A Conceptual Model of Environmental Justice

Much of the literature on environmental inequities focuses on establishing a correlation between poor or minority communities and environmental hazards. However, these studies do not provide much information on the causes of that correlation. This paper proposes a conceptual model of the siting of a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science quarterly 1999-03, Vol.80 (1), p.68-83
Main Authors: Helfand, Gloria E., Peyton, L. James
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive models
Communities
Community power
Conceptual models
Environment
Environmental aspects
Environmental hazards
Environmental justice
Environmental law
Environmental movement
Environmental Policy
Environmental pollution
Environmental problems
Environmental quality
Equity
Facility Siting Disputes
Hazardous facilities
Hazardous waste sites
Hazards
Human ecology and demography
Justice
Low Income Areas
Manufacturing industries
Mathematical models
Minority Groups
Of General Interest
Poverty
Race discrimination
Racism
Retirement communities
Siting
Social aspects
Social Inequality
Social Justice
Sociology
Theory
Wastes
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Summary:Much of the literature on environmental inequities focuses on establishing a correlation between poor or minority communities and environmental hazards. However, these studies do not provide much information on the causes of that correlation. This paper proposes a conceptual model of the siting of a hazardous facility, incorporating three key groups of agents: those associatewith the facility, community decision-makers, and affected community residents. These agents' interactions determine a cost (or subsidy) for siting a facility. Hypotheses for causes of the correlation include income effects, information effects, political influence, and discrimination. This model suggests data needs and empirical approaches to testing these alternative hypotheses, and it discusses how identifying these underlying causes can influence the choice of policy remedy for environmental inequities.
ISSN:0038-4941
1540-6237