Brookings report examines overlap between climate, over-policing and disinvestment in Black neighborhoods

Organizers stand on the steps of Atlanta City Hall on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, before submitting 116,000 signatures to force a referendum on Atlanta's planned public safety training center, dubbed "Cop City." (Juma Sei/WABE)

After months-long protests and strong opposition, the future of the proposed $90-million, 85-acre Atlanta Public Safety Training Center remains unknown.

Two senior Brookings Metro researchers recently published a research report titled “Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ and the relationship between place, policing, and climate.”

On Thursday’s edition of “Closer Look,” researchers Hanna Love and Manann Donoghoe talked with show host Rose Scott about their report that examines the overlap between climate and over-policing. 

They also share why focusing only on police violence against protesters in Atlanta can inadvertently obscure a larger picture: that protests at the intersection of environmental justice and policing are not new — nor is it confined to Atlanta.

“If you care about climate impacts, if you care about how environmental justice impacts the U.S. — you ought to be talking about the way they intersect with race,” said Donoghoe.  

Hanna Love and Manann Donoghoe, senior Brookings Metro researchers, discuss their new research report titled “Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ and the relationship between place, policing, and climate.” (Hanna Love and Manann Donoghoe)