Investigating environmental justice in Scotland: links between measures of environmental quality and social deprivation.

The overall aim of this research project was to consider the extent to which communities of people in Scotland living at different levels of deprivation also live in proximity to factors affecting environmental quality. The presumption is often made that there is coincidence between poor environmental quality and deprived communities in Scotland. This project sought to develop an evidence base to explore this presumption and to help inform future policy directions.

The project involved a review of past research in the environmental equity field; a scoping and evaluation of data sets; and an analysis of 8 environmental topics against patterns of multiple deprivation throughout Scotland.

For each of the 8 environmental topics analysis was undertaken against the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004. Use was also made of spatially precise household location data in order to estimate populations in proximity to environmental features. Patterns of clustering and differences between urban and rural populations were also examined where relevant.