Stormwater on the Margins: How Communities Navigate Exclusionary Stormwater Management
Rachel Scarlett's work brings an environmental justice perspective to storm water risks—risks that will intensify with climate change. Her work provides new insights not only into the distribution of storm water risks but also looks at community responses, documenting the proactive responses of marginalized communities.
—Naomi Tague, Professor, Bren School
Dr. Scarlett will be presenting in person at Bren. Join us in Bren Hall 1414, or watch online using this link and passcode stormwater
ABSTRACT
Stormwater risks are immediate burdens and, at times, life-threatening for socially and economically marginalized communities. Environmental injustices based on race, gender, and class dictate exposure to and recovery from flooding and water pollution. Although marginalized groups bear the brunt of environmental risks, others are not likely to perceive marginalized communities as highly concerned about the environment. I will highlight a study in Charlotte, NC, which shows that socially marginalized individuals are more concerned about urban flooding than others and more willing to participate in conservation behaviors. Still, there remains a critical gap in our understanding of how individuals and communities actually navigate the often exclusionary and technocratic governance of stormwater. I will talk about a collaborative and participatory project in which we examine how communities in the south suburbs of Chicago are developing novel strategies to participate in stormwater management.
BIO
Dr. Rachel Scarlett is an environmental scientist, mentor, and teacher. She is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Keller Science Action Center of the Field Museum. She is broadly interested in how urban development and environmental racism shape our waterways and the communities that use, depend on, and are impacted by urban water. She received her PhD in the Ecological Sciences and Engineering Interdisciplinary Program at Purdue University. Dr. Scarlett was recently awarded the Ford Foundation dissertation fellowship (2020) and the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship (2021).