Approaches to Environmental Justice: Best Practices in Community Organizing and Collaboration

Abstract

This paper examines specific cases, conducted on three documented instances of environmental injustice to explore the ways in which communities organized to promote environmental equity. The first case deals with environmental justice in an urban area; the second looks at environmental threats in a rural community, and the final shows how communities can organize effectively to initiate restoration. Each case was selected for its importance to the fields of environmental sustainability, natural preservation, social justice, domestic poverty or human health. Evaluations of each are based on a set of established criteria (see Section III). Based on evaluations of these case studies, recommendations are proposed for the implementation of successful environmental justice advocacy groups. By evaluating what aspects of each effort were effective and which were not, it will be possible for communities interested in organizing to advocate for environmental justice to avoid inefficiencies and promote their cause in the most effective manner. [From Introduction]