Sacoby Wilson
Biographic Data
| ID | 3582702 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sacoby Wilson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sacoby |
| FAMILY NAME | Wilson |
| SIGNATURE | WILSON S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Maryland, College Park |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0453-8954 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 57 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 71 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 57 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Developing a Community-Based Low-Cost Air Quality Monitoring Program in America’s Black Belt: Case Study in Uniontown, Alabama
Across the United States, environmental hazards differentially burden low-wealth communities of color due to institutionalized racism and discriminatory practices in zoning, land use, and community development. This is observed in the predominantly African American City of Uniontown, Alabama. Community members in Uniontown have long complained of poor health conditions associated with local operations of the Arrowhead Landfill, the Southeastern C…
Segregation Histories, Wealth, and Community Engagement Shape Inequitable Burdens of Urban Greening
Incorporating vegetation into urban landscapes (hereafter, greening) has numerous ecological and social benefits. Not all greening processes are intentional, though, and not all nature conveys benefits to urban residents under conditions of uneven urban development, racial segregation, and unrecognized care work. We describe a framework for integrating multiple lines of evidence to explore the social contexts and socioecological impacts of urban …
Utilization of MD EJSCREEN to Assess Health Outcomes in Baltimore, Maryland
Many industrialized communities in Baltimore, Maryland, lack information about the levels of air pollution, environmental hazards, or related health statistics in their neighborhoods. This gap prompted the development and utilization of the Maryland (MD) Environmental Justice Screening (EJSCREEN) tool, to determine the correlation of the overall MD EJSCORE and existing demographic and environmental MD EJSCREEN indicators, with selected health out…
Promoting Environmental Justice Through a Community-Based Participatory Research Framework: Characterizing Risks Associated with Living in Uniontown, Alabama
Uniontown, Alabama, has been suffering from a differential burden of air pollution due to two distinct sources: the Arrowhead Landfill and the Southeastern Cheese Corporation cheese manufacturing plant. Community members throughout Uniontown have long complained of poor health conditions such as nausea, headaches, sleep deprivation, and reduced quality of life associated with the local activities of these facilities. Ongoing community efforts to …
Years of Environmental Injustice and the Mississippi Hog Industry: Spatial and Statistical Analyses for Low-Wealth Communities and Communities of Color
Background: The industrialization and consolidation of the animal agriculture industry has led to the rise of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). CAFOs and their runoff have been linked to deleterious effects on environmental and human health. A previous study demonstrated that hog CAFOs were disproportionately sited within or near low-wealth communities and communities of color, raising environmental justice concerns. This study aime…
Using the Maryland Park Equity Tool to Correlate Park Space with Children's Health in Baltimore, Maryland
Exposure to greenspace infrastructure (e.g., canopied parks, trails) is frequently shown to improve public health outcomes, especially for children in urban areas. Accordingly, inequitable access to these amenities has been a longstanding concern of environmental justice research, advocacy, and policy. The Maryland Park Equity Mapper—a web-based tool and index that ranks census block groups based on park presence as well as select sociodemographi…
Holding State Agencies Accountable: The Creation of an Environmental Justice Scorecard for Maryland State Agencies
Environmental justice (EJ) examines the cumulative and disproportionate burden of hazards on vulnerable populations, including low-income communities of color. EJ scorecards provide constituents with a tool to assess their agencies' stances on environmental issues. Through the development of a 2019–2021 Maryland Agency Scorecard, we tracked agency actions to advance EJ, by focusing attention on five key areas: (1) community engagement; (2) commit…
MD EJSCREEN v2.0: Visualizing Overburdening of Environmental Justice Issues Using the Updated Maryland Environmental Justice Screening Tool
Geographic information system tools analyze the environmental hazards and injustice throughout the United States. This article highlights the updated Maryland Environmental Justice Screening Tool (MD EJSCREEN v2.0), a state-specific resource for visualizing local environmental justice and health disparities in Maryland. Four new functions for screening and visualizing environmental justice indicators are described and demonstrated: the Select Fea…
Towards attaining green sustainability goals of cities through social transitions: Comparing stakeholders’ knowledge and perceptions between two Chesapeake Bay watersheds, USA
Development of a Geographic Information Systems Mapping Tool to Measure Park Equity in Maryland
In 2008, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) developed the Maryland Park Equity Assessment Tool to visualize the socioenvironmental distribution of parks across the state and assess where resource investments would most enhance residents' access to green space. This tool, the first of its kind in Maryland (MD), represents an important advancement in environmental justice (EJ) decision making. In 2018, MDNR partnered with the autho…
Environmental Justice and the Mississippi Poultry Farming Industry
