Environmental inequalities : class, race, and industrial pollution in Gary, Indiana, 1945-1980 /

Based on careful research using many original documents from public and private collections, Hurley's well-written and well-organized work is a social and environmental history of the unequal distribution of environmental problems caused by industrial production processes. The history portrays the dynamics of race and class in focusing on the reciprocal relationship between land-use decisions and social institutions. Hurley demonstrates how the requirements of industry were repeatedly given priority over the quality of life. Patterns of inequalities along the dimensions of race and class laid the foundation for environmental inequalities. The inequalities persisted through changes in policy and political agenda generated by various social movements in the 1960s. Hurley's analysis is of one city--Gary, Indiana--but that city is in many important ways typical of industrialized cities in the US. The book is founded on solid research and is a pleasure to read. Endnotes provide extensive additional information. Excellent bibliography and index; tables, figures, and maps. All levels.