Collaborating for Climate Equity : Researcher?practitioner Partnerships in the Americas

This book explores the capacity of different stakeholders to work together and build urban resilience to climate change through an equity-centered approach to cross-sectoral collaboration.

Urban areas, where the majority of the global population dwells, are particularly vulnerable to a myriad of climate stressors, the effects of which are acutely present in places and to communities that have been largely excluded from decision-making processes. Our need for working and learning together is at a critical threshold, yet at present, the process for and understanding of inter-sectoral collaborations remains a theoretical ideal and falls short of the broad appeal that many have claimed. Collaborating for Climate Equity argues that researcher–practitioner partnerships offer a promising pathway toward ensuring equitable outcomes while building climate resilience. By presenting five case studies from the United States, Chile, and Mexico, each chapter explores the contours of developing robust researcher–practitioner collaborations that endure and span institutional boundaries. The case studies included in the book are augmented by a synthesis that reflects upon the key findings and offers generalizable principles for applying similar approaches to other cities across the globe.

This work contributes to a nascent knowledge base on the real-world challenges and opportunities associated with researcher–practitioner partnerships. It provides guidance to academics and practitioners involved in collaborative research, planning, and policymaking.

Vivek Shandas is a professor of climate transformation and founding director of the Sustaining Urban Places Research (SUPR) Lab at Portland State University. Professor Shandas studies the effects of urban development patterns and processes on ecosystems and social justice. He has published over 100 articles and three books, and his research has been featured in the New York Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, and dozens of other international and local media. During his spare time he revels in the mountains and waters of the Pacific Northwest with his family.

Dana Hellman is an environmental social scientist and holds a PhD degree in Earth, Environment & Society. Her work addresses topics spanning climate change risk and adaptation, environmental health, resource management, and nature conservation, as well as intersections among them. She delights in making unexpected connections and synthesizing information across fields and takes an interdisciplinary approach to research and analysis, drawing upon complementary theories and practices from social and environmental sciences. Her work emphasizes themes including resilience, power/ knowledge dynamics, collaborative approaches, and (sense of) place. Dana is passionate about translating theory into practice, applying research to real-world problems, and pursuing social justice through environmental action.