Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Urban Geography of Green Jobs

本博士论文研究改进项目是关于城市就业培训如何为城市清洁能源就业做好准备。这项研究调查了能源部门从化石燃料向可再生能源过渡时工人的职业道路。它分析了当代职业培训计划以及限制能源部门就业的历史进程。这项研究的好处将决定公共和公用事业投资带来的经济发展和就业机会如何最好地支持服务不足的社区。研究成果将通过学术出版物、会议、白色文件和与当地基层利益相关者共同编写的政策报告以及通过国家环境和劳工组织传播。作为一个博士论文项目，这个项目推进了一个年轻科学家的职业生涯。博士生将调查民权运动的历史如何在美国城市绿色就业政策的形成中塑造新兴能源和劳工政治。这项研究提出的问题是，绿色就业政策如何利用公共基础设施项目来创造培训机会，以确定就业进步的障碍？该项目借鉴了政治生态学和环境正义，以确定就业准备计划如何未能考虑日常生活中的情况，使工人难以维持工作。工人招聘，培训和安置到工作岗位的日常经验的问题有助于理解能源转型过程中的就业动态。研究问题将通过档案研究和政策分析来回答，以通过国家机构和倡导组织跟踪绿色就业计划，通过与主要环境和劳工组织的访谈，以及通过参与者观察来检查公平目标。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This doctoral dissertation research improvement project is about how urban job training prepares workers for clean energy employment in cities. This research investigates the career pathways of workers as the energy sector transitions from fossil fuels to renewable energies. It analyzes contemporary job training programs together with historical processes that limit access to jobs in the energy sector. The benefits of this research will determine how economic development and employment opportunities emerging from public and utility investment can best support under-served communities. The research results will be disseminated through academic publications, conferences, white papers and policy reports developed in conjunction with local grassroots stakeholders and through national environmental and labor organizations. As a doctoral dissertation project this project advances the career of a junior scientist.The doctoral student will investigate how the history of the civil rights movement shapes emergent energy and labor politics in the formation of green jobs policy in U.S. cities. This research asks, how can green jobs policies leverage public infrastructure programs to create training opportunities that identify barriers to advancement in employment? This project draws on political ecology and environmental justice to identify how job readiness programs fail to consider everyday life situations that make it difficult for workers to maintain a job. Questions of everyday experiences of worker recruitment, training, and placement into jobs contribute to understanding employment dynamics in the process of energy transition. The research question will be answered through archival research and policy analysis to follow green jobs programs through state agencies and advocacy organizations, via interviews with key environmental and labor organizations, and from participant observation to examine equity objectives.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.