Definitions of Resilience and Equity in Planet Texas 2050
Topics: Environmental Justice
, Socialist and Critical Geographies
, Feminist Geographies
Keywords: Planet Texas, resilience, equity, geography, machine-learning, algorithm, code, diversity, inclusion, intersectional environmentalism, environmental justice, social justice, sustainability, austin, texas, university of texas, student research, undergraduate research, feminist
Session Type: Virtual Guided Poster
Day: Thursday
Session Start / End Time: 4/8/2021 04:40 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada)) - 4/8/2021 05:55 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 53
Authors:
Cammie Moore, UT Austin
Alyssa Ramirez,
Anya Krishnaswamy,
Jessie Yin, University of Texas at Austin
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Abstract
Our analysis is a part of a much larger project, Planet Texas 2050. Several departments throughout the University of Texas at Austin are collaborating on this multi-year long initiative. The purpose of this project is to understand and implement environmental policies to increase our state’s adaptability. Our specific goal was to collect and analyze qualitative survey answers about the role that equity and resilience plays for these organizations. Our student team coded the algorithm by reading through roughly 1,400 NGO mission statements and manually classifying the NGOs into five categories based on their focus area: water, ecosystems, urbanization, energy, and other. The survey prompted the organizations to define equity and resilience in their own terms and their work. Depending on the 200 responses received for both questions, we further divided the topics into distinct categories to better observe patterns of commitment and understanding to critical, anti-racist work. We intend on further developing our understanding of organizational equity and resilience through a series of interviews with a small group of organizations. By focusing on NGOs with strong anti-racist frameworks, we will be better able to understand how they are situated among the broader coalition of Texas environmental organizations and how these anti-racist orgs may inform other environmental NGOs. We are developing an understanding of the kind of environmental work, which centers sustainability from a critical perspective and some of the barriers that may remain against more organizations committing to more equitable practices.
