Date of Graduation
5-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Architecture
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Architecture
Advisor/Mentor
Diaz Montemayor, Gabriel
Committee Member/Reader
McCown, Ken
Committee Member/Second Reader
Brown, Ngozi
Committee Member/Third Reader
Befus, Kevin
Abstract
Environmental racism refers to how minority neighborhoods are burdened with a disproportionate number of environmental hazards and pollution that lower the quality of life and create health disparities. Despite the growing awareness of the national and global problem, environmental injustice and racism can be found in nearly every place. There is little being done regarding policy, public awareness, and government action. The fight for environmental justice is still needed across America, in Arkansas, and in our community. This disciplinary-oriented capstone gives a brief overview of the environmental justice movement and uses publicly available maps and statistics from government and academic agencies to show the correlation between environmental hazards and minority populations at multiple scales. It will present findings that prove people of color are more likely to be exposed to environmental and health hazards in the United States, Arkansas, Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area, and the city of Fayetteville. After presenting this data, the area with the most environmental risk in Fayetteville is determined for further investigation. Lastly, environmentally conscious urbanization and reclamation principles are visualized in Fayetteville’s most polluted area to see how it could be transformed into a healthy community.
Keywords
environmental justice; environmental racism; environmental sink; environmental risk; remediation; reclamation
Citation
Devecsery, C. (2023). Environmental Injustice in Fayetteville, Arkansas: Investigating Unjust and Racist Conditions in Fayetteville's Industrial Park. Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/archuht/68