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The Intersection of Race, Immigration Status, and Environmental Justice

Author

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  • David Pellow

    (Environmental Studies Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA)

  • Jasmine Vazin

    (The Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA)

Abstract

Environmental injustice occurs when marginalized groups face disproportionate environmental impacts from a range of threats. Environmental racism is a particular form of environmental injustice and frequently includes the implementation of policies, regulations, or institutional practices that target communities of color for undesirable waste sites, zoning, and industry. One example of how the United States federal and state governments are currently practicing environmental racism is in the form of building and maintaining toxic prisons and immigrant detention prisons, where people of color and undocumented persons are the majority of inmates and detainees who suffer disproportionate health risk and harms. This article discusses the historical and contemporary conditions that have shaped the present political landscape of racial and immigration conflicts and considers those dynamics in the context of the literature on environmental justice. Case studies are then presented to highlight specific locations and instances that exemplify environmental injustice and racism in the carceral sector. The article concludes with an analysis of the current political drivers and motivations contributing to these risks and injustices, and ends with a discussion of the scale and depth of analysis required to alleviate these impacts in the future, which might contribute to greater sustainability among the communities affected.

Suggested Citation

  • David Pellow & Jasmine Vazin, 2019. "The Intersection of Race, Immigration Status, and Environmental Justice," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:14:p:3942-:d:249936
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cutler, David M. & Glaeser, Edward L. & Vigdor, Jacob L., 2008. "When are ghettos bad? Lessons from immigrant segregation in the United States," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 759-774, May.
    2. Harlan, Sharon L. & Brazel, Anthony J. & Prashad, Lela & Stefanov, William L. & Larsen, Larissa, 2006. "Neighborhood microclimates and vulnerability to heat stress," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(11), pages 2847-2863, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Can Zou & Jun Tai & Li Chen & Yue Che, 2020. "An Environmental Justice Assessment of the Waste Treatment Facilities in Shanghai: Incorporating Counterfactual Decomposition into the Hedonic Price Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-12, April.
    2. Susan Spierre Clark & Monica Lynn Miles, 2021. "Assessing the Integration of Environmental Justice and Sustainability in Practice: A Review of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-23, October.
    3. Samudri Dilmika Ronali Tennakoon & Mahees, 2021. "Environmental Injustice in the water Sector in Sri Lanka," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 18(1), pages 537-549, April.
    4. Grineski, Sara & Collins, Tim & Renteria, Roger & Rubio, Ricardo, 2021. "Multigenerational immigrant trajectories and children's unequal exposure to fine particulate matter in the US," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).

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