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Northern Interstitiality: A GeoAI Analysis of Informal Jim Crow Spatial Legacies with Modern Contaminants and Infrastructure in Philadelphia
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Researchers applied GeoAI analysis to examine how racialized urban planning in Philadelphia during the Jim Crow era (1880-1940) has created path-dependent spatial legacies that now correlate with modern environmental contaminant exposure and infrastructure inequities for minority communities.
This project investigates the path-dependency of racialized urban planning in Philadelphia, specifically the liminal spaces occupied by Asian middleman minorities and Black residents during the Jim Crow era (1880–1940). Unlike the binary segregation of the South, Philadelphia’s informal Jim Crow operated at the micro-scale of alleys and street segments. By integrating historical IPUMS Census microdata and Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps with modern environmental data from the Philly Emerging Contaminants Initiative (PECI), this study uses computer vision and predictive modeling to determine if historical tri-racial interaction zones are statistically correlated with modern infrastructure contaminants—specifically, higher concentrations of PFAS and microplastics. The project tests the hypothesis that 19th-century tenderloin and bachelor society districts served as industrial buffers that created persistent environmental hazards.
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Scientists used artificial intelligence to map microplastic pollution in soils worldwide, revealing hotspots that are likely to grow through 2030, especially in parts of Africa and South and Southeast Asia. Since these microplastics can enter our food and water, this mapping helps identify where people face the greatest exposure risk, guiding where monitoring and cleanup efforts are needed most.
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Researchers quantified and characterized microplastic contamination across waterways in the Greater Philadelphia region, examining how plastic degradation from weathering, heat, water, and biological activity introduces microplastics into local water bodies and the atmosphere. The study assessed the scope of contamination and documented the implications of microplastic pollution for aquatic and human health in an urban watershed context.
Using large and complex datasets for small-area environment-health studies: from theory to practice
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Air pollution, contaminated water, microplastics, and other environmental hazards affect the health of millions of people worldwide, but pinpointing exactly how much harm they cause, and where, can be tricky. This paper reviews new tools and methods scientists use to study these risks in specific neighborhoods or regions, from mapping population data to tracking where people have lived over time, all aimed at getting more accurate answers about environmental health dangers. Better tools like these mean researchers and public health officials can more reliably detect and respond to pollution risks in your community, rather than missing hazards that are widespread but hard to spot.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.