Julian Agyeman

Infrastructure (in)Justice: a multi-scalar framework and review of epistemic, restorative, and reparative justice dimensions Distributive, recognition, and procedural dimensions of justice in environmental justice frameworks are common starting points for justice-oriented research and practice. Additional dimensions of j...

Incorporating epistemic, restorative, and reparative justice an analytical Infrastructure (in)Justice framework is proposed. The framework further develops the 6 + 1D typology of injustice: Disinvest, Disrespect, Disenfranchise, Dismiss, Distress, and Dispossess www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Documentation and validation of indigenous knowledge by rural women for climate change adaptation in the Himalayan ecosystems of Uttarakhand Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) serves as a reservoir of wisdom passed down through generations, with rural women in Uttarakhand playing a pivotal role in its preservation and adaptation to me...

Rural women in Uttarakhand are essential in maintaining and adapting ITK in response to climate change, showing the critical role of women’s experiences and traditional knowledge TK in fostering resilient and comprehensive approaches to address climate challenges www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Co-creating climate knowledge: informal networks, local innovation, and ecosystem restoration in coastal Tanzania This study investigates the role of informal knowledge networks in climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration in coastal Tanzania. Focusing on coral reef and mangrove restoration efforts in Soman...

The research applies a knowledge co-creation framework to analyse how local actors serve as intermediaries/translators/brokers/innovators, revealing that knowledge isn't merely transferred re-contextualised through embodied practice, metaphor and social learning www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Hurricane Melissa a ‘real-time case study’ of colonialism’s legacies Destruction in Jamaica shows why climate justice cannot be separated from reparatory justice, campaigners say

The storm hit rural Jamaica hardest – people who are poorest/least protected/historically marginalised. The same communities shaped by slavery, colonial extraction, and racialised policies are now on the frontline of climate disaster….we’re not in theory any more
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...

Tufts UEP 2025 Video.mp4 | Powered by Box

This is why I’ve dedicated 27 years of my life (and counting) to this fantastic community of scholars, activists, practitioners, dreamers and doers.. tufts.box.com/s/j2cj6mddx6...

Atlanta’s city-run grocery sees early success, sparking debate over government’s role Mayor Andre Dickens says Azalea Fresh Market has served over 20,000 customers in two months, proving strong demand for fresh food options in underserved neighborhoods.

Wow! I guess this is as close as Fox gets to acknowledging the huge potential in city owned grocery stores to alleviate hunger. They do mischievously however say 'city run' which is not true! www.foxnews.com/politics/atl...

Plural commons: translation as a relational practice The widespread use of the English term commons, rooted in British history, often obscures the diverse ways in which collective life, stewardship, and organising are practiced across different cultu...

By tracing key vocabularies of commoning across diverse contexts, the paper develops a plural understanding of the commons and proposes a tentative framework for connecting different practices without reducing their plurality. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

'The Black Forager' posts about finding/cooking wild plants, mushrooms, and seaweed while sharing the historical connection foraging has to African American and Indigenous food traditions. She has 5M followers, and a 2022 James Beard Award for best social media account. now.tufts.edu/2025/11/04/b...

America’s super-rich are running down the planet’s safe climate spaces, says Oxfam Data shows wealthiest 0.1% of the US burn carbon at 4,000 times the rate of the world’s poorest 10%

The ‘great carbon divide’ has grown over the past 30 years. Since 1990, the share of emissions of the richest 0.1% has increased by 32%, while the share of the poorest 50% has fallen by 3%. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Join Cities@Tufts as we welcome Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani on Wednesday, 10/29 at noon ET! www.eventbrite.com/e/the-cities...

National Geographic names Hull one of the top 25 places to visit in the world — The Hull Story By Rick Lyon , Co-Editor Hull has been named one of the Top 25 global destinations to visit in 2026 by  National Geographic , in its prestigious Best of the World list. The city joins an elit...

From Hull, Hell and Halifax, and being top of The Guardian’s ‘Crap Map’ to Hull-oh! Great to see my home city being appreciated instead of constantly maligned 😎 www.thehullstory.com/allarticles/...

Oral History of the Environmental Movement

Proud to have had a role in this Oral History of the Environmental Movement in the UK: 1970 – 2020, with interviews of 100 carefully selected people involved in protests, policies and practical action since the early 1970s www.royalholloway.ac.uk/research-and...

Publicly owned grocery stores could be Boston’s answer to food insecurity - The Boston Globe City-owned grocery stores prioritize benefits to local communities over corporate profit, enabling lower prices.

My students’ and my Opinion piece in today’s Boston Globe. As post Covid food insecurity is deepened by changes to SNAP, around 40,000 Bostonians will face more challenges. It’s time for cities to get creative. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/21/o...

The colour of unaffordable household water: racial/ethnic inequalities in bills and shutoffs across local water districts in nine urban areas of the United States The rapidly rising cost of household water bills is an increasing financial burden and health concern for low-income households in the United States, a nation that offers neither a constitutional r...

We offer recommendations for how municipalities may improve practices and reduce racial/ethnic inequalities in access to affordable water. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Boston’s Food Forests Take Root as a Climate Equity Strategy - Inside Climate News A decade of organizing has turned trash-strewn lots into edible parks. Now Boston is expanding food forests as part of its climate action plan.

From Mattapan to the North End, BFFC has opened 13 food forests, with the aim of 30 by 2030—a target shared by the Boston as part of its 2030 Climate Action Plan. More than 525 fruit trees/shrubs, with apples and cherries, alongside pawpaws and serviceberries. insideclimatenews.org/news/0310202...

