A Spatial Perspective on Environmental Justice: The Link Between Gerrymandering, Toxic Waste Facilities, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the Midwest, United States

Racial gerrymandering has been an ongoing problem when redistricting efforts are undertaken. Previous research has shown strong relationships between gerrymandering, racial diversity, and the presence of superfund and other toxic waste sites. In this study, we build off these studies and analyze the relationships that exist between gerrymandering, toxic waste sites, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This work, in part, builds off the original United Church of Christ research conducted in 1987, which indicated that 60% of Black people lived in proximity to toxic waste facilities. By including SNAP, we offer an additional layer of understanding to environmental inequities in the United States. Using measures of geometric complexity as a surrogate for gerrymandering, we find that gerrymandering, in conjunction with socioeconomic variables (children receiving SNAP, number of carcinogenic toxic waste sites, and number of individuals younger than 18 years), represents similar to 79% of the variance explaining the percent of Black individuals in a given congressional district in our study area (R-2 = 78.6). We find similar results when describing the White population, although the relationships are inverse (R-2 = 81.4).