Resumen
Multiple social and environmental justice concerns are linked to the urban form such as the distribution of socioeconomic class populations, healthcare spending, air pollution exposure, and human mobility. Because of this, the implications of the relationships between built urban form, sociodemographic factors, and air quality warrant analysis at a high spatial resolution. This study used 1m resolved LiDAR data to characterize land use in Salt Lake County, Utah, and associate it with sociodemographic and air quality data at the census block group and zip code levels. We found that increasing tree cover was associated with higher per capita income and lower minority populations while increasing built cover was linked to lower per capita income and higher minority populations. Air quality showed less strong correlations, however, decreased non-irrigated cover, increased built cover, and higher amounts of households living under poverty were related to higher long-term PM2.5 exposure. Due to regional air pollution concerns, several policy efforts have been undertaken to improve air quality and reduce negative health outcomes in Utah which are being informed by regulatory and research-grade air quality sensors.