Cranes in the West Campus Sky
Qualities of an ideal neighborhood: walkable, safe, abundant green spaces, and… filled with construction sites? When walking through West Campus, it’s not exactly a relaxing stroll around the block. To keep up with the seemingly endless demand of students who want to live close to campus, new high-rise developments seem to be having a race to construct the greatest amount of new complexes as close to Guadalupe as possible. As a result, the number of on-going construction sites in the West Campus area seems to multiply and be never-ending in an area with a bursting student density.
A popular choice for students, West Campus encompasses what is simply the neighborhood to the west of the University of Texas’ campus. West Campus is traditionally defined as the area bound by Guadalupe to North Lamar from east to west, and MLK to 29th street from south to north. Within this small area, the estimates for the population density are around 17,000 people per square mile in 2009 (Swain, 2014). For comparison, the Hyde Park neighborhood just to the north of the University of Texas campus has a population density of about 5,800 people per square mile (ZipAtlas, 2017). What this means is that West Campus is jam packed with people and shows little signs of stopping this growth.
What this also means is developers tend to build up. Not only are they building up, they’re trying to do so before school starts in the fall, promising students luxury housing within walking distance of campus. It also means the current state of West Campus is filled with construction projects at what seems like every turn. The Austin Business Journal uses a map called “Crane Watch” to track development projects around the city on their site (Austin Business Journal, 2018). From the picture below, according to Crane Watch, there is only one major construction project ongoing in the West Campus area. The map claims to have been updated as recently as March 1, 2018.
However, this is not the case. Just on my walk home from campus alone, I pass by 5 active construction sites all within a 0.15 mile radius of each other. The projects are all at various stages of development; some are still in the digging out phase, some are pouring concrete and laying foundation, and some are being assembled with the use of cranes. Not only this, but as recently as February there was found to be a total of 17 separate construction projects ongoing in the entire West Campus area. Each of these projects has varying end dates, with some expected to take up to 2 years to complete (Isenberg, 2018).
What does this mean for the dense population living in West Campus? Generally speaking, it is hard to find a route that bypasses these construction sites. Therefore, when walking around in the neighborhood it is not unlikely that we are being exposed to higher than normal levels of particulate matter in the air as a result of these massive construction projects. Within the construction industry, workers are commonly exposed to isocyanates, wood dust, resins, glues, cobalt, and chromium. This can lead to the development of occupational asthma within as little as 2 months as working on the job (Carino, 2013). Additionally, the noise exposure from construction sites has frequently been found to be above the safe threshold for hearing, with almost no regulations in place for controlling the noise at the source (Suter, 2002). If these issues are affecting those who work at the sites, then what about those who live right next to them?
Using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board methods, the health risks of construction pollution in a population in California were quantified. It was found that the diesel pollution from the construction equipment combined with outdated equipment and lagging emission standards make up the largest pollutant of toxic diesel particulate matter pollution in the state. Not only that, but exposure to elevated levels of fine particulate matter has been linked with various adverse health endpoints including exacerbation of asthma attacks, heart and lung disease, and cancer (Anair, 2006). Additionally, when looking at domestic construction such as that being constructed for the West Campus apartments high-rises, there is a significant association between exposure to odor emissions and unspecified physical symptoms. Even after accounting for potential cofounders, homeowners who are exposed to strong odor emission from renovations are four times more likely to report unspecific physical discomfort as compared to those exposed to low odor emissions (Hong-Liang, 2007). This indicates that odor emissions from domestic renovations similar to those occurring in West Campus have a detrimental effect on human health.
Ultimately, a great cause for concern with construction sites is the amount of particulate matter being put into the air. Particulate matter from specifically concrete construction sites, like those in West Campus, has been calculated at an average construction site to accumulate in the range of 46 and 214μg/m3 in an 8 hour period (Brito de Moraes, 2016). This means that with 17 ongoing construction projects, the exposure level of particulate matter in West Campus is at an elevated level. Considering particulate matter inhalation causes nose, throat, and lung irritation, this is an issue that needs to be raised when people who live in West Campus are being directly affected.
When asked about the West Campus construction, one resident, Kamia Rathore, offered her thoughts. “I mostly interact with the 23rd and Rio Grande site, and honestly one of the things I’m most aware about is the smoking that happens around the site. It’s then a combination of the dust from the construction and secondhand smoke that I try to avoid.” Another West Campus resident who wished to remain anonymous lives on 21st and Rio Grande, right in the center of 3 different construction sites and reports “taking alternate routes when walking home to avoid the construction sites.” However, her reasons were for not only the pollution aspect, but also the culture surrounding the sites.
“It’s mostly to avoid the dust and smells, but I also happen to walk past when all the workers are on their breaks, and I got tired of unwanted stares and comments that they would usually offer to me when I was just trying to get home.”
These instances provide another layer of health concerns for those who live near construction sites and have to regularly interact with them as a part of their daily routine.
For some people, the construction poses such a problem that it was too much to handle. Sara Leonard, former West Campus resident, indicates that the constant ongoing construction was enough for her to move out and relocate to North Campus, which she describes as “safer and quieter.” Citing health risks, Leonard said, “the traffic was terrible due to streets being closed and trucks coming and going and the air was gross to the point where I stopped taking my dog on walks.” When asked about the 17 construction sites currently in West Campus, Leonard said, “that’s such a high number for such a dense and small space, I’m glad I left.”
Air, noise, and even water pollution are the unkind side effects of ongoing construction work. Exposure to these pollutants occurs when living within one block of a construction site, which for West Campus affects many inhabitants due to the population density. The best way to avoid exposure? Spend as little time outside as possible (Environmental Pollution Centers, 2017). Not only is this hard to achieve when walking to and from campus, but it also severely limits the quality of life we are expected to have in our own neighborhood.
Sources:
Carino, M., Romita, P., Foti, C. (2013). Allergy-related disorders in the construction industry. ISRN Preventative Medicine, doi: 10.5402/2013/864679.
Suter, AH. (2002). Construction noise: exposure, effects, and the potential for remediation; a review and analysis. AIHA Journal, 63(6):768–89.
Anair, D. (2006). Digging Up Trouble: The Health Risks of
Construction Pollution in California. Citizens and Scientists for Environmental Solutions.
Hong-Liang, L., Lam, L. T., Wang, T., Chang-Chun, H., & al, e. (2007). The health effects of odor emission from domestic renovation on household residents in tianjin, china. Journal of Environmental Health, 69(7), 46–50.
Brito de Moraes, R. J., Bastos Costa, B., and Silva Araújo, I. P. (2016) Particulate Matter Concentration from Construction Sites: Concrete and Masonry Works. American Society of Chemical Engineers.
Environmental Pollution Centers: Construction Site Pollution (2017). Retrieved from https://www.environmentalpollutioncenters.org/construction/
Austin Business Journal: Crane Watch (2018). Retrieved from https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/maps/crane-watch
ZipAtlas (2018). Retrieved from http://zipatlas.com/us/tx/austin/zip-78751.htm
Swain, C. (2014, March 13). West Campus’ growth and density pose problems for students. Retrieved from http://www.dailytexanonline.com/opinion/2014/02/05/west-campus-growth-and-density-pose-problems-for-students
Isenberg, M. (2018, Feb 9). West campus currently harbors seventeen construction projects. http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2018/02/09/west-campus-currently-harbors-seventeen-construction-projects
