Green City Rising
Contamination, Cleanup, and Collective Action
Format:Hardback
Publisher:University of Georgia Press
Published:15th May '24
Should be back in stock very soon
How grassroots organizers are working to reshape urban landscapes for people over profit
Green City Rising is an ethnographic account of collective organizing for environmental justice in an era of growing concern about environmental and climate challenges.
Green City Rising is an ethnographic account of collective organizing for environmental justice in an era of growing concern about environmental and climate challenges. The conventional sustainability paradigm promises improved environmental conditions for all, such as fresh air and clean water, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, green space access, and protection from climate crises. Yet, without particular interventions, the pursuit of such environmental amenities often contributes to displacement and further harm for communities that have historically borne the brunt of land theft, racial capitalism, and toxic industries.
Drawing on the work of an alliance of grassroots organizations called the Portland Harbor Community Coalition (PHCC), Erin Goodling shows how communities have come together across lines of race and class to work for a more just, green future in Portland, Oregon. Green City Rising reveals that the violence of settler colonialism and white supremacy are far from endpoints: a collective vision for a better future is emerging, and ordinary people are building the understanding, skills, and relationships necessary to usher it in.
Green City Rising does an excellent job of showing and tracing the genuine, deep connections among social, economic, and environmental exploitations, displacements, and injustices. It also it provides detailed ethnographic insight into how the coalition’s participants are politicized, revelations that speak to current debates about regarding intersectionality in environmental politics.
Green City Rising offers a detailed look at how grassroots coalitions can have an impact, even when up against the 'green growth machine' of real estate development, local politicians, and seemingly impenetrable bureaucratic agencies like the EPA.
* author of Polluted Promises: Environmental Racism and the Search for Justice in a Southern Town *This book is a powerful account of how a coalition of ordinary people can turn an environmentally unjust power arrangement into one that approaches environmental justice—something we need more examples of in the field of environmental justice studies.
* author of Resisting Global Toxics: Transnational Movements for Environmental Justice *In this beautifully written book, Erin Goodling documents the challenges and possibilities of environmental justice activism in a “green” city. Based on years of fieldwork, Goodling details the contamination of a vital urban river, the limitations of state-led efforts to clean it, and the emergence of new forms of activism. Green City Rising is especially notable for the way it centers houseless communities, which have long been a footnote in environmental justice scholarship. Essential reading for all those interested in environmental justice, urban studies, and community organizing.
ISBN: 9780820363851
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
254 pages