Environmental Justice 2024 Set is comprised of two layers: Environmental Justice Block Groups 2024 and Environmental Justice Distressed Municipality 2024. All Census and ACS data used in the creation of these data are the latest available from the Census at time of calculation. Environmental Justice Block Groups 2024 was created from Connecticut block group boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2024 Block Group TIGER/Line Shapefiles. The poverty data used to determine which block groups qualified as EJ communities (see CT State statute 22a-20a) was based on the Census Bureau's 2023 ACS 5-year estimate. This poverty data was joined with the block group boundaries in ArcPro. Block groups in which the percent of the population below 200% of the federal poverty level was greater than or equal to 30.0 were selected and the resulting selection was exported as a new shapefile. The block groups were then clipped so that only those block groups outside of distressed municipalities were displayed. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually and will coincide with the annual distressed municipalities update (around August/September). The latest ACS 5-year estimate data should be used to update this layer. Environmental Justice Distressed Municipalities 2024 was created from the Connecticut town boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2024 TIGER/Line Shapefiles (County Subdivisions). From this shapefile, "select by attribute" was used to select the distressed municipalities by town name (note: the list of 2024 distressed municipalities was provided by the CT Department of Economic and Community Development). The selection was then exported a new shapefile. The “Union” tool was used to unite the new shapefile with tribal lands (American Indian Area Geography) boundary data from the 2024 TIGER/Line files. In the resulting layer, the tribal lands were deleted so only the distressed municipalities remained. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually when the DECD produces its new list of distressed municipalities.Note: A distressed municipality, as designated by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, includes municipalities that no longer meet the threshold requirements but are still in an eligibility grace period. (See definition at CGS Sec. 32-9p(b).) Fitting into that grace period, nine towns continue to be eligible for distressed municipality benefits. Those are Bristol, East Haven, Groton, Killingly, New Haven, North Stonington, Preston, Stratford, Voluntown.

Environmental Justice 2023 Set is comprised of two layers: Environmental Justice Block Groups 2023 and Environmental Justice Distressed Municipality 2023. All Census and ACS data used in the creation of these data are the latest available from the Census at time of calculation. Environmental Justice Block Groups 2023 was created from Connecticut block group boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2022 Block Group TIGER/Line Shapefiles. The poverty data used to determine which block groups qualified as EJ communities (see CT State statute 22a-20a) was based on the Census Bureau's 2021 ACS 5-year estimate. This poverty data was joined with the block group boundaries in ArcPro. Block groups in which the percent of the population below 200% of the federal poverty level was greater than or equal to 30.0 were selected and the resulting selection was exported as a new shapefile. The block groups were then clipped so that only those block groups outside of distressed municipalities were displayed. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually and will coincide with the annual distressed municipalities update (around August/September). The latest ACS 5-year estimate data should be used to update this layer. Environmental Justice Distressed Municipalities 2023 was created from the Connecticut town boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2022 TIGER/Line Shapefiles (County Subdivisions). From this shapefile, "select by attribute" was used to select the distressed municipalities by town name (note: the list of 2023 distressed municipalities was provided by the CT Department of Economic and Community Development). The selection was then exported a new shapefile. The “Union” tool was used to unite the new shapefile with tribal lands (American Indian Area Geography) boundary data from the 2020 TIGER/Line files. In the re

