Spatial processes play a critical role in creating/shaping/perpetuating inequalities/oppression. We advocate for spatial justice in climate action and offer 8 principles to support a critical perspective on climate change in urban contexts rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

Unequal access to renewables, disparate light distribution, and poorly-maintained infrastructure were key concerns. Fears about safety, unreliable energy infrastructure, and risks like fires shaped participants' visions for the future. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

My 27th Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP) student Orientation! 70 1st year students aiming to become "Practical Visionaries" - people who dream big, but have their feet firmly on the ground. When I started, we had 1, now we have 4 degrees and we have double the intake!

Take a look at our fantastic Cities@Tufts fall 2025 Virtual Colloquium lineup! First up on September 24, 12-1 Eastern via Zoom, is Dr Monica White (UW Madison). Check back for sign up details for all events.

Our research underscores the potential for parks and reserves to serve as sites of cultural and environmental restoration, enacting ahi kā and reinforcing the vital connection between Māori identity and whenua (land). www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Planting trees can cool the air 35% more than installing cool roofs in places where trees can actually be planted. But many of the best places for new trees in Boston aren’t in the neighborhoods that need help. In these neighborhoods, reflective roofs were better. theconversation.com/urban-trees-...

Two Boston streets at 4:30 p.m. recently: Lewis Place, 94 F, Dudley Common, 103 F. Both streets were hot, close together, but the temp on one was far more dangerous to health/well-being. These are islets in the urban heat island. What strategies should we adopt? theconversation.com/inside-an-ur...

Gone is Amtrak’s railfan-in-chief Biden but NextGen Acela promises an American rail renaissance in a moment when federally sponsored trains are fighting for their lives, as Biden’s infrastructure ambitions have fallen to an administration bent on cutting costs. theconversation.com/the-new-next...

This paper identifies “informational justice” as a fourth tenet of Environmental Justice, distinct from distributional, procedural and recognitional forms of justice. It identifies trusted information as foundational although under-acknowledged in the literature. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

There is a clear correlation between the number of people of colour living in a neighbourhood and the likelihood of it facing extreme heat during periods of hot weather. This is why the UK government, UK cities should adopt a climate justice-based policy approach. www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-eng...

The results show that, for the highest density images shown to participants, there was a statistically significant negative relationship with disgust. This means that people with higher disgust sensitivity found the highest density images significantly less appealing. nextcity.org/urbanist-new...

Boston’s 2030 Climate Action Plan (CAP) draft is now live. It includes a preliminary list of high-impact climate action strategies and the draft Climate Justice Framework. The next draft - with metrics, partnerships, and implementation pathways - is due Fall 2025. www.boston.gov/departments/...

Indigenous Peoples' exclusion from carbon market decision making is ongoing. Platformed on substantial inequities, marginalisation, and racism, we ask if carbon markets are a new form of colonialism? Are there potential opportunities for Indigenous Peoples? www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

From West Oakland to San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunter’s Point neighborhood, the Bay Area has a long history of displacement that has largely been forgotten. The work of a state-wide reparations task-force, as well as local reparations efforts are now shining a light www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

How is urban AI altering urban metabolism? Through an Urban Political Ecology lens focusing on energy, water and labour we discuss how the urban metabolisms altered by AI are reproducing uneven dynamics of development leading to different forms of injustice. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

I tried Waymo in Tempe, AZ. It works there, from a technical standpoint. A critical difference is that Boston’s streets are challenging. The city lacks a traditional grid system, has many narrow one-way streets, and incorporates heavy pedestrian and cyclist traffic. www.boston.com/news/local-n...

What if our civic infrastructure was sentient!? "We park benches - donated, commissioned, old, new, flaking and freshly painted – remain an unsung player of public life. I’ve seen crying babies, sore knees, spilled coffees, mudpies, quiet cries – two marriage proposals.." monocle.com/affairs/urba...

Last August city mayor @wutrain.bsky.social set up the US’s first Office of Climate Resilience. “We needed an office solely focused on delivering climate resilience infrastructure, because otherwise it won’t get done,” says Brian Swett chief climate officer. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Thrilled to be part of the international launch of the JUST centre at Manchester University @justcentre.bsky.social last week alongside professors Sherilyn MacGregor, Lucie Middlemiss, Rebecca Willis and Stefan Bouzarovski. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArCO...

Do people from ‘less developed countries’ need to be socialised into adopting household sustainability practices? Policy makers should consider more elastic notions of household sustainability, to better fit the lifestyles/motivations of immigrant communities. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

There’s a tipping point where more driving leads to deeper unhappiness. While having a car is better than not for overall life satisfaction, having to drive for more than 50% of the time for out-of-home activities is linked to a decrease in life satisfaction. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

Despite nationwide, bipartisan skepticism of govt. and tax increases, Seattle’s voters show, in light of a severe affordability crisis, a new role for the public sector and a new, dedicated fiscal revenue stream for housing is not only necessary, but possible. theconversation.com/from-seattle...

Traffic congestion in Manhattan, site of the $9 charge zone is substantially down, cars and buses are moving faster, air quality is improving as carbon emissions drop, a creaking public transportation system has new verve, there are fewer car accidents/injuries www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Abstracted notions of equality, diversity and inclusion are almost entirely absent in plans developed by deprived communities which are more likely to focus on tangible issues of local importance such as access to affordable housing, health and service provision. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Celebrating its 35th year, Danehy Park is considered an extraordinary urban planning success story At >50 acres, it is the largest park Cambridge, MA owns. It’s also near affordable housing developments, which Danehy’s evangelists say underscores its importance. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/06/m...

