Transforming Spatial Data into Public Policies for Social Justice and Environmental Sustainability

Book excerpt: Environmental justice and social justice are well established concepts in social research. This book goes beyond the established discourse to show how Geographic Information Systems can unveil higher levels of spatial unfairness when both forms of injustice coincide in the same place. Territorial injustice is the result of the disproportionately higher exposure of vulnerable communities to pollution and environmental risks. Overlapping layers of georeferenced environmental and social information generate maps depicting territorial injustice which can be a powerful tool to facilitate social dialogue and prompt policy change. This volume brings approaches from ten Latin American countries to demonstrate how the interdisciplinarity between law and Geographic Information Systems can contribute to the development of fairer public policies, and prevent and mitigate cases of extreme injustice. The case studies presented are relevant to support the development of geolaw, and to inspire pragmatic strategies aimed both at social justice and environmental sustainability.