Abstract
Previous research has highlighted significant socio-environmental inequalities in the UK and elsewhere. A city's greatest polluters typically reside in affluent suburban communities located along the city's periphery, while those creating the least emissions reside in central locations, and most likely experience the largest associated health burdens. Using the culturally diverse city of Leicester as a study case, and building on Mitchell and Dorling's (2003) localised form of the Polluter Pays Principle, we investigate this environmental injustice. A pattern detection analysis of localised intra-urban interactions was undertaken using a ‘Local Indicators of Spatial Association’ (LISA) modelling approach of high resolution census data, Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) records, road transport emission maps and geocoded hospital admissions records provided by the NHS Leicester City Primary Care Trust. Pearson's R statistics identified an inverse correlation between mobile polluters and communities characterised as either socially (− 0.78) or environmentally burdened (− 0.34), confirming the existence of environmental inequalities. While some inner-city communities moderately contribute towards their environmental burden, these contributions were substantially outweighed by those made by external communities, whom appear to avoid the social, environment and physical cost of their actions. In contrast to their more affluent counterparts, residents of less affluent areas tend to use ‘greener’ and more active transport options, although any associated health benefits appear largely offset by increased periods of environmental exposure. Strong signs of spatial structuring within the modelling framework, suggest there may be a need to tailor travel schemes to local populaces. For example, in affluent areas where less environmentally friendly transport options tend to be adopted, options based on local carpool schemes may be more amenable than those based on enhanced public services.