Majora Carter’s Triple Bottom Line Concept in “Greening the Getto”, Essay Example

In the TED presentation of her sustainable development project for the South Bronx, Major Carter talked about the “Greening the Getto” project which involves creating parks, an efficient public transportation system, and pedestrian walkways in the south Bronx, an area with major pollution problems whose environmental difficulties are large ignored.  While the progress thus began, as the Hunt Point Park’s creation demonstrates, it is still very slow and funds are lacking, because environmental justice does not usually produce economic benefits for developers. However, during her presentation, Carter talked about the manner in which everybody could benefit from sustainable development, by using the concept of the ‘triple bottom line’.

This concept supposes the existence of benefits for all sides involved – the community, the authorities and the developer at the end of a project. Usually, environmental issues oppose capitalist efforts because they do not bring economic benefits. By finding ways to make the environment protection profitable multiple benefits could result for the parties implicated. Communities such as the South Bronx would enjoy cleaner air with all the good things that result thereof while businessmen would be motivated to continue investing in such projects, knowing that there is profit at the bottom line.

Majora Carter’s speech was brightly structured and involved a correct doze of reason and emotion to produce effects. However, she allocated to little time to the discussion of the triple bottom line concept and how it can be transformed into reality.  While her discussion was extremely sensible she placed much more emphasis on the problem and the ongoing efforts to solve it, than on the possible solutions.