Experiencing environmental inequality: The everyday concerns of disadvantaged groups

Abstract

Increasing attention is now being paid to the extent of environmental inequality both in terms of the disproportionate exposure of poor people to environmental 'bads' (such as pollution) and their lack of access to sufficient environmental 'goods' (such as fuel). This paper examines how people living in disadvantaged communities talk about and experience these two dimensions of environmental inequality. Drawing on data collected in focus groups in three localities, this paper illustrates the everyday nature of environmental concern for disadvantaged groups. While the language of environmentalism was largely absent in the interviews, participants expressed considerable concern about the impact of their surroundings on health and quality of life. Rather than existing as a separate category of concern, however, complaints about environmental quality were bound up with wider assessments of local life, the effectiveness of local agencies and participants' sense of their own influence. The character of participants' local environmental concern is illustrated by focusing on their discussions of health and safety at home and in the streets and public spaces around them, before discussing their experiences of living with pollution. While interviewees were often acutely aware of the negative impacts of living in a poor environment, concern often coexisted with a strong sense of local loyalty. The conclusions emphasise the everyday nature of environmental concern for residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods and the need to tackle local social and environmental problems in tandem.