Abstract
Although numerous studies have been conducted on the vulnerability of marginalized groups in the environmental justice (EJ) and hazards fields, analysts have tended to lump people together in broad racial/ethnic categories without regard for substantial within-group heterogeneity. This paper addresses that limitation by examining whether Hispanic immigrants are disproportionately exposed to risks from flood hazards relative to other racial/ethnic groups (including US-born Hispanics), adjusting for relevant covariates. Survey data were collected for 1283 adult householders in the Houston and Miami Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and flood risk was estimated using their residential presence/absence within federally-designated 100-year flood zones. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) with binary logistic specifications that adjust for county-level clustering were used to analyze (separately) and compare the Houston (N = 546) and Miami (N = 560) MSAs in order to clarify determinants of household exposure to flood risk. GEE results in Houston indicate that Hispanic immigrants have the greatest likelihood, and non-Hispanic Whites the least likelihood, of residing in a 100-year flood zone. Miami GEE results contrastingly reveal that non-Hispanic Whites have a significantly greater likelihood of residing in a flood zone when compared to Hispanic immigrants. These divergent results suggest that human-flood hazard relationships have been structured differently between the two MSAs, possibly due to the contrasting role that water-based amenities have played in urbanization within the two study areas. Future EJ research and practice should differentiate between Hispanic subgroups based on nativity status and attend to contextual factors influencing environmental risk disparities.
Highlights
Hazards and environmental justice (EJ) research reveals that socially marginalized groups are typically highly vulnerable to risks and disasters [1,2,3,4]
“other minority” households are overrepresented as residents of flood zones, while non-Hispanic White households are underrepresented in flood zones
Minority groups and those of lower socioeconomic status (SES) in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach (Miami) appear to be less exposed to flood hazards due to their financial inability to tap the sought-after amenities that proximity to the coast affords; by extension, our results suggest that minority and low SES residents of the Miami Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) experience environmental injustice based on their constrained access to coastal amenities
Summary
Hazards and environmental justice (EJ) research reveals that socially marginalized groups are typically highly vulnerable to risks and disasters [1,2,3,4]. This includes people of Hispanic/Latino origin in the US, who have been found to experience disproportionate exposure to hazards, as well as a constrained ability to prepare for and recover from disasters [5,6,7,8,9]. Despite the fact that hazards and EJ studies have examined the social vulnerabilities of Hispanics, almost all have treated the Hispanic population as a single homogeneous group (except for [7,10,11,12,13]) This is problematic because it conceals substantial differences in language, nativity and social class.
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