Environmental Justice 2024 Set is comprised of two layers: Environmental Justice Block Groups 2024 and Environmental Justice Distressed Municipality 2024. All Census and ACS data used in the creation of these data are the latest available from the Census at time of calculation. Environmental Justice Block Groups 2024 was created from Connecticut block group boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2024 Block Group TIGER/Line Shapefiles. The poverty data used to determine which block groups qualified as EJ communities (see CT State statute 22a-20a) was based on the Census Bureau's 2023 ACS 5-year estimate. This poverty data was joined with the block group boundaries in ArcPro. Block groups in which the percent of the population below 200% of the federal poverty level was greater than or equal to 30.0 were selected and the resulting selection was exported as a new shapefile. The block groups were then clipped so that only those block groups outside of distressed municipalities were displayed. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually and will coincide with the annual distressed municipalities update (around August/September). The latest ACS 5-year estimate data should be used to update this layer. Environmental Justice Distressed Municipalities 2024 was created from the Connecticut town boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2024 TIGER/Line Shapefiles (County Subdivisions). From this shapefile, "select by attribute" was used to select the distressed municipalities by town name (note: the list of 2024 distressed municipalities was provided by the CT Department of Economic and Community Development). The selection was then exported a new shapefile. The “Union” tool was used to unite the new shapefile with tribal lands (American Indian Area Geography) boundary data from the 2024 TIGER/Line files. In the resulting layer, the tribal lands were deleted so only the distressed municipalities remained. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually when the DECD produces its new list of distressed municipalities.Note: A distressed municipality, as designated by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, includes municipalities that no longer meet the threshold requirements but are still in an eligibility grace period. (See definition at CGS Sec. 32-9p(b).) Fitting into that grace period, nine towns continue to be eligible for distressed municipality benefits. Those are Bristol, East Haven, Groton, Killingly, New Haven, North Stonington, Preston, Stratford, Voluntown.

Data shows polygon locations of Potential Environmental Justice Areas (PEJA) and is defined in the PEJA field. PEJA's have been identified based on data from the 2014-2018 5-year American Community Survey (ACS), conducted by the US Census Bureau. Environmental justice efforts focus on improving the environment in communities, specifically minority and low-income communities, and addressing disproportionate adverse environmental impacts that may exist in those communities. The information balloon for each census block group area displays the census block group ID, population, percent minority, percent below poverty level, county, municipality, and a link to more information on the Department of Environmental Conservation's website https://www.dec.ny.gov/public/333.html The data was collected by the US Census Bureau as part of the American Community Survey. Reported income and race/ethnicity data were analyzed by OEJ to determine the presence of Potential Environmental Justice Areas. The designated areas are then considered for additional outreach within the permitting process, for grant eligibility, and for targeted enforcement of Environmental Conservation Law violations. Utilized established methods as originally detailed in the Interim Environmental Justice Policy, US EPA Region 2, December 2000, and recommended by the Environmental Justice Advisory Group, Recommendations for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Environmental Justice Program, January 2, 2002. Individual thresholds for low-income populations (statewide), minority populations (rural communities), and minority populations (urban communities) were determined by using ArcGIS 10.3 (used to indicate if census block groups overlapped Census designated urban areas) and IBM SPSS Statistics 26 (to conduct a K-means clustering algorithm on ACS data for the three categories). More detail is provided under processing steps. Service updated annually. For more information or to download layer see https://gis.ny.gov/gisdata/inventories/details.cfm?DSID=1273Download the metadata to learn more information about how the data was created and details about the attributes. Use the links within the metadata document to expand the sections of interest see http://gis.ny.gov/gisdata/metadata/nysdec.PEJA.xml

Environmental Justice neighborhoods are the focus of the state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs' (EEA) Environmental Justice (EJ) Policy, which establishes EJ as an integral consideration in all EEA programs, to the extent applicable and allowable by law. For more information please visit EEA's Environmental Justice Web page, which includes a detailed fact sheet as well as text of the full policy.More details...Polygons in the 2020 Environmental Justice (EJ) Populations layer are 2020 Census block groups across the state that meet one or more of the criteria listed below. (i) the annual median household income is not more than 65 percent of the statewide annual median household income; (ii) minorities comprise 40 percent or more of the population; (iii) 25 percent or more of households lack English language proficiency; or (iv) minorities comprise 25 percent or more of the population and the annual median household income of the municipality in which the neighborhood is located does not exceed 150 percent of the statewide annual median household income.Map service also available.

