Zoning Laws in California

My findings reveal that across several California counties, there is a direct relationship between poverty rates and the amount of harmful environmental zoning laws, which lead to the build up of factories and other industrial sites which cause pollution in the surrounding area. In the above map, redder states indicate a higher poverty rate on the left and negative zoning restrictions on the right. Note that some counties are missing due to the lack of available data. Across the Central Valley, where poverty rates are higher, there is a higher number of industrial zones, manufacturing plants, and resource extraction sites, including mining, mineral extraction, and lumber harvesting. In contrast, in wealthier areas such as the Bay Area counties and Orange County, there are many fewer zoning restrictions approving industrial plants and more zoning laws facilitating the construction of parks and other nature conservation areas. These maps demonstrate a clear trend in California: much of the manufacturing and resource extraction, two of the largest causes of pollution, is concentrated in lower-income areas, demonstrating a key inequality in today's environmental justice system.