Coping With Chemicals: Blacks, Whites, Planners, and Industrial Pollution

Abstract

The environmental justice movement has focused national attention on alleged inequities in the way hazardous industrial facilities are sited and regulated, but has paid less attention to the consequences of pollution for the quality of life in industrialized areas. This article examines racial differences in how people perceive pollution, how these perceptions affect their lives, and what planners can do about inequities in exposure to industrial pollution. Interviews with over 750 low- and moderate-income households show that black households are more concerned about industrial pollution than are white households. Anxiety about pollution translates into the perception that the quality of life in communities is deteriorating. Thus, black households who are exposed to industrial hazards suffer in two ways. Compared to white households they are more exposed to health hazards, and their heightened concerns translate into a lower quality of community life. Local government planners tend to view environmental pollution as a federal and state, rather than a local problem. But we suggest a number of important steps local planners can take in concert with the residents of industrialized areas that will reduce concern and lead to a better quality of life for all residents.