Our Future
This work centers on strengthening environmental justice protections.
Sustainability
Readings
- Agyeman, J. (2013). Introducing Just Sustainabilities: Policy, Planning, and Practice. Zed Books Ltd. (book)
- Jacobs, F., Harrington, E., Lyles, W., Tirado-Herrero, S., Yacamán-Ochoa, C., Ruiz-Rivas, U., … Hendawy, M. (2024). Just Energy Transitions: Edited by Fayola Jacobs,Elise Harrington and Ward Lyles. Planning Theory & Practice, 25(4), 569–596. doi.org/10.1080/14649357.2024.2407697
- Caniglia, Beth, Beatrice Frank, John L. Knott. Fi., Kenneth S. Sagendorf, Eugene A. Wilkerson. 2019. Regenerative Urban Development. Climate Change and the Common Good, 1st Edition. Routledge: London. (book)
- Pellow, David. 2019. “Regenerative Development and Environmental Justice.” Regenerative Urban Development, Climate Change and the Common Good.
- Saria Lofton, Marjorie Kersten, Nanyombi Lubimbi & Angela OdomsYoung (2022) “How community capacity building in urban agriculture can improve food access in predominantly Black communities,” Journal of Community Practice, 30:4, 395-417.
- M.P. Pavel (Ed). Breakthrough Communities: Sustainability and Justice in the Next American Metropolis. The MIT Press, 2009. doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/8087.001.0001
Multimedia
- Allen, Erika. TEDxChicago: “Environmental Alchemy for Sustainable Food Systems.” youtube.com/watch?v=i28h4aRRNX8
- Pellow, David. 2021. “Inaugural Lecture: Environmental Justice as Regeneration.” USCB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center (YouTube video) youtu.be/MYUswOd1N6A?si=ZhNUEAaQeuGhliGR
Organizations
- Black Oaks Center (Pembroke Township, Illinois)
- Blacks in Green
Fellow Projects
- Amber Lewis, “To Adorn.”
- Abigail Suleman, “Our Chicago Menstruation Bathroom: Black, Public, & Sustainable.”
Technology
Readings
- Kim, Junghwan. 2024. “Exploring the limitations in how ChatGPT introduces environmental justice issues in the United States: A case study of 3,108 counties.” Telematics & Informatics, 86.
- Booker, Mario DeSean. (2025). “Digital redlining: AI Infrastructure and Environmental Racism in Contemporary America,” World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 27(01), 974-988 journalwjarr.com/sites/default/files/fulltext_pdf/WJARR-2025-2602.pdf
Multimedia
- Paris Alston (2025) “Black Communities, Big Tech, and the Fight for Clean Futures” GBH News Rooted, Season 2, Episode 3 pbs.org/video/black-communities-big-tech-and-the-fight-for-clean-futures-n9mu5f
- Time Video. 2025. “Memphis Fights For Clean Air—And Against Elon Musk.” Time.Com, September 4, 2025. time.com/7314513/musks-xai-is-polluting-memphis
- American Black Journal. 2024. “Artificial Intelligence’s Impact on the Black Community.” PBS (video) time.com/7314513/musks-xai-is-polluting-memphis
Law
Readings
- Olufemi O. Taiwo, Boston Review, “Climate, State, and Utopia”
- Cole, L.W. and Foster. S. R. (2001). From the Ground Up: Environmental Racism and the Rise of the Environmental Justice Movement. New York University Press. (book)
- Sanchez, Jesús Canchola. January 8, 2026. “Governor Pritzker Signs Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act into Law.” NRDC. nrdc.org/press-releases/governor-pritzker-signs-clean-and-reliable-grid-affordability-act-law
- Ecology Center. August 27, 2025. “The Protecting Overburdened Communities Act.” ecocenter.org/protecting-overburdened-communities-act
- Bailey, C. and R. Thomson, “Heirs Property, Critical Race Theory, And Reparations,” Rural Sociology, Vol. 87, No. 4 (2022), 1219-1243.