An environmental justice assessment of the mississippi river industrial corridor in Louisiana, U.S. using a gis-based approach

Abstract

Environmental justice has become an important topic in environmental sciences, and GIS is being increasingly used in environmental justice research to fully understand the relationship between low-income racial minorities and toxic facility locations. This study used GIS based proximity measures in combination with environmental justice indices to assess the status of environmental justice concerns in the Mississippi River Industrial Corridor in Louisiana. Comparative Environmental Risk Indices (CERI) for poverty and minority computed for parishes along the Mississippi River Industrial Corridor suggested a higher degree of environmental injustice in East Baton Rouge, Ascension, Jefferson, Orleans, St. Charles, St. James and St. John parishes. Standard Minority Ratios (SMIR) and Standard Poverty Ratios (SPR) provided stronger evidences for environmental injustice in the study area. The study approach allows preliminary assessment of environmental justice concerns, which has policy implications in industrial zone planning, and siting potentially toxic industrial facilities. © 2013, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary.