Conditions for successful environmental justice mobilizations: an analysis of 50 cases

Abstract

The environmental justice (EJ) literature can benefit from comparative analysis that helps to identify conditions for more and less successful outcomes. A data set of 50 EJ cases in the U.S. was developed with high and low remediation as the outcome. Causal conditions were selected on theoretical grounds, and included five mobilizing strategies (local and state government coalitions, federal government attention, civil disobedience, litigation, and national NGO support) and three general conditions (absence of industry countermobilization, presence of water pollution, and proposed or new siting). Qualitative comparative analysis and other analyses indicated that all causal conditions were found in the high-remediation cases but that some conditions (water pollution and local-state coalitions) were more consistently associated with the high-remediation outcome. The analysis points to the value of systematic studies of the factors that affect local EJ outcomes and to the need for better case study collections.

Environmental conflicts and defenders: A global overview

“…Understanding how civil society movements mobilize successfully is important for developing effective support ( Hess and Satcher, 2019 , Zabala, 2019 ). While successes take many forms (e.g.…”

“… Del Bene et al, 2018 , Gerber, 2011 , Haslam and Ary Tanimoune, 2016 , Jeffords and Thompson, 2016 , Martinez-Alier et al, 2016a , Pérez-Rincón et al, 2019 ). Comparative analysis of the conditions leading to success for environmental movements have been rare (see however Aydin et al, 2017 , Bebbington et al, 2008 , Hess and Satcher, 2019 ) and large global analyses have not been done at all.…”

End of the line: environmental justice, energy justice, and opposition to power lines

“…The widespread failure to attain procedural justice in the siting of power lines and other energy infrastructure can motivate other repertoires of action by affected communities (Cuppen 2017, Hess andSatcher 2019). Often their mobilizations involve forming coalitions across a wide range of different groups, and the frames noted above become attached to different categories of coalition members.…”

“…The two categories tend to be inversely related, and institutional tactics tend to be more prominent where there is support from actors in the government (Sherman 2011). Litigation is one of the possible institutional tactics, but it is not always effective, and it is difficult to find general patterns that relate litigation to outcomes (Hess and Satcher 2019).…”

100% renewable energy policies in U.S. cities: strategies, recommendations, and implementation challenges

“…In a study of opposition to proposed nuclear waste sitings, Sherman (2011) found that a combination of strong community opposition with support from local and state government officials was associated with a successful outcome defined as an end to the siting process. Likewise, in comparative analyses of environmental justice cases, researchers have found that at least some support from government officials has played an important role in successful outcomes for communities (e.g., Grant 2003;Hess and Satcher 2019;McAdam and Boudet 2012). Although this work is focused on the oppositional struggles of local environmental justice cases, it is convergent with the quantitative research that links policy adoption to a strong civil society, public participation, and policy entrepreneurs who may include government officials such as city council members and sustainability officers (e.g., Kalafatis 2018; Portney and Berry 2010).…”