The rise of e-commerce has revolutionized the way America shops. Items appear on doorsteps just hours after being added to online carts, offering consumers an unprecedented level of convenience -- but the allure of same-day delivery and return services hides a more dangerous reality. As demand for the rapid distribution of goods increases, warehouses are cropping up closer and closer to homes, potentially posing significant environmental health threats to local communities and giving rise to a dangerous instance of environmental injustice. A 2023 Environmental Defense Fund report found that 15 million people now live within a half-mile of a warehouse across ten states-- and communities of color and low-income communities experience disproportionate rates of exposure.
While the environmental impacts of warehouse development are manifold, air pollution is the most pressing possible hazard due to the diesel truck activity associated with shipping and delivery demands. The nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) resulting from diesel exhaust can lead to compromised lung function, heart issues, premature death, and more, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Beyond the immediate health hazards of these pollutants, warehouse expansion can lead to noise pollution, compromise a community’s green space, and even crowd some residents out of their towns or threaten their livelihoods. The greenhouse gas emissions associated with warehouse development and operations also facilitate the acceleration of climate change, which yields hazards such as drought, wildfire, flooding, excessive heat, and more. Individuals and populations experiencing underlying vulnerabilities for a variety of reasons—for instance, compromised health resulting from proximity to hazardous sources like warehouses—will be increasingly susceptible to these risks.
New Jersey provides a notable case in point. A report from the Environmental Defense Fund revealed that one in three New Jersey residents live within a half mile of a warehouse, a burden disproportionately borne by communities of color and low-income communities. As a result, Black children in New Jersey are 11 times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma compared to their white counterparts. Although the state’s Environmental Justice Law requires the evaluation of public health impacts of hazardous facilities on overburdened communities, warehouses are not included as one of the eight regulated sources, and lack of enforcement and compliance standards have permitted their continued development within residential zones.
On the other side of the country, California’s Inland Empire (IE) is another booming epicenter for warehouse development. The 27,000 square mile region, once an agricultural hotspot known for its sprawling farmland, has more recently become a hub for major shipping and delivery companies. Located just east of the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles, which together witness 40% of all US imports, the IE is currently home to over 4,000 warehouses. These warehouses are estimated to generate over 600,000 truck trips each day; in consequence, the region regularly ranks worst in the country for concentrations of ozone and particle pollution in the American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report. A recent NASA-funded study affirmed the dangerous correlation between warehouse density and air pollution concentration across Southern California. Like in New Jersey, communities of color in the IE face an unequal strain from warehouse development: notably, a 2023 letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom, authored by a coalition of over sixty organizations as part of an ongoing report, stated that roughly 60% of IE residents living within a quarter mile of a warehouse are Latino.
New Jersey and California’s IE present two prominent examples today, but environmental hazards from warehouse development are reaching more and more communities as the shipping and delivery industry continues expanding into residential areas – and complicated zoning practices paired with the rapid expansion of e-commerce can obscure the pathway to long-term resolutions.
Legislative attempts to limit warehouses at the state level, such as a 2024 bill signed by Governer Gavin Newsom, have yielded mixed responses in California, sparking discontent from business and environmental groups alike. However, research on warehousing impacts in California published by the American Planning Association suggests that implementing responsible land use planning practices at the local level may help minimize the environmental injustices posed by warehouse development.
Several cities in the IE, along with others around the country, have enacted regional moratoriums that temporarily halt warehouse expansion. These “pauses” in development give city officials time to review zoning regulations and conduct impact assessments while offering residents an avenue to express their concerns and propose alternative solutions. In the IE and New Jersey, many residents are fighting to protect their communities, calling on have local leaders to recognize the ongoing environmental injustices threatening their neighborhoods and to include impacted groups in the planning process from the outset.