<\/a>A vector map of the greater Wilmington area, the center of Vil\u00e1\u2019s research<\/p><\/div>\n
What Is Environmental Justice?<\/h3>\n For those who may not be familiar with the field, the term \u201cenvironmental justice\u201d generally refers to the equal distribution of environmental benefits and harms. Historically, environmental injustices have been documented in terms of the disproportionate exposure to environmental risks and harms that people of color and low-income populations face. However, some of the most recent discussions in environmental justice literature have begun to highlight that environmental injustice isn\u2019t simply a matter of distributional inequities, but also a matter of recognition and political representation and participation.<\/p>\n
For example, it is not enough simply to know if certain groups are disproportionately impacted by flooding. In my case, I must also ask questions about the context: In what ways are people being disproportionately impacted? Do those in power know who is disproportionately impacted? Do they respect those individuals’ perspectives and experiences? Do those who are impacted participate in decision-making processes?<\/p>\n
The findings emerging in my research seem to be consistent with the environmental justice literature. In particular, I have found that recognition may be an important component for equitably serving marginalized communities. This is especially exciting for me as an academic, because recognition is currently one of the least understood components of environmental justice.<\/p>\n
I believe that once my final analysis is complete the results will not only be relevant for decision- and policy-making processes associated with flooding, natural hazards, or disasters, but also for any process that results in the distribution and allocation of risks and resources, such as water risks and resources.<\/p>\n
Lessons Learned<\/h3>\n I\u2019ve always been told that research never goes exactly as planned. Previously, I assumed that meant something along the lines of “your sample wasn\u2019t as large or diverse as you were hoping” or “your research instrument wasn\u2019t quite as refined as it should have been.” Or, perhaps, “you should have pilot tested” or maybe “the results in your study were different from what you were anticipating.” Over the past year, I learned that research can take completely unexpected directions and forms than what were originally hoped for or planned.<\/p>\n
As a disaster social scientist, I know the importance of being flexible and innovative when crises strike \u2013 in this case, my research not going as planned felt like a graduate school crisis!<\/p>\n
Reflecting on my own experiences, I realize that when I started my research project, I had misrecognized the study population I was trying to research, which ultimately led to research methods that were not effective for that population. By using strategies I had learned from the citizen science literature, I was able to include in the scientific process individuals who had a better understanding of that community. As a result, I gained insight that helped partially resolve my misrecognition and led to more culturally appropriate and relevant research methods, which I hope will ultimately yield greater research impacts.<\/p>\n
Read about the\u00a0North Carolina Sea Grant \u2013 WRRI Graduate Research Fellowship<\/a>.<\/p>\nThis blogpost originally appeared here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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North Carolina Sea Grant \u2013 WRRI Graduate Research Fellow Olivia Vil\u00e1 tells how she had to shift approaches on the fly in order to study flooding and the Latinx community in Wilmington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[690,41,28],"tags":[288,287,208,286,282,82,135,284,281,90,226,283,285],"yoast_head":"\n
Innovative Research Looks at Flooding and the Latinx Community - Coastwatch Currents<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n