Four ways to advance equity and justice goals in climate action planning
2023-05-31
(Press-News.org)
Municipal climate action plans often identify equity and justice as goals, but engagement with these concepts is mostly rhetorical. A new study from the University of Waterloo details how planners can bridge the gap and challenge the current state of climate change and social inequity.
The study asserts that developing participatory approaches to public consultation and community engagement that actively and intentionally involve vulnerable populations who are most affected by climate change is critical. Expanding the sphere of knowledge we consider when talking about climate change reshapes the questions that are asked and the possible solutions and alternatives that are up for discussion.
“The urban governance community is not as explicit as it should be about the need to prioritize vulnerable residents during decision-making processes about climate change,” said Kayleigh Swanson, PhD candidate in Waterloo’s School of Planning. “Consequently, the voices of people experiencing various forms of oppression are largely excluded from so-called participatory climate action planning processes.”
In pursuing participatory methods, the study advises practitioners to keep four actions top of mind: consistently modifying strategies, designing collaborative spaces that recognize various ways of knowing, addressing the gap between what is said and what is done, and attending to the underlying social processes that drive vulnerability to climate change.
“Challenging the status quo is not an easy task, but the evidence shows that climate actions are more effective if they are designed and implemented with engagement by local actors,” said Dr. Mark Seasons, professor in Waterloo’s School of Planning. “Urban governance actors can influence the conditions that determine whether people can participate effectively and help to frame important issues being considered by decision-makers.”
Building inclusionary planning processes is a considerable challenge for urban governance actors, but these processes are necessary to realize equitable distributive outcomes. Exclusion runs the risk of creating a triple injustice whereby those who contribute to climate change the least are positioned to suffer the most from its effects and are disproportionately affected by climate action policies that exacerbate the social, economic, and environmental challenges the groups already face.
The study, Centering Equity and Justice in Participatory Climate Action Planning: Guidance for Urban Governance Actors, appears in the journal Planning Theory & Practice.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2023-05-31
University of California, Riverside, chemical and environmental engineering scientists have identified two species of bacteria found in soil that break down a class of stubborn “forever chemicals,” giving hope for low-cost biological cleanup of industrial pollutants.
These bacteria destroy a subgroup of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, that have one or more chlorine atoms within their chemical structure, Yujie Men, an assistant professor in the Bourns College of Engineering, and her UCR colleagues, reported in the journal Natural Water.
Unhealthful forever chemicals persist in the environment ...
2023-05-31
Sophia Antipolis, 31 May 2023: Cancer patients who continue smoking after their diagnosis have a nearly doubled risk of heart attack, stroke or death due to cardiovascular disease compared with non-smokers, according to research published on World No Tobacco Day in European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1
According to the World Health Organization, there were more than 50.5 million cancer survivors worldwide in 2020.2 Study author Dr. Hyeok-Hee Lee of Yonsei University College ...
2023-05-31
New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London has used an assessment of gene expression involved in the immune response to show that there could be more patients with MDD with activated immune systems than research has previously estimated.
By identifying the molecular mechanisms involved in this association, the research could pave the way to better identify those patients with an immune component to their depression which would potentially help to provide more personalised approaches to treatment ...
2023-05-31
Science is well aware of the important role that gut bacteria and their interactions with the gastrointestinal tract play in our overall health. Villi, tiny finger-like structures that line the inside of the small intestine (SI), are known to interact with the gut bacteria and trigger a protective immune response. Despite researching into the molecular mechanisms underlying these interactions, however, not much is known about the dynamics of liquid flow around the villi.
While computer simulations have aided such observations, ...
2023-05-31
The British Junior Cardiologists’ Association (BJCA) and the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) have issued a joint position statement in a bid to stamp out bullying, harassment, discrimination and other “unacceptable” and “unprofessional” behaviours in the specialty.
The statement, published online in the journal Heart, urges every cardiology team member to call out these behaviours to drive culture change.
Endorsed by 19 organisations affiliated with the BCS, the statement represents a specialty-wide response to the issue.
It comes in the wake of evidence suggesting ...
2023-05-31
The largest clinical case series to date of recreational users of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, has found a predominance of young men of Asian ethnicity among those with neurological side effects who were seen at hospitals in 3 major cities in England.
This may indicate genetic susceptibility to the nerve damage caused by exposure to the gas, or other, as yet unidentified, social factors, suggest the researchers by way of an explanation for the finding, published online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
Nitrous oxide is widely used as an anaesthetic in people and animals, ...
2023-05-31
Ketamine taken in the form of a nasal spray may prove a safe and effective treatment for refractory chronic migraine, suggests a single centre study, published in the open access journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.
It’s a more convenient alternative to intravenous infusion—the usual method of administration for these patients—but the potential for overuse means that it should be reserved for those in whom other treatment approaches have failed, caution the researchers.
Several clinical trials have shown ...
2023-05-31
Every so often, life on Earth steps onto a nearly empty playing field and faces a spectacular opportunity. Something major changes—in the atmosphere or in the oceans, or in the organisms themselves —and the existing species begin to branch out into a brand-new world. Scientists are fascinated by this process, because it’s a unique look into evolution at pivotal moments in the history of life.
A new study led by scientists with the University of Chicago examined how bivalves—the group that includes clams, mussels, scallops, and oysters—evolved among many others in the period of rapid evolution known as the Cambrian Explosion. The team found ...
2023-05-31
Clinician burnout and overwork are known to adversely affect patient safety and junior doctors may be particularly vulnerable, research suggests.
The UK is facing a crisis in recruitment and retention in medicine, with a recent survey by the British Medical Association reporting that 4 in 10 junior doctors will quit their roles as soon as they find another job.
Considering the immense pressure doctors are under, with their decisions having the potential to shape the course of patients’ illnesses and even their lives, is a balanced and happy life as a doctor still possible?
In a new book released today titled The Bleep Test, junior doctor Luke Austen has combined ...
2023-05-31
University of Cambridge media release
UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01AM (UK TIME) ON WEDNESDAY 31ST MAY 2023
An unprecedented record of medieval live comedy performance has been identified in a 15th-century manuscript. Raucous texts – mocking kings, priests and peasants; encouraging audiences to get drunk; and shocking them with slapstick – shed new light on Britain’s famous sense of humour and the role played by minstrels in medieval society.
The texts contain the earliest recorded use of ‘red herring’ in English, extremely rare forms of medieval literature, as well as a ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Four ways to advance equity and justice goals in climate action planning
