Littering is a famous social problem, but not one that much academic research has been devoted to in recent decades, probably because of the obvious ethnic and immigrant angles.

I’ve been wondering why I tend to assume that Latino Littering is more of a problem than Black Littering. I think the answer I’ve come up with is a useful distinction.

Latino littering is more noticeable because littering is linked to population density, and Latino neighborhoods tend to grow in density over time, while black neighborhoods tend to depopulate over time.

Another question is whether Latino littering is related to the turf-marking impulse displayed in Latino graffiti.

By the way, here’s the full text of Penn law professor Amy Wax’s much denounced speech on, among much else, littering.