Environmental Justice Block Groups 2022 was created from Connecticut block group boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2020 TIGER/Line Shapefiles. The poverty data used to determine which block groups qualified as EJ communities (see CT State statute 22a-20a) was based on the Census Bureau's 2020 ACS 5-year estimate. This poverty data was joined with the block group boundaries in ArcPro. Block groups in which the percent of the population below 200% of the federal poverty level was greater than or equal to 30.0 were selected and the resulting selection was exported as a new shapefile. The block groups were then clipped so that only those block groups outside of distressed municipalities were displayed. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually and will coincide with the annual distressed municipalities update (around August/September). The latest ACS 5-year estimate data should be used to update this layer. Environmental Justice Distressed Municipalities 2020 was created from Connecticut town boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2020 TIGER/Line Shapefiles (County Subdivisions).

From this shapefile, "select by attribute" was used to select the distressed municipalities by town name (note: the list of 2022 distressed municipalities was provided by the CT Department of Economic and Community Development). The selection was then exported a new shapefile. The “Union” tool was used to unite the new shapefile with tribal lands (American Indian Area Geography) boundary data from the 2020 TIGER/Line files. In the resulting layer, the tribal lands were deleted so only the distressed municipalities remained. Maintenance – This layer will be updated annually when the DECD produces its new list of distressed municipalities (around August/September).

Note: A distressed municipality, as designated by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, includes municipalities that no longer meet the threshold requirements but are still in a 5-year grace period. (See definition at CGS Sec. 32-9p(b).) Fitting into that grace period, eight towns continue to be eligible for distressed municipality benefits because they dropped off the list within the last five years. Those are Enfield, Killingly, Naugatuck, Plymouth, New Haven, Preston, Stratford, and Voluntown.

Environmental Justice Icon for the Racial Equity Plan Hubsite

Before the workshop begins, please get yourself logged into your ArcGIS Online account; watch this tutorial to learn how to log in.

Be certain to read the MassGIS methodology to fully understand how these areas are identified.

This data layer references data from a high-resolution tree canopy change-detection layer for Seattle, Washington. Tree canopy change was mapped by using remotely sensed data from two time periods (2016 and 2021). Tree canopy was assigned to three classes: 1) no change, 2) gain, and 3) loss. No change represents tree canopy that remained the same from one time period to the next. Gain represents tree canopy that increased or was newly added, from one time period to the next. Loss represents the tree canopy that was removed from one time period to the next. Mapping was carried out using an approach that integrated automated feature extraction with manual edits. Care was taken to ensure that changes to the tree canopy were due to actual change in the land cover as opposed to differences in the remotely sensed data stemming from lighting conditions or image parallax. Direct comparison was possible because land-cover maps from both time periods were created using object-based image analysis (OBIA) and included similar source datasets (LiDAR-derived surface models, multispectral imagery, and thematic GIS inputs). OBIA systems work by grouping pixels into meaningful objects based on their spectral and spatial properties, while taking into account boundaries imposed by existing vector datasets. Within the OBIA environment a rule-based expert system was designed to effectively mimic the process of manual image analysis by incorporating the elements of image interpretation (color/tone, texture, pattern, _location, size, and shape) into the classification process. A series of morphological procedures were employed to ensure that the end product is both accurate and cartographically pleasing. No accuracy assessment was conducted, but the dataset was subjected to manual review and correction.University of Vermont Spatial Analysis LaboratoryThe dataset covers the following tree canopy categories:Environmental Justice Priority AreasCensus tracts composite / quintileExisting tree canopy percentage & environmental justice priority levelExisting tree canopyPossible tree canopyRelative percentage changeFor more information, please see the 2021 Tree Canopy Assessment.

This resouce contains two spatial datasets.

MPCA Environmental Justice Areas
MPCA Census Tribal Areas

These data represent areas of consideration for MPCA environmental justice efforts. Our goal is to highlight regions where community members are disproportionately impacted by environmental issues. The data fields in this layer are a mix of American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates and calculations performed by MPCA staff. Margins of error are not considered when determining potential areas of consideration.

