Disparities in environmental hazards and amenities that fall along racial lines have been a well-described pattern in the U.S. for decades. Communities of color are more likely to be exposed to higher levels of air and water pollution, are at greater risk for climate-related hazards such as extreme heat and flooding, and benefit from fewer environmental amenities (e.g., green space) than other neighborhoods. Recent efforts to map upstream, structural determinants of discrimination and racism (e.g., historical redlining maps) have shown that these determinants are correlated with present-day distributions of environmental burdens and amenities, as well as health outcomes. However, to date, the measurement and analysis of the role of structural racism in environmental epidemiology has been limited.

Structural determinants of racism are an important driver of environmental injustice and, therefore, represent a critical factor to be considered in environmental epidemiology studies, particularly those that focus on spatial variations in exposures. While there is a growing recognition that structural determinants should be considered as explanatory factors in public health and epidemiology, lack of data and imprecise measurement have limited their widespread use. The goal of this special topic section is to highlight innovative solutions, data sources and metrics to measure and address structural racism, with specific application to environmental epidemiology research.

We welcome all original research and reviews on the broad topic of environmental racism. Key themes covered by this research topic include, but are not limited to:

• The application of structural determinants of racism to studies investigating pollution, chemical burden, climate hazards, or the built environment and health outcomes.

• The development of novel metrics for measurement of structural racism with application to environmental epidemiology.

• Environmental epidemiology studies that consider structural racism as an element of cumulative exposure.

• Case studies that consider the use of measures of structural racism with or without the social construct of race.

• Evaluations of policies, programs, and/or interventions to address structural environmental racism.

• Community-based approaches to mitigating the impacts of environmental racism.

• Novel statistical and/or methodological approaches for the analysis of structural racism within environmental epidemiology.

• Identification and assessment of racial biases within environmental epidemiology data sources.

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Frontiers in Epidemiology

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