Environmental and Social Justice Outcomes in U.S. Cities Hosting International Expositions

A World’s Fair or International Exhibition (Expo) is designed to offer the best face of its host city, with the effort expected to bring in millions of visitors to generate a local economic boom and international prestige. Given the effort and expense required to host an Expo, we should expect the near and long-term outcomes, at least for the neighborhoods where they occur, to be positive. But are they? This paper analyses demographic, environmental, and health metrics to evaluate environmental and social justice outcomes for the cities and neighborhoods hosting U.S. Expos. We then offer three case studies and follow with a discussion of whether the short and long-term benefits of hosting an Expo may be worth the cost.