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stories/landfill-ej.stories.mdx

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     ### Introduction
 
-    Promoting protection from environmental and health hazards while addressing the unequal distribution of environmental benefits and risks is essential to fostering healthier communities [1]. In areas like Dallas [2], Stockton [3], and others [4], where proximity to landfills significantly affects health outcomes, these considerations take on critical importance. Since the General Accounting Office (GAO) [5] published “Siting Hazardous Waste Landfills and Their Correlation with Racial and Economic Status of Surrounding Communities,”  researchers from various disciplines such as law, sociology, public policy, geosciences, and economics have explored such relationships, using various measures of exposure, spatial scales, and statistical controls. Consistently, these studies have shown that while air quality has improved in the United States over the past several decades, people of color (POC), particularly Black and Hispanic American populations, bear an unequal burden of the environmental impacts stemming from landfills. Moreover, research into the roles of race and income have highlighted race as the most significant factor in determining exposure to environmental hazards. As with other environmental and health concerns, the underlying causes of disparities in racial/ethnic air pollution exposure are complex and intertwined with historical patterns of exclusion and discrimination that manifest in impacts on health, urban planning, and real estate values.
+    Promoting protection from environmental and health hazards while addressing the unequal distribution of environmental benefits and risks is essential to fostering healthier communities [1]. In areas like Dallas [2], Stockton [3], and others [4], where proximity to landfills significantly affects health outcomes, these considerations take on critical importance. Since the General Accounting Office (GAO) [5] published “Siting Hazardous Waste Landfills and Their Correlation with Racial and Economic Status of Surrounding Communities,”  researchers from various disciplines such as law, sociology, public policy, geosciences, and economics have explored such relationships, using various measures of exposure, spatial scales, and statistical controls. Consistently, these studies have shown that while air quality has improved in the United States over the past several decades, people of color (POC), particularly Black and Hispanic American populations, bear an unequal burden of the environmental impacts stemming from landfills. As with other environmental and health concerns, the underlying causes of disparities in racial/ethnic air pollution exposure are complex and intertwined with historical patterns of exclusion and discrimination that manifest in impacts on health, urban planning, and real estate values.
 
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-    The disparities in environmental burdens stem from practices such as freeway construction, redlining, and other forms of discrimination that have marginalized communities of color, displacing them from their support networks and clustering them in neighborhoods lacking resources but rife with health hazards. Initiated by the federally sponsored Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) in the 1930s, these maps categorized neighborhoods into four grades based on security for emergency home lending: A (most desirable), B (still desirable), C (declining), and D (hazardous, i.e., redlined). Racial redlining effectively marked Black and brown neighborhoods as risky and unsuitable for loans, depriving them of essential infrastructure such as sewer and water systems [6]. Despite the Fair Housing Act banning racial discrimination in housing in 1968, the legacy of explicit racial discrimination persists, shaping patterns of racial residential segregation today.  For instance, redlining, a historically discriminatory federal mortgage appraisal policy from the 1930s, continues to correlate with present-day air pollution disparities across 202 U.S. cities [7]. In neighborhoods graded D, the majority (>50%) of the population comprises people of color (POC), and in 74% of these neighborhoods, the median income is low to moderate. Redlining designations correlate with various exposures, including greenspace prevalence, tree canopy coverage, urban-heat exposure disparities, and long-term health effects such as asthma, cancer, adverse birth outcomes, and overall urban health.
+    The disparities in environmental burdens, stemming from practices such as redlining, have marginalized communities of color, displacing them from their support networks and clustering them in neighborhoods lacking resources but rife with health hazards. Initiated by the federally sponsored Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) in the 1930s, these maps categorized neighborhoods into four grades based on security for emergency home lending: A (most desirable), B (still desirable), C (declining), and D (hazardous, i.e., redlined). Racial redlining effectively marked Black and brown neighborhoods as risky and unsuitable for loans, depriving them of essential infrastructure such as sewer and water systems [6]. Despite the Fair Housing Act banning racial segregation in housing in 1968, the patterns of racial residential segregation continue to persist today.  For instance, redlining, a historically discriminatory federal mortgage appraisal policy from the 1930s, continues to correlate with present-day air pollution disparities across 202 U.S. cities [7]. In neighborhoods graded D, the majority (>50%) of the population comprises people of color (POC), and in 74% of these neighborhoods, the median income is low to moderate. Redlining designations correlate with various exposures, including greenspace prevalence, tree canopy coverage, urban-heat exposure disparities, and long-term health effects such as asthma, cancer, adverse birth outcomes, and overall urban health.
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     ### Discussion
 
-    The relationship between environmental hazards and race/poverty offers insight into the concerns of the Environmental Justice (EJ) movement, yet it only partially captures its scope. EJ issues encompass both Distributive Justice, concerning the fair allocation of environmental burdens, and Procedural Justice, focusing on the decision-making processes guiding these allocations. While advocating for Distributive Justice ensures no group bears a disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences, achieving Procedural Justice is crucial for fostering sustainable and equitable growth. Thus, addressing the underlying sociological, economic, and policy factors that evolve over generational timescales is paramount. Historical legacies of discrimination, such as redlining and biased land use decision-making from firms, have contributed to the current spatial distribution of pollution sources among diverse communities. For economic reasons, firms may prioritize areas with inexpensive land, low-wage labor, or accessible transportation networks. These factors often coincide with locations of impoverished households for various reasons. Poorer households also might seek inexpensive land, for example, and have lower wages by definition. Consequently, the resulting locations of major sources of pollution and landfills, are typically long-lived.  
+     Historical legacies of redlining and biased land use decision-making from firms, have contributed to the current spatial distribution of pollution sources among diverse communities. For economic reasons, firms may prioritize areas with inexpensive land, low-wage labor, or accessible transportation networks. These factors often coincide with locations of impoverished households for various reasons. Poorer households also might seek inexpensive land, for example, and have lower wages by definition. Consequently, the resulting locations of major sources of pollution and landfills, are typically long-lived.  
 
-    Therefore, grassroots efforts are essential to promote programs and initiatives aimed at fostering sustainable development within communities. This involves enhancing local economic conditions, addressing disparities, and investing in various aspects such as education, community centers, cleanliness, greenspaces/parks, and infrastructure, including sewage systems. Encouraging investment and providing incentives for firms to support development in these communities are crucial steps. By rectifying historical injustices and striving for equitable development, this approach aims to create a fairer and healthier environment for all.  
+    Therefore, grassroots efforts are essential to promote programs and initiatives aimed at fostering sustainable development within communities. This involves enhancing local economic conditions, addressing disparities, and investing in various aspects such as education, community centers, cleanliness, greenspaces/parks, and infrastructure, including sewage systems. Encouraging investment and providing incentives for firms to support development in these communities are crucial steps.
 
     It's not just about stopping the waste coming into the community; it's also about advocating for sustainable solutions, including building and rebuilding local economies and creating jobs to empower communities facing environmental challenges.