Summary Of Noxious New York By Julie Sze

Associate Professor Julie Sze, in her literary work titled Noxious New York, discusses in-depth the details and latest developments related to how we, as New Yorkers, should regulate and resolve the dilemma involving the environment in which we live. She makes many clear and convincing arguments, some of which will be mentioned and analyzed herein. Pollution, global warming, and those acts that cause these phenomena (mostly those provoked by humans) are large-scale issues that have the right to be addressed in any way possible if we are to make a better, safer, and more eco-friendly city. This is something that should be done not only for us and those of our time, but for future generations to come.

First off, Sze proceeds to talk about the ‘politics’ related to environmental concerns such as pollution. In the writings, she also discusses the removal of “garbage” and other types of wastes as well as the political and social circumstances that surround the causes of the aforementioned wastes. The author also discusses the

significance of a few sewage treatment plants in NYC that have come up as an important recent issue. Overall, the main theme of Chapter 2 seems to be the concept of individuals who are of different backgrounds, races, and ethnicities coming together and attempting to solve and resolve the problem regarding their environment as well as the best methods of conservation.
The second chapter also proceeds to speak of garbage removal, but in a more political manner.

According to Sze, “Harvey uses garbage as a metaphor for the postmodern condition and as a material object (the monumental waste disposal problem) to represent changing forms of capitalism.” (Sze, 2007, p. 117) What she means by this is that some individuals linked the term ‘garbage’ as a symbolic ideology related to how our capitalist culture has grown accustomed to throwing away not only our garbage and the things we no longer need or use, but also the values, lifestyles, and personal attachments that we have made in our lives. In addition, the concept of garbage is also related to the race and class issue. That is, the author states that some neighborhoods are more inclined to have greater amounts of trash due to the individuals (or groups of individuals) that live therein. Some base the issue of garbage on race, ethnicity and socioeconomic

status.
In all, Julie Sze in her work emphasizes the theme of garbage removal as well as the term ‘garbage’ to relate and compare it to other things and issues that we encounter in everyday society. The best way to plan, rebuild, and make our city a better and safer place to live in is for us to unite and address these types of issues in groups in order to come up with the best methods and solutions, since there are many things that need to be done in order for NYC to improve.