#SNAP is already globally unusual as an antipoverty program. Cash-like, just for non-prepared foods, at approved retailers. Evidence from cash transfer programs suggests there are easier ways to protect #foodsecurity. 🛟 🩺📊 🩺 #econsky #academicsky

Planners have limited understanding of accessibility/disability, limited experience engaging with people with disabilities, and limited educational training. Importantly, planners were eager to learn more to enhance their practice. www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/full/10....

💻 UPCOMING WEBINAR 💻 𝙀𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 Speakers: @mtejada24.bsky.social and @julianagyeman.bsky.social 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 18 July, 2025 09:00-10:00am (Pacific Time Zone) Click the link in bio to register!

🚨Join us for the International Launch of the JUST Centre, with keynote remarks from Prof. Julian Agyeman and a discussion with Centre Director Prof. Sherilyn MacGregor, Co-Investigators Prof. Lucie Middlemiss, Prof. Stefan Bouzarovski and Prof. Rebecca Willis. Register here: tinyurl.com/5bxfdb2z

Living in historically redlined areas is associated with increased risk of multiple serious adverse health outcomes. Further research on mechanisms/remediation/neighborhood-level interventions will strengthen our understanding of redlining’s impacts on health. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Findings show an understanding of the legacy of colonial approaches to land management/property delineation, and how they continue to permeate throughout contemporary planning practices, including the ongoing effects of dispossession and historical revisionism. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The “warming stripes” are an iconic climate data visualization, adopted globally as a symbol of our warming world. Here’s Boston’s stripes on #ShowYourStripes day showyourstripes.info/c/northameri...

The Displaced by Design interactive map visualizes 50 years of neighborhood change and gentrification across U.S. cities, from 1970 to 2020. It provides a powerful, data-driven look at how urban development has reshaped communities—often along racial and economic lines. ncrc.org/displaced-by...

Protected bike lane mileage installed was significantly associated with bike commuter increases that were 52.5% stronger than standard bicycle lane mileage and 281.2% stronger than shared-lane marking mileage. www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Join us on 15 July (2.00-3.00pm BST) for a webinar to launch the JUST Centre. Keynote by Prof Julian Agyeman followed by panel discussion. @julianagyeman.bsky.social @justcentre.bsky.social www.eventbrite.com/e/internatio...

Since January, an average of 70,000 fewer vehicles have entered the congestion zone each day, according to the MTA. That’s roughly 2m fewer cars on the road every month. Traffic is down moderately; vehicles are moving between 5 and 10% faster during peak hours www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

I'll be chairing 2 important sessions at the XXVI International Conference of the Society for Human Ecology (SHE) at UMons this week. This first one is a double keynote with @winterchristine.bsky.social and @julianagyeman.bsky.social! We'll talk about (in)justice, ecology, cities and... sand!

The Metcalf Institute's Leeson Lecture is this Tuesday! @julianagyeman.bsky.social presents “Just Sustainabilities in Policy, Planning and Practice,” a can’t-miss talk for anyone engaged in urban planning and food justice. ⬇️ June 10 @ 3:30pm URI Bay Campus web.uri.edu/metcalf/crit...

This research sheds light on how urban agriculture initiatives, and their potential benefits, are distributed and supports the creation of larger urban agriculture datasets to examine patterns across geographies and between types of urban agriculture organisations www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Our study suggests the long-lasting ramifications of historic redlining in predicting modern-day life expectancy and highlights potential points of intervention to reverse the implications of structurally racist practices. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Hawaii has imposed a tax of 0.75% on hotel room and vacation rental stays in order to raise money to address the consequences of the climate crisis. It’s the first time a government in the US has imposed such levy to help cope with a warming planet. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Discourse analysis of local/state media in Bulgaria shows how environmental racism is reinforced/legitimised through "the media-government complex” adding to work on the production of “the Roma” as a racial figure, and the media for sustaining environmental racism www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Guided by an Indigenous model of wellbeing this initiative was a vehicle for uplifting the autonomy/confidence/wellbeing of community housing residents, fostering healthy relationships with themselves/immediate community, and the wider community across the city. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The U.S. once again faces a housing crisis. The legacy of the Housing Corporation reminds us that bold public action can meet urgent needs, building more than just houses, constructing communities, finding appropriate, innovative solutions to complex challenges. theconversation.com/believe-it-o...

How do we shift from racial, to reparative urban planning? That was the question I set my RA Lauren Chapman last September. Spend some time digging in to her work, which we will be keeping up to date as more cities enact reparative justice policies and actions. storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/1c42...

A Creative Engagement Framework was developed to enhance participation in urban greenspace governance through co-production. Community engagement therefore, serves both as an instrumental approach and as an intrinsic goal in building stronger community connections www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The urgency of transitioning to renewables to mitigate climate risks highlights a need for more human centric approaches to ensure equitable outcomes. The paper proposes a theoretical framework centred on the capability approach, human agency, and energy justice. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

How do we first recognize, then un-arrest the mobility of Black and other marginalized people as they move through communities, spaces and places? This excellent book offers workable policy and planning frameworks of mobility justice and racial justice to professionals, advocates, and others.

This article develops an integrated concept of 'environmental wellbeing', positioning it as a locally situated counterpart to “planetary health” and “human wellbeing”, and outlines practical principles for its operationalisation. ‪@juliandobson.bsky.social‬ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....