As the 1960s Environmental movement has grown, sustainability and justice discourses have come to the fore of the movement. While environmental justice discourse considers the unequal effects of environmental burdens, the language that frames "sustainability" is often socially and politically neutral. This thesis critically examines sustainability initiatives and practices of an urban farming organization in Florida. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in 2017, I explore the extent to which these initiatives incorporate race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic class when working to provide sustainably grown food in diverse communities. I argue that the organization's focus on justice for the environment, rather than for communities, and education as a barrier in low-income, food desert neighborhoods neglects to integrate experiences of those living on the margins into their initiatives. This research raises awareness of the need for a critical examination of sustainability in practice and a politically aware incorporation of environmental justice themes into sustainability agendas.

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Malmö strives to become an attractive and sustainable city by 2030. Continued population growth is a major reason for the need to densify within the existing urban structures. But more inhabitants will also increase pressure on usage and demand for green spaces in the city. Green space is of importance for human well-being and health, especially in urban environments. However the importance of green space is being marginalised in current debate and urban planning, due to the intensive focus on densification. The relevance of green space as an environmental quality has neither been recognised sufficiently in discussions on environmental justice. Previous policy and research has not integrated the socioeconomic dimension when assessing green space distribution. Hence this case study aimed to investigate the socio-spatial distribution of green areas in Malmö. A theoretical framework was compiled including concepts on environmental justice, i.e. the equal distribution of environmental qualities among different social groups. Moreover concepts regarding access (public/private), distance (walkability) and size (utilisation) of green areas were considered. A quantitative analysis was conducted with secondary data. As no comprehensive data set covered more recent years, census data and spatial data from 2005 was used for further analysis. The data was processed and analysed with the help of a geographic information system (GIS). With this approach green space and green areas could be identified. Green areas were categorised according to the level of public access, the size and the respective recommended distances to homes. In addition several socioeconomic factors were extracted from the census data and visualised in GIS. Thus the least advantaged neighbourhoods that lacked various public green areas could be located. On the city level it could be identified that only 13% of the total land area were covered with public green areas, resulting in 46 sq m per inhabitant in 2005. In April 2011 the population of Malmö passed the threshold of 300 000. Assuming that the amount of green areas had not changed since 2005 (unlikely), every inhabitant would have had 38 sq m of public green area in 2011. Considering these numbers in a Swedish context reveals that Malmö is on the bottom line of green area provision. On the neighbourhood level the greatest deficit was found in the eastern parts of central Malmö (e.g. Ostervärn), covering a network of neighbourhoods further south (Norra Sofielund, Södra Sofielund, Almhög, Gullviksborg). In total 32 neighbourhoods were characterised by above average percentage of children, elderly, foreign born or population density. Moreover almost all neighbourhoods lacking green areas were characterised by below average income. The results showed evidence for inequalities in the distribution of green areas between different social groups. This poses an incentive for further investigations in the field of environmental justice and sustainable urban development. Issues like actual walking distance, barriers and safety, qualities of green spaces and user experiences should be investigated in future research. Noting that the data used in this study was from 2005, it is crucial to update and determine shifts in socio-spatial distribution of green areas in the city today. Whilst the population is still increasing, it is likely that even more green space has vanished in the 7 years since 2005. All these issues are essential for a good knowledge based planning of the green and just future of Malmö.

In this thesis, the public green space provision in Hamburg, Germany is critically examined and put into context by social indicators relating to social class and ethnic background.  Urban green spaces offer a variety of benefits for citizens, ranging from recreation, improving physical and mental health, contribution to urban cooling and climate adaptation as well as providing spaces for biodiversity. Yet, provision and access to public green space is not always equal. This is reflected in the concept of urban environmental justice, which acknowledges that not all societal groups equally benefit from environmental services nor are equally affected by the burdens of environmental pollution. Urban environmental justice is used in this thesis to holistically assess public green space provision, from a distributive, procedural and corrective justice dimension. These dimensions relate to how public green space is distributed in the city, how policies surrounding green space incorporate urban environmental justice concerns, and lastly what measures are in place for correcting potential injustices. The thesis employs a mixed method approach. Critical mapping through QGIS was applied to showcase the distribution and proximity to public green space in the various neighbourhoods in Hamburg. Following this, a policy analysis was performed to investigate the procedural justice dimension. Lastly, semi-structured interviews with five planners and two activists were conducted to illuminate measures for correcting urban environmental injustices related to green space provision. The findings suggest that public green space is not evenly distributed, and issues of access exist in Hamburg. Procedural justice is not fully achieved as a legal framework for urban environmental justice is lacking and the existing policies do not consider the concept adequately. Simultaneously, both supporting and hindering measures for correcting urban environmental injustices exist and corrective justice is not fully achieved either. Overall, the discourse surrounding urban environmental justice should be advanced in Germany and more awareness needs to be raised.

To reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, many European countries are focusing on a low-emission transition by electrifying the transport sector, with special emphasis on electric vehicles (EV). However, this transition requires a large amount of lithium and other critical metals. While the current low-emission transition is portrayed as decreasing climate impact, the transition and its need for metals create new forms of socio-environmental impact. An increasing number of studies are critically examining the effects of the low-emission transition, both nationally and internationally. However, most studies are focused on the Global South with fewer focusing on the effects within and impacts caused by Europe and Scandinavia. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore the narratives surrounding the low-emission transition, with a primary focus on Sweden and a partial focus on the EU. Additionally, the study aimed to trace the origin of the lithium used in Sweden’s lithium-ion battery production to examine the socio-ecological impacts of its extraction. Using critical discourse analysis, a methodology acknowledging language as a social construct and capable of revealing power dynamics within society, the study found that green imaginaries and techno-centric perspectives are common when discussing the low-emission transition. While specific volumes and origins of imported lithium to Sweden were difficult to obtain, a broader literature review of lithium extraction and its supply chain could infer that the current lithium extraction needed for the Swedish EV battery production, most likely, comes with a broad socio-environmental impact, extending from ecosystem degradation, water scarcity, pollution, and possibly discrimination against indigenous rights. To conclude, the Swedish low-emission transition is despite its green portrayal connected to a hidden but potentially large socio-environmental impact.

[pt] Enquanto os impactos das ações humanas no planeta e das alterações climáticas repercutem cada vez mais presentes em nosso cotidiano, é possível perceber desigualdades na distribuição dos efeitos e danos causados por essa relação não amigável entre o ser humano e a natureza, com certos segmentos mais vulneráveis que arcam com a carga mais pesada de seus ônus e prejuízos. Isso não é ocasional, se conectando, muitas vezes, com questões e mazelas já estruturadas nas dinâmicas da sociedade e se sobrepondo às heranças de marginalizações e violências, de modo a perpetuar ineficiências e realimentar injustiças para seus grupos e territórios afetados. O enfoque especial dado aqui, dessa forma, é sobre a interseção entre o debate do racismo e da justiça ambiental, realizado pela ótica conceitual do racismo ambiental, que dialoga também com as discussões relativas à justiça climática e noções como a biopolítica foucaultiana e a necropolítica mbembiana. Pela relevância de sua discussão e por ocorrer casos nas esferas global e local, o texto procura estabelecer relações da temática com a influente Agenda do Desenvolvimento Sustentável, a Agenda 2030, organizada pela ONU, traçando e identificando potencialidades e limitações para a última em promover não só seus cobiçados objetivos, mas também sua capacidade de conectar e resultar em esforços para a mitigação do racismo ambiental. Como recorte de espaço de análise, o texto levanta alguns casos presentes no município do Rio de Janeiro de racismo ambiental e como os itens da Agenda, as chamadas ODS, se aplicam. / [en] While the impacts of human actions on the planet and climate change are increasingly present in our daily lives, it is possible to perceive inequalities in the distribution of the effects and damages caused by this unfriendly relationship between human beings and nature, with certain segments being more vulnerable and bearing the heaviest burden and losses. This is not occasional, often connecting with issues and ills already structured in the dynamics of society and overlapping with the legacy of marginalization and violence, in a way that perpetuate inefficiencies and feedback into injustices to their affected groups and territories. The specific focus given here is in the intersection between the debate on racism and environmental justice, carried out from the conceptual perspective of environmental racism, which also dialogues with discussions related to climate justice and notions such as the Foucaultian biopolitic and the Mbembian necropolitic. Due to the relevance of its debate and the occurrence of cases in the global and local spheres, the text seeks to establish relations between the theme and the influential Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 2030 Agenda, organized by the UN, tracing and identifying capabilities and limitations for the latter in not only promoting its coveted goals, but also its ability to connect and result in efforts to mitigate environmental racism. As a target for analysis, the text investigates some cases present in the city of Rio de Janeiro of environmental racism and how the Agenda items, the so-called SDGs, apply.

