Assessing Environmental Injustice in Albany, New York

Abstract

Environmental justice is a key component of sustainability as it seeks to promote the fair and equitable distribution of environmental burdens and benefits for all people. Instances of environmental injustice are prevalent on a large scale throughout the United States. The city of Albany, New York is examined to identify environmental justice problems related to income-level and racial demographics using GIS mapping analysis and geostatistics. Expected findings include correlations between socioeconomic factors and environmental burdens. This research is important because it will contribute to evidence of large-scale trends existing on a smaller scale that are often overlooked. Research into environmental justice trends can illuminate and instigate change for historically neglected populations.