My problem statement is the environmental impacts on poorer redlined communities of St. Louis caused by the city’s industrial parks, predominantly populated by minorities. In other words, the lower income residents of St. Louis’s neighborhoods experiencing health complications such as asthma, lead poisoning, air poisoning, etc. due to their proximity to factories emitting high levels of pollution and waste. What drew me to this issue is my interest in the socioeconomic conditions of how cities are planned and constructed. How larger cities plan residential neighborhoods can determine the economic outcomes of millions of people making the issue a priority. I also empathize with the minorities who have unjustly suffered as most of them have, most likely, been the blue collared workers employing the factories and supplying profits for the corporations who have failed to assist and support them in return. I am approaching the problem as an outsider to St. Louis with limited to no background in the structure of St. Louis. It is important to note that I, myself, am not a member of a minority group and am approaching from an outsider’s perspective, in that respect and the privilege that comes with it. This problem is also well suited for digital humanities. Due to the problem centering around the geography and layout of the city, maps, diagrams, and other visual resources will be very helpful. It is not only helpful for me but helps the audience understand the severity of the problem without large paragraphs of text. A visual timeline would be helpful to convey how the neighborhoods have changed over time in relation to the factories causing the health issues experienced. Even further, color could be utilized in distinguishing the different neighborhoods and layout of the city socioeconomically to demonstrate how the upper-class residents were not affected by the pollution and waste. For research purposes, this issue has been well documented spanning decades of potential sources.

Primary Source: https://www.environmentalracismstl.com/

Secondary Source: https://source.washu.edu/2019/09/environmental-racism-in-st-louis/