boards and regulatory bodies, resulting in greater exposure of the community to pollution. RD Bullard writes that a growing body of evidence reveals that people of color and low-income persons have borne greater environmental and health risks than the society at large in their neighbourhoods, workplaces and playgrounds. Environmental racism stems from the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which focused on environmental reform and wildlife preservation and protection, and was led primarily by the middle class. The early environmental movement largely ignored the plight of poor people and people of color who, even in the mid-20th century, were increasingly exposed to environmental hazards. Policies related to redlining and urban decay can also act as a form of environmental racism, and in turn, affect public health. Urban minority communities may face environmental racism in the form of parks that are smaller, less accessible and of poorer quality than those in more affluent or white areas in some cities. This may have an indirect effect on health since young people have fewer places to play and adults have fewer opportunities for exercise. Although impoverished or underdeveloped communities are at greater risk of contracting illnesses from public areas and disposal sites, they are also less likely to be located near a distinguished hospital or treatment center. Hospitals relocate to wealthier areas where the majority of patients are privately insured, thus reducing the number of low-income patients. Whereas hospitals were previously established in the areas with the greatest need, most are now focused on economic gain from private insurance companies, and are threatened by Medicare funding cuts. Robert Wallace writes that the pattern of the AIDS outbreak during the 80s was affected by the outcomes of a program of 'planned shrinkage' directed in African-American and Hispanic communities, and implemented through systematic denial of municipal services, particularly fire extinguishment resources, essential for maintaining urban levels of population density and ensuring community stability. Institutionalized racism affects general health care as well as the quality of AIDS health intervention and services in minority communities. The overrepresentation of minorities in various disease categories, including AIDS, is partially related to environmental racism. The national response to the AIDS epidemic in minority communities was slow during the 1980s and '90s showing an insensitivity to ethnic diversity in prevention efforts and AIDS health services. Institutionalized racism A major downfall of the U.S. healthcare system is the unconscious racial biases