Rosa, A. (2019). Analysis on the built environment in regards to gentrified neighborhoods in Richmond Virginia (Order No. 22623240). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2307190730). Retrieved from http://proxy.library.vcu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/analysis-on-built -environment-regards-gentrified/docview/2307190730/se-2.
Gentrification is the process where poor, underdeveloped areas are changed by the wealthy. This is done by improving infrastructure, and the middle class or upper class moves in to rebuild homes and restart more businesses and franchises. This can affect both the demographic and cultural aspects of the lower-class area being gentrified. The research specifically investigates what aspects of the physical environment have contributed to the gentrification trend in the City of Richmond during the last ten years. (Note: The following methods and results descriptions are part of the Rosa annotation:) The methods used in this paper were as follows; many studies on gentrification used the Freeman method to identify census tracts with the use of census data collected over years. A Metropolitan Statistical Area is what was studied and is defined as an area in the United States where there is a high population density and close ties economically. According to Freeman, the tract must have at least 500 people during the year of comparison along with the median household income of the population to be below the 40th percentile. Following these labels and separations the researcher placed more conditions into the study. For the study, the median household for participants was changed to the 60th percentile and they wanted the population to change to those who are 25 years or older with a 4-year college degree. The results from this paper suggest the difference in built characteristics between gentrified neighborhoods and those that are or are not eligible in Richmond. In particular, the age and scale of the structures in gentrified districts vary widely. The constructed environment of neighborhoods that are ineligible is uniform. Many of their buildings have gable roofs, and they are closer in size and age. Except for the variation in building ages, communities that are eligible but have not undergone gentrification have traits with those that are not. Some research has denied the belief that gentrification is linked to the eviction of minorities and working-class residents, however, there are different meanings of the term. Nevertheless, studies on gentrification should take social responsibility, ethics, and data bias into account because it could cause strong feelings. It was also stated that more research on gentrification could lead us to figure out how it can affect different groups of people.
Akers, C. (2022). Environmental racism in Richmond, Virginia: Documentary film. Retrieved from https://www.ecoresolution.earth/resources/outspoken-narrative-environmental-racism-film.
Jovanni Armsted Tucker opens the documentary discussing how certain areas in the city of Richmond tend to have air quality which is worse/better compared to others. As she was walking from the Jackson ward and past Virginia Union University the air got lighter and it was easier to breathe when she researched the topic she noticed that there weren’t many green zones or trees in the area from which she was walking. She defines environmental racism as “groups of people who are experiencing environmental discomfort because of climate change…just experiencing it worse than other people in other sections and other races” Environmental racism can affect specific races worse than others due to numerous factors including the areas of where this demographic mostly populates and no one steps in to help them. Redlining was a discriminatory practice used to deny services to people of a certain area due to their race or ethnicity which is also a primary cause of the environmental racism we see today although this occurred in the 1030s we see effects of this to this present day as specific ethnicities tend to take up certain areas of cities which are mainly affected by climate change. Jackson Ward is a historically African American densely populated area in the city of Richmond which was given a bad grade during the red lining in the 1930s, walking through there in comparison to the wealthier communities. On Top of this the video also mentions that Virginia, on average, has about 10 dangerously hot days every year and it is projected that by 2050 there will be 40 critically hot days a year causing health conditions in areas. They also mention how gentrification affects them as it creates unaffordable housing, environmental issues, and not enough green spaces. EVA Green 2050 is a part of Richmond Cities sustainability program which focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and more.
Miller, C. (2022). Investigating the Links Between Richmond’s Air Quality Issues and Environmental Racism. Retrieved from https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=environmentalstudies-se niorseminar.
According to this paper, air that is breathable and healthy to inhale is unequally distributed among populations. According to their economic status and race. The goal of this study was to examine Richmond Virginia’s heat and air quality distributions as well as make suggestions for reducing their impacts across the city. Given its long history of racial segregation and prejudice, Richmond ranks among the worst places for asthma sufferers, thus making Richmond an excellent subject for this investigation. This study found that the poorest and most racially minority-dense areas of Richmond had the highest socioeconomic and environmental vulnerability to aggregate air and heat pollution. It did this by using heat data from the summer 2021 Virginia Heat Watch Project, the CDC’s environmental vulnerability index, historical maps of redlined neighborhoods in Richmond, and the Berkeley Environmental Justice Index. As lower-income minority-filled areas are usually placed near pollutant point sources, they are more subjected to be affected by the outcomes of the pollution in the area, which include toxic gases noise pollution, and more. Redlining has made it easier to move minority communities, especially Black African Americans, to areas of such degree and higher heat due to climate change.
Disparities in distribution of particulate matter emission sources by race and poverty status | AJPH | vol. 108 issue 4. (2018). Retrieved from https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304297.
In one of the first environmental justice studies conducted more than thirty years ago, the US government noted that neighborhoods close to landfills had an unusually large number of socially disadvantaged people. Income level, poverty, and race/ethnicity have all been used to measure differences in residential proximity to pollution sources. This study’s results showed variations in the burden caused by hazardous waste-emitting facilities across various geographic ranges. Compared to of disagreements based on poverty status, Black African American disparities are more noticeable.
Bullard, R. D. (1994). Environmental racism and invisible communities. West Virginia Law Review, 96(4), 1037-1050. Retrieved from 96WVaLRev.pdf.
A paper written by an environmental sociologist named Dr.Robert D. Bullard, who discusses how environmental racism has existed well before the years of it entering into congress, as the communities that were identified as “slave quarters” or “black ghetto” and that racism created areas such as the jackson ward and new yorks hjarlem areas before the census tract was invented. The writer discusses how racism is globally, whether intentional or not, and how multiple communities are affected by environmental injustice. One example he gives was the site of a municipal landfill dispute, which was in Northwood Manor. This problem occurred because when the community was majority white populated, about 83% white, there was a proposal for a dumping site which was turned down for numerous reasons, such as it would be too close to a school, it would lower residents’ property value, it would cause health hazards such as rats and rodents, and it would increase truck traffic endangering children who walk to school. Thus, the proposal was denied, however, the population of the same area began to switch, and it became majority populated by African-Americans. When the same proposal was made, they accepted it and built the dumping site. This is one example of environmental injustice taking place. Few environmental and civil rights organizations stood up and understood the issue behind environmental racism and failed to protect it.
Vicuña, Cecilia “The Sorrow of the Earth” “Resistance artist Cecilia Vicuña on hope, death and the end of humanity.
Through visual art, film and poetry there are themes of ecological destruction, cultural homogenization and economic disparity. These themes go hand in hand with other themes such as observation and surveillance. Highlighting the relationship between power, social justice and visibility.