Linking the Racialization of a Metropolitan City in India with Environmental Injustice Using High Resolution Paired Data

Abstract

It has been argued that urbanization, which is one of the most important drivers of environmental change in the Global South, holds the promise of diluting existing inequalities based on caste, religion and income in India. In this research, we plan to combine demographic data from the census at a high spatial resolution with remote sensing information to examine how urbanization can create new pathways for the racialization of urban space and for the creation of environmental injustice in cities. This work builds on our existing work on spatial segregation and environmental injustice for urban India. Through this research, we propose to build on our analysis and examine environmental injustice in Delhi, one of India’s largest cities. In doing so, we will also examine the ‘diversity deficit’ hypothesis, which posits a negative relationship between diversity and the provision of public goods (including environmental goods).