NAACP, et al., v. Maricopa County, et al., 2005.

NAACP, et al., v. Maricopa County, et al., 2005.  

Plaintiffs sued the Maricopa County (Arizona) Board of Supervisors for granting planning permission for a landfill site near Mobile, a traditionally African American community.  The plaintiffs argued that a series of racially discriminatory zoning actions violated the civil rights of Mobile’s residents and landowners.  We performed GIS analyses of the geographical distribution of the area’s sparse population, focusing on Census blocks, rather than larger Census tracts.  We found that the proposed landfill site was distant from African American population concentrations.  The case was dropped after the property was sold to parties that planned other uses for the land.