Could government-owned grocery stores be coming to Boston? Two Boston City Councilors are proposing a hearing to consider publicly owned grocery stores in Boston.

Publicly-owned grocery stores can be structured to prioritize community benefit over profit, enabling lower prices, better food access, and stronger local sourcing, and may operate independently or in partnership with non-profits, cooperatives, or private operators. www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/...

Just got the beautiful cover design of @alisonhopealkon.bsky.social and my companion to our 2011 'Cultivating Food Justice' published by @mitpress.bsky.social It's due out in February next year. Mark your calendars!

Co-Production of Knowledge in Action: Emancipatory Strategies for Urban Equality This open-access book examines the emancipatory potential of knowledge co-production for more equal cities, drawing on experiences from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Published by UCL Press.

Co-production has limits, and can serve to reproduce power structures if emptied of its political, transformatory intent, but we must understand its emancipatory potential as an incremental strategy that has the power to transform urban planning practices. www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/pub...

Food sharing governance in European cities: insights from a scoping review Food sharing initiatives (FSI) are rapidly growing in urban areas and present new opportunities to shape more sustainable urban food systems through collaborative efforts. These initiatives operate...

This article offers a new framework to classify internal and external food sharing governance elements into 8 categories: structural factors, regulation, resources, discourses, relations between social actors, participation, knowledge, and internal organisation. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Public Restrooms: The Hidden Infrastructure of Civic Trust Want to know if a city is thriving? Start with a bathroom break.

Cities across the US are prioritizing investments in revitalization/walkability/placemaking. What about public restrooms? If they are well-managed/usable, it signals to visitors and residents alike that the surrounding area is safe/dignified and regularly cared for www.planetizen.com/features/136...

Legacies of a “great simple country” forest transitions, urban greening, and the fallacy of trees as a tool of democratisation This paper examines the evolving values attributed to trees and green spaces in northeastern U.S. cities. Historically framed as antagonists in land use change, cities are sites of forest histories...

Forest transitions are not only ecological but cultural and political processes that negotiate power, identity, and belonging. Urban forest initiatives should prioritise community agency/equity, challenge exclusionary legacies and advance more inclusive frameworks www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

On belonging and becoming in the settler-colonial city: Co-produced futurities, placemaking, and urban planning in the United States With a few notable exceptions, settler-colonial theory has not been applied to the study of U.S. cities and urban planning. Settler-colonial theory is a relatively new field of scholarship that int...

We turn to the theory and practice of co-production as one possible intervention into how the relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous placemakers could be conceived and enacted in the urban environment. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Everything about climate change is disproportionate: Principles for spatial justice in urban climate action The figure illustrates the eight principles for spatial justice in urban climate action proposed in the paper: 1) Account for cumulative effects; 2) Go beyond simplistic demographics; 3) Connect to c...

Spatial processes play a critical role in creating/shaping/perpetuating inequalities/oppression. We advocate for spatial justice in climate action and offer 8 principles to support a critical perspective on climate change in urban contexts rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

Energy equity, transitions, and futures: Photovoice insights from Latinx community members in Boston Energy equity remains a pressing issue in urban areas, particularly for marginalized communities like Boston's Latinx population. This study examines …

Unequal access to renewables, disparate light distribution, and poorly-maintained infrastructure were key concerns. Fears about safety, unreliable energy infrastructure, and risks like fires shaped participants' visions for the future. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

My 27th Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP) student Orientation! 70 1st year students aiming to become "Practical Visionaries" - people who dream big, but have their feet firmly on the ground. When I started, we had 1, now we have 4 degrees and we have double the intake!

Take a look at our fantastic Cities@Tufts fall 2025 Virtual Colloquium lineup! First up on September 24, 12-1 Eastern via Zoom, is Dr Monica White (UW Madison). Check back for sign up details for all events.

Indigenous rights and managed public land: a critical treaty analysis of parks and reserves in New Zealand This research critically examines the extent to which the Reserves Act 1977, the primary legislative framework governing many parks and reserves, especially those associated with territorial local ...

Our research underscores the potential for parks and reserves to serve as sites of cultural and environmental restoration, enacting ahi kā and reinforcing the vital connection between Māori identity and whenua (land). www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Urban trees vs. cool roofs: What’s the best way for cities to beat the heat? Cities are seeking low-cost ways to ease the heat island effect. Researchers found benefits and trade-offs in two popular options, but they vary by city and even neighborhood.

Planting trees can cool the air 35% more than installing cool roofs in places where trees can actually be planted. But many of the best places for new trees in Boston aren’t in the neighborhoods that need help. In these neighborhoods, reflective roofs were better. theconversation.com/urban-trees-...

Inside an urban heat island, one street can be much hotter than its neighbor – new tech makes it easier to target cooling projects New technologies are making it easier to find these urban heat islets, opening the door to new strategies for efficiently improving community health.

Two Boston streets at 4:30 p.m. recently: Lewis Place, 94 F, Dudley Common, 103 F. Both streets were hot, close together, but the temp on one was far more dangerous to health/well-being. These are islets in the urban heat island. What strategies should we adopt? theconversation.com/inside-an-ur...

The new NextGen Acela trains promise faster travel and more seats – but arrive as US rail faces an uncertain future The French-designed, American-manufactured NextGen arrives years late and in a moment when federally sponsored trains are fighting for their lives.

Gone is Amtrak’s railfan-in-chief Biden but NextGen Acela promises an American rail renaissance in a moment when federally sponsored trains are fighting for their lives, as Biden’s infrastructure ambitions have fallen to an administration bent on cutting costs. theconversation.com/the-new-next...