ReGenesis Institute: Fostering Relationships between Communities and Industry

The Arkwright and Forest Park communities in Spartanburg, South Carolina, are close to several significant sources of pollution, including two Superfund sites and the still-operational Solvay chemical plant. In addition to hazardous waste sites, these communities were left behind by revitalization attempts in other areas of Spartanburg in the 1970s. Disinvestment and disenfranchisement resulted in a lack of resources, including access to healthy food and health care. These problems were further exacerbated by poor infrastructure: the only road leading to the communities was often inaccessible and blocked by trains, isolating residents.

In 1998, local resident and later state representative Harold Mitchell Jr. founded the ReGenesis Institute to clean up and revitalize these communities after he experienced severe health issues from exposure to toxic chemicals, a common occurrence in Arkwright and Forest Park.iThe ReGenesis Institute partnered with state and local government and Solvay. Tensions between the communities and Solvay were initially high, but sustained and intentional trust-building made it possible for these groups to work collaboratively toward community development. This success is partially attributed to a mediator, Timothy Fields, and the focus on consensus-building rather than litigation.

Through the efforts of the ReGenesis Institute—with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, Solvay, the City of Spartanburg, and many other public and private sources—the Arkwright and Forest Park communities have opened a community health center, a grocery store, and a community center. Cleanup efforts have repurposed previously contaminated sites as community infrastructure and greenspace. Further revitalization efforts in the Arkwright and Forest Park communities continue.

Endnotes

• iSee Regenesis Institute, “We Are Environmental Justice in Action,” https://www.theregenesisinstitute.com/ (accessed June 12, 2023).