What is an Environmental Justice Population?
In Massachusetts, an environmental justice population is a neighborhood where one or more of the following criteria are true:
- the annual median household income is 65 percent or less of the statewide annual median household income
- minorities make up 40 percent or more of the population
- 25 percent or more of households identify as speaking English less than "very well"
- minorities make up 25 percent or more of the population and the annual median household income of the municipality in which the neighborhood is located does not exceed 150 percent of the statewide annual median household income.
Secretary’s Designation For a neighborhood that does not meet said criteria, but a geographic portion of that neighborhood meets at least 1 criterion, the secretary may designate that geographic portion as an environmental justice population upon the petition of at least 10 residents of the geographic portion of that neighborhood meeting any such criteria; provided further, that the secretary may determine that a neighborhood, including any geographic portion thereof, shall not be designated an environmental justice population upon finding that: (A) the 7 Updated June 24, 2021 annual median household income of that neighborhood is greater than 125 per cent of the statewide median household income; (B) a majority of persons age 25 and older in that neighborhood have a college education; (C) the neighborhood does not bear an unfair burden of environmental pollution; and (D) the neighborhood has more than limited access to natural resources, including open spaces and water resources, playgrounds and other constructed outdoor recreational facilities and venues.
The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) uses data from the 2019 American Community Survey to identify environmental justice population areas in Massachusetts. Policy makers and state agencies can then use this information to communicate more effectively with communities affected by their work.
Environmental Justice Maps Update 2022
FAQ: Environmental Justice Maps Update 2022
Frequently asked questions regarding the Environmental Justice Council's amendment and analysis of the EJ Population definition.
Interactive maps about environmental justice populations
The environmental justice map viewer is an interactive map that displays the 2020 EJ block groups, based upon demographic criteria developed by the state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA).
The languages spoken map shows census tracts where at least 5% of the population has speakers who report they do not speak English "very well". Users can also display block groups classified as EJ using the English language isolation criteria. Click on a tract (in pink) to find which languages other than English are spoken in this area.