Environmental Justice Assessment in Racially Diverse Areas

Abstract

This paper explores analytical techniques to identify the environmental justice (EJ) population in a racially diverse area and to evaluate the benefits and burdens of transportation projects upon EJ and non-EJ populations. A statistical technique was developed to identify the block groups where minority and low-income populations were disproportionately concentrated, with variation in the size of the block groups taken into account. Four performance measures that represent the transportation benefits of and burdens on the identified EJ and non-EJ areas were determined to evaluate accessibility, mobility, safety, and equity. Specific questions and indexes for each performance measure were developed to define disproportionate impacts. To establish transportation projects’ connection with local communities, those projects were categorized and selected on the basis of their type in addition to their geographical location. The method developed for Oahu, Hawaii, is transferable to states, cities, and metropolitan areas throughout the United States.