In this report I analyze both historical and contemporary urban planning policies enacted by the City of Austin, TX, through which I establish patterns of structural inequality affecting working class communities of color residing in East Austin. I examine early 20th-century urban beautification initiatives, along with the Progressive era segregationist project of the modern city. Austin city planners solidified segregation along racial lines with the 1928 Master Plan, which mandated the systematic displacement and relocation of African American and Mexican American communities to Austin’s Eastside, along with all “objectionable industries.” Today, East Austin working class communities of color continue to experience unequal burdens of environmentally hazardous industry in their neighborhoods. I examine initiatives implemented by the local grassroots environmental justice organization PODER and their fight for the health and safety of East Austin residents of color in combination with their protest against gentrifying urban planning policies and practices. Through an analysis of the PODER Young Scholars for Justice documentary, Gentrification: An Eastside Story, I look at the ways in which gentrification has changed the East Austin urban cultural landscape. This report aims to shed light upon spatial and racial social geographies that have contributed to the nearly century long battle East Austin residents have waged against discriminatory urban planning policies resulting in educational segregation, environmentally racist industrial zoning, and contemporary displacement of working class communities of color for city profit. / text

Many contemporary grassroots environmental campaigns do not begin in urban areas but in small towns, rural enclaves, and racially or economically disadvantaged communities. Citizens with no previous activist experience or association with the established environmental movement organize to fight industry-created degradation in their communities, such as coal-fired power plants in Texas, the focus of this dissertation. The Texas coal plant opposition movement is identified as sites of environmental justice, particularly as discriminatory practices against sparsely populated communities. The movement’s collaborative efforts are defined as a new category of counterpublic, co-counterpublic, due to the discrete organizations’ shared focus and common purpose. The concept that a growing number of environmental activists are atypical is advanced; atypical environmentalists often engage in environmental practices while rejecting traditional environmentalist language and identity to avoid stigmatization as tree-huggers, extremists, or affluent whites. Presented are rhetorical analyses of identity negotiation and modalities of public enactments of citizenship within the Texas coal plant opposition movement and a critique of plant proponent hegemonic discourses. Research focused on five sites of coal plant opposition in Texas, gathered through ethnographic fieldwork and through a compilation of mediated materials. Asen’s discourse theory of citizenship was used to analyze the data for instances of rhetorical negotiation of environmentalist identity in politically conservative and in ethnically marginalized communities, their localized performances as public citizens, and the collaborative processes between established environmental groups and discrete local organizations. Texas anti-coal activists engaged in what Asen called hybrid citizenship; activists were primarily motivated toward enacted citizenship by a sense of betrayal by authorities. Issue and identity framing theories were implemented to critique rhetorical strategies used by plant proponents. In order to silence the opposition, plant supporters marginalized local anti-coal activists using what Cloud called identity frames by foil; proponents borrowed derogatory rhetorics from well-established anti-environmentalist discourse through which they self-identified positively by framing opponents as Other. The means through which proponents deflected their responsibility to the community by promoting technological solutions to pollution and deferring authority to industry executives and government agencies is analyzed within Chong and Druckman’s competing frames and frames in communication theories. / text

Population exposure to traffic pollution is a rapidly developing, multi-disciplinary scientific field. While the link between long-term exposure and respiratory issues is well-established, there are probable links to a number of more serious health effects, which are still not fully understood. In the interests of protecting human health, it is prudent that we take a cautionary approach and actively seek to reduce exposure levels, especially in the home environment where people spend a significant portion of their time. In many large cities, a substantial number of homes are situated on land immediately adjacent to busy freeways and other heavily-trafficked roads. Characterising exposures of local residents is incredibly challenging but necessary for advancing epidemiological understandings. While existing studies are plentiful, the results are mixed and generally not transferable to other urban areas due to the localised nature of the built environment and meteorological influences. This thesis aimed to employ a variety of methods to develop a holistic understanding of the influence of traffic emissions on near-highway residents' exposure in two communities of South Auckland, New Zealand, where Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) is as high as 122,000 vehicles. First, ultrafine particles (UFPs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter ≤ 10 μm (PM₁₀) were continuously monitored using a series of fixed stations at different distances from the highways, over several months during the winters of 2010 and 2011. Emissions modelling output (based on traffic composition), was used within a dispersion model to compare modelled concentrations with monitored levels. In addition, community census meshblock units were mapped by level of social deprivation in order to assess potential inequities in highway emissions exposure. The second layer of local air quality investigation involved using a bicycle platform to systematically measure concentrations of UFPs, CO and PM₁₀ using the entire street-grid network throughout each community. This was done forty times - five times at four times of day (07:00, 12:00, 17:00 and 22:00), for each study area, with the aim of mapping the diurnal fluctuation of microspatial variation in concentrations. Using global positioning system (GPS) data and geographical information system (GIS) software, spatially-resolved pollutant levels were pooled by time of day and the median values mapped, providing a visualisation of the spatial extent of the influence of emissions from the highways compared to minor roads. The third layer involved using data from multiple ambient monitors, both within the local areas and around the city, to simulate fifty-four residents' personal exposure for the month of June, 2010. This required collecting timeactivity information which was carried out by door-to-door surveying. The time-activity data were transformed into microenvironment and activity codes reflecting residents movements across a typical week, which were then run through the US-EPA's Air Pollution Exposure Model (APEX). APEX is a probabilistic population exposure model for which the user sets numerous microenvironmental parameters such as Air Exchange Rates (AERs) and infiltration factors, which are used in combination with air pollutant concentrations, meteorological, and geospatial data, to calculate individuals' exposures. Simulated exposure outputs were grouped by residents' occupations and their home addresses were artificially placed at varying distances from the highways. The effects of residential proximity to the highway, occupation, work destination and commute distance were explored using a Generalised Linear Model (GLM). Surveyed residents were also asked a series of Likert-type, ordered response questions relating to their perceptions and understandings of the potential impacts of living near a significant emissions source. Their response scores were explored as a function of proximity to the highway using multivariate linear regression. This formed the final layer of this investigation into air quality throughout these South Auckland communities of Otahuhu and Mangere Bridge. Results show that concentrations of primary traffic pollutants (UFPs, NOx, CO) are elevated by 41 - 64% within the roadside corridor compared to setback distances approximately 150 m away and that the spatial extent of UFPs can reach up to 650 m downwind early in the morning and late in the evening. Further, social deprivation mapping revealed that 100% of all census meshblocks within 150 m either side of both highways are at the extreme end of the deprivation index (NZDep levels 8 - 10). Simulations for residents dispersed across the community of Otahuhu estimated daily NOx and CO exposure would increase by 32 and 37% (p<0.001) if they lived immediately downwind of the highway. If they were to shift 100 m further downwind, daily exposure would decline by 56 - 70% (p<0.001). The difference in individuals' exposure levels by occupation varied across the same distance by a factor of eight (p<0.05), with unemployed or retired persons the most exposed due to having more free time to spend outdoors at home (recreation, gardening, etc.). Those working in ventilated offices were the least exposed, even though ambient concentrations - likely due to a strong urban street canyon effect - were higher than the nearest highway monitor (5 m downwind) by 25 - 30% for NOx and CO, respectively. Inverse linear relationships were identified for distance from highway and measures of concern for health impacts, as well as for noise (p<0.05). Positive linear relationships were identified for distance from highway and ratings of both outdoor and indoor air quality (p<0.05). Measures of level of income had no conclusive statistically significant effect on perceptions (p>0.05). The main findings within this thesis demonstrate that those living within the highway corridor are disproportionately exposed to elevated long-term average concentrations of toxic air pollutants which may impact on physical health. While the socioeconomic characteristics could also heighten susceptibility to potential health impacts in these areas, certain activity patterns can help mitigate exposure. This thesis has also shown that there may be quantifiable psychological benefits of a separation buffer of at least 100 m alongside major highways. These results enhance a very limited knowledge base on the impacts of near-roadway pollution in New Zealand. Furthermore, the results lend additional support to the international literature which is working to reduce residential exposures and population exposure disparities through better policies and improved environmental planning. Where possible, the placement of sensitive population groups within highway corridors, e.g. retirement homes, social housing complexes, schools and childcare centres, should be avoided.

This paper examines the issues of equity, as applicable to the HOV-to-HOT conversion project planned for the I-85 North corridor in the Metropolitan Atlanta Region. A review of literature is undertaken to describe the typology of transportation equity issues within the wider context of environmental justice, and to highlight socio-economic factors and local and national transportation funding factors that influence people's travel choices and their mobility and accessibility options. Demographic data on the I-85 corridor peak period commuters in Metropolitan Atlanta is analyzed, in addition to results of focus groups polling current Metropolitan Atlanta interstate commuters on the topic of managed lanes during 2008. The thesis makes a conclusion that a final decision about the equity impact of the I-85 HOV-to-HOT conversion is likely not possible without undertaking a Metropolitan area-wide analysis. Some of the equity findings that emerge indicate that there are no significant income differences between the the HOV lane users and general purpose lane I-85 commuters; that there are differences between median incomes of block groups represented by current I-85 commuters (both HOV lane users and general purpose lane users) and median incomes of block groups typical for the base geography; and that investing in Xpress bus service improvements would primarily serve those households with more vehicles than drivers, unless improvements to reverse commute options and feeder bus networks are made. The focus group findings suggest that current interstate highway users in Metropolitan Atlanta, originating in the suburbs, are generally accepting of the HOT concept and recognize the value of travel time savings.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study aimed to analyze the environmental quality of the city of Uberlândia through spatialization indicators generated from data by census tract in order to pinpoint environmental inequalities, considering the discussions of environmental justice. This study on the urban environmental quality from the perspective of environmental justice, assumes that urban problems can be mitigated through the development of public policies focused on reducing environmental and socio-spatial inequalities. / Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal analisar a qualidade ambiental da cidade de Uberlândia por meio da espacialização de indicadores gerados a partir de dados por setor censitário, a fim de apontar desigualdades socioambientais, considerando as discussões acerca da justiça ambiental. A realização deste estudo referente à qualidade ambiental urbana sob a ótica da justiça ambiental, parte do pressuposto de que os problemas urbanos podem ser mitigados por meio da elaboração de políticas públicas centradas na redução de desigualdades socioespaciais e ambientais. / Mestre em Geografia

[pt] O presente trabalho visa compreender a tensão existente entre o direito fundamental à moradia e o direito fundamental ao meio ambiente a partir do fenômeno das ocupações em áreas de preservação permanente. O estudo parte da análise das questões urbanas envolvidas, sobretudo os processo de urbanização brasileiro e a tutela da moradia e do ambiente no ordenamento jurídico como direitos fundamentais na Constituição de 1988. Adota a abordagem interdisciplinar para a análise de casos de referência e analisa de decisões judiciais pertinentes. Tem como pressuposto as relações de vulnerabilidade presente nos conflitos entre estes direitos, para os quais apresenta como a diretriz de harmonização para o seu equacionamento a justiça socioambiental. / [en] The present dissertation aimed to understand the tension between the fundamental right to housing and the fundamental right to the environment from the phenomenon of occupations in areas of permanent preservation. At the outset, to understand the phenomenon, was considered the essential aspects of the urban question that involves urban growth without planning, reproduction of the labor force in the capitalist market, access to urban land and private property, housing deficit, unequal allocation of public equipment and services in urban space. The urban question that arises in the context of the construction of an urban space of an essentially social character needs to be understood from the point of view of social dynamics. That is, understanding the participation, responsibilities and the way of acting of each urban actor is paramount for facing the urban question. In addition, in order to understand the tensions between urban actors and institutions, the right to the city is an effective way of harmonizing and overcoming obstacles in the dialogue between fundamental rights housing and the environment. It is still to be considered in the attempt to harmonize them, the environment has now assumed the biocentric vision, in which the protection of all forms of life prevails and not only of human life. For the purposes of equalizing the tension between rights, the environment will have its relative value recognizing and assuming the environmental damages already produced as a way to also meet the most basic human needs related to the right to housing.

xvi, 298 p. : col. map. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Cities in the United States are increasingly challenged with sharpening inequalities, social exclusion and the effects of a swelling environmental footprint. In response, city officials, political interest groups and residents have seized the framework of urban sustainability to address these mounting social and environmental problems. However, the push for environmental and social sustainability often directly contradicts the push by influential urban business coalitions for cities to be more economically competitive with other locales. I explore the compatibility of urban sustainability and economic development through a case study of Eugene, Oregon's Sustainable Business Initiative, led by Mayor Kitty Piercy. In this Initiative, the interaction between the urban sustainability and economic development discourses calls into question current entrepreneurial strategies and opens the door to exploring the implications of integrating sustainability and social justice concepts with urban economic development policy. Labor-community-environmental coalitions, with a broad vision for sustainability and regional equity, present an alternative to traditional business coalitions' influence on economic development policy and provide a strategy for economic development based in wealth redistribution and environmental health. / Committee in charge: Gregory McLauchlan, Chairperson, Sociology; Yvonne Braun, Member, Sociology; Linda Fuller, Member, Womens and Gender Studies; Michael Bussel, Outside Member, History

xvi, 203 p. : ill. (some col.) / Global climate negotiations have been at a standstill for over a decade now over the issue of distributing the responsibility of mitigating climate change among countries. During the past few years, countries such as India and China - the so-called emerging economies that were under no obligation to mitigate under the Kyoto Protocol - have increasingly come under pressure to accept limits comparable to those for industrialized countries. These countries, in turn, have strongly resisted these pressures. My dissertation examines India's participation in these ongoing climate negotiations. Based on qualitative interviews with relevant Indian officials, textual analysis and participant observation, I tell the story of why and how this so-called emerging economy has been resisting a cap on its emissions despite being one of the most vulnerable countries to the consequences of climate change. I draw upon the literatures of environmental justice, international relations, postcolonialism and political ecology to develop my dissertation and adopt a self-reflexive approach in my analysis. The need for global cooperation to address global environmental issues has arguably provided greater bargaining power to countries formerly marginalized in the global political economy. Following the dynamics of North-South environmental politics, India's climate politics consists of utilizing this power to increase its access to global resources as well as to hold hegemonic industrialized countries accountable for their historical and continuing exploitation of the environmental commons. A key aspect of India's climate politics consists of self-identification as a developing country. Developed countries with higher cumulative and per capita emissions are seen to have the primary responsibility to mitigate climate change and to provide financial and technological support to developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Developing countries are seen to have a right to pursue development defined as economic growth. The climate crisis is thus seen by my respondents as an opportunity to address the unequal status quo between developed and developing countries. I suggest that this crisis also creates opportunities to redefine development beyond a narrow focus on economic growth. This may be enabled if the demand for justice in an international context is extended to the domestic sphere. / Committee in charge: Shaul Cohen, Chairperson; Alec Murphy, Member; Ted Toadvine, Member; Peter Walker, Member; Anita Weiss, Outside Member

Baltimore fait partie des grandes métropoles américaines qui se sont lancées dans le cercle vertueux du développement durable. Traditionnellement acquise aux votes démocrates, constituée d’une majorité d’Afro-Américains appartenant aux classes sociales défavorisées, et portant les profonds stigmates de la crise industrielle et des récessions économiques successives, la ville offre un terreau favorable aux expériences de gestion urbaine intégrant la notion de durabilité. Bien plus, tant du point de vue des caractéristiques économiques et démographiques que de celui de l’héritage marqué de la ségrégation, c’est la dimension sociale du développement durable et la justice environnementale qui sont en jeu. Depuis 2000, la municipalité a initié deux grands projets intégrant le développement durable dans ses dimensions de « sustainability », « livability » et « smart growth », pouvant être regroupées sous l’appellation de « green politics ». L’essentiel de ses efforts porte sur la revitalisation de deux ghettos du centre-ville tombés en complète déshérence, East Baltimore et West Baltimore. Nous concentrerons notre réflexion sur deux exemples précis de « green politics » (la réhabilitation d’une partie du ghetto d’East Baltimore avec le Grand Piano ; la Red Line, ligne de train qui doit relier les deux ghettos et des zones de friches industrielles au quartier des affaires). À partir de ces exemples, nous étudierons les modes de gouvernance mis en place et le rôle joué par les différents acteurs qui y participent (« anchor institutions », grandes fondations, acteurs publics et associations de quartier). Nous nous interrogerons sur l’émergence de formes inédites de citoyenneté façonnées par ces nouveaux modes de participation à l’aménagement urbain durable. Il s’agira de comprendre si le développement durable est conçu au service des habitants du ghetto afin de lutter contre la pauvreté et les injustices sociales et environnementales, ou si, au contraire, la racialisation de ce concept favorise la gentrification, crée de nouvelles formes de ségrégation et aboutit à la fin programmée des ghettos. / Baltimore is part of the big American metropolises committed in a race for sustainable development. Traditionally a democratic stronghold, with a majority of city dwellers who are poor Afro-Americans, and harshly battered by the industrial crisis and the economic recession, Baltimore City is the perfect laboratory for urban planning projects experimenting sustainable development. Furthermore, with regard to its economic and demographic characteristics and the importance of segregation in the city, the social dimension of sustainable development and the issue of environmental justice are at stake. Since 2000, the Mayor and the City Council initiated two ambitious projects integrating the various aspects of sustainable development (« sustainability », « livability » and « smart growth »), which are all belonging to « green politics ». These efforts are focused on East Baltimore and West Baltimore, two huge ghettos surrounding the financial district in the downtown area. The core of our analysis concerns two projects of green politics (the rehabilitation of a part of the East Baltimore ghetto through the Grand Piano; the Red Line, a train connecting the ghettos, some industrial wastelands and the Central Business District). Through these examples, we will put under study the types of urban governance and urban regimes at work, and the role played by the different stakeholders (« anchor institutions », philanthropic foundations, public actors and neighborhood associations). New forms of citizenship may appear with unheard modes of participation to sustainable urban planning. Sustainable development may be an opportunity to improve the living conditions in the ghetto and fight against poverty and social and environmental injustices. The seamy side of the story may be a racialization of sustainable development nourishing gentrification, creating new forms of segregation and bringing about the death of the ghettos.

Aux États-Unis, les villes connaissent une crise urbaine qui se manifeste par l’existence de quartiers centraux détériorés, concentrant les minorités pauvres. Les quartiers de Jefferson-Mack (Detroit) et Hunts Point (South Bronx, New York) en sont des archétypes. Ils sont pourtant animés par d’importantes mobilisations civiques, se focalisant sur des questions environnementales et alimentaires. Le but de ce travail est d’évaluer le potentiel d’initiatives environnementales et alimentaires à améliorer les conditions de vie des habitants des inner cities. La première partie, en mobilisant un corpus d’études urbaines, présente ces quartiers comme les produits d’une crise urbaine structurelle. Nous mettons en évidence que les habitants y subissent une « crise urbaine de l’habiter », dans laquelle les nuisances, les pollutions et le manque d’accessibilité aux ressources environnementales et alimentaires, sont déterminants pour comprendre l’essor des mobilisations. La deuxième partie explique le rôle des mobilisations civiques environnementales et alimentaires dans ces quartiers. En nous appuyant sur les corpus de la justice environnementale et alimentaire, nous démontrons que l’hybridation des questions environnementales, alimentaires, sociales et spatiales a reconfiguré l’action collective. La troisième partie analyse les enjeux de la réappropriation du territoire, à partir du corpus des commons studies. À travers le cas de l’agriculture urbaine et d’autres pratiques établies sur des espaces vacants, nous montrons que la réappropriationdu territoire procure de multiples bénéfices. Loin d’être cantonnée aux domaines environnementaux et alimentaires, elle permet d’améliorer partiellement – mais non sans heurts – les conditions de l’habiter. / American cities are still affected by the urban crisis, patent through the existence of low-income inner city neighborhoods, concentrating the urban poor and ethnic minorities. The neighborhoods of Jefferson-Mack (Detroit) and Hunts Point (South Bronx, New York) are both considered icons of the urban crisis. Yet they witness substantial environmental and food justice activism. The purpose of this thesis is to understand how grassroots environmental and food practices can be used to improve living conditions for inner city communities. The first section analyzes how these two blighted neighborhoods are products of a structural urban crisis. By using a corpus of urban studies on urban decline, we demonstrate how the daily lives of residents reveal a “crisis of urban living” in which noxious uses and pollution as well as limited environmental and food access are key factors triggering grassroots activism. The second section is grounded in a corpus of studies on environmental and food justice, in order to explore the role of environmental and food justice activism in these neighborhoods. We defend that the hybridity between environmental, food, social and spatial issues reconfigured grassroots activism. The third section mobilizes a corpus of commons studies to analyze the challenges of reclaiming urban space. By studying the rise of urban agriculture and other environmental amenities occurring on vacant land, we explore the multiple benefits of community urban space reclamation. Beyond environmental and food benefits, and despitesome conflicting issues, reclaiming urban space allows transformative processes to noticeably yet incompletely improve living conditions.