Hintergrund und Zielstellung Verkehr verursacht, neben seinem großen Nutzen, auch negative Effekte auf die Gesellschaft. Dazu zählen Stau, Unfälle und Umweltbelastungen. Aus Perspektive der sozialen Gerechtigkeit stellt sich die Frage, ob das Niveau der Umweltbelastung, dem Bevölkerungsgruppen ausgesetzt sind, ungleich verteilt ist. Bisher wurde dieser Frage in Deutschland primär aus Perspektive der Gesundheitswissenschaften nachgegangen. Dabei wurden Personen in eher kleinen Stichproben zu ihrer sozio-ökonomischen Situation befragt und die individuelle Belastung durch Schadstoffe an ihrem Wohnort ermittelt. Auf diese Weise konnten bei Luftschadstoffen und Lärm überdurchschnittliche Belastungen von Menschen mit niedrigem sozio-ökonomischen Status nachgewiesen werden. Flächendeckend vorliegende Umweltdaten und Statistiken zu der gesamten Bevölkerung eines großen Untersuchungsgebietes wurden dabei allerdings kaum einbezogen. Deshalb wird in der vorliegenden Dissertation untersucht, wie die Belastung durch verkehrsbedingte Lärm- und Luftschadstoffbelastungen zwischen sozio-ökonomischen Gruppen der Bevölkerung verteilt ist. Dabei werden neben der absoluten Belastung auch die gesundheitlichen Auswirkungen berücksichtigt. Im gewählten Untersuchungsgebiet Berlin werden dafür geeignete räumlich-statistische Bezugseinheiten verwendet, um kleinräumige Belastungsunterschiede flächendeckend zu berücksichtigen. Die normative Bewertung, nach welchen Kriterien Ungleichverteilungen aus gesellschaftlicher und wissenschaftlicher Sicht als „ungerecht“ einzustufen sind, wird bei der deskriptiven Analyse nicht dargestellt. Bewertung der Umwelteffekte Für die Analyse der sozialräumlichen Verteilung von Lärm und Luftschadstoffen ist es sinnvoll, einfach handhabbare Indikatoren zu entwickeln, mit denen die absolute Umweltbelastung zum einen räumlich und zum anderen für sozio-ökonomische Gruppen aggregierbar ist. Dafür werden, entsprechend dem Konzept der externen Kosten, Kostensätze entwickelt. Somit kann zusätzlich zur Analyse der sozialräumlichen Verteilung auch die ökonomische Tragweite der Umweltbelastungen verdeutlicht werden. Mit den externen Kosten werden die Umwelteffekte bewertet, die von den Verkehrsteilnehmern bei ihrer Entscheidung über konkrete Fahrten nicht berücksichtigt werden. Stattdessen sind von den Effekten unbeteiligte Dritte betroffen. Bei Straßen-, Schienen und Fluglärm werden die Gesundheitswirkungen Bluthochdruck, Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen einschließlich Herzinfarkt sowie Belästigungen betrachtet. Bei den Luftschadstoffen wird eine Methode entwickelt, mit der, basierend auf der Luftschadstoffkonzentration in der Außenluft, die durch Stickoxid und Feinstaub verursachten Atemwegs- und Herz- Kreislauf-Erkrankungen betrachtet werden. Grundlage der Bewertung sind jeweils Expositions-Wirkungs-Beziehungen aus der Literatur, die die Risikoerhöhung durch die Umweltwirkungen beschreiben. Außerdem fließen die Behandlungskosten der Krankheiten, die Kosten verlorener Erwerbstätigkeit und die Kosten verlorener Lebensjahre in die Bestimmung der Kostensätze ein. Die Kostensätze je Belastetem und Jahr variieren nach Expositionsniveau. Methodisches Vorgehen Nach der Entwicklung von immissionsbasierten Kostensätzen werden jedem gemeldeten Bewohner in Berlin möglichst exakt die Lärm- und Luftschadstoffbelastung am Wohnstandort sowie sozio-ökonomische Daten zugeordnet. Alle Daten liegen in amtlichen Quellen vor, sind aber bisher nicht zusammengeführt worden. 1. Für Lärm wird die Strategische Lärmkarte verwendet, die in Berlin für alle Wohngebäude die modellierte Lärmbelastung mit dem Lärmpegel LDEN für Straßen-, Schienen-, Flug- und Gesamtlärm enthält. Die Beschränkung auf Hauptverkehrsstraßen als Lärmquelle führt zu Ungenauigkeiten beim dominierenden Straßenlärm. Viele Bewohner, die im Bereich des Straßennebennetzes leben, sind modellbedingt nur sehr niedrigen Lärmpegeln ausgesetzt. Hier ist von einer Unterschätzung der Belastetenzahlen auszugehen. Um diesem methodischen Effekt Rechnung zu tragen, erfolgt eine Quantifizierung der Unterschätzung anhand der detaillierteren Dresdner Strategischen Lärmkarte und einer exemplarischen Vollkartierung eines Stadtteils mit dem Gesamtnetz als Lärmquelle. Darauf aufbauend wird für Berlin eine Sensitivitätsanalyse durchgeführt, bei der Mindestbelastungen durch Straßenlärm in der gesamten Stadt angenommen werden. 