move to a country where environmental laws are less restrictive . The state often responds to these threats by giving in and allowing polluting to continue […]. 11
In addition to such threats made by corporations , government incentives are offered in industrial cities in the United States . This interplay between the public and private sphere led to rapid increases in pollution levels in the automobile-friendly Midwest , particularly in Michigan . 12 During the automotive industry boom in the 1960s , Flint was home to many of the largest automotive factories and suppliers . Much of this industry was dependent on lead , a core component in batteries , paint , welding materials and finishers on automobiles .
When the automobile industry in Flint collapsed , beginning in the 1970s , those confined to communities near the former factories were exposed to the highest concentrations of lead , particularly in the soil . In a 2016 study into the levels of lead toxicity in the blood of Flint ’ s children , Mark A . S . Laidlaw et al . found that ‘ lead exposure from soil and dust sources in Flint before the water crisis was already high and predictable from seasonal patterns .’ 13 Such exposure is particularly dangerous for children , as much of the lead particles in the air settle into the first few inches of topsoil around the polluted spaces . Making matters worse , discriminatory housing policies , which emerged as automotive cities like Flint expanded , isolated communities of colour , in particular , inside the boundaries of the heaviest pollution . Both soft policies of landlord refusal and legal “ redlining ” policies – in which people of colour were denied home loans for certain communities – effectively ghettoised the neighborhoods around the large automotive factories in Flint . But perhaps more insidious were the discursive and perception consequences that arose as these lead-concentrated neighborhoods increasingly fell into disrepair .
John Reynolds argues that ‘ the notion of the civilizing mission — spawned by the European colonial project and percolating through the League of Nations —
11 Paul Stretesky and Michael Lynch , “ Corporate Environmental Violence and Racism ,” Crime , Law & Social Change 30 ( 1999 ): 167 . 12 Andrew R . Highsmith , “ Demolition Means Progress : Urban Renewal , Local Politics , and State-
Sanctioned Ghetto Formation in Flint , Michigan ,” Journal of Urban History 35 ( 2009 ): in which the author discusses joint progression of industrial development and increased ghettoisation of Flint from the 1940s through to the 1970s . 13 Mark A . S . Laidlaw et al ., “ Children ’ s Blood Lead Seasonality in Flint , Michigan ( USA ), and Soil-
Sourced Lead Hazard Risks ,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 13 ( 2016 ): 2 .
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