Neighborhood as refuge : community reconstruction, place remaking, and environmental justice in the city / Isabelle Anguelovski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Anguelovski, Isabelle, author.

Series:

Urban and industrial environments

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Community development, Urban--Environmental aspects.

Community development, Urban.

Environmental justice.

Urban ecology (Sociology).

Human ecology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 276 pages) : illustrations, maps.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2014]

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Environmental justice as studied in a variety of disciplines is most often associated with redressing disproportionate exposure to pollution, contimination, and toxic sites. In this book, Isabelle Anguelovski takes a broader view of environmental justice, examining wide-ranging comprehensive efforts at neighbourhood environmental revitalization that include parks, urban agriculture, fresh food markets, playgrounds, housing, and waste management.

"Environmental justice as studied in a variety of disciplines is most often associated with redressing disproportionate exposure to pollution, contamination, and toxic sites. In Neighborhood as Refuge, Isabelle Anguelovski takes a broader view of environmental justice, examining wide-ranging comprehensive efforts at neighborhood environmental revitalization that include parks, urban agriculture, fresh food markets, playgrounds, housing, and waste management. She investigates and compares three minority, low-income neighborhoods that organized to improve environmental quality and livability: Casc Antic, in Barcelona; Dudley, in the Roxbury section of Boston; and Cayo Hueso, in Havana. Despite the differing histories and political contexts of these three communities, Anguelovski finds similar patterns of activism. She shows that behind successful revitalization efforts is what she calls "bottom to bottom" networking, powered by broad coalitions of residents, community organizations, architects, artists, funders, political leaders, and at times environmental advocacy groups. Anguelovski also describes how, overtime, environmental projects provide psychological benefits, serving as a way to heal a marginalized and environmentally traumatized urban neighborhood. They encourage a sense of rootedness and of attachment to place, creating safe havens that offer residents a space for recovery. They also help to bolster residents' ability to deal with the negative dynamics of discrimination and provide spaces for broader political struggles including gentrification. Drawing on the cases of Barcelona, Boston, and Havana, Anguelovski presents a new holistic framework for understanding environmental justice action in cities, with the right to a healthy community environment at its core."--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

Two Vignettes on Loss, Trauma, and Survival 1

Overcoming Long-term Environmental Degradation and Abandonment 4

Urban Environmental Justice at a Crossroads: Bringing in Place and Community 6

A Comparative Study of Neighborhood-Based Environmental Revitalization 8

Methods 20

Book Structure 23

2 Environmental Justice, Urban Development, and Place Identity 29

Traditional Perspectives on Environmental Inequalities 29

Political Economy of Environmental Injustices in the City and Urban Conflicts 38

Place and Community Engagement in Urban Distressed Neighborhoods 46

Toward New Environmental Justice Studies 52

3 Stories of Neighborhood Abandonment, Degradation, and Transformation 55

From Prosperity to Decay, Wasteland, and Revival in the Dudley Neighborhood in Boston 56

From Unbalanced Development to Fights for Environmental Improvements in the Case Antic Neighborhood in Barcelona 69

From Slow Decay and Disinvestment to Regeneration in the Cayo Hueso Neighborhood in Havana 82

Discussion: Similar Patterns of Unequal Growth, Exclusion, and Rebirth 94

4 Holistic Community Reconstruction and Tactical Choices 99

Strengthening the Connection between Environmental Justice and Community Development 100

Malleable and Multifaceted Coalitions for Community Reconstruction 107

Discussion: From Reactive to Proactive Environmental Justice and Communitywide Reconstruction 125

5 Place Remaking through Environmental Recovery and Revitalization 131

Lived Experiences in the Neighborhood 132

Healing the Community and Creating Refuges and Safe Havens 144

Celebrating the Neighborhood and Strengthening Local Identity 152

Discussion: Environmental Recovery as a Tool for Remaking Place 162

6 Advancing Broader Political Agendas: Spatial Justice, Land and Border Control, and Deepening Democracy 165

Opposing Racism, Classism, and Vulnerability 166

Combating Encroachment and Environmental Gentrification 173

Controlling the Land and Managing Borders 179

Changing Local Democratic Practices 185

Discussion: Defending Broader Political Agendas as Conditions for Community Rebuilding and Place Remaking 191

7 Conclusion: Toward a New Framework for Place-Based Urban Environmental Justice and Community Health 195

Neighborhood Transformation in Boston, Barcelona, and Havana 196

A Refined Understanding of Urban Environmental Justice: Addressing Physical and Mental Health 209

Limits and Future Research 212

Implications for Policy and Planning 215

Final Thoughts 218.

Notes:

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

9780262322188

0262322188

9781461958482

1461958482

9781306491112

1306491118

OCLC:

872630621

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.