2. Bei Luftschadstoffen liegen modellierte Immissionen von Stickstoffdioxid und Feinstaub in Form einer Rasterkarte für die städtische Hintergrundbelastung und als Netzkarte für die Zusatzbelastung durch Verkehr entlang des Hauptstraßennetzes vor. Im Rahmen der Datenaufbereitung wird Straßenabschnitten die jeweilige Belastung zugeordnet. 3. Zur Beschreibung der sozio-ökonomischen Zusammensetzung der Bevölkerung liegen auf der Ebene von Straßenabschnitten Quoten der SGB-II-Empfänger („Hartz IV“-Sozialleistungen) und der Einwohner mit Migrationshintergrund (Ausländer und deren Nachkommen) in der amtlichen Statistik vor. In diesen Straßenabschnitten leben durchschnittlich 120 Einwohner. Der zentrale Schritt der Datenaufbereitung ist die Zusammenführung der Umwelt- und Sozialdaten auf der Ebene der Straßenabschnitte. Anhand der Anzahl der Luftschadstoff und Lärmbelasteten und mit Hilfe der Kostensätze werden die externen Kosten berechnet. Ergebnisse Wird zunächst die Umweltbelastung betrachtet, zeigt sich die ungleichmäßige Verteilung. So sind knapp 30 % der Bevölkerung nach der Strategischen Lärmkarte mit dem Lärmpegel LDEN > 55 dB belastet. Geringe Bevölkerungsanteile sind auch sehr hohen Belastungen ausgesetzt. Wird die Anzahl der Belasteten mit den Kostensätzen der externen Kosten multipliziert, entspricht diese Lärmbelastung knapp 130 Mio. Euro pro Jahr. Den größten Anteil verursacht Straßenlärm, gefolgt von Fluglärm. Entsprechend hoch sind die Belastungen durch Verkehrslärm im Bereich des Flughafens Berlin-Tegel (TXL) sowie am äußeren Rand und innerhalb der Berliner Ringbahn. Durch Luftschadstoffe sind alle Menschen in Berlin belastet, allerdings in unterschiedlichem Ausmaß. Belastungen oberhalb gesetzlicher Schwellenwerte sind in Bezug auf Feinstaub rund 142.000 Menschen und in Bezug auf Stickoxide rund 81.000 Menschen ausgesetzt. Dies entspricht externen Kosten für die Gesellschaft in Höhe von 1,9 Mrd. Euro pro Jahr. Während im Stadtzentrum die Belastung am höchsten ist, fällt sie zum Stadtrand hin tendenziell ab. Werden die externen Kosten durch Luftschadstoffe betrachtet, sind Straßenabschnitte mit hoher Migrationsquote um Faktor 2,8 stärker belastet als Straßenabschnitte mit niedriger Migrationsquote. Es tritt eine mittlere Korrelation zwischen hoher Migrationsquote und hoher Belastung auf. Bei Straßenlärm liegt der Faktor zwischen niedriger und hoher Migrationsquote bei 3,4 (Faktor 1,9 bei SGB-II-Quote). Es besteht bei Lärm eine geringe Korrelation zwischen Migrationsquote und Belastung. Die Strategische Lärmkarte für Straßenlärm beinhaltet nur die Belastung entlang des Hauptstraßennetzes. Die Quantifizierung der Unterschätzung zeigt, dass die Anzahl der Lärmbelasteten mit LDEN > 55 dB etwa 52 % höher ist als in der Berliner Strategischen Lärmkarte angegeben. Die stärksten Unterschätzungen treten im Intervall 55 < LDEN < 65 dB auf. Werden in der Sensitivitätsanalyse Straßenlärmbelastungen für alle Gebäude in Berlin angenommen, bleibt der Belastungsunterschied zwischen hohen und niedrigen Migrations- und SGB-II-Quoten bestehen. Über die Status-quo-Analyse hinaus ermöglichen die Daten einzelne Auswertungen zu Entwicklungen im Zeitverlauf. Werden die Strategischen Lärmkarten 2007 und 2012 miteinander verglichen, können, vorbehaltlich methodischer Einschränkungen, Minderungen bei der Lärmbelastung festgestellt werden. So fanden beispielsweise die Maßnahmen der Lärmaktionsplanung verstärkt in Straßenabschnitten mit hohen Migrations- und SGB-II-Quoten statt. Allerdings kann ein Effekt der Maßnahmen auf die Verteilung der Lärmbelastung nach Migrations- und SGB-II-Quoten nicht festgestellt werden. Das größte Potential zur Lärmminderung in Berlin hat die Verlegung des Flugverkehrs von TXL zum Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg (BER). Während dann die Zahl der Belasteten in Berlin sehr stark sinken wird, wird sie im Land Brandenburg nur leicht ansteigen. Insgesamt wird die Summe aller Fluglärmbelasteten LDEN > 55 dB von 256.000 auf 38.000 sinken. Bedingt durch die strukturell unterschiedliche Dichte und Zusammensetzung der Bevölkerung im Umfeld vom Flughafen BER werden nach Inbetriebnahme von BER fast nur Gebiete mit momentan niedrigen Migrations- und SGB-II-Quoten belastet sein. Schlussfolgerungen sowie weiterer Forschungsbedarf Die dargestellte Ungleichverteilung der Lärm- und Luftschadstoffbelastung markiert vermutlich eher die Untergrenze der realen Situation, da unter anderem die soziale Verteilung innerhalb von Gebäudekomplexen, z. B. bei der Hinterhausstruktur, unberücksichtigt bleibt. Außerdem gibt es Hinweise, dass weitere Benachteiligungen wie schlechte Erreichbarkeit oder bioklimatische Belastungen die