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The principles & practice of public participation can serve to promote environmental equity for disadvantaged social groups. The effectiveness of such practice in preventing or reducing environmental inequity depends on the use of participation methodology that caters to the cultural & social needs of such groups. These methods need to provide appropriate forms of information, suitable venues for participation, & access to expertise & education that enable the public to understand policy issues & formulate preferences. The extent to which public preferences are incorporated in policy decisions determines the worth of public participation programs in promoting environmental equity. 29 References. Adapted from the source document.

AbstractThe media have recently focused on the demographic characteristics of communities in which environmentally‐sensitive facilities and land uses are sited. Does the placement of these generally unwelcome facilities reflect active discrimination against traditionally disempowered populations, uneven enforcement patterns, or a breakdown of democratic process?

Past attempts to uncover evidence that economically disadvantaged groups are unjustly exposed to environmental disamenities have failed to take into account self‐selection behavior of individuals or groups of individuals. For instance, when choosing a place to live, households may be trading environmental quality for other housing, neighborhood, and location characteristics they care about. Previous literature on environmental justice has investigated location choice of polluting industries, but fails to account for consumer self‐selection in housing markets. This paper thus focuses on location choice of individuals based on observed housing transactions. From the results of a random utility model, a test is proposed that incorporates the no‐envy concept of economic equity. The results support a finding for environmental discrimination with respect to African American households, but do not support the hypothesis that poor households in general are unfairly exposed to environmental disamenities.

ABSTRACTGiven the extensive discussion of China's air pollution and urban income inequality problems, relatively little attention has been paid to any relationship which may exist between the two. This paper seeks to do so, by exploring the existence of environmental equity in China. Specifically, we first calculate traditional measures of urban income inequality (the Gini coefficient and Theil's T and L indices) for the years 1995 and 2004. Then, we estimate 'pollution-adjusted' incomes using China-based health functions and economic valuation studies, and recalculate the income (or now welfare) inequality measures. The results indicate that as pollution cleanup efforts gain traction over time, the regressive consequences of pollution may diminish. We thus conclude with an encouraging note for developing countries: improving welfare distribution can coexist with an improving environment.

Environmental equity is a concept derived from the (un)equal exposure to environmental degradation by different social groups, usually minorities and low-income people exposed to major environmental risks, also known as environmental justice. It is assumed that no group of people, independent of race, ethnicity or socio-economic class, should support, either in concentrated or unevenly distributed form, the negative environmental impacts resulting from industrial, agricultural, commercial and infrastructure activities or government programs and policies. In this paper the concept of environmental equity is explored as a criterion for water management through the analysis of a typical coupled human–natural system: the Epitácio Pessoa Reservoir, located in the semi-arid region of Brazil. Inefficient water resource management has caused unequal access to water by the population, particularly during drought periods. However, census data indicate that population have practically the same access to water, which actually is not able to reflect the actual picture. This study argues that environmental equity can be an additional criterion to improve water management.

Environmental equity is a concept derived from the (un)equal exposure to environmental degradation by different social groups, usually minorities and low-income people exposed to major environmental risks, also known as environmental justice. It is assumed that no group of people, independent of race, ethnicity or socio-economic class, should support, either in concentrated or unevenly distributed form, the negative environmental impacts resulting from industrial, agricultural, commercial and infrastructure activities or government programs and policies. In this paper the concept of environmental equity is explored as a criterion for water management through the analysis of a typical coupled human–natural system: the Epitácio Pessoa Reservoir, located in the semi-arid region of Brazil. Inefficient water resource management has caused unequal access to water by the population, particularly during drought periods. However, census data indicate that population have practically the same access to water, which actually is not able to reflect the actual picture. This study argues that environmental equity can be an additional criterion to improve water management.

In a comment on Tracy Yandle & Dudley Burton's analysis of hazardous waste landfill siting in TX (1996 [see abstract 9718271]), it is argued that methodological biases & critically flawed computations seriously detract from the validity & applicability of their study. Finding fault with the definition of study subjects, adequacy & coverage of data, the choice of census tracts as areal units, & methodological & computational implementation, it is suggested that Yandle & Burton's findings are likely attributable to a combination of methodological mistakes. These shortcomings are used to suggest controlled comparisons, multivariate analyses, & longitudinal studies, which could further future environmental equity research. 9 References. S. Barrera

Recent widely publicized studies claim facilities for treatment, storage, and disposal of hazard ous wastes (TSDFs) are located in areas with higher than average proportions of minorities, thereby exposing minorities to relatively greater levels of potential risk. These claims have influenced national policies and public perceptions. This article revisits those claims in the first national study of TSDFs to use census tract-level data, finding no consistent and statistically significant differences in the racial or ethnic composition of tracts that contain commercial TSDFs and those that do not. Aggregating tracts surrounding TSDF tract locations, the authors find that the claims of the previous studies rest on using larger areal aggregates (zip code areas) on the peripheries of which the densities of minority populations are higher. The authors conclude that whether minorities are exposed to greater risk depends on how distance from TSDF sites is related to that nsk, an issue on which there is currently little knowledge.

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION ON RACIAL MINORITIES, ANALYZES COMPETING EXPLANATIONS FOR IT, AND EXPLORES THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERING MODES OF POWER ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS ISSUE IN THE POLICY PROCESS. LOOKING BACK OVER THE LAST QUARTER CENTURY, THE AUTHOR TRACES THE EMERGENCE OF RACIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY AS A PUBLIC POLICY QUESTION AND POSES NUMEROUS ISSUES YET TO BE RESOLVED.