Identifying disproportionate impacts in Arkansas: New considerations for environmental justice mapping and implications for leaders

In 2021, Charles Lee defined disproportionate environmental and public health impacts and offered an approach for environmental justice (EJ) leaders to identify disproportionate impacts. However, Lee's model has not yet been compared to current mapping models, nor has it been applied to the highly disadvantaged landscape of Arkansas. In this study, we extend Lee's model and offer a complementary theory of disadvantage to identify, characterize, and describe disproportionate impacts in Arkansas. We ask: What communities are most disproportionately impacted? What is the spatial distribution of risk to environmental burdens and population vulnerabilities? How do these burdens and vulnerabilities cluster together? How might the theory of disadvantage assist in disproportionate impacts research? We deploy a descriptive, mixed-methods design using data from national mapping tools. Findings reveal regions of Arkansas that are disproportionately impacted. However, no region is devoid of high risk. Minority populations are the most impacted groups, and populations living in disproportionately impacted communities tend to suffer from specific burdens and vulnerabilities that erode well-being. The theory of disadvantage is found to be useful for disproportionate impacts research. These results offer EJ leaders a new lens to view and design mapping tools and they clarify intervention points.