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History determines who gets to breathe clean air in Denver, according to a ����ֱ�� Boulder and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (����ֱ��) study. The research—which used satellite pollution data, historical redlined maps, census tracks and fuel emissions data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—found that past redlining and discriminatory lending practices are linked to inequities in air quality today. The result: air quality is worse for communities of color.

����ֱ�� Boulder PhD student Alex Bradley and ����ֱ�� Fellow and Chemistry Professor Joost de Gouw led the work. Going into the study, one could have expected that people in Denver are exposed more evenly to air pollution, de Gouw said. “But that is not what we found. It still matters where you live and how close you are to industrial sources and highways inside the city boundaries.”

Denver Globe smelter. Photo courtesy of Denver Public Library, History ����ֱ��.

Mapping Inequality project at the University of Richmond