The Meaning of Urban Environmental Justice

Environmental justice is redress for the structures and situations arising from environmental discrimination and, particularly, environmental racism. Environmental discrimination is actions and practices, arising from both individual ideologies and social structures that preserve and reinforce domination of subordinate groups with respect to the environment, while such discrimination with respect to race is environmental racism. Part I of this Essay discusses how environmental injustice is a three-dimensional nexus of economic injustice, social injustice and an unjust incidence of environmental quality, all of which overwhelmingly assures the continued oppression of communities of color and low-income communities on environmental matters. Part II of this Essay seeks to understand urban environmental justice in the context of this nexus. Part III describes the backdrop against which urban environmental justice movements must struggle. Part IV highlights some specific urban environmental problems that affect communities of color and low-income people in cities. Part V summarizes some of the strategies being used in urban areas by grassroots environmental activists