Environmental justice and dissent for postcolonial urban sustainability transitions

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Authors

Johnston, Matt
Darkey, Daniel
Ibsen, Hilde

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Wiley

Abstract

Environmental justice principles are widespread at national and global levels of transition discourse, but this is sometimes irrelevant to marginalized communities. To address this issue, we apply environmental justice theory to a participatory postcolonial urban case study where poverty, unemployment and inequality continue to incentivize unregulated exploitation of vulnerable environments and people. It is unclear how national legislation can provide for indiscriminate access to environments that promote wellbeing in complex postcolonial communities, where xenophobic and economic discrimination reproduces colonial-style inequalities. To resist this injustice, the combination of academic and ordinary expressions of critique that confront regressive praxis and orthodoxies becomes a valuable and constructive political innovation for transitions. Empirical results suggest that enfranchising the most vulnerable proponents of transformation could advance their political capital to advocate for themselves, formulate and enculturate decolonized visions of urban sustainability, demand governmental and commercial accountability and foster urban reform that is relevant to them.

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Keywords

Environmental Justice, Participatory, Postcolonial, Decolonization, Urban sustainability, Marginalized communities, SDG-10: Reduced inequalities, SDG-11: Sustainable cities and communities

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG-10:Reduces inequalities
SDG-11:Sustainable cities and communities

Citation

Johnstone, M., Darkey, D., and Ibsen, H., 2023, 'Environmental justice and dissent for postcolonial urban sustainability transitions', International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 645-664, doi: https: 10.1111/1468-2427.13179.