Open AccessLocal- and regional-scale racial and ethnic disparities in air pollution determined by long-term mobile monitoring
Author(s) -
Sarah E. Chambliss,
Carlos P.R. Pi,
Kyle P. Messier,
B. W. LaFranchi,
Crystal Romeo Upperman,
Melissa M. Lunden,
Allen L. Robinson,
Julian Marshall,
Joshua S. Apte
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2109249118
Subject(s) - ethnic group , air pollution , scale (ratio) , geography , pollution , air pollutants , term (time) , environmental health , environmental science , cartography , political science , medicine , ecology , biology , physics , quantum mechanics , law
Significance It is known, to researchers and heavily impacted communities, that people of color face a higher average burden of air pollution. It was unknown whether racial/ethnic disparities were caused by spatial heterogeneities at the level of city blocks, neighborhoods, or urban regions. Our approach leverages a unique set of highly local observations, covering every city block of 13 cities and urban districts that are home to 450,000 people. We find that even for pollutants with steep localized gradients, differences in average outdoor concentrations among racial/ethnic groups are driven by regional variability. However, localized peaks indicate opportunities to reduce extremes within groups. The methods and findings of this study can inform strategies to reduce disparities in urban air pollution exposure.