Environmental (in)justice and spatial inequality

Linda M. Lobao () and Gregory Hooks ()

Chapter 6 in Rethinking Spatial Inequality, 2025, pp 130-151 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The study of environmental justice has been informed by and concerned with spatial processes, i.e., explaining why some people and some communities face heightened exposure to environmental toxins. This chapter deploys a spatial inequality lens to take stock of the environmental justice literature and presents scaffolding for greater cross-fertilization. To advance the study of environmental justice as a form of spatial inequality, we focus on three issues. First, we bring in the concept of riskscapes to show that heightened exposure to environmental contaminants is more likely in places that are already risky and that environmental exposure exacerbates risks to places and the well-being of people living in proximity to environmental hazards. Second, we examine the degree to which environmental inequality was intended and, whether intended or not, if powerful actors anticipated this inequality. Third, we examine the interplay of spatial processes and environmental justice and injustice.

Keywords: Spatial inequality; Environmental inequality; Environmental justice; Treadmill of production; Treadmill of destruction; Riskscape (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781803926124
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