Environmental Justice

Frameworks applied in London -

working with disadvantaged

young people

Prof Dr Carolyn Stephens

Profesora Titular, National University of Tucumán,

Argentina

Reader in International Environmental Health,

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK

Introduction

• What is “Environmental Justice” ….shifting sands?

• Why do we work with it?

• What do we do with it?

Environmental Justice

• In Europe Aarhus Convention 2001 Access to information

• Access to decision-making

• Access to redress from systems of law

• Substantive and

Procedural Justice

Why more action…?

“Why do environmentalists only give us problems and not solutions…I am getting sick of their pessimism. Why can’t they invent an aeroplane which runs on water?”

• Annoyed of London 2007

Graffiti/Educational Art Holloway Road

London 2007

Why Young People?

Substantive

• Future bearers of our

environmental insults

• Children in Africa, Asia,

Latin America, bear most

• Europe - new paediatric

morbidity

• Disadvantaged Children

in all settings bear more

than others

Procedural

• Young people in UK are losing interest in science and science careers

• DfES (2005) 14-19 Education and Skills’ White Paper

• Still great inequality in UK higher education“….a deep division in the chances of young people going to university according to where they live

• HEFCE (2005) Young Participation in Higher Education

What we have done• Examples – London:

Transport, asthma, mosquitoes, housing, social environment, malaria, TB, global warming, dustmites

• Nigeria - children water rights and responsibilities

• Argentina - Seeds of Life -rights to traditional food

• Ecuador - Oil and indigenous rights

• Peru - Gas and Oil projects - our benefits, their impacts

Road Safety: Molly (9 years)

Examples: engaging young

people in our work2001-2..Dept Transport,

Our Science, Our

Transport

2003 EC European

Environment Network

Our Environment, Our

Health, Our Future

2004-2007 Wellcome

Trust Our Science, Our

Health

How we have done it

• “Citizen Science” Epidemiology projects

• Annual “Work Experience” placements for young people

• “Aim Higher” Residential Summer Schools

• 3 Year Wellcome Society Award intervention study of engagement of young people in LSHTM work

• Involvement of young people in local and international conferences

• Participatory Film projects

Example: Young peoples’ EJ

questions

• Where and when do accidents occur in Wandsworth and who gets killed the most? (Swaffield Primary School, Wandsworth)

• Where are the road traffic accidents TAs in Greenwich? Who is affected by them? (Middle Park Primary School, Greenwich)

• Are accidents in Barking and Dagenham with vehicles from here or not? (Eastbury School, Barking)

Where do accidents happen in Wandsworth?Child pedestrian accidents (5-11 years old) 1996-2001

•The class was interested in how accidents in Greenwich compared

with other boroughs.

•Children are injured in Greenwich more than any other age group.

They have a greater chance of being injured than other boroughs in

the study, or in London.

Percentages of all pedestrian casualt ies in Greenwich,, Barking &

Dagenham, Wandsworth, Ealing and London in the year 2001.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

<5 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65+

Age of injured pedestrian

Pe

rce

nta

ge

of

ca

sua

ltie

s (%

) Greenwich

Barking and Dagenham

Wandsworth

Ealing

London

Comparing pedestrian injuries in different boroughs

for Middle Park Primary Greenwich

Why higher rates of child RTAs in

Greenwich?

• Playing

chicken

• Stealing cars

• Messing about

Origin of vehicles and casualties in

pedestrian RTAs in B & D 1999-2001

1999-2001 Vehicle origins

• From

– B & D = 167 (62.5%)

– Neighbouring borough

= 59 (22.1%)

– Other boroughs = 41

(15.4%)

1999-2001 Pedestrian

origins

• From

– B & D = 201 (85.5%)

– Neighbouring

borough = 19 (8.1%)

– Other boroughs = 15

(6.4%)

Example 2: Our Science, Our

Health

ThemesInternational

– Malaria and global warming

– Global Warming

– Child labour

– Trade and Justice

UK focused

– Historical distribution of the Plague

– Social and health inequalities internationally

– Asthma and Dustmites

– Distribution of TB in London

Science work experience aged 14 2004

TB in the UK - why do people

in bad housing get more TB?

TB - A

Breath of

DeathBy Hardeep Nota, Shaleen Khan By Hardeep Nota, Shaleen Khan

and Sabah Saidand Sabah Said

Environmental Justice and

Bikes

Historical Justice: distribution

of the Plague in London

Talking/listening?

– what did we find?

• “I think some of them are just amazed that anybody wants to talk to them, or listen to them, (right), listen to what they’ve got to say….”

• (Scientist 2005)

Billy, Denis, Karandeep, Nick (2004)

So what qualities does a scientist

working on this theme need?

‘well, they’ve got to…be down to earth…and care about the people that they’re working with, rather than caring about their reputation…’

Our Science Wellcome Trust Society AwardProject member, age 15, 2005

‘it’s not really physical

appearance that

matters to be a

scientist, it’s what you

have in you, what you

feel, what you

believe….. what you

can do and how you

can express yourself’

Our Science, Wellcome Trust, Project

Member aged 17 2007

So if you were asked to describe a

scientist now?

An extra result

• Out of 26 students, 19 students achieved at least one grade higher in GCSE science than would be expected on the basis of their performance in Year 9. Of these 19, eight pupils achieved two grades higher than expected.

• “in the case of our group…, many have shown progress approaching, at or above the national upper quartile rather than just clearing the ‘median’ expectation. This was what struck me more than anything” (LBBD Science Officer 2007)

• 5 of the original cohort of 12 are now at university studying environmental health and medicine

So if you were asked to describe a scientist

now?

…. like whenever I see Carolyn now I don't

just see like, this high scientist any more, I

actually see like a more closer, more

playful person, who's terrible at bowling

Our Science Wellcome Trust Society Award Project

member, age 16, 2005

http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/pehru/ourscience/

Thank you for

listening