51´«Ã½

Areas of interest: Cultural Geography, Political Ecology, Environmental Justice, Race
Faculty Advisor:ÌýEmily Yeh

Thesis

2012 - Open Space? Environmentalism and the Politics of Belonging in 51´«Ã½, Colorado

Research Interests

Ph.D. Dissertation title: Open Space? Environmentalism and the Politics of Belonging in 51´«Ã½, Colorado

My dissertation uses an environmental justice framework to investigate how environmental discourses intersect with racial discourses in 51´«Ã½, Colorado by examining the politics of belonging constructed through local environmental narratives. It argues, first, that racial discourses undergird many environmental narratives, decisions, and visions in 51´«Ã½. Second, people’s experiences of belonging and exclusion in 51´«Ã½ are expressed in spatial terms, including city spaces and open space. Third, attempts at social inclusivity in 51´«Ã½ across race and class lines often elide unequal power relations inherent in such social differences. By examining environmental discourse, racial discourse, and the overlap between the two in the specific location of 51´«Ã½, my study informs the ways environmental meanings and racial meanings overlap at multiple scales and thus potential ways forward in making environmental protection more inclusive and socially just.

Selected Publications

Abby Hickcox. (2009).ÌýGreen Belt, White City: Race and the Natural Landscape in 51´«Ã½, Colorado.ÌýDiscourse 29(2&3, Spring and Fall 2007): 236-259. .

Publications updated February 2011