Restoring Waterways, But for Whom? Environmental Justice, Human Rights, and the Unhoused

Sharon Moran and Richard Smardon ()
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Sharon Moran: Department of Environmental Studies, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13224, USA
Richard Smardon: Department of Environmental Studies, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13224, USA

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-17

Abstract: The restoration of waterways is increasingly understood as an endeavor that could (and should) be beneficial for both ecosystems and people. Researchers have already explored several ways that restoration can mediate in favor of environmental justice goals, while simultaneously acknowledging the dangers of green gentrification. This paper extends the inquiries about waterway restoration and environmental justice to include a focus on one of society’s most frequently marginalized groups, unhoused people. Working inductively, we conduct a scoping study that examines published studies, news stories, and examples from the field that explore the intersection among waterway restoration and environmental justice, in the context of the interests of unhoused people. We argue that further work on the topic is necessary, and it should include both systematic investigations as well as design guidance material; this exploration represents the first step in outlining the direction of that work. Follow-on studies will center on clarifying the social dynamics in play, including identifying contested policy narratives, describing the regulatory context of the existing cases, definition(s) of what constitutes unhoused/homeless, and what impacts they have on decision-making. The future research we anticipate will develop information and propose strategies that can be used by practitioners including planners and landscape architects, in the process of organizing project work, to help advance environmental justice and human rights goals.

Keywords: waterways; blueways; restoration; unhoused; homelessness; environmental justice; human rights (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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