Representing inequities in the distribution of socio-economic benefits and environmental risk

There is currently no standard methodfor analyzing claims of environmental inequity. Neitheris there a database of statistics on the extent ofrelationship between regional indicators ofenvironmental quality, likely sources of pollution, andthe demographic characteristics of affectedpopulations. The resolution of environmental disputesis often hampered by inadequate communication betweenstakeholder groups about their perceptions andprioritization of the issues in dispute and bydifferential access to information about the issues byeach stakeholder group. This paper describes a web-based tool, ICEP, that uses multi-layered GIS maps toestablish a standard method for analyzing claims ofenvironmental inequity and establish a database ofcorrelation coefficients between environmentalindicators, industry type by SIC code, and demographiccharacteristics of the population in proximity tonoxious facilities. The maps are generated fromstakeholder reports of environmental quality and aredesigned to be accessible via the Internet. Thisprovides stakeholders with direct access to graphicaldisplays of the perceptions of their co-stakeholdersand provides all groups with links to relevantinformation sources about the issues in dispute. ICEPenhances existing community environmental websites likeScorecard and Envirofacts by providingdisplays of median household income as a measure of thedistribution of benefits accrued within an area.