Mississippi's growing poultry business, including industrialized farms and meatpacking plants, raises a number of concerns regarding public health and environmental justice. Using hot spot analysis, we analyzed the totality of Mississippi's industrial poultry farms and meatpacking plants to assess whether these types of facilities were disproportionately sited in communities of color and/or low socioeconomic status communities at the census tract…
Proximity of Urban Farms to Hazards With and Without Heavy Metal Contamination in Baltimore, Maryland
Previous studies have cited the sociocultural and environmental benefits of urban farming that acts as an effective strategy to address food disparities and sustainability. However, environmental justice advocates have raised concerns regarding the harmful effects that heavy metals from neighboring environmental hazard facilities may have on urban farms. This study utilized geographic information system mapping to track environmental hazards and …
Environmental Injustice and Industrial Chicken Farming in Maryland
Maryland’s growing chicken industry, including concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and meat processing plants, raises a number of concerns regarding public health and environmental justice. Using hot spot analysis, we analyzed the totality of Maryland’s CAFOs and meat processing plants and those restricted to the Eastern Shore to assess whether communities of color and/or low socioeconomic status communities disproportionately hosted t…
Monitoring Neighborhood Concentrations of PM 2.5 and Black Carbon: When Using Citywide Averages Underestimates Impacts in a Community with Environmental Justice Issues
Monitoring networks are commonly designed to measure the air quality of regional air sheds and may not be representative of neighborhood air quality. This study presents data collected in a neighborhood in Washington, District of Columbia (DC), through a partnership between academics, residents, and a grassroots organization. It contributes to a growing body of studies that demonstrate the extent of differences in air quality experienced by some …
Roundtable on the Pandemics of Racism, Environmental Injustice, and Covid-19 in America
Environmental JusticeVol. 13, No. 3 RoundtableRoundtable on the Pandemics of Racism, Environmental Injustice, and COVID-19 in AmericaModerator: Sacoby M. Wilson, Participants: Robert Bullard, Jacqui Patterson, and Stephen B. ThomasModerator: Sacoby M. WilsonAddress correspondence to: Sacoby M. Wilson, 4200 Valley Drive, 2234D School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA E-mail Address: [email protected]Dr. Sacoby M…
Air Quality Assessment of Particulate Matter Near a Concrete Block Plant and Traffic in Bladensburg, Maryland
A concrete block plant located in Bladensburg, Maryland, wants to expand to include a concrete batching plant on the same property. This expansion could further degrade air quality and impact the health of vulnerable residents. The purpose of this study is to provide information on particulate matter (PM2.5) levels near residential areas close to commuter traffic and industrial activity associated with the concrete plant. Air quality monitoring w…
A Commentary on Efforts in Six States to Advance Environmental Justice
Throughout the country, communities of color and low-wealth populations are overburdened by environmental hazards and locally unwanted land uses. Issues of discrimination, racism, and injustice in the siting of industrial hazards, effects on environmental quality, and impacts on health in these communities have been neglected by the mainstream and environmentalist movements. In this commentary, we describe specific efforts of community-based orga…
Assessment of Social, Economic, and Geographic Vulnerability Pre- and Post-Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas
Across the United States, low-income populations, people of color (POC), and marginalized and disenfranchised groups experience an unequal burden from environmental hazards such as Superfund sites, toxic release inventory (TRI) facilities, and other locally unwanted land uses (LULUs). Disproportionate distribution of these exposure sources causes inequities in exposure to natural disasters such as hurricanes since LULUs could release chemicals an…
Air Quality Assessment of Volatile Organic Compounds Near a Concrete Block Plant and Traffic in Bladensburg, Maryland
A concrete block plant located in Bladensburg, Maryland, wants to expand to include a concrete batching plant on the same property. This expansion could further degrade air quality and impact the health of vulnerable residents. The purpose of this study is to provide information on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) levels near residential areas close to commuter traffic and industrial activity associated with the concrete plant. Air quality monit…
Hybrid Resiliency-Stressor Conceptual Framework for Informing Decision Support Tools and Addressing Environmental Injustice and Health Inequities
While structural factors may drive health inequities, certain health-promoting attributes of one's "place" known as salutogens may further moderate the cumulative impacts of exposures to socio-environmental stressors that behave as pathogens. Understanding the synergistic relationship between socio-environmental stressors and resilience factors is a critical component in reducing health inequities; however, the catalyst for this concept relies on…
Utilization of the Maryland Environmental Justice Screening Tool: A Bladensburg, Maryland Case Study
Maryland residents' knowledge of environmental hazards and their health effects is limited, partly due to the absence of tools to map and visualize distribution of risk factors across sociodemographic groups. This study discusses the development of the Maryland EJSCREEN (MD EJSCREEN) tool by the National Center for Smart Growth in partnership with faculty at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. The tool assesses environmental justi…
Rapid Health Impact Assessment of a Proposed Poultry Processing Plant in Millsboro, Delaware
