Mapping the contradictions: An examination of the relationship between resilience and environmental justice

Abstract

Acknowledging that the relationship between resilience and environmental justice is complex, this chapter examines the tensions and contradictions arising between these two notions. Through a contextualised analysis of the institutional mapping practices, as well as those undertaken by inhabitants of two informal settlements on the periphery of Lima-Peru, it asks: what is to be made resilient? What from? With what consequences for environmental justice? The implications that such maps have on opening or foreclosing the possibilities for resilience and environmental justice are evaluated, making evident the transactions that take place within and across various scales. This interrogation demonstrates how in making a system resilient, environmental injustices may paradoxically be reinforced, or even produced and reproduced, leading to a vicious cycle difficult to disrupt.