Environmental Justice and Waste Management : location of landfills and socioeconomic conditions in São Paulo (SP, Brazil)
(2017) In Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science MESM02 20171LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
- Abstract
- Environmentally safe disposal of urban waste is a global concern that recently gained a new dimension through the lens of Environmental Justice, with a growing literature showing correlation between the placement of waste facilities and disadvantaged groups in society. This thesis seeks to verify whether landfills in the city of São Paulo are located in regions where socially and economically vulnerable groups live, in order to promote the inclusion of the concept of environmental justice in the solid waste management planning process. This thesis also questions the role that the presence of a landfill poses to the socioeconomic conditions of the surrounding population and the reasons behind why they live close to landfills. São Paulo (SP,... (More)
- Environmentally safe disposal of urban waste is a global concern that recently gained a new dimension through the lens of Environmental Justice, with a growing literature showing correlation between the placement of waste facilities and disadvantaged groups in society. This thesis seeks to verify whether landfills in the city of São Paulo are located in regions where socially and economically vulnerable groups live, in order to promote the inclusion of the concept of environmental justice in the solid waste management planning process. This thesis also questions the role that the presence of a landfill poses to the socioeconomic conditions of the surrounding population and the reasons behind why they live close to landfills. São Paulo (SP, Brazil) was chosen as the case study and the research strategy is based on a mixed methods approach: literature review, production /analysis of GIS maps and field visit. One community in the vicinity of CTL Leste landfill was studied in detail, in which field observations and application of semi-structured interviews were used as data collection strategy to gain insights from the case study area. The data from interviews were analysed statistically and through content analysis. The two maps created with ArcGIS software showed that most of the landfills of São Paulo are located mainly in areas occupied today by economically disadvantaged populations, regardless the period of urban occupation of the areas by the time of landfills implementation. The field visit confirmed social and environmental conditions of the residents and provided insights about the effect that the landfill has on these conditions. It is fair to say that the presence of a landfill itself is not the main cause of the precarious socioeconomic conditions of the surrounding inhabitants; instead, the city dynamics makes populations that are already socioeconomically vulnerable accept to live in the vicinity of landfill sites. It is confirmed a case of environmental injustice, in which an already more vulnerable population are being exposed to additional environmental risks. It is concluded that the concept of environmental justice may help the process of policy making and regulatory practices to better protect disadvantaged populations, in order to guarantee that the presence of