Environmental Justice at UofL Brandeis School of Law

The University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law is a leader in the study of environmental justice. Environmental justice (EJ) is about the fair treatment of all peoples, regardless of race, ethnicity, or income, in environmental laws, policies, and conditions. There are many dimensions of EJ:

+ Unequal exposure of low-income people and people of color to air and water pollution and to toxic chemicals;

+ Poor and unequal enforcement of environmental laws

+ Industrial facilities, toxic and solid waste sites, and contaminated lands (brownfields) in or near low-income communities of color

+ Both formal and practical barriers to the participation and influence of lowincome people of color in environmental decision making and governance

+ Inequitably less and worst environmental benefits for low-income communities of color, such as parks, trees, and restored streams

+ Related inequities in fields such as land use, energy, water, natural resources, food, climate, and health

+ The systemic causes and outcomes of environmental injustice and need for systemic change