October, 2025 – My name is Eden Bloom, and my family has lived on Detroit’s east side for over a decade. I’m not a scientist or an attorney, and I don’t have a grant or a research budget. I’m a father, a designer, and sing and play guitar for my well-being. Unlike many making moves on the East Side, I’m not here to make a buck. I’m here because I made some bad decisions, had to start over, and started a family; while trying to find a more humane way to live and coexist. I’m simply someone who lives here, someone who breathes this air every day. I’ve been a community journalist, currently work as a communications professional, and have organized with others in the face of Stellantis’ Detroit Assembly Complex. East Side Environmental was first created in 2019 to support that effort.
Before the new plant came online, we’d still have bad days, but I spent most of my time outdoors. Since then, it’s not the same. The air is sharp on some days, smells on others, and we’ve learned to change our plans around the wind. I miss being outside without having to worry about what our kids are breathing. Of course, this seems a minor concern in the face of the dire health and economic impacts industrial gentrification has had on my Black and low-income neighbors, people who’ve been here for generations.
Since Stellantis, I’ve watched the same story repeat: violations issued, promises made, little change. When residents raise concerns, the responses too often sound like deflection or compromise. While it is important to recognize that things are better than they would be if we had not pushed back, its also important to remember that self-interest from community-adjacent groups, hand-sitting to protect political candidates, and advocates who often default to regulatory rather than material wins have ruled the day.
Frankly, I’m frustrated that I probably feel more responsibility for fighting and losing, than decision-makers do for putting people in proximity to pollution in the first place. That gets at the basis and purpose of this page: to attempt to channel that frustration into something that may be of value to community and to share some of what I’ve learned along the way.
This site strives to document what’s happening in our neighborhoods using public data, official reports, and firsthand observation. For transparencies sake, I share that Artificial intelligence tools assist my research. I’ve applied AI to help sort through large datasets, track inspection histories, and cross-check environmental records. Corporations and companies use technology to shape outcomes; here, they are used to center impacts and harms, and to make our engagement with these extractive systems more humane. More on this is intended, but for now the current focus remains: Air Quality on the East Side.