Land use disadvantages in Germany: A matter of ethnic income inequalities?

Environmental hazards affect people from different income groups and migration backgrounds on different levels. The research on environmental inequalities and environmental justice has proposed several theories to explain such inequities; still, it remains unclear which of these theories applies to the German societal context. This research investigates whether individual-level income differences between Germans and migrants account for objectively measured exposure to the environmental goods and bads of land use, specifically soil sealing and green spaces. Marginal effects and predictions based on georeferenced survey data from the German General Social Survey reveal that Germans with higher incomes live in areas with better neighbourhood quality. Germans with lower incomes are exposed to fewer disadvantages stemming from land use, and there is no marginal difference between nonurban and urban municipalities. Spatial assimilation in high-income groups occurs; however, the difference in low-income groups can be explained by place stratification and discrimination in the housing market. While this study uses more indirect and non-hazardous measures of environmental quality – in contrast to air pollution or noise – it provides evidence that such indicators also create distributional injustices in Germany.