Ungleichverteilung zusätzlich verstärken. Anhand der Methodik und der vorliegenden Daten kann nicht analysiert werden, durch welche Ursachen sich die heutige Struktur herausgebildet hat. Aus Untersuchungen zu externen Kosten ist bekannt, dass in Wohnungen mit höherer Lärmbelastung nur geringere Mieten gefordert werden. Diese geringeren Mieten können für Menschen mit niedrigem Einkommensniveau anziehend sein. Damit würde es auch bei einer Minderung der Umweltbelastung weiterhin Ungleichverteilungen geben. Diese Ungleichverteilung sollte ein Anlass sein, die gesundheitsrelevanten Lärm- und Luftschadstoffbelastungen wie folgt zu mindern: 1. Eine Zunahme der Umweltbelastung von sozio-ökonomisch benachteiligten Bevölkerungsgruppen sollte vermieden werden. Als Bewertungsgrundlage kann die durchgeführte flächendeckende Analyse dienen. 2. Das bereits bestehende Belastungsniveau sollte insgesamt gesenkt werden. Nur so erhalten mehr Menschen die Chance, in einer ihrer Gesundheit förderlichen Umgebung zu leben. 3. Die sozial benachteiligten Bevölkerungsgruppen sollten bei der Maßnahmenpriorisierung als zusätzlicher Faktor berücksichtigt werden. Notwendig für eine Fortschreibung des Analyseansatzes und die Übertragung auf andere Untersuchungsgebiete ist die Datenverfügbarkeit. Einerseits müssen Daten zur sozio-ökonomischen Struktur auf der Ebene von möglichst kleinräumigen Bezugseinheiten vorliegen. Andererseits müssen die Umweltdaten flächendeckend die reale Belastung widerspiegeln und von der Datenstruktur her für eine Weiterverarbeitung geeignet sein. Raum für weitere Forschungen bietet die Bewertung der sozio-ökonomischen Daten hinsichtlich ihrer Eignung bei Analysen der sozialräumlichen Verteilung. Neben der Forschung nach Gründen der Ungleichverteilung sollte auch die Rolle der Verursacher und eine mögliche Bilanz zwischen Verursachern und Belasteten betrachtet werden. Methodisch kann dazu u. a. die fortschreitende Verbreitung von Smartphones beitragen, mit denen zukünftig Umweltbelastungen und die Aktivitäten der Menschen in großem Stil gemessen werden können. Dies könnte helfen, bei Lärm- und Luftschadstoffen die teilweise nicht der realen Belastungssituation entsprechenden Daten zu verbessern. Langfristig könnte es damit leichter werden, die Infrastruktur und die Rahmenbedingungen, wie z. B. die Kosten im Verkehr, so zu gestalten, dass die Umweltbelastungen der Menschen sinken. / Background and objectives Besides their big benefits, transport activities also cause negative effects for the society including traffic congestion, accidents and environmental pollution. From the perspective of social justice the question arises whether the level of environmental impacts is unequally distributed between different groups of the population. In Germany this question is primarily answered by health science literature. In relatively small samples people were asked about their socio-economic situation and the level of exposure of pollutants was determined at their places of residence. In doing so, it was possible to prove that people of a lower socio-economic status suffer from levels of air pollution and noise above average. However, extensive environmental data and statistics concerning the whole population of a wider study area were hardly involved. Hence, the present dissertation examines how the burden of traffic related noise and air pollution is distributed between socio-economic groups. In addition to the absolute exposure, health impacts are taken into account. Spatial statistical reference units within the selected research area of Berlin are used in order to consider even small and local differences. However, this descriptive analysis does not involve the normative assessment of whether an unequal distribution should be classified as “unfair” from the perspective of society and science. Valuation of environmental effects For the analysis of the socio-spatial distribution of noise and air pollutants, reasonable and easily manageable indicators are necessary in order to aggregate the absolute environmental levels of exposure spatially as well as for socio-economic groups. For this purpose, cost factors are developed according to the concept of external costs. Additionally to the analysis of the socio-spatial distribution, this procedure allows the depiction of the economic consequences of environmental impacts. External costs value the environmental impacts which are not included in the decision making process of users for their trips. Instead, originally uninvolved third parties are affected by those impacts. Regarding