Race and Stormwater in LA County

<p>America’s legacy of racist land use and housing policies
affect how much impervious surface is in one’s neighborhood. This not only
affects amounts of stormwater runoff generated, but also levels of greenery,
temperature, flooding, etc. This study empirically examines effect of race on
neighborhood impervious surfaces in Los Angeles County. Preliminary results
indicate that for people of color, as their populations increase by Census
tract, so do impervious surfaces. For the white population, the inverse is
true. Even after controlling for sociodemographic and land use variables, neighborhoods
with higher white populations continue to have less impervious surfaces. Results
imply that LA County follows national patterns of environmental racism, but
that there is also great potential to help address historically racist planning
policies while meeting stormwater goals.</p>