CFP "Making Injustice visible: cross-disciplinary
representational techniques and processes of
Spatial&Environmental Injustice and Environmental
Conflicts"
RGS-IBG Annual Conference 2017: ‘Decolonising geographical
knowledges’. London, 29/08-01/09/17.
Session Convenors: Chiara Certomà (Sant’Anna School of
Advanced Studies, Pisa) & Federico Martellozzo (Memotef
Lab, University of Rome “La Sapienza” )
Session Sponsor: Geographies of Justice Research Group
The section is aimed at improving the theoretical and
methodological background to investigate spatial justice
via a cross-disciplinary research; in particular we focus
on the spatio-temporal distribution of socio-environmental
conflicts, on the mix of qualitative and quantitative
methods that can proficiently support environmental
justice definition/recognition, and on the linkages with
policy oriented research.
Since the early ‘70s the debate on spatial justice
attracted a broad scholarly interest by showing how the
circumstances in which different social groups live play a
major role in determining their wealth, opportunity,
health outcomes, educational attainment and virtually
influence all aspects of life’s quality (Harvey, 1973;
1996; Lefebvre, 1991; Soja, 1989, 2010). The unequal
distribution of reseources and possibilities overlaps the
unequal economic and social power distribution occurring
through the social body (I.M. Young 1990; Haughton, 1999).
More recently, social research established that, amongst
other burdens, environmental problems are not randomly
distributed in space and they do affect some people more
than others. The link between spatial justice and
environmental issues (Homer Dixon, 1994; Agyeman 2005;
Dryzek 1987) engaged scholars’ debate and fueled the
disputes regarding its etiology, consequences and
controversies. As Agyeman points out (2005), environmental
justice has not only to be interpreted from a negative
perspective but should also be seen as a proactive tool
for accessing and distributing the environmental benefits
necessary for sustainable societies with a high quality of
life.
In order for this to happen, activists, research bodies
and the academia shall attempt at providing an accurate,
detailed and punctual representation of
spatial&environmental injustice (e.g.
http://www.politicalecology.eu/) and the related conflicts
(e.g. http://www.ejolt.org/).
Nevertheless the fuzziness of theoretical definition,
together with its breadth (spamming across a vast number
of disciplinary fields) made it difficult to fully
appreciate the multilayered and cross-scalar consequences
of spatial injustice, most notably the socio-environmental
conflicts. The narrative and the representation of
spatial&environmental injustices and subsequent conflicts
through geographic, qualitative and quantitative data
(which can prove to be reliable, scientifically accurate
and complete) is of capital importance for a full
consideration in both academic debate, and in decision
support system and policy-making processes.
References:
Lefebvre, H. 1991. The Production of Space. London,
Blackwell.
Harvey, D. 1973. Social Justice and the City. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press.
Harvey, D. 1996. Justice, Nature and the Geography of
Difference. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Soja, E. 1989. Postmodern Geographies: The Reassertion of
Space in Critical Social Theory. London, New York:
Verso.
Soja, E. 2010. Seeking Spatial Justice. Minneapolis (MN):
University of Minnesota Press.
Young, I. M. 1990. Justice and the Politics of Difference.
Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Haughton, G. 1999. Environmental Justice and the
Sustainable City. Journal of Planning Education and
Research, vol. 18/3
Homer-Dixon, T. 1994.“Environmental Scarcities and Violent
Conflict: Evidence from Cases,” International Security 19/
1
Agyeman, J. 2005. Sustainable Communities and the
Challenge of Environmental Justice, NYUPress
Faburel, G. 2010. “The Environment as a Factor of Spatial
Injustice: A New Challenge for the Sustainable Development
of European Regions?” in C. Ghenai (ed) Sustainable
Development - Policy and Urban Development. InTech..
http://www.intechopen.com/books/ .
Mennis, J. 2002. “Using geographic information systems to
create and analyse statistical surfaces of population and
risk for environmental justice analysis”. Social Science
Quarterly 83
Please note:
this session is organized in the form of a roundtable with
presenters required to circulate their extended abstracts
or full papers 20 days in advance to inform debaters.
Please circulate widely and submit abstracts of up to 250
words to [log in to unmask] and
[log in to unmask] by 10th February 2017.
Best regards
Chiara and Federico
Chiara Certomà
Research Fellow, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa
http://www.santannapisa.it/en/personale/chiara-certoma
+39 338 3858424; cccertoma (skype)
Director of Research Institute on Territory and
Environment "Leonardo"
http://www.leonardo-irta.it/#!home-eng/a91mu
+39 050 2225302
NEW BOOK
C.Certomà, 2016, Postenvironmentalism. A Material Semiotic
Perspective on Living Spaces, Palgrave Macmillan
http://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781137507891
NOW OUT
Certomà C. (2016) "A new season for planning": Urban
Gardening and Informal Planning in Rome, Geografiska
Annaler B
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geob.12094/full
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