An Interactive GIS Dashboard for Visualizing and Achieving Energy Justice of Vulnerable Communities

Energy justice refers to the concepts of equity, affordability, accessibility, and participation in the energy system and energy transition regardless of race, nationality, income, or geographic location. The absence of energy justice can disproportionately burden minority and low-income communities’ physical and financial health, economic investment in infrastructure, and environmental disparities. Redlining was a discriminatory practice in U.S. cities in the 1930s that made homeownership significantly costlier in designated areas based on race or ethnicity. There is an urgent need to understand how decadelong disinvestment in infrastructure in these communities affects modern-day power grid infrastructure, energy readiness and energy justice. This paper is focused on Detroit, a historically redlined city; highlighting demographic disparities and visual correlations related to energy justice. This research identifies potential instances of "utility redlining" using a Geographic Information System (GIS) visualization method. The developed GIS interactive visualization tool offers a scalable, detailed, and less-costly solution to understand the impacts of historical redlining on energy justice and energy fairness.