Deculturalization refers to the method of a ruling class utilizing media, literature, educational institutions and workforce standards to dismantle the cultures of marginalized families, while replacing them with its customs. This process has been used to exclude BIPOC from environmental groups, climate control efforts, policy changes, ecological jobs and agricultural skills that would otherwise empower them to address environmental disparities predominantly found within their communities.

Urban Pollution consists of contamination from and harmful exposure to chemical, industrial, and electronic waste-based substances and/or excess nutrients drastically altering local environmental qualities. Landfills, incinerators, corporate negligence, commercial agriculture, mining and drilling has led to land, water and air depletion as well as major health concerns in urban communities.

Food Insecurity describes a lack of consistent accessibility, affordability, nutrition and cultural relevance in regards to an individual or community’s local food system. The USDA defines what is known as a “food apartheid” as an area where atleast 33 percent of the population live more than 1 mile from the nearest supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store. Although an inability to sufficiently transport, store or prepare any procured food are also considerable conditions.

Malnutrition represents the disenfranchisement of healthcare and the limited access to medical resources in BIPOC communities, leading to high numbers of nutrient deficiencies and diet-related health issues. The highest records of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, lung disease, and influenza found in any community are those with the highest recorded conditions of food insecurity, urban monotony and poverty.

Dilapidation refers to the deterioration of both natural and built environments leading to infrastructure decay and desolation unfit for safe habitation. Municipal solid waste, demolition debris, exposed wiring, and other safety hazards are all signs of this urban blight. Black and Brown communities tend to continue remaining in this state of environmental ruin decades after their initial devastation, existing as traumatic reminders of the natural or violently coordinated catastrophes that caused them. Pollution is a common byproduct as EPA tests reveal a increased concentration of harmful chemicals like arsenic residue left post-event, making incompetent federal disaster recovery culpable in the harm.

Displacement and Houselessness describe the extermination and forced removal of marginalized communities from their homes due to systematic inequalities and acts of violence. Displacing longtime members of a neighborhood is often a consequence of the transformative economic process known as gentrification, however history has also shown migrant bans, detainment, deportation, and genocide as recent examples.

Urban Monotony represent the destruction or scarcity of public spaces and institutions (i.e. parks and trails, recreation centers, sports venues, libraries, studios, etc.) These are the spaces responsible for promoting SEL, skill development, relationship-building, a strong sense of community ownership, and regularly provides safe environments for those coming from abusive conditions. Conversely, the absence of these places create an environment of social isolation, irrational anxiety found common with gaslighting, and an acquiescence to social injustices.

Gaslighting in environmentalism refers to the psychological abuse and manipulation tied to a tight concentration of a people into spaces of scarcity and desperation. Crime has been made racially and economically segregated due in large part to this exploitation. Practices of red-lining, discriminatory housing techniques and over-policing have led to the creation of permanent stress environments where irrational anxiety, depression and suicide run rampant.

Transit Inequality is the disproportionate lack of access to reliable, safe and efficient local modes of travel and physical accessibility. Structures that can be traversed regardless of a person’s ability grants access to all. So the ultimate goal to address this inequality is not increasing reliance upon public transportation but instead the creation of more inclusive designs for developing pedestrian and wheelchair-friendly neighborhoods where daily necessities like food, housing, public spaces and jobs are reachable by foot, use of mobility aids or bike.

Environmental issues of race can be dated back as far as to both the American Genocide of Indigenous People and American Slavery. The impact on the environment alone can be a major frame of reference when discussing the massacre of those that nurture(d) this land and the over-cultivation of said land through unsustainable plantation agriculture that depletes biodiversity, causing drought-led contamination, land erosion and damage to soil fertility.