Greensplaining environmental justice: A narrative of race, ethnicity, and justice in urban greenspace development

Abstract

While urban greenspaces play an important role in shaping the cultural and social dimensions of cities, these spaces are also inherently political, often serving to perpetuate the exclusion and subordination of racially marginalized populations. Drawing upon critical race theory, the purpose of this research is to use narratives to highlight how race, structural racism, White privilege, and power continue to shape environmental injustices in the urban landscape. By sharing these stories, we illustrate how (a) environmental injustices stemming from structural and overt racism are often positioned as ordinary experiences, (b) the racialized state continues to foster environmental injustices in Latinx communities, and (c) how techniques of what we refer to as "greensplaining" are deployed by environmentalists and conservationists as further justification for White privilege, racialized marginalization, and processes of gentrification.

“Green Enough Ain’t Good Enough:” Public Perceptions and Emotions Related to Green Infrastructure in Environmental Justice Communities

“…While studies have shown that community greening efforts in lower income and minority neighborhoods do not automatically promote health equity [18], they are nonetheless connected to other social factors such as community revitalization, affordable housing, neighborhood walkability, food security, job creation, and youth engagement [22]. Urban green spaces contribute to the cultural and social dimensions of cities, but they are also inherently political; the trend of "greensplaining" can be used as further justification for White privilege, racialized marginalization, and processes of gentrification [23].…”