Beyond band-aids: Using systems thinking to assess environmental justice

Abstract

Working toward environmental justice requires using a systems-thinking approach because environmental injustices emerge from complex relationships among environmental, social, and economic systems, and systems thinking provides a framework for elucidating ways to intervene in a system. In contrast, more simplistic "Band-Aid" interventions, which may ameliorate an injustice in the short term or at a local level, are unlikely to create long-term, systemic change and therefore allow the root causes of injustices to persist. The goal of this chapter’s learning activity is to help students use a systems-thinking approach to examine and then propose systemic interventions for environmental injustices. After completing this activity, students should be able to (1) describe environmental injustices affecting disadvantaged populations, (2) recognize how systems thinking applies to examining environmental (in)justice, (3) differentiate between Band-Aid and systemic interventions to alleviate environmental injustices, and (4) propose Band-Aid and systemic interventions to alleviate an environmental injustice.