Monitoring Environmental Justice

Abstract

Abstract

To date, policies for environmental justice have not been accompanied by sufficient methods of monitoring progress toward environmental justice even though policymakers and citizens alike expect some means of evaluating policy effectiveness. Concerned that this lacuna holds back environmental justice policy, and thus the possibility of reaching environmental justice, this article articulates a framework to aid the development of indexes that link multiple environmental justice issues within and across spatial and temporal scales. The argument proceeds in three steps: First, an examination of the importance of monitoring progress toward policy targets justifies the focus on indicators and indexes. Second, limitations of environmental justice indicators (e.g., their focus on specific local issues) will be identified. Third, an integrative framework for developing indicators of sustainability will inform the creation of a framework to guide the development of environmental justice indicators. The modified framework, adaptable to community priorities, circumstances, and new knowledge, enables the integration of multiple quantitative and qualitative aspects of environmental justice across spatial and temporal scales.