ABSTRACT
In recent decades, distributive justice issues have become centrally important in risk assessment of environmental risks and hazards. Recognition of social inequalities in the spatial distribution of toxic pollution hazards and risks, first in the United States and then globally, has spawned a vibrant social movement, policy debates, and a large body of research. This chapter discusses that, while distributive environmental justice (EJ) research has produced important knowledge regarding injustices associated with toxic pollution hazards, this body of work is bound by limitations that constrain empirical and normative understandings of EJ implications of flood hazards, despite recent focus in the EJ literature. From an EJ perspective, the chapter first highlights the complex and sometimes counterintuitive findings emerging from relatively recent studies of flood hazards. It then highlights some key limitations of conventional distributive EJ research before introducing a conceptual framework with corresponding propositions for enhancing understanding of the complex distributive dimensions of environmental injustices associated with flood hazards.
