Supporting Childhood Opportunity Starts With Environmental Justice

Lead pipes aren't just a water infrastructure problem—they're connected to poverty, violence, and lost opportunity. Milwaukee's mayor explains why removing them matters to public safety and economic mobility.

Host Stephen Goldsmith speaks with Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson about how his city is accelerating lead pipe removal, creating family-supporting jobs, and why environmental justice is central to breaking cycles of poverty and incarceration.

In this episode, you'll learn:

•    Why lead exposure affects public safety, not just health
•    How lead removal becomes an economic development opportunity for neighborhoods
•    Why early interventions in kids' lives prevent long-term harm
•    How Milwaukee prioritizes removal in the most under-resourced neighborhoods
•    What federal funding will enable Milwaukee to remove 5,000 lead pipes in a single year

Listener Survey: bit.ly/datasmartpod

Music credit: Summer-Man by Ketsa

About Data-Smart City Solutions

Data-Smart City Solutions, housed at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, is working to catalyze the adoption of data projects on the local government level by serving as a central resource for cities interested in this emerging field. We highlight best practices, top innovators, and promising case studies while also connecting leading industry, academic, and government officials. Our research focus is the intersection of government and data, ranging from open data and predictive analytics to civic engagement technology. We seek to promote the combination of integrated, cross-agency data with community data to better discover and preemptively address civic problems. To learn more visit us online and follow us on LinkedIn.