Sewage canyon: a social-historical look at environmental injustice in Flagstaff, Arizona from 1900-1960

Rowley, Jordan Justin (2023) Sewage canyon: a social-historical look at environmental injustice in Flagstaff, Arizona from 1900-1960. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

The social-historical analysis will examine an act of environmental injustice that took place in Flagstaff, Arizona from 1900 to 1960. The investigation of racial segregation and environmental injustice is necessary due to the ongoing racial disparities both nationally and locally. First, Flagstaff documents from a local engineering company, Taylor & Taylor, report on an ongoing racially divided community for over sixty years. Second, the Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities in Flagstaff, who still reside in the areas segregated years ago, have yet to heal from the racial trauma caused at the intersections of segregation and environmental injustices. Current literature identifies how racialized spaces lead to racial injustices, and Flagstaff is no exception despite minimal efforts to address racial problems. Thus, this current project hopes to contribute to the identification of racial injustices among a community by decolonizing a racist history. KEYWORDS Environmental Justice, Racialized Spaces, Sewage Infrastructure, Flagstaff, Arizona, Historical, Segregation, Racism

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Environmental Justice; Flagstaff,Arizona; Historical Case Study; Racialized Spaces; Segregation
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Social and Behavioral Science > Sociology and Social Work
Date Deposited:	16 Oct 2025 16:24
Last Modified:	16 Oct 2025 16:24
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6206

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