Environment and the racialization of space in US cities

Abstract This study presents the first comparative analysis of late nineteenth and early twentieth century racial-environmental inequality formation. Previously, lack of data on early industrial hazards contributed to a structural division between urban and environmental theory, as sociologists have had limited understanding of the relationship between environmental and racial inequality during the initial formation of segregated neighborhoods. As a result, socioenvironmental processes are often considered a downstream outcome of persistent patterns of urban inequality, rather than a potential cause. In response, this study uses a novel computational methodology to map sites associated with an acute and widespread source of early industrial pollution. Site data are paired with historical census information to analyze changes in the social stratification of environmental exposure in six US urban areas from 1880 to 1930. Results reveal a sustained and generalized escalation in exposure to environmental hazards among racialized populations, despite substantial local variation at the beginning of the study period, suggesting that racial-environmental inequality emerged much earlier than prior studies have shown—and that socioenvironmental processes likely played an important role in the racialization of the neighborhood. Findings further suggest new directions to embed urban sociology within a socioenvironmental perspective.