Environmental justice meets the right to stay put: mobilising against environmental racism, gentrification, and xenophobia in Chicago's Little Village

Copic

2020

Families in Society

Environmental justice organizations aim to secure an equitable distribution of environmental resources through the participation and self-determination of affected people, particularly communities of color. Yet organizing in a market economy is complicated: As communities become greener, gentrification can follow, thereby inadvertently displacing low-income communities of color and reproducing environmental injustices. This study informs antiracist community practice methods by examining strategic and ethical dilemmas embedded within an environmental justice organization that is located in a gentrifying Mexican American neighborhood in Chicago. Drawing from interviews, we examine members’ perceptions relating to representation, recruitment, and issue selection. We reveal key considerations for community organizations and residents as they work to promote environmental equity without contributing to the marginalization or displacement of communities of color.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Justice Organizing in a Gentrifying Community: Navigating Dilemmas of Representation, Issue Selection, and Recruitment

Copic

2020

Families in Society

“…Further, Anguelovski (2016) proposed that a third wave of environmental justice organizing has emerged to address issues related to self‐determination, the defense of place and culture, and resistance to environmental gentrification. For example, in Chicago’s predominately Mexican‐American Little Village neighborhood, environmental justice organizers mobilize for the right to place in response to concerns about environmental gentrification as well as xenophobia and anti‐immigrant practices (Kern & Kovesi, 2018; Thurber et al, 2019). Anguelovski (2016) suggested that the first and second waves of environmental justice organizing were grounded in an assumption that residents, particularly those who are poor or people of color, cannot move away from contaminated and divested neighborhoods; thus, community organizations worked to improve the quality of those places.…”

Section: Environmental Justice Organizing and Social Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Equity in sustainable development: Community responses to environmental gentrification

Schusler

2020

Int J Soc Welfare

Sustainable development aims to address economic, social, and environmental imperatives; yet, in practice, it often embodies a neoliberal market logic that reinforces inequalities. Thus, as the social work profession grapples with its role in advancing environmental sustainability, practice models must explicitly attend to social and economic justice. For example, environmental gentrification refers to situations in which the cleanup of contaminated land or the installation of environmental amenities intentionally or unintentionally catalyzes increased housing costs, thereby contributing to the displacement of vulnerable residents. With the goal of contributing to practice knowledge, we conducted a systematic review of peer‐reviewed articles (1997−2017) to learn how community groups have responded to the threat of environmental gentrification. We found that community organizations employ a range of strategies, including blocking development, negotiating for protections, planning alternatives, and allying with gentrifiers. We conclude by exploring ethical implications and practice principles to help social workers engage in truly sustainable development. Key Practitioner Message: • The term environmental gentrification describes situations where improvements to environmental quality increase real estate prices, contributing to the displacement of vulnerable residents; • An environmental justice framework attending to procedural, distributional, and recognition‐based claims provides a model for social work practice; • Opportunities exist for social workers to take an intersectional rather than siloed approach to integrate economic, social, and environmental concerns.

“…To address environmental injustices within the neighborhood, LVEJO has organized and been part of a number of successful campaigns (Kern & Kovesi, 2018). It has secured the expansion of safe and reliable public transportation, the closure of a local coal-fired power plant, and facilitated community-led participatory planning processes that shaped the development of community gardens and the La Villita Park.…”

Section: Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…City officials have stated that they agree with these positions and local aldermen in the area have considered the possibility of limiting housing development along the trail to protect long-time residents (Wisniewski, 2018). Although the proposed trail is presently on hold, LVEJO continues to build new collaborations with affordable housing groups to promote environmental justice in a way that explicitly preserves local culture and protects the right of existing residents to stay (Kern & Kovesi, 2018).…”

Section: Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resisting gentrification: The theoretical and practice contributions of social work

Thurber

Martínez

et al. 2019

Journal of Social Work

Summary Gentrification is changing the landscape of many cities worldwide, exacerbating economic and racial inequality. Despite its relevance to social work, the field has been conspicuously absent from scholarship related to gentrification. This paper introduces the dominant view of gentrification (a political economic lens), highlighting its contributions and vulnerabilities, then introduces four case studies that illuminate the distinct contributions of social work to broaden the ways in which gentrification is theorized and responded to within communities. Findings When gentrification is analyzed exclusively through a political economy lens, researchers, policy makers, and practitioners are likely to focus on changes in land and home values, reducing the adverse effects of gentrification to a loss of affordable housing. A singular focus on affordable housing risks paying insufficient attention to racial struggle, perpetuating damage-based views of poor people and neighborhoods, and obfuscating political, social, and cultural displacements. Social work practice—including social action group work, community organizing, community development, and participatory research and planning—offers a holistic approach to understanding, resisting, and responding to gentrification and advance equitable development in the city. Applications By exploring social work practice that amplifies residents’ and change makers’ efforts, advances existing community organizing, produces new insights, builds inter-neighborhood and interdisciplinary collaborations, and facilitates social action and policy change, this paper helps community practitioners to reimagine the role of social work research and practice in gentrifying neighborhoods.