As an attempt to highlight environmental justice areas of concern, we show census tracts where the estimated percentage of the population that identify as people of color is 40% or greater, the estimated percentage of economically disadvantaged community members is 35% or greater, as well as the estimated percentage of the population that has limited English proficiency is 40% or greater. We also include language information for each census tract and highlight the top three estimated languages spoken by those who report that they do not speak English well.

Income Threshold:
The federal government defines poverty thresholds on an annual basis (https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html). For MPCA use, we show an income threshold at 2 times the federal poverty threshold.

2022:
2 x $13,590 = $27,180 (individual)
2 x $27,750 = $55,500 (family of four)

This resource also contains Tribal Areas. These areas are derived by taking the maximum extent of two spatial datasets: the U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 TIGER/Line Shapefiles, Current American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Areas for United States; and Minnesota Department of Transportation's Tribal Government in Minnesota.

Methodology – This layer was created from Connecticut block group boundary data located in the Census Bureau's 2019 TIGER/Line Shapefiles. The poverty data used to determine which block groups qualified as EJ communities (see CT State statute 22a-20a) was based on the Census Bureau's 2019 ACS 5-year estimate- Table C17002. This poverty data was joined with the block group boundaries in ArcMap. Block groups in which the percent of the population below 200% of the federal poverty level was greater than or equal to 30.0 were selected and the resulting selection was exported as a new shapefile. The block groups were then clipped so that only those block groups outside of distressed municipalities were displayed.

Provided by Sacramento County Planning.Environmental Justice Element

DEC offers competitive grants to support and empower communities as they develop and implement solutions that significantly address environmental issues, harms, and health hazards, build community consensus, set priorities, and improve public outreach and education.Service layer is updated annually, last updated 9/30/22.For more information, see https://www.dec.ny.gov/public/31226.htmlFor more information or to download layer see https://gis.ny.gov/gisdata/inventories/details.cfm?DSID=1379Download the metadata to learn more information about how the data was created and details about the attributes. Use the links within the metadata document to expand the sections of interest. http://gis.ny.gov/gisdata/metadata/nysdec.oejgrants.xml1. The NYS DEC asks to be credited in derived products. 2. Secondary distribution of the data is not allowed. 3. Any documentation provided is an integral part of the data set. Failure to use the documentation in conjunction with the digital data constitutes a misuse of the data. 4. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, errors may be reflected in the data supplied. The user must be aware of data conditions and bear responsibility for the appropriate use of the information with respect to possible errors, original map scale, collection methodology, currency of data, and other conditions.

Environmental Justice neighborhoods are the focus of the state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs' (EEA) Environmental Justice (EJ) Policy, which establishes EJ as an integral consideration in all EEA programs, to the extent applicable and allowable by law. For more information please visit EEA's Environmental Justice Web page, which includes a detailed fact sheet as well as text of the full policy.Polygons in the 2020 Environmental Justice (EJ) Populations layer are 2020 Census block groups across the state that meet one or more of the criteria listed below. (i) the annual median household income is not more than 65 percent of the statewide annual median household income; (ii) minorities comprise 40 percent or more of the population; (iii) 25 percent or more of households lack English language proficiency; or (iv) minorities comprise 25 percent or more of the population and the annual median household income of the municipality in which the neighborhood is located does not exceed 150 percent of the statewide annual median household income.More details...Feature service also available.

EJ census block groups were determined using poverty data from the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year Estimates.

SACOG, with the assistance of the SACOG Equity Working Group, identified 2020 EJ areas as census block group level concentrations of low income, and/or high minority and/or qualification of an “other vulnerability" and/or within the CalEnviroScreen 3.0 identified areas. The other vulnerabilities take into consideration concentrations of: older adults aged 75 or more, linguistically isolated households, single parent households with children under the age of 18, low educational attainment, severely housing cost burdened households, and persons with disabilities.This is consistent with SACOG's 2020 MTP/SCS adopted plan. This feature has identified 548 boundaries as Environmental Justice areas for the SACOG region as of August 2021.

