Environmental Justice in Sport Stadiums Notes

Environmental Justice in Sport Stadiums

Environmental Justice: Core Concepts

• Environmental hazards disproportionately affect communities of color, who receive fewer environmental benefits.

• Environmental racism leads to environmental harm; environmental justice seeks to correct these harms.

• Environmental justice is both an activist goal and a research area, stemming from environmental inequity.

• Studies show racial/ethnic minorities face higher exposure to air pollutants.

• Historical redlining contributes to current environmental hazards in communities of color.

• Environmental justice is a social movement against racist planning and policymaking.

• Grassroots organizations and civil rights groups address local environmental issues.

• The Principles of Environmental Justice were affirmed at the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991.

Theories Explaining Environmental Inequity

1. Disproportionate siting and discrimination

2. Internal colonialism

3. Market dynamics

4. The legal, regulatory, and administrative context

5. Manipulation, enticement, and environmental blackmail

6. Unique biophysical characteristics

7. Zoning and residential segregation

Environmental Inequity Manifestations

• Includes exposure to hazards and targeted siting of noxious facilities.

• Segregation in jobs, housing, and services.

• Lack of access to environmental amenities.

• Disproportionate negative impacts of environmental policies.

• Inequality in service delivery.

• Expulsion of Indigenous peoples from their lands.

• Environmental racism is not just malicious intent but also “less conscious but hegemonic form of racism, white privilege”.

Stadiums and Environmental Justice

• Stadiums contribute to environmental inequity through design, construction, and operation.

• Environmental risks of stadiums:

  • Significant CO2 emissions from fan travel $(CO_2)$.

  • Plastic waste stresses municipal services.

  • Requires water and electricity.

• Traffic delays and social costs.

• Potential air pollution.

• Unhealthy microenvironments from tailgating.

Localized Stadium Disamenities

• Traffic, noise, and hooliganism.

• Increased assaults and crime.

• Emergency service delays.

• Hazards are inescapable for residents near stadiums.

Stadium Development Hazards

• Lower birth weights in counties with new sports venues due to airborne particulate matter.

• Reduced greenspace.

• Increased pollution (litter, light, noise, vibration).

Politics of Urban Stadium Developments

• Stadiums are seen as economic development engines but cause environmental harm.

• Opposition to stadium placement near homes reflects NIMBY ideology.

• Environmental justice activists use various political tools.

• Communities face obstacles in opposing stadium sites, including limited participation and resources.

• Corporate interests exploit paths of least resistance.

• Minority communities may be incentivized with promises but lack environmental protection.

• Eminent domain disproportionately affects Black communities.

Power Imbalances

• Power imbalances exist between policymakers, business leaders, and citizens.

• These imbalances are exploited to construct stadiums, benefiting cities while burdening communities of color.

• Environmental justice is not solely a study of outcomes, it includes the struggles and actions of activists affected by stadium developments.