Environmental Justice for Minority and Low-Income Populations Next to Goods Movement Corridors in Southern California

Abstract

Southern California is the largest international trade gateway in the United States. The region generates enormous activity involving the movement of local and domestic goods. Given the expected growth in international trade and movement of domestic goods, significant growth in truck volumes and rail traffic to facilitate the reliable movement of goods and to support economic growth is anticipated in the region. As the movement of goods is a major contributor to local and regional environmental issues such as air pollution and health risk, a regional priority is not only to mitigate the environmental impacts of the system involving the movement of goods but also to ensure that, pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, equity exists in the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens from federally funded programs involving the movement of goods and projects. Therefore, to prevent disproportionately high and adverse environmental effects and health risks from affecting minority and low-income populations as a result of the movement of goods, the Southern California Association of Governments analyzed the environmental justice implications of the system involving the movement of goods included in the regional transportation plan. The objective of this paper is to identify the minority and low-income populations affected, to analyze their spatial distributions along major truck corridors and freight rail corridors, and to address the environmental justice implications of the system involving the movement of goods in Southern California.