Climate Inequality CLT: Stories from the Frontlines of Environmental Justice
Climate Inequality CLT is a public history and community mapping project dedicated to illuminating environmental justice in Charlotte, North Carolina. Built by UNC Charlotte students, faculty, local educators, youth, artists, and community leaders, the project explores the historical roots, present realities, and future possibilities of climate inequality in the region. Its work brings together lived stories, archival research, interactive maps, and multimedia resources — all with the goal of building awareness and inspiring action toward climate justice.
A Digital Hub for Climate Stories
At the heart of the initiative is the Climate Inequality CLT website, a vibrant platform that features community narratives, visual storytelling, and data-rich mapping tools. Here you can explore:
Featured Stories that highlight voices and experiences from across Charlotte.
A Community Atlas that maps climate burden indicators against socioeconomic and health data, revealing patterns of environmental inequity in Mecklenburg County.
Archives preserving historical images and texts that anchor today’s climate challenges in a broader, generational context.
Visitors to the site are invited not just to read about environmental justice — but to see it, feel it, and understand its roots in the everyday lives of neighbors and fellow citizens.
From Website to Museum: “Climates of Inequality”
In 2023, the Levine Museum of the New South hosted Climates of Inequality: Stories of Environmental Justice, a major exhibition that brought this digital work into a physical space.
Within the traveling exhibition — part of an international Humanities Action Lab project — a featured section titled **“**Climate Refugees in the City of Creeks” grounded global themes in Charlotte’s local landscape.
These visuals show how historical maps, oral histories, artwork, and interactive stations were used to connect Charlotte’s past — from redlining and industrial waterway history to present-day climate migration — with the environmental justice struggles of today.
Voices, Impact & News Coverage
Local news coverage helped amplify the stories featured in the exhibit and online project. In June 2023, WFAE reported on the Levine Museum’s display, highlighting how Charlotte residents — especially Black and low-income communities — bear the greatest burdens of climate change despite contributing the least to its causes.
The exhibit also included personal reflections from community activists and educators, underscoring that climate inequality is not an abstract future danger but a present-day reality impacting health, housing, labor, and mobility.
Why Charlotte?
Charlotte’s story — like many across the U.S. — shows how environmental injustice intersects with racial segregation, urban policy, and socioeconomic divides. By documenting who is affected and how, Climate Inequality CLT invites residents, policymakers, students, and visitors to engage with climate change as both a scientific and deeply human issue.
This work doesn’t end with a museum exhibit or a website. It continues through community conversations, classroom curricula, grassroots organizing, and collective efforts to shape a just and resilient future for all Charlotteans.
Explore More
Visit the project: https://climateinequalityclt.com/
Learn about the exhibit: Climate Refugees in the City of Creeks @ Levine Museum of the New South Levine Museum of the New South
See press coverage: WFAE climate exhibit story (June 2023) WUNC