road traffic, railway as well as aircraft noise the relevant health effects are high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases including infarction and nuisances. Concerning air pollution a method is developed which allows the valuation of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases caused by nitrogen oxide and particulate matter based on the concentration of air pollutants in the outside air. The relation between the dose and its response, which describe the risk increase of environmental effects, are taken from the literature and form the basis of the valuation. The treatment costs of diseases, the costs of employment losses as well as the costs of life years lost are additionally included in the cost factors. The cost factors per person and year vary according to the level of exposition. Methodology After the development of exposure based cost factors every registered resident of Berlin is matched as precisely as possible with the noise and air exposure at the place of residence as well as with socio-economic data. All data is taken from official sources, but have not been merged together before. 1. Noise exposure is stated in the strategic noise map, which includes the modelled noise level of all residential buildings in Berlin differentiated by LDEN for road, railway, aircraft as well as total noise. Limiting the sources of noise to the main roads results in inaccuracies in regards to the dominating road traffic noise. A lot of inhabitants which live along secondary roads are therefore only exposed to very low noise levels depending on the underlying model. Hence, the underestimation of the number of exposed people is expected. In order to deal with this methodological issue, the underestimation is quantified by the detailed strategic noise map of Dresden and an exemplary complete mapping of one district which considers the whole road network as a noise source. Based on this, a sensitivity analysis for Berlin is implemented, which assumes a minimum exposure to road traffic noise throughout the whole city. 2. Data on air pollutants exists as modelled exposure to nitrogen oxide and particulate matter. It is available as a raster map of the urban background exposure as well as a network map of the additional traffic-related exposure along the arterial roads. During the data preparation road segments are matched with the specific exposure. 3. Within the official statistics two indicators describing the socio-economic composition of the population are available on the level of road segments. The first one is the proportion of people receiving social welfare benefits (SGB-II) and the second one is the proportion of people with migration background. On average 120 inhabitants live in one of those road segments. The preparation of the data focuses on merging the environmental and social data on the level of road segments. The external costs are calculated using the number of people exposed to traffic related noise and air pollutants as well as the cost factors. Results When initially concentrating on the environmental pollution, an unequal distribution appears. According to the strategic noise map about 30 % of the population is exposed to noise levels LDEN > 55 dB. A small proportion suffers from high exposures. Multiplying the number of those people with the corresponding cost factors, the total noise exposure results in about 130 million Euro per year. Road traffic noise causes the biggest share of cost followed by aircraft noise. Correspondingly the highest noise pollution occurs in the area of the airport Berlin-Tegel (TXL) and in a wide corridor along the Berlin circular railway called “Ringbahn”. All inhabitants of Berlin suffer from air pollution, albeit to different degrees. In regards to particulate matter about 142,000 people and respectively 81,000 people regarding nitrogen oxide are exposed to levels above the legal threshold values. The costs for society arising hereby accumulate to 1.9 billion Euro per year. While finding the highest levels of exposure close to the city center, the pressure falls with distance to the center. Examining the external costs of air pollution, road segments with a higher proportion of people with migration background are by the factor of 2.8 considerably more affected than road segments with a lower rate of migration. A medium correlation occurs between the rate of migration and a high exposure. Concerning road traffic noise the factor between low and high rates of migration background is 3.4 (factor 1.9 for the rate of social