Presenters:
Jeffrey Beauvais
In this presentation, we present a study on whether public and private WAI in South Carolina, USA is equitably distributed with respect to race and income. Using publicly available data from state agencies and the US Census Bureau, we mapped the distribution of these structures across the 301 km of the South Carolina coast. We found that areas with lower income are more likely to contain a public pier or boat landing, but racial composition has no effect. On the other hand, private docks showed the opposite trends, as the abundance of docks is significantly, positively correlated with areas that have greater percentages of White residents, while income has no effect. We contend that the racially unequal distribution of docks is likely a consequence of the legacy of Black and Gullah/Geechee land loss, especially of waterfront property, throughout the coastal southeast over the past half-century. Knowledge of racially uneven private water access can guide public policy to rectify this imbalance.
Length: 30 minutes