This map uses an archive of Version 1.0 of the CEJST data as a fully functional GIS layer. See an archive of the latest version of the CEJST tool using Version 2.0 of the data released in December 2024 here.Note: A new version of this data was released November 22, 2022 and is available here. There are significant changes, see the Justice40 Initiative criteria for details.This layer assesses and identifies communities that are disadvantaged according to Justice40 Initiative criteria. Census tracts in the U.S. and its territories that meet the Version 0.1 criteria are shaded in a semi-transparent blue to work with a variety of basemaps.Details of the assessment are provided in the popup for every census tract in the United States and its territories American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This map uses 2010 census tracts from Version 0.1 of the source data downloaded May 30, 2022.Use this layer to help plan for grant applications, to perform spatial analysis, and to create informative dashboards and web applications. See this blog post for more information.From the source:"Census tract geographical boundaries are determined by the U.S. Census Bureau once every ten years. This tool utilizes the census tract boundaries from 2010 because they match the datasets used in the tool. The U.S. Census Bureau will update these tract boundaries in 2020.Under the current formula, a census tract will be identified as disadvantaged in one or more categories of criteria:IF the tract is above the threshold for one or more environmental or climate indicators AND the tract is above the threshold for the socioeconomic indicatorsCommunities are identified as disadvantaged by the current version of the tool for the purposes of the Justice40 Initiative if they are located in census tracts that are at or above the combined thresholds in one or more of eight categories of criteria.The goal of the Justice40 Initiative is to provide 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments in [eight] key areas to disadvantaged communities. These [eight] key areas are: climate change, clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, the remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, [health burdens] and the development of critical clean water infrastructure." Source: Climate and Economic Justice Screening toolPurpose"Sec. 219. Policy. To secure an equitable economic future, the United States must ensure that environmental and economic justice are key considerations in how we govern. That means investing and building a clean energy economy that creates well‑paying union jobs, turning disadvantaged communities — historically marginalized and overburdened — into healthy, thriving communities, and undertaking robust actions to mitigate climate change while preparing for the impacts of climate change across rural, urban, and Tribal areas. Agencies shall make achieving environmental justice part of their missions by developing programs, policies, and activities to address the disproportionately high and adverse human health, environmental, climate-related and other cumulative impacts on disadvantaged communities, as well as the accompanying economic challenges of such impacts. It is therefore the policy of my Administration to secure environmental justice and spur economic opportunity for disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized and overburdened by pollution and underinvestment in housing, transportation, water and wastewater infrastructure, and health care." Source: Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and AbroadUse of this Data"The pilot identifies 21 priority programs to immediately begin enhancing benefits for disadvantaged communities. These priority programs will provide a blueprint for other agencies to help inform their work to implement the Justice40 Initiative across government." Source: The Path to Achieving Justice 40The layer has some transparency applied to allow it to work sufficiently well on top of many basemaps. For optimum map display where streets and labels are clearly shown on top of this layer, try one of the Human Geography basemaps and set transparency to 0%, as is done in this example web map.Browse the DataView the Data tab in the top right of this page to browse the data in a table and view the metadata available for each field, including field name, field alias, and a field description explaining what the field represents.

Map applications included arethe November 2022 release of the updated 2020 block groups designated as EJ2020 EJ attributes for all MA block groupsLanguages spoken within census tract ACS data from 2015 and DESE data from 2021 (2022?)Redlining in Massachusetts

Despite the ubiquity of coastal infrastructure, it is unclear what factors drive its placement, particularly for water access infrastructure (WAI) that facilitates entry to coastal ecosystems such as docks, piers, and boat landings. The placement of WAI has both ecological and social dimensions, and certain segments of coastal populations may have differential access to water. In this study, we employed an environmental justice framework to assess how public and private WAI in South Carolina, USA is distributed with respect to race and income. Using publicly available data from state agencies and the US Census Bureau, we mapped the distribution of these structures across the 301 km of the South Carolina coast. Using spatially explicit analyses with high resolution, we found that census block groups with lower income contain more public WAI, but racial composition has no effect. On the other hand, private docks showed the opposite trends, as the abundance of docks is significantly, posit...