Abstract
“Are we so buried under railroads and coal yards that we have no further rights?” — A Westside Resident, 1918 In 1918, residents of Salt Lake City’s Westside,” home to much of the city’s low-income, immigrant, and minority populations, protested the poten- tial codification of their community into an industrial zone where unchecked development would threaten their health and wellbeing.® Their “smoldering indignation . . . burst into flame” as they sought to make their voices heard, distributing a thousand leaflets to fellow Westsiders that called for a mass gathering in front of the city’s zoning committee.* Their efforts, while val- iant, proved unsuccessful® A century later, residents of the present-day Westside continue to protest against the environmental injustices damaging their community.® Addressing environmental injustice in the present remains a difficult task, especially when the harm spans generations. At the core of the issue is a question that will only become increasingly important as communities across the globe deal with the climate crisis and its differential impact: what does it look like to achieve true justice? The story of the Westside, in which land use policies devasted a community that continues to push for justice today, pro- vides a useful case study that illuminates this question and possible answers.
Recommended Citation
Shiv Pandya,
JUSTICE IN A SACRIFICE ZONE; EARLY LAND USE BATTLES AND ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IN SALT LAKE CITY'S WESTSIDE,
28
Rich. Pub. Int. L. Rev.
259
(2025).
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/pilr/vol28/iss3/3