Economic Deprivation and Environmental Inequality in Postindustrial Detroit

Abstract

The research presented here directly engages the issues of environmental inequality by testing the empirical merits of two sociological explanations of urban inequality by comparing landfill and Superfund locations in postindustrial (1970 to 1990) Detroit, Michigan. The results indicate that economic deprivation supercedes race in predicting the location of both landfill and Superfund sites; furthermore, both landfill and Superfund sites tend to be located in census tracts located near to industrial districts contiguous to navigable waterways in Detroit. Using Geographic Information Systems and logistic regression, the results indicate that the probability of living near a landfill is highest among the economically deprived and those least able to “escape” the urban center of Detroit. Substantively, the findings suggest that the process of deindustrialization is decisive in understanding environmental inequality, whereas methodologically, the results underscore the subtle nuances posed by different types of environmental threats.

Childhood Development and Access to Nature

“…Researchers have found income and poverty to be consistently associated with hazard presence in the expected direction: As environmental hazard presence increases, incomes tend to decrease and poverty rates tend to increase (Chakraborty & Armstrong, 2001; Derezinski et al, 2003; Hamilton, 1995; Krieg, 1995; Lester, Allen, & Hill, 2001; McMaster, Leitner, & Sheppard, 1997; Mohai & Bryant, 1992; Morello-Frosch et al, 2001; Oakes, Anderton, & Anderson, 1996; Ringquist, 2000; Smith, 2007; Stretesky & Hogan, 1998). …”

“…For example, is less public money spent on creating and maintaining green spaces and natural settings in segregated minority communities than in other communities? Do residential segregation and the privatization of public space physically separate minority youth from green spaces and nature (Downey, 2007; Smith, 2007)? Do gentrification and residential segregation interact with other factors to increase neighborhood poverty levels (Massey & Denton 1993), making it more difficult for families living in segregated neighborhoods to travel to pristine natural settings?…”

Environmental Inequality in Metropolitan America

“…Researchers have found income and poverty to be consistently associated with hazard presence in the expected direction: As environmental hazard presence increases, incomes decrease and poverty rates increase (Chakraborty & Armstrong, 1997; Derezinski, Lacy, & Stretesky, 2003; Hamilton, 1995; Krieg, 1995; Lester, Allen, & Hill, 2001; McMaster, Leitner, & Sheppard, 1997; Mohai & Bryant, 1992; Morello-Frosch, Pastor, & Sadd, 2001; Oakes et al, 1996; Ringquist, 2000; Smith, 2007; Stretesky & Hogan, 1998). …”

The Racial Gap in Childhood Blood Lead Levels Related to Socioeconomic Position of Residence in Metropolitan Detroit

“…Despite substantial resistance, a similar spatial pattern of environmental hazards has been found in the Detroit metropolitan area (DMA). Minorities and/or low-income residents are burdened with increased proximity to polluting industrial facilities, commercial hazardous waste facilities, and abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites (Mohai and Bryant 1998), traffic particulate matter (Keeler et al 2002), toxic releases (Downey 2006), auto and especially commercial truck traffic emissions (Wu and Batterman 2006), landfills and Superfund sites (Smith 2007), and Brownfield sites (Lee and Mohai 2011). As with these environmental hazards, there is evidence to suggest siting preference of lead-emitting industries within low-income and/or minority communities.…”