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Environmental Racism In A Growing City: Investigating Demographic Shifts In Salt Lake City's Polluted Neighborhoods, Emma Nathel Jones May 2021

Environmental Racism In A Growing City: Investigating Demographic Shifts In Salt Lake City's Polluted Neighborhoods, Emma Nathel Jones

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Studies investigating the spatial distribution of environmental hazards have repeatedly demonstrated the existence of environmental racism -- the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on communities of color. We aim to contribute to research on environmental racism by asking how relationships between race and hazard exposure change over time. Our study area, Salt Lake City (SLC), UT, USA is one of the largest cities in the intermountain west and is expected to see continued population growth. SLC was 99% white from 1860-1950. 2019 census estimates indicate that SLC is becoming more racially diverse with 35.6% of the population identifying as racial …


Environmental Racism In A Growing City: Investigating Demographic Shifts In Salt Lake City's Polluted Neighborhoods, Emma Jones, Mariya Shcheglovitova Apr 2021

Environmental Racism In A Growing City: Investigating Demographic Shifts In Salt Lake City's Polluted Neighborhoods, Emma Jones, Mariya Shcheglovitova

Undergraduate Honors Projects

We aim to contribute to research on environmental racism by asking how relationships between race and hazard exposure change over time. We analyze American Community Survey (ACS) demographic data from 2010 and 2019 to determine whether census tracts with high densities of EPA environmental hazard sites have a growing, shrinking, or unchanging proportion of Latinx residents. We argue that racist planning practices effectively weave environmental racism into the fabric of cities and that cities with growing communities of color must consider how existing spatial patterns of segregation may perpetuate exposure to environmental harms.