Using citizen science in environmental justice: participation and decision-making in a Southern California waste facility siting conflict
Using citizen science in environmental justice: participation and decision-making in a Southern California waste facility siting conflict
复制标题
DOI：
10.1080/13549839.2017.1360263
复制
发表时间：
2017-01-01
影响因子：
2.4
通讯作者：
Dhillon, Carla May
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Dhillon, Carla May
环境正义（EJ）活动家对科学的使用反映了挑战专业科学知识，实现公平结果和有效参与决策过程的斗争。本研究以洛杉矶城市垃圾处理厂选址冲突为例，分析了公民科学与环境正义的关系，即公民科学与环境正义的公平分配、尊重和认可、参与决策和社区能力四个维度之间的关系。公民科学是EJ中的一种策略，但很少有研究调查其在新设施选址冲突中的作用，特别是与多方面的EJ目标有关。该研究揭示了利用公民科学增强个人权能和社区能力建设的机会，并在一定程度上提高了对将自己的知识、研究和声音带到桌面上的参与者的尊重和认可。与此同时，这项工作确定了公民科学的局限性，以改善当地的参与程序和决策，这也限制了EJ集团最期望的结果的实现：阻止批准和建设新的废物处理设施。本文认为，公民科学的使用有助于部分实现EJ的目标，而阻碍了治理过程，要求公众参与，但屏蔽决策者从实质性的参与量或内容。
Uses of science by environmental justice (EJ) activists reflect struggles to challenge professional scientific expertise, achieve fair outcomes, and effectively participate in decision-making processes. This qualitative research analyses the relationship between citizen science and EJ in a new waste facility siting conflict in urban Los Angeles, namely connections between citizen science and four dimensions of EJ: fair distribution, respect and recognition, participation in decision-making, and community capabilities. Citizen science is one tactic in EJ, yet little research investigates its role in a new facility siting conflict, particularly in relation to multi-faceted EJ goals. The research reveals opportunities for individual empowerment and community capacity building using citizen science, and a small measure of improved respect and recognition for participants who brought their own knowledge, research, and voices to the table. At the same time, the work identifies limitations on citizen science to improve local participatory procedures and decision-making, which also constricted the achievement of outcomes most desired by the EJ group: to prevent approval and construction of the new waste facility. This paper argues that uses of citizen science contributed to partial achievement of EJ goals, while hindered by governance processes that call for public participation yet shield decision-makers from substantive engagement with the volume or content of that participation.