Community-Led Climate Planning


Recent experiments in community-led planning seek to address persistent injustices in local climate governance processes and outcomes by shifting both resources and decision-making power to those most impacted by climate change (McGabe, 2020; Rivera & Short, 2022). In theory this approach aligns with participatory planning ideals and the demands of environmental and climate justice advocates who call for more meaningful engagement with frontline communities (CEJA, 2016; Gonzalez, 2019). Given the plethora of research highlighting the gap between participatory ideals and practice, however, the recent rise in state-funded, community-led climate planning raises questions about whether, and how, these efforts actually address, rather than reproduce, unjust processes and outcomes. 


My dissertation analyzes the involvement and influence of historically marginalized community members in California’s Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Program. To date, TCC has distributed over $450 million to fund the design and implementation of community-driven, neighborhood-scale climate plans in some of the most pollution-burdened parts of the state. Using program documents and interviews with key informants I trace the development of the TCC program and three grant applications in Los Angeles. I find that while the program successfully directs funding to the most pollution-burdened communities, historically marginalized residents and small business owners in these neighborhoods have limited direct control over decisions about how to spend the investments on the ground. The case of TCC highlights the ongoing challenge of advancing procedural climate justice through participatory planning. It provides an on-the-ground look at how community-scale climate planning unfolds in practice, and points to possibilities for more substantial and meaningful transformation. 

Questions