OPINON: Cop City doesn't Get Dragged Enough for My Liking

 

#StopCopCity Protest in New York City (Matthews, 2023)

As a young Black woman who has come of age in the era of Trumpism, I know a lot about how the carceral state is dangerous. In my first semester of college, I heard about Cop City, and since then, I have been following the controversy surrounding the creation of the structure. My initial reaction to the creation of Cop City was normal. I felt outrage about the creation of a structure that is rooted in anti-Black ideology, in a predominantly Black city. As I grow as a person and in my second major of Environmental Studies, I realize the creation of Cop City is more insidious than what meets the eye. As a student studying Environmental Policy and focusing on the impact that climate change has on marginalized communities, Cop City is a masterclass in upholding a colonialist ecology legacy that America has long championed. As a reader of this blog, whether old or new, I implore you to walk with me as I explain the long and complicated history of Cop City and the forest it will occupy.

The Deforestation of Atlanta

Deforestation in this city has occurred since the colonizer state of America was established (Golley, 2017; Bowers-Dean and McLoughlin, 2022). As one can imagine, this deforestation occurred as a means to establish land for plantations in the area. The subsequent consequences of the clear-cutting resulted in a change of the topography, erasure of native plants, soil degradation, and the forced removal and subsequent genocide of the Indigenous Muscogee population (Bowers-Dean and McLoughlin, 2022). Despite the detrimental impact of these initial actions, once the plantations were established, the deforestation of the city slowed down and remained stable for quite a bit of time (Golley, 2017). Deforestation accelerated in the metro-Atlanta communities from 1974 to 2005 to account for urban sprawl and the creation of cities and suburban cities (Spiers, 2019). This deforestation was done at rapid rates for the area, and was done to account for the creation of low-density developments, such as single-family homes and low-rise apartments (Miller, 2011).

Fragmentation of the Forests in Atlanta During Urban Sprawl Timeframe (Miller, 2011)

The deforestation of the area has many major implications socially and ecologically. Utilizing my abolitionist ecological lens, I can examine how economic and political structures impact and create environmental change. Utilizing a historical framework, the deforestation that occurred in America was perpetuated through the White colonialist ecology that has disrupted all of America, especially Atlanta. As mentioned earlier, the Indigenous community suffered greatly. Additionally, the ecology of the space suffered; the soil and the native flora were virtually eradicated during the Urban Sprawl era. Moreover, the extensive rapid development of the area resulted in the fragmentation of the forests, which refers to the loss of forests and the subsequent small blocking of these forests as a result of deforestation (Riiters, 2022; Haddad et al., 2015). This forest fragmentation impacts the amount and quality of the biodiversity within a given area, gives way to invasive species in the area, and exacerbates the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect of the surrounding urban and suburban environments (Miller, 2011; Bacon, 2019; Carillo-Niquete et al., 2021).

The UHI effect and Redlining in Atlanta

The UHI effect is the retention of solar heat, causing the elevation of air temperature within cities (Parker, 2010). When acts of deforestation occur, on average, the land surface temperature is increased by 2.36–3.94 ℃. High UHI temperatures are correlated with communities that were previously graded C and D by the HOLC, with an average of being 2.8 ℃ higher than predominantly white neighborhoods (Namin et al., 2020; Nardone et al., 2021); this exacerbation is due to the increased presence of impervious surfaces within the areas in comparison to previously graded A communities (Namin et al., 2020). This correlation is even stronger when talking about Atlanta. Historically, redlining in Atlanta was executed through the creation of the interstate system (Kruse, 2019). During the creation of the I-85 and I-20, the Mayor of Atlanta at the time, Bill Hartsfield, stated that these highways would serve as "the boundary between the white and Negro communities" (Kruse, 2019). These highways acted as walls, creating an oasis of whiteness on one side and hell for Black residents on the other (Kruse, 2019). These highways are created using concrete, a well-known impervious surface, thus increasing the UHI effect. The amount of impervious spaces in Atlanta in these communities is exacerbated, on average, there is 21% less tree cover in these areas (Nardone et al., 2021; Hoffman et al., 2020). These disproportionate effects of the UHI are worsened further by the changing climate. This can be attributed to how the ecology was broken up in Atlanta to benefit those who were white and middle-class.  This colonialist ecological framework has worked, and kept those communities suffering, bearing the brunt of Climate Change. 

Map of the Georgia Interstate System in Atlanta, GA (GDOT,  2024)

The Importance of Urban Forests

As Climate Change continues to worsen, Urban Forests are an integral asset in Climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, especially in communities of color. These ecosystems are a main defense in preventing populations from feeling the effects of anthropogenic climate change. The UHI effect, introduced in the previous section, can be mitigated by the shade and transpiration that the trees in the biome produce (EPA, 2024; Ettinger, 2024). Furthermore, Urban Forests act as a carbon sink, absorbing billions of tons of CO2 on average (UNDP, 2023; ClientEarthCommunications, 2020). Furthermore, Urban Forests have a positive impact on the mental health of residents, decreasing pollution, mitigating extreme heat occurrences, acting as barriers to intense flooding, and providing a higher level of biodiversity (McCracken et al., 2016; UCANR, 2020).

Cop City is slated to be built in the Weelaunee Forest in Atlanta. Keeping the benefits of Urban Forests in mind, one can see why this would ultimately do more harm than good. That would be a smart assumption, as the forest is integral to the ecology of Atlanta. Weelaunee Forest is the biggest forest in Atlanta and is crowned one of the four lungs of the city (Rose, 2024; Atlanta City Studio, 2022). These forests absorb the most carbon out of the four lungs, and absorb more than 19 million pounds of pollutants on average(Rose, 2024). Likewise, this forest is a buffer to potential flooding that can take place within the city (Climate Central, 2015). This buffer has saved many disadvantaged communities from flooding due to hurricanes, and the drastic rainfall the city now gets due to Climate Change (Climate Central, 2015). Finally, this forest acts as a control for climate, making the UHI effect go down by an average of 10 ℃ in comparison to the rest of the city, which is important because the forest is surrounded by Black communities (NASA, 2024).

Map of the Weelaunee Forest Region in Atlanta (South River Forest Coalition, 2020)

Cop City and Its Socio-Ecological Impact

Proposed Map of Cop City Land Use (Alfonseca, 2023)

Cop City is slated to take over the Weelaunee Forest, leaving only 25% of the land as an Urban Green Space (Alfonseca, 2023). Cop City is a colloquial term for the 85-acre Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. This center costs 115 million dollars and will include a mock city to train firefighters and police officers, an emergency vehicle driver training course, a K-9 kennel and training area, a firing range, and an auditorium for police and fire use, to name a few (Rose, 2024). Cop City is going to be surrounded by a Black community, and its main goal is to militarize the police force not only in Atlanta but also in other colonial entities (Rose, 2024; Legal Defense Fund, 2023). APD is only 43% of the intended audience; this institution is open to other dangerous entities, such as the IDF (Rose, 2024). The further militarization of the IDF puts not only Palestinian citizens at risk but also the population of marginalized communities in America. What the IDF learns will ultimately be utilized on us later on, and the current militarization of the APD force is daunting. Research shows that an increase in military training leads to more violent police officers against all citizens (Legal Defense Fund, 2023). The creation of Cop City is also detrimental to the majority Black population in Atlanta because K-9 training is historically racialized. K-9 attacks at the hands of police officers disproportionately target Black people (Legal Defense Fund, 2023).

This puts the surrounding community and the whole city at risk of being victims of police brutality. Those who are already a part of the #StopCopCity environmental movement have already been victims. During the encampment against Cop City, Manuel "Tortuguita" Terán was the first and only environmental activist to be murdered by the police (Lennard, 2023). Tortuguita was shot at least 57 times by the police (Lennard, 2023). The police who murdered them argue that they had a gun and were acting aggressively towards officers, but even then, this is against protocol (Lennard, 2023). The creation of Cop City emphasizes the villainization that colonial ecology places on victims and protestors, the colonialist status quo (i.e., protesting the creation of something that would ruin the ecology of the environment).

The negative environmental impact of Cop City is immense. The firing of guns and bombs will further pollute the South River, one of the most endangered rivers in America (Rose, 2024). As mentioned before, the Weelaunee Forest is integral in managing the air temperature of the area, cooling the surrounding area by an average of 10℃ (NASA, 2024). As of now, the Cop City structure will not have a green roof, meaning the surrounding areas that are predominantly Black will be exacerbating the environmental racism that these communities already experience. The creation of Cop City means that temperatures will rise by at least 10℃ and exacerbate the UHI in the area, ultimately negatively impacting the community that this creation is supposed to protect. 

Overall, I believe that what is happening in Atlanta is sickening, and it's disheartening to see virtually nothing about it on the wide-scale media level. I think that if we continue to turn a blind eye to this creation, things will only get worse. I want to provide next steps on how we can overcome this socio-ecological threat, but I honestly cannot provide one that aligns with my morals and is within the framework of the current governmental system. The truth is, with how things are going currently and the subsequent Cop Cities that have been and continue to be created, I cannot think of a way to stop this within a framework that appeases white supremacist values. Adopting an abolitionist ecological lens means just that: we have to abolish the systems that perpetuate social and environmental injustice. Cop City does just that.