Submission Date
7-19-2019
Document Type
Paper
Department
Sociology
Second Department
Environmental Studies
Faculty Mentor
Jonathan Clark
Project Description
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) defines an environmental justice area as any census tract that partially or wholly includes a 30 percent or greater minority population or 20 percent or more of a population living in poverty. However, little is known about how the average Pennsylvanian defines environmental justice, hindering our ability to determine whether the current definition is adequate. Using transcripts from nine listening sessions on the DEP’s tour of affected counties, I address 3 questions: (1) How do people define environmental justice? (2) What do people think are the most pressing issues in each county? And (3) How do perceived injustices shape people’s understanding of environmental justice? Using definitions of environmental justice from transcripts as well as from governmental agencies, I determine differences among definitions and make a policy argument for the creation of multiple definitions by region rather than one definition for the Commonwealth.
Recommended Citation
Hofmann, Kayla, "How Pennsylvanians Define Environmental Justice" (2019). Sociology Summer Fellows. 3.
https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/soc_sum/3
Open Access
Available to all.
Included in
Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Policy Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons, Place and Environment Commons, Regional Sociology Commons
Comments
Presented during the 21st Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 19, 2019 at Ursinus College.