The Program

Funded with a grant from the National Science Foundation, this three-year program consists of a series of semester length classes and after school sessions that guide participating students through a variety of technology and engineering skill sets that include Sustainable Practices, Industrial Design, and Prototyping. Located at Sustainable South Bronx’s Fab Lab, an NSF supported, and MIT designed, fabrication laboratory, GreenFab provides students with hands-on experience in digital fabrication, allowing for the prototyping of unique inventions and innovative solutions to community issues. Through the program, students explore how small-scale manufacturing can achieve environmentally innovative solutions to the community’s needs.

The Classes

In order to best prepare students to work independently and provide exposure to the real world engineering tools within the Fab Lab, students take one Core Engineering Class, GreenTech, and one Applied Design Class, Sustainable Design. The classes consists of a series of projects that engage students in computer information systems, physical computing, engineering and design. The projects are intended to foster 21st Century Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills and prepare students for workforce readiness in STEM related fields.

The Neighborhood

GreenFab is located in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the South Bronx. This neighborhood falls in the 16th Congressional District, which has been identified as the poorest in the nation for more than 20 years. 45% of the general population (and 50% of its children) live at or below the poverty line.  Only 40% of adults have a high school diploma, and the district’s 25% unemployment is New York City’s highest. The largest food distribution center in the world is in the Hunts Point neighborhood; whose 60,000 truck distribution trips per week emit toxic diesel fumes into the surrounding air.  In addition, four power plants, a sewage treatment facility and a sewage pelletizing plant all contribute to major pollution in the area.