In general, our findings agreed with our hypotheses that people of color and lower socioeconomic groups experience more pollution than white or more affluent communities; however, many of our visualizations indicated that these issues are nuanced and require more further analysis. For example, the relationship between the percentage of Latino residents and PM2.5 had little correlation with PM2.5 levels. What separates predominantly Latino communities from Black or Asian communities? Is it possible that other factors, like socioeconomic status, are more important than Latino neighborhood representation when predicting pollutant exposure? Therefore, future studies can investigate Latino neighborhoods more and whether this trend is localized to Los Angeles or is also observed in other metropolitan areas.
Furthermore, most of our analysis involved PM2.5 levels; however, future studies could also investigate water contamination and greenspace more closely. For instance, what are the health effects of drinking contaminated water? How does greenspace affect one’s mental health or personal development? The former could be analyzed by including other medical-related datasets in our visualizations, while the latter could be studied through interviews or educational outcomes from more polluted areas.
Finally, it is also important to acknowledge that PM2.5 levels are only one aspect of air pollution. The EPA includes other pollutants in its air quality index, including ozone, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide, with each pollutant originating from distinct, varying sources. For a more comprehensive analysis of air pollution, we could remove PM2.5 with the EPA’s AQI. Nevertheless, PM2.5 is still a good proxy of air quality, particularly given its disastrous health effects, and only investigating one pollutant allows for simpler analysis. One could use our visualizations to identify specific PM2.5 sources and how they are located relative to lower-income neighborhoods.
Overall, our findings highlight that social dynamics and power influence one’s access to clean air, water, and abundant greenspace. As a result, our lived experiences are influenced by both the science behind the environment, as quantified by pollutant concentrations and measurements, as well as societal forces. Ultimately, we hope that this project illustrates the importance of environmental justice and uplifting marginalized communities in discourse around environmental protection.
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