Freight mobility justice: pollution, places, and people along North American logistics chains

Even as freight and logistics activity are increasingly intertwined with our daily lives, their flows remain stubbornly invisible most of the time, along with their effects on the communities they pass through and next to. While freight flows have often been considered separately from traditional mobility justice concerns because of the different actors involved, the extent to which personal modal choice matters and standard calculations of carbon emissions, they produce many of the same environmental justice issues: disproportionate exposure to air pollution, dangerous traffic, and increased surveillance of workers. This chapter focuses on three interconnected issues in summarizing recent research on the mobility justice of freight and logistics: pollution and its environmental justice implications; spatial patterns of freight and logistics development throughout metropolitan areas; and the work of laborers and activists within and against the system.