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Research

Leading with sociology, my interdisciplinary research program is centered on the relationship between social and structural inequality on the one hand, and health and the environment on the other. In the highly stratified United States, social structures carry power through policies, resources, and culture, with disparate health and environmental impacts, particularly among under-resourced, communities of color. I investigate numerous social and environmental outcomes stemming from unequal social and structural forces. My research and teaching works to render visible the connections within our society with social theories, data, and statistics.


Current Projects:

  • In my first area of research, I have developed innovative research methods to measure and reveal air pollution inequalities across racism, patriarchy, and nativism. Air pollution affects everyone; however, certain communities are exposed to greater levels of air pollution, which can lead to severe health issues. Air pollution exposure reflects systematic inequities in our society. My research makes methodological and theoretical contributions to evaluate and assess how structural inequities and barriers shape air pollution disparities.
    • Recent Publications:
      • Alvarez, C. H., Calasanti, A., Evans, C. R., and Ard, K.. "Intersectional Inequalities in Industrial Air Toxics Exposure in the United States.” Health & Place.
      • Alvarez, C. H.. (2022). “Structural Racism as an Environmental Justice Issue: A Multilevel Analysis of the State Racism Index and Environmental Health Risk from Air Toxics.” Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
      • Alvarez, C. H. and Evans, C. R.. (2021). "Intersectional Environmental Justice and Population Health Inequalities: A Novel Approach." Social Science & Medicine 269(2021): 113559.
      • Alvarez, C. H., Norton-Smith, K. (2018). “Environmental Inequality in Latino Destinations: Estimated Cancer Risk from Air Toxics in Latino Traditional and New Destinations.” Socius 4.
  • My second area of research conceptualizes the structural role of the military industry complex on environmental (in)justices. The Department of Defense (DoD) is one of the largest organizations in terms of budget, employees, and real estate. Through these resources, the DoD carries power in shaping environmental and health outcomes for its workers and the public. My research in this area contributes to theorizing and empirically demonstrates the structural role of the military towards environmental (in)justices.
    • Recent Publications:
      • Shtob, D., Alvarez, C. H., and Theis, N.. (2023). “A Regional Approach to Militarized Riskscapes: An Environmental Justice Analysis of Military Proximity and Air Pollution in the United States' EPA Regions.” Sociology Compass
      • Alvarez, C. H., Shtob, D., and Theis N. G.. (2022). “Analyzing the Military’s Role in Producing Air Toxics Disparities in the United States: A Critical Environmental Justice Approach.” Social Problems.
      • Alvarez, C. H., Theis, N. G. and Shtob, D.. (2021). "Military as an Institution and Militarization as a Process: Theorizing the U.S. Military and Environmental Justice.” Environmental Justice: Special Issue on Black Lives Matter 14(6):426-434.
      • Alvarez, C. H.. (2021). “Military, Race, and Urbanization: Lessons of Environmental Injustice from Las Vegas, Nevada.” Sociological Perspectives 64(3):325-342.
      • Alvarez, C. H. (2016). “Militarization and Water: A Cross-National Analysis of Militarism and Freshwater Withdrawals.” Environmental Sociology, 2(3), 298-305.
  • My third area of research examines social and environmental impacts across political economy, labor market, and land development.
    • Recent Publications:
      • Clement, M. T., Alvarez, C. H. (2020). “The Inequality of Mundane Environmental Change: Assessing the Impacts of Socioeconomic Status and Race on Neighborhood Land Development, 2001–2011.” Sociological Perspectives, 63(2), 292-311.
      • Alvarez, C. H., Loustaunau, L., Petrucci, L., Scott, E. (2020). “Impossible Choices: How Workers Manage Unpredictable Scheduling Practices.” Labor Studies Journal, 45(2), 186-213.
      • Alvarez, C. H., McGee, J. A., York, R. (2019). “Is Labor Green?: A Cross-National Analysis of Union Membership and CO2 Emissions.” Nature & Culture, 14(1), 17-38.  
      • McGee, J. A., Alvarez, C. H. (2016). “The Metabolic Rift of Certified Organic Farming.” Sustainability, 8(2). 

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​ I received my PhD and MA in sociology from the University of Oregon. I earned double BAs in mathematics and sociology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I am from a working-class family and my parents are Mexican immigrants. They moved our family to Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1990s casino boom. I cultivated my sociological imagination in Las Vegas to better understand immigration, Latinidad, labor, space, and the environment