Dr. Victor Perez will discuss how he incorporates PolicyMap in his sociology courses to teach students about topics related to environmental injustice

1. #mapchats policymap.com/mapchats-webinars
PolicyMap in the Classroom:
A Tool for Public Health and
Sociology Courses

2. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
Victor Perez, PhD
Assistant Professor of
Sociology at the
University of Delaware

3. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
Victor W. Perez, PhD
Examining Environmental
(In)Justice in PolicyMap: A
Tool for Sociology Courses

4. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
• A principle of fair treatment and
involvement
– “…no population…is forced to bear a
disproportionate share of the negative human
health or environmental impacts of pollution
or environmental consequences resulting
from industrial, municipal, or commercial
operations…” (Brulle and Pellow 2006:104)
What is Environmental Justice?
Victor W. Perez, PhD

5. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
• Environmental injustice (or environmental
inequality)
– “a specific social group is disproportionately affected
by environmental hazards” (Brulle and Pellow
2006:104, emphasis added)
• Environmental racism
– A specific form of environmental inequality
– The differential impact of economic or environmental
policy, practice, or directive (intended or unintended)
on communities based on race (Chavis, as noted in
Brulle and Pellow 2006:105)
What is Environmental (In)Justice?
Victor W. Perez, PhD

6. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
• Historical use, de-industrialization, and legacy
brownfields in South Wilmington, DE
• What’s a brownfield?
– “abandoned, idled, or underutilized industrial and
commercial facilities [i.e., property and land] where
expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or
perceived environmental contamination” (Yount
1997:367, as quoted in Lee and Mohai 2012:602)
• Morello-Frosch et al. (2011) racial and ethnic
community poorer health outcomes than others,
and more frequently exposed to multiple
environmental hazards (p.879)
A Case of Environmental Racism?
Wilmington, DE
Victor W. Perez, PhD

7. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
• Brownfields a special case of environmental
racism
– Lee and Mohai (2012:603)
• “…brownfield sites, unlike hazardous waste and
polluting industrial facilities, does not involve
decisions about locating new facilities but rather
decisions about abandoning existing facilities
– Focus on processes that account for the racial
and economic dimensions of areas where
brownfields are concentrated
A Case of Environmental Racism?
Wilmington, DE
Victor W. Perez, PhD

8. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
• In PolicyMap, there are few explicit
environmental indicators
– Brownfields (sourced from EPA) in the Quality
of Life section for data points
• Combine with distribution of race in a
community at the local level
• Students can employ the concept of
environmental racism
Environmental Indicators in PolicyMap
Victor W. Perez, PhD

9. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
Environmental Racism in Wilmington, DE?
• Single layer map
– Highlight South Wilmington, DE
– Select brownfields from Quality of Life-
Environment
• Note the different types of brownfields
– Can see all as total history in area of those
known, unknown, need cleaning, etc.
– Select racial makeup of area
• Demographics-Race-Non-White
Victor W. Perez, PhD

10. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
• 3-layer map
– Highlight South Wilmington, DE
– Select brownfields from Quality of Life-
Environment
– Select racial makeup of area (Demographics-
Race-Non-White)
• At least 75% non-white (shows concentrated
racial minority composition at census tract
level)
Environmental Racism in Wilmington, DE?
Victor W. Perez, PhD

11. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
• 3-layer map
– Highlight South Wilmington, DE
– Select brownfields from Quality of Life-
Environment
– Select racial makeup of area (Demographics-
Race-White)
• At least 75% white (again, shows concentrated
racial minority composition at census tract
level)
Environmental Racism in Wilmington, DE?
Victor W. Perez, PhD

12. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
• 3-layer map at the block group for
Demographics-Race-Non-White at the block
group level (75%) shows us that west side is
increasingly not made up of racial minorities
– A special case of environmental inequality due to the
redevelopment
– Brownfield redevelopment and “green gentrification”
• Condos, expensive restaurants, etc.
• 3-layer map for Demographics-Race-White at the
block group level for whites at 25%
Highlight Brownfield Redevelopment
Processes
Victor W. Perez, PhD

13. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
#mapchats
PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
• How social processes are located in space!
– How historical processes lead to present
environmental injustice conditions
– How environmental hazard cleanup policy and
incentives can re-create social inequalities in
space
• How to examine local areas to test
hypotheses of environmental injustice!
• How to draw critically examine sociological
concept and expand their use and utility!
Students Learn!
Victor W. Perez, PhD

14. PolicyMap in the
Classroom: A
Tool for Public
Health and
Sociology
Courses
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
Pushing
Boundaries:
Cartography
and Shaping
Maps
#mapchats
policymap.com/mapchats-
webinars
policymap.cominfo@policymap.com
1-866-923-6277
Other Questions Free Trials