welfare benefits respectively). There is a low correlation between the rate of migration and the level of exposure. The strategic noise map for road traffic noise includes only the exposure along the main roads. The quantification of the underestimation shows that the number of people exposed to noise above LDEN > 55 dB is about 52 % higher than reported in the strategic noise map of Berlin. The highest underestimations occur within the range of 55 < LDEN < 65 dB. The different level of exposure between high and low rates of migration background and of social welfare recipients remains when assuming road traffic noise exposure for all buildings in Berlin within the sensitivity analysis. Beyond the status quo analysis, the data allows an evaluation over time. Comparing the strategic noise maps from 2007 and 2012, reductions in the noise exposure can be determined subject to methodological limitations. Measures of the noise action planning for instance were intensively implemented in road segments with higher shares of people with migration background as well as recipients of social welfare. However, an effect of these measures on the distribution of noise exposure according to migration and social welfare rates cannot be proven. The highest potential for noise reductions lies in the relocation of air traffic from TXL to the airport Berlin Brandenburg (BER). While strongly reducing the number of exposed people in Berlin, the number of exposed people in the state of Brandenburg will only rise to a small extent. Overall the number of people suffering from aircraft noise with LDEN > 55 dB will drop from 256,000 to 38,000. Because of the structurally diverging density and composition of the population surrounding the airport BER, almost only areas with currently low migration and social welfare rates will be exposed after the beginning of operation at the airport. Conclusions and further research The presented unequal distribution of noise and air pollution is likely to mark the lower threshold of the real situation. A reason is among other aspects the social distribution within a complex of buildings where for example the structure of rear buildings is ignored. Furthermore, there is evidence that further discrimination such as poor accessibility or bioclimatic impacts additionally reinforces the unequal distribution. By means of the methodological approach and the available data, it is not possible to analyze the initial causes of the current structure. Research concerning external costs reveals that rents are lower for apartments with higher noise exposure. Lower rents in turn are likely to attract people with low incomes. For this reason, even when reducing the environmental pollution, the unequal distribution would persist. Hence, the unequal distribution gives cause to reduce the exposure to noise and air pollutants as follows: 1. The increase of environmental pollution for people who belong to a socially disadvantaged population group should be prevented. The conducted comprehensive analysis can be used as a basis of assessment. 2. The current level of exposure must be reduced in absolute terms. Only in doing so, more people get the chance to live in an environment which benefits their health. 3. When prioritizing measures the socially disadvantaged population groups should be considered among other factors. Improving the methodological approach and the transfer to other study areas requires the availability of data. On the one hand, data about the socio-economic structure for small reference units needs to be existent. On the other hand, the environmental data needs to mirror the real levels of exposure and its structure must be suitable for further processing. The evaluation of socio-economic data gives room for further research with regard to its suitability for analyzing distributions within the social context. Besides trying to find the causes of the unequal distribution, the role of the polluters as well as the possibility to create a balance between the polluters and the exposed individuals should be considered. From a methodological perspective for instance the increasing use of smartphones can contribute to the measurement of environmental exposures and human activities on a larger scale. This could improve the data quality of noise and air pollutants, which currently only partly meets the real levels of exposure. In the long term it could be easier to shape infrastructures and general conditions such as the costs of transport in a way that the environmental impacts of people is reduced.