When environmental inequalities worsen health
Faced with the impact of climate change and environmental degradation, we are not all equal. Pollution, extreme heat and exposure to certain health risks hit certain populations hardest. Environmental health enables us to analyze these inequalities and understand how environmental factors influence the health of populations.
In Montpellier, researchers at the One Science Foundation are analyzing these inequalities at the interface between environmental health, public health and the social sciences.
Environmental exposures very unevenly distributed
Breathing polluted air, living near industries or enduring repeated heatwaves do not affect all citizens in the same way. “Working-class neighborhoods, often dense and sparsely vegetated, accumulate a number of nuisances,” explains Sarah Carminati, a sociologist specializing in environmental inequalities. “They also have fewer resources to cope: housing, access to information or healthcare.”
In Montpellier, several studies show a correlation between social vulnerability and exposure to environmental risk factors. The researchers identify “cumulative areas of vulnerability”, where risks add up: air pollution, urban heat islands, lack of green spaces and fuel poverty.
Extreme heat reveals environmental inequalities
Heat waves, amplified by climate change, particularly affect vulnerable populations. “They affect the elderly, children, the isolated and those with reduced mobility – often from disadvantaged backgrounds – most severely,” stresses climatologist Hugo Merlet.
In some deprived neighborhoods, poorly insulated housing and the absence of trees exacerbate the feeling of heat. Researchers use satellite data, field measurements and social surveys to identify priority areas for adaptation. This work helps communities to better target their health and planning policies.
Interdisciplinary research for environmental justice
To meet these challenges, we need to bring together urban planning, sociology, medicine, ecology and climatology. The One Science Foundation federates researchers from different disciplines around common projects.
This work makes it possible to :
- model exposure according to social and territorial characteristics ;
- assessing the health impacts of environmental policies;
- co-constructing local solutions with local residents and stakeholders.
The aim is twofold: to understand how environmental inequalities are created, and to propose concrete, scientifically-based solutions.
Towards more equitable cities in the face of environmental risks
In Montpellier, the One Science Foundation is helping to make environmental health an issue of social justice. By documenting the mechanisms of inequality, producing reliable data and developing decision-making tools, it contributes to the development of fairer, more effective public policies.
Faced with environmental challenges, knowledge is not enough. It must be shared and geared towards equity. Research at Montpellier aims to ensure that the ecological transition leaves no one behind.