In 2013, Allen Harim Foods purchased the former site of a Vlasic Pickle plant in Millsboro, Delaware, and proposed to convert the site into a poultry processing plant that would process approximately two million birds weekly. This generated concerns about the proposed plant's potential to impact health and quality of life among residents. We conducted a rapid health impact assessment (HIA) of the proposed plant to assess baseline environmental he…
Development of a Cumulative Stressors and Resiliency Index to Examine Environmental Health Risk: A South Carolina Assessment
Several South Carolina (SC) communities are overburdened by pollution and may suffer from environmental health disparities. To address these disparities, improvements in screening approaches are needed to understand and mitigate risk. The purpose of this study was to develop a cumulative stressors and resiliency index (CSRI) that includes environmental stressors and resiliency buffers to rank human health and environmental risks at the census tra…
Prevalence of Microbiological and Chemical Contaminants in Private Drinking Water Wells in Maryland, USA
Although many U.S. homes rely on private wells, few studies have investigated the quality of these water sources. This cross-sectional study evaluated private well water quality in Maryland, and explored possible environmental sources that could impact water quality. Well water samples ( n = 118) were collected in four Maryland counties and were analyzed for microbiological and chemical contaminants. Data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture were …
Citizen science and civic ecology: Merging paths to stewardship
Place-based perceptions of the impacts of fracking along the Marcellus Shale
We examined community perspectives and experiences with fracking in Doddridge County, West Virginia, USA as part of a larger assessment to investigate the potential health impacts associated with fracking in neighboring Maryland, USA. In November 2013, we held two focus groups with community residents who had been impacted by fracking operations and conducted field observations in the impacted areas. Employing grounded theory, we conducted qualit…
The West End Revitalization Association's Community-Owned and -Managed Research Model: Development, Implementation, and Action
COMR promotes CBOs with demonstrated organizational capacity to PI and project manager. The COMR model goes beyond UMRMs and CBPR because it emphasized the credibility and capacity of CBOs to develop, own, manage, foster, and sustain viable research agendas to address ongoing environmental hazards and related threats to health and quality of life
Photovoice: Assessing the Long-Term Impact of a Disaster on a Community’s Quality of Life
Photovoice is a qualitative method of inquiry whereby individuals can document their lived experiences, particularly individuals whose voices are not typically heard in regard to promoting social change and policy development. We used photovoice to elicit major themes regarding community members' perceptions of the long-term impact on their quality of life as a deadly technological disaster hit a small, rural town in South Carolina. Overall, part…
Use of EPA Collaborative Problem-Solving Model to Obtain Environmental Justice in North Carolina
The structure and successes of WERA's Right to Basic Amenities project have been discussed at demonstration and training sessions to help others replicate the model in comparable low-income communities of color in North Carolina and across the United States
Citizen science and civic ecology: Merging paths to stewardship
Environmental Justice Radar: A Tool for Community-Based Mapping to Increase Environmental Awareness and Participatory Decision Making
This article describes the development of the Environmental Justice (EJ) Radar, a PPGIS tool that provides stakeholders in South Carolina with a way to raise environmental awareness and improve citizen participation in local environmental decision-making. We describe the functionality of EJ Radar and discuss feedback received from stakeholders to improve the utility of the PPGIS tool
Environmental justice disparities in Maryland's watershed restoration programs
Assessment of the Distribution of Toxic Release Inventory Facilities in Metropolitan Charleston: An Environmental Justice Case Study
Objectives. We assessed spatial disparities in the distribution of Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) facilities in Charleston, SC. Methods. We used spatial methods and regression to assess burden disparities in the study area at the block and census-tract levels by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). Results. Results revealed an inverse relationship between distance to TRI facilities and race/ethnicity and SES at the block and census-tract…
The role of community-based strategies in addressing metropolitan segregation and racial health disparities
This paper is a conceptual analysis of the effects of racial residential segregation, which is a major contributor to racial and ethnic health disparities. Metropolitan segregation has had adverse health consequences for economically disadvantaged and minority populations because they are exposed to higher levels of environmental pollutants and have limited opportunities to gain a quality education, access to healthcare, and increase their econom…
Use of EPA Collaborative Problem-Solving Model to Obtain Environmental Justice in North Carolina
The structure and successes of WERA's Right to Basic Amenities project have been discussed at demonstration and training sessions to help others replicate the model in comparable low-income communities of color in North Carolina and across the United States
The West End Revitalization Association's Community-Owned and -Managed Research Model: Development, Implementation, and Action
COMR promotes CBOs with demonstrated organizational capacity to PI and project manager. The COMR model goes beyond UMRMs and CBPR because it emphasized the credibility and capacity of CBOs to develop, own, manage, foster, and sustain viable research agendas to address ongoing environmental hazards and related threats to health and quality of life
Podcast Interview Transcript
Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action - Volume 1, Issue 4, Winter 2007
Built Environment Issues in Unserved and Underserved African-American Neighborhoods in North Carolina
Urban planning has focused on built environment issues in cities such as urban sprawl, availability of green space, and infrastructure for physical activity. However, in small southern towns, there are built environment issues which currently either are understudied or completely neglected by researchers. In this article, we describe the built environment issues that burden unserved and underserved communities of color in North Carolina. We use a…
How Planning and Zoning Contribute to Inequitable Development, Neighborhood Health, and Environmental Injustice
In this commentary, we discuss the ways in which planning and zoning contribute to inequitable development and how this has implications for the design of neighborhoods, health and health disparities, and environmental injustice. We first discuss the history of zoning and planning in this country and their contribution to inequitable development and urban fragmentation. We then describe how the distribution of resources within and between neighbo…
An Ecologic Framework to Study and Address Environmental Justice and Community Health Issues
This article builds on environmental justice (EJ) research that examines the differential exposure of disadvantaged populations to environmental hazards and health resources. This article presents a multidisciplinary ecologic framework that postulates macro and meso-level determinants of health are operationalized through segregation and community zoning, planning, and development to create living conditions in urban landscapes. This article prom…
Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Vulnerability: An Exploratory Spatial Analysis
Research has demonstrated that vulnerable populations including disadvantaged populations of color live in areas that may place them at higher risk of exposure to social and environmental hazards. Due to climate change, these populations may experience worse health outcomes and environmental health disparities. The purpose of this project was to explore the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to assess areas that may be vulnerable to clim…
Governance Structures and the Lack of Basic Amenities: Can Community Engagement Be Effectively Used to Address Environmental Injustice in Underserved Black Communities
Many communities impacted by environmental injustice, including the disproportionate burden of unhealthy land uses and environmental hazards and lack of access to health-promoting infrastructure, can trace these disparities to inequities in planning, zoning, and community development. These inequities and infrastructure disparities occur in many places because of the way that governance structures, particularly municipal police powers, are applie…
The Use of Community-Driven Environmental Decision Making to Address Environmental Justice and Revitalization Issues in a Port Community in South Carolina
Initiatives whereby community-based organizations, industry, and city officials work together to revitalize communities are invaluable. The Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC), a community-based environmental justice organization comprised of seven economically depressed African-American neighborhoods in North Charleston, SC, convened in response to the planned siting of a new port terminal near their community. Their efforts led to …
The role of community-based strategies in addressing metropolitan segregation and racial health disparities
This paper is a conceptual analysis of the effects of racial residential segregation, which is a major contributor to racial and ethnic health disparities. Metropolitan segregation has had adverse health consequences for economically disadvantaged and minority populations because they are exposed to higher levels of environmental pollutants and have limited opportunities to gain a quality education, access to healthcare, and increase their econom…
Environmental Justice and Infectious Disease: Gaps, Issues, and Research Needs
The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between environmental changes and infectious diseases and their impact on health in environmental justice (EJ) communities. The evolution of EJ science and research is contingent upon an integrated approach that takes into account social processes and environmental changes to address the burden of infectious diseases in EJ communities. We recognize that infectious disease and environmenta…
Assessment and Impact of a Summer Environmental Justice and Health Enrichment Program: A Model for Pipeline Development
The need for more enrichment programs for underrepresented groups in the health sciences particularly the environmental health sciences is considerable. The implications of chronic racial/ethnic differences in scientific training are best illustrated by the disproportionate number of health professionals from underrepresented groups. For example, African Americans comprise 13% of the total U.S. population but only account for 4% of U.S. physician…
The Spatial Distribution of Leaking Underground Storage Tanks in Charleston, South Carolina: An Environmental Justice Analysis
A current research trajectory within environmental justice literature has been to explore various measures of proximity to environmental hazards which may contribute to exposure and health risks for vulnerable populations. Research has shown that many low-income residential areas, which often are predominantly comprised of people of color, are located in close proximity to hazardous waste sites. Public health researchers have documented that thes…
Assessment of the Distribution of Toxic Release Inventory Facilities in Metropolitan Charleston: An Environmental Justice Case Study
Objectives. We assessed spatial disparities in the distribution of Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) facilities in Charleston, SC. Methods. We used spatial methods and regression to assess burden disparities in the study area at the block and census-tract levels by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). Results. Results revealed an inverse relationship between distance to TRI facilities and race/ethnicity and SES at the block and census-tract…
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks and Environmental Injustice: Is There a Hidden and Unequal Threat to Public Health in South Carolina
There are approximately 590,000 underground storage tanks (USTs) nationwide that store petroleum or hazardous substances. Many of these tanks are leaking, which may increase the risk of exposure to contaminants that promote health problems in host neighborhoods. Within this study, we assessed disparities in the spatial distribution of leaking underground storage tanks (LUSTs) based on socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity in South Carolin…
Assessment of Spatial Disparities in the Burden of Underground Storage Tanks in Maryland (2001–2011)
The presence of leaking underground storage tanks (LUST) may present environmental justice (EJ) concerns including groundwater contamination for communities with a number of USTs, other environmental hazards, and poor infrastructure. The purpose of this study is to assess ten years of residential LUST exposure data in Maryland across areas with varying sociodemographic composition. Methods: We linked ten years of site-specific LUST remediation da…
Summary on the Charleston Area Pollution Prevention Partnership Environmental Justice Conference and Summit
For the last six years, a community-university partnership between the Low Country Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC), the Charleston Community Research to Action Board (CCRAB), the University of South Carolina (USC), the University of Maryland-College Park (UMD), and other partners and stakeholders have worked to perform a baseline assessment of environmental pollution, exposure disparities, and health in underserved and economically distress…
Summary on the First Annual Symposium on Environmental Justice and Environmental Health Disparities in Maryland and DC
Statistics have demonstrated that although we have progressed toward reducing environmental health disparities in the United States, there is still much work to be done. Health disparities result from multiple factors including poverty, environmental threats, inadequate access to health care, and individual and behavioral factors. In an effort to address environmental justice and environmental health disparities in the state of Maryland and Washi…
The Public Health Exposome: A Population-Based, Exposure Science Approach to Health Disparities Research
The lack of progress in reducing health disparities suggests that new approaches are needed if we are to achieve meaningful, equitable, and lasting reductions. Current scientific paradigms do not adequately capture the complexity of the relationships between environment, personal health and population level disparities. The public health exposome is presented as a universal exposure tracking framework for integrating complex relationships between…
Engaging a Chemical Disaster Community: Lessons from Graniteville
Community engagement remains a primary objective of public health practice. While this approach has been adopted with success in response to many community health issues, it is rarely adopted in chemical disaster response. Empirical research suggests that management of chemical disasters focuses on the emergency response with almost no community engagement for long-term recovery. Graniteville, an unincorporated and medically underserved community…
Use of Segregation Indices, Townsend Index, and Air Toxics Data to Assess Lifetime Cancer Risk Disparities in Metropolitan Charleston, South Carolina, USA
We found that material deprivation, measured by the Townsend Index and segregation measured by the Isolation index, introduced high impact on lifetime cancer risk by air toxics at the census tract level
Environmental justice disparities in Maryland's watershed restoration programs
Association between an Internet-Based Measure of Area Racism and Black Mortality
Racial disparities in health are well-documented and represent a significant public health concern in the US. Racism-related factors contribute to poorer health and higher mortality rates among Blacks compared to other racial groups. However, methods to measure racism and monitor its associations with health at the population-level have remained elusive. In this study, we investigated the utility of a previously developed Internet search-based pr…
Community, State, and Federal Approaches to Cumulative Risk Assessment: Challenges and Opportunities for Integration
Community, state, and federal approaches to conventional and cumulative risk assessment (CRA) were described and compared to assess similarities and differences, and develop recommendations for a consistent CRA approach, acceptable across each level as a rigorous scientific methodology, including partnership formation and solution development as necessary practices. Community, state, and federal examples were described and then summarized based o…
Environmental Justice Radar: A Tool for Community-Based Mapping to Increase Environmental Awareness and Participatory Decision Making
This article describes the development of the Environmental Justice (EJ) Radar, a PPGIS tool that provides stakeholders in South Carolina with a way to raise environmental awareness and improve citizen participation in local environmental decision-making. We describe the functionality of EJ Radar and discuss feedback received from stakeholders to improve the utility of the PPGIS tool
Environmental Justice and Health Disparities (42 works) · Political science (42 works) · Geography (36 works) · Environmental justice (35 works) · Medicine (35 works) · Environmental health (32 works) · Sociology (30 works) · Environmental planning (18 works) · Population (18 works) · Engineering (15 works)