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

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