Forthcoming 2008. Society and Natural Resources 21.7.

Consumption, inequity, and environmental justice: the making of new metropolitan landscapes in developing countries

Robin M. Leichenko, Department of Geography, Rutgers University, 54 Joyce Kilmer Blvd, Piscataway, NJ 08854. rleichen@rci.rutgers.edu

William D. Solecki, CUNY Institute for Sustainable City and Department of Geography, City University of New York-Hunter College, 695 Park Avenue, New York, 10021. wsolecki@hunter.cuny.edu

Abstract

Suburban-style housing is becoming increasingly common in cities throughout the developing world. In this paper, we describe processes that influence the formation of new suburban landscapes in these cities, and we consider the implications of these developments for questions of social and environmental equity. We show how suburban landscape construction may foster inequities in both exposure to environmental hazards and in access to environmental amenities.

Keywords: environmental equity; urban development; urban sustainability