THEMATIC WORKING GROUP
NATURA DESIGN FOR JUSTICE
Organizers: Cheng, Keeler, Sioen, Matsler
For decades, environmental justice researchers have documented the procedural and distributive inequalities in how environmental goods and services are allocated and systemic biases in how institutions make decisions about investments in green infrastructure, parks, constructed wetlands, floodplain restorations, and other nature-based solutions. Disparities in access to resources and benefits from nature are well documented in cities around the world, with low income, black, indigenous and other people of color more likely to experience elevated exposure to degraded air quality, water quality, flood risk, and extreme heat. The awakening of systemic racism reminds us of how injustice continues to undermine democratic institutions and equitable distribution of burdens and benefits. At the same time, there are concerns that attempts to ameliorate these disparities by greater investments in parks and urban greening will lead to displacement and gentrification, and inequitable outcomes in communities around the world.
The diversity of networks, organizations, and cities represented in the NATURA network offers a unique opportunity to evaluate environmental justice concerns associated with the planning, design, implementation, and maintenance of nature-based solutions across international networks. Distributive justice refers to the equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens. Procedural justice emphasizes equitable decision-making in policy-making, education, risk communication, and design of nature-based solutions and strategies for enhancing urban resilience through meaningful engagement with communities. Our thematic working group will serve as a collaborative hub to create a platform for networking, sharing insights, and encouraging research on procedural and distributive justice as they apply to nature-based solutions across the NATURA network.
The goals of NATURA Design for Justice working group are threefold: 1) create a platform to share insights into aspects of procedural and distributive justice in nature-based solutions research and practice across international communities in the network; 2) identify opportunities for synthesis across the network related to justice processes and outcomes and translate ideas into proposals for future funding; 3) co-develop actionable plans to make equity and justice accountable in NATURA projects.
POC: Chingwen Cheng (Chingwen.Cheng@asu.edu)
Group email: (tbd)