This study conducted oral history research after Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas through the lens of environmental justice with a focus on the most vulnerable homes in the neighborhoods facing displacement with seniors struggling to age-in-place. This study presents the findings from one oral history data set representative of reoccurring themes in qualitative and quantitative research. The data reveals residential ecological knowledge and citizen participation have been ignored over extended periods of time, exacerbating storm damage, displacement, and environmental policy failures.
The study explores the enduring impact of the Homeowners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) created during the New Deal era in the1930s on marginalized communities. It highlights how historical redlining by HOLC has led to disparities in urban heat islands affecting neighborhoods that were denied financial investments. The research focuses on Houston, Texas, comparing temperature variations in HOLC-designated zones.
This study aims to analyze bike-sharing information and related urban factors to promote bike-sharing utilization in Houston, Texas. The research was initiated with a descriptive analysis, where the hourly and daily variations in bike demand are investigated, thereby revealing the time-related patterns of bike tours. The models included data on socio-demographics, public transportation availability, land use patterns, tree canopy coverage, bike routes, and job density within 0.25-mile and 0.5-mile buffer zones around each bike-sharing station.
Rapid urban expansion and active economic development significantly contribute to increased levels of PM2.5, which degrades the urban environment. This study aims to establish a foundation for practical policy guidance on the impact of urban factors on PM2.5 concentrations in Seoul, South Korea. To achieve this objective, we utilized various urban factors, including socio-demographic data, three-dimensional urban geometry, land use, and traffic volume, in conjunction with PM2.5 concentrations estimated by satellite images.
New report from the Bullard Center finds the rapid expansion of LNG gas exports from the United States perpetuates sacrifice zones in communities of color and low-income communities on the Gulf Coast. Included in the report is an analysis of how LNG development pollutes groundwater, destroys wetlands, degrades air quality, emits harmful carcinogens, harms wildlife, and threatens the Louisiana fishing industry, valued at $367 million in 2021.
The entire lifecycle of pesticides, from their production to their end use, often disproportionately harm people of color and low-income communities throughout the United States. Race, nationality, income level, and educational attainment can all influence where a person lives, what they eat, and their occupation. These are also major variables in determining levels of exposure to pesticides. While it can be overwhelming to ponder how to fix a problem that is so deeply rooted and intertwined with various other systemic problems, progress in this area need not be overly difficult. We’ve identified eight steps that the EPA can take right now to make incremental, but meaningful, progress in reducing the pesticide burden faced by affected communities.
Many environmental pollutants are known to have disproportionate effects on Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) as well as communities of low-income and wealth. The true fix is to shift the USA to a more just system based on the Precautionary Principle to prevent harmful pollution exposure to everyone, regardless of skin tone or income. However, there are actions that can be taken within our existing framework in the short term to make our unjust regulatory system work better for everyone.
Particulate matter (PM) 2.5 generates a variety of negative effects on health, such as heart and lung disease, asthma, and respiratory symptoms. Our findings suggest that developed land use, tall buildings in dense areas, and major traffic networks are the key contributors to PM2.5. However, we also find that tree canopy cover can significantly reduce PM2.5 concentrations.
This chapter discusses some issues of diversity in hazard mitigation when just recovery is considered or not. The chapter makes some recommendation on how to achieve diversity in hazard mitigation.
The ubiquitous use of heavy trucks in fracking leads to traffic congestion and damages to the existing infrastructure in energy producing corridors. Based on the study’s findings, appropriate recommendations to reduce traffic crashes in this energy corridor have been made.
