Wedging Equity and Environmental Justice into the Discourse on Sustainability

Abstract

This paper examines the problems and prospects for including meaningful indicators of intragenerational equity into the city based regional planning efforts unfolding around the globe. The central focus of the paper is on the challenges that environmental justice (EJ) activists face as they attempt to frame the problem of equity in ways that the general public would see as not only informative, but compelling. After reviewing examples of successful efforts to reframe debates about equity, the paper concludes with a discussion of a set of EJ concerns and indicators that have the greatest potential for capturing public attention and commitment despite mounting resistance to the use of redistributive policies in support of sustainability goals.Keywords: Inequality, Equity, Environmentalism, Sustainability, Social and Economic Indicators, Measurement, Framing, Reframing, Environmental Justice, Activism, Social movements, Planning, Policy Formation Acknowledgement: An earlier version of this paper was presented to the Environment, Science and Risk Communication Working Group of IAMCR at the Istanbul conference, 2011. This modified version reflects the insightful comments and suggestions from two anonymous reviewers. Their contributions are much appreciated.