In this episode of Auto Asphyxiation, Kimberly and Lark discuss the proposed West Essex Highlands development in West Orange, New Jersey—a plan that would replace 120 acres of old growth forest with impervious sprawl. This isn’t just a local zoning dispute; it’s a textbook case of sprawlism, where environmental degradation and spatial injustice go hand in hand.

We unlock our bikes on explore how this development threatens critical ecosystems, drinking water for millions, and climate resilience, and supports RACISM. This episode challenges the false narrative that housing affordability must come at the cost of the climate, it is NOT an either or. New Jersey’s future is urban, not suburban—and it’s time we planned like it.

Remember to go to the hearing this Wednesday, September 3, in West Orange.

Marginalizing people by moving them to the margins: West Essex Highlands isn’t affordable--it’s just sprawl

There is nothing affordable about sprawl! West Essex Highlands isn’t NOT the answer for affordable housing. There is nothing equitable about destroying our natural world and dumping people in the forest.

SprawlismL. Lo Sontag