Spatial Dimensions of Environmental Justice in Post-Socialist Urban Geographies: Evidence from Traffic Noise Analysis in Warsaw

Abstract Environmental justice research has consistently shown that socially disadvantaged populations are often disproportionately exposed to traffic noise in cities worldwide, particularly across North America and Western Europe. However, it remains unclear whether similar patterns also characterize cities in the CEE region, given their historically divergent development trajectories. Using Warsaw as a case study, this article examines how the interaction between a distinctive post-socialist urban legacy and contemporary urban processes is reflected in patterns of distributive environmental injustice. Beyond testing for the existence of inequality, the study adopts a spatially-focused perspective by combining spatial regression with neighbourhood segmentation analysis, enabling the identification of socio-spatial contexts in which environmental justice concerns are most likely to arise and providing a framework for more place-sensitive policy interventions. More broadly, the study situates the Warsaw case within the historical and geographical context of post-socialist urban development, contributing to the emerging debate on environmental justice in Central and Eastern European cities.