the Neighbors of Mittal Steel, supported by Ohio Citizen Action, has conducted a good neighbor campaign against the Mittal steel plant. The Neighborhood Senses Enterprise was formed in response to requests from Neighbors of Mittal Steel and other organizations (located in California and elsewhere) for a system communities could use to collect credible documentation of a polluter.s activities.

Pacific Institute

We are working with Pacific Institute to help communities in Peri-Urban Indonesia to document water and sanitation delivery. Data will ve used to improve the reliability of these services.

Whats Invasive

We are working with UCLA Center for Embedded Networked Sensing to help them collect documentation on invasive plants in California and throughout the US. Invasive weeds are a significant threat to native plants and animals. Although most non-natives are not considered "invasive", those that crowd out food sources for wild animals, create erosion, or act as a significant fire hazard can be considered a threat and need to be identified and located for removal.