Spatial Scale and Population Assignment Choices in Environmental Justice Analyses¹

¹Portions of this article appeared in the October 2003 issue of the Collegiate Aviation Review published by the University Aviation Association.

Abstract

Environmental justice laws protect certain populations against discriminatory actions that may result from a myriad of enterprises, including transportation activities. Previous environmental equity studies examining the effects of transportation-engendered externalities have been criticized on several points, including (1) that the choice of a reference population for comparison to the criterion variable may influence the outcome of research results and (2) that the selection and use of inappropriate methodologies intended to identify and characterize populations may foreordain research outcomes. This article examines the potentially confounding effects of selected spatial scale and population assignment strategies as applied to a study of excessive noise levels at a large Midwestern airport, finding that reported outcomes can vary significantly as a function of methodological choices.

Key Words:

• airport noise
• environmental equity
• environmental justice
• geographic information systems
• transportation externalities

Notes

¹Portions of this article appeared in the October 2003 issue of the Collegiate Aviation Review published by the University Aviation Association.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael T. Most

An associate professor and chair

Raja Sengupta

An assistant professor

Michael A. Burgener

An assistant professor