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Environmental Inequality in Metropolitan America
Liam Downey1, Summer Dubois, Brian Hawkins
1University of Colorado.
Organization & Environment
|December 5, 2009
Summary
Racial and ethnic minorities face significant environmental inequality across US metropolitan areas. Residential segregation and income inequality are poor predictors of this pollution disadvantage, with complex and varied effects.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Justice
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- Environmental inequality, the disproportionate burden of environmental hazards on specific racial and ethnic groups, is a critical issue in the United States.
- Previous research suggests disparities in exposure to pollution exist, but the underlying mechanisms and their variability across different geographic areas require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the environmental hazard burden across various racial and ethnic groups (Blacks, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Whites) in 329 continental US metropolitan areas.
- To determine the extent of environmental inequality and assess the predictive power of residential segregation and racial income inequality on these disparities.
Main Methods:
- Utilized toxicity-weighted air pollutant concentration data from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) project.
- Employed logistic regression models to test hypotheses regarding the influence of residential segregation and racial income inequality on environmental inequality outcomes.
Main Results:
- Environmental inequality outcomes vary significantly across metropolitan areas.
- All analyzed racial/ethnic groups experience a high pollution disadvantage in multiple metropolitan areas and a medium disadvantage in many others.
- Residential segregation and racial income inequality were found to be relatively poor predictors of environmental inequality, with segregation having complex effects on group proximity to hazards.
Conclusions:
- The study highlights the widespread nature of environmental inequality across US metropolitan areas.
- Residential segregation and racial income inequality do not consistently explain environmental inequality, and their roles vary significantly by racial/ethnic group.
- Further research is needed to understand the nuanced factors driving environmental disparities.
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