Environmental Justice & Land-Use

Colin Shumate
University of Louisville Resilience Justice Project

Environmental justice and healthy land use should be fundamental rights available to every person. However, there is an unfortunate correlation between land use and environmental injustice seen throughout American cities. The study of land uses and how they lead to these injustices is relatively new. Land use studies contribute to efforts to correct centuries of unequal zoning and the impact it has on low-income minority neighborhoods. The injustices are rooted in planning principles that overwhelmingly impacted persons of color, leading to environmental harm to those living within these communities. The systemic racism that resulted in unequal land uses and environmental injustices has contributed to higher rates of toxin exposure and a lack of healthy green and blue spaces.

To get to where we are today it is important to understand the racially motivated tactics that led to these environmental injustices in neighborhoods with a higher concentration of minorities. Throughout the 20th century, there were a series of land use tools that created segregated and unequal land uses which contributed to an imbalance of harmful environmental conditions in American cities, including Louisville. The list below is not an exclusive list of the tools used but is included to provide an example to show some of the tactics that led to the current land use injustices.

• Racial Zoning was used to prevent black home buyers from purchasing and occupying homes on majority-white city blocks. The Supreme Court struck down racial zoning in 1917 but in some cities, it continued until the 1940s. Regardless, of when it was outlawed, the long-term effects are still seen today across American cities.
• Redlining is a discriminatory practice that led to unequal access to mortgages which put financial services out of reach for residents in certain areas based on their race or ethnicity.
• Racially Restrictive Covenants were tools of discrimination used by white homeowners to prevent people of color from living in their neighborhoods.
• Exclusionary Zoning laws place restrictions on the types of homes that can be built in a particular neighborhood. These restrictions can be minimum lot size, minimum square footage, prohibitions on multi-family homes, and limits on the height of buildings. This type of zoning is harmful because it prevents affordable housing and the construction of affordable apartment complexes in predominately white neighborhoods.
• Industrial Zoning allows for land to be used for the manufacturing of industrial products, factories, power plants, warehouses, and other similar types of production facilities. Land approved for industrial use is commonly in low-income high-minority neighborhoods, which contributes to the environmental and health harms in these areas.
• Urban Plans included many of the above strategies to prevent people of color from living in more desirable neighborhoods simply based on race. These plans have led to American cities, including Louisville, being highly segregated and have also contributed to unequal land uses that made it possible for industrial operations to primarily exist in low-income, high-minority neighborhoods.

For example, one national study showed, pulled from Fair and Healthy Land Use, analyzed census tracts in 19 cities across America. 13 out of the 19 low-income, high-minority census tracts had at least some industrial zoning, and in seven of those, the city had zoned more than 20 percent of the tract for industrial use. In contrast, only one of the 12 high-income, low-minority tracts contained any industrial zoning at all, and then only 2.84 percent of the tract was zoned industrial. The data shows a glaring disparity between land uses depending on a neighborhood's minority population and the income status of the residents.

Modern-day Louisville is shaped by the history of segregation and ordinances aimed to prevent minorities from acquiring land in certain parts of the city. As the years passed and more industry moved into high minority neighborhoods, the land use injustices have had a domino effect which has led to many other injustices in these communities. There is now a significant lack of green and blue spaces, which help promote outdoor lifestyles by allowing the community to enjoy parks and nature. Because these healthy ecosystems help to absorb and moderate pollution, without healthy tree canopies and water systems, residents in these areas are more affected by high concentrations of pollutants in the air and water. Furthermore, as neighborhoods have higher concentrations of poverty, minority populations, pollution, industrial land uses, and under-investment in housing, the residents become more vulnerable to other conditions like investments and food deserts.

There is no overnight fix to the injustices seen in these communities. The empowerment of people within the neighborhoods is just the start of the changes needed to create a healthier environment for those that live in these poorly regulated areas. A higher focus from the government to regulate the toxins and pollution emitting into these neighborhoods is necessary, but there must be some correction to how land use and zoning have impacted the neighborhoods over the years. In the publication, Fair and Healthy Land Use, a set of planning principles and land use regulatory tools have been recommended as ways to make land use fairer and healthier. Moving forward, a higher focus on land-use planning and regulation can prevent or eliminate land uses that pose health risks from low-income and minority neighborhoods and enhance facilities and resources that promote health in these neighborhoods. In addition, land-use policies can promote safe, healthy areas as sites for the development of affordable and mixed-income housing projects, schools, and other facilities serving vulnerable populations.

*Photos above are the Riverside Gardens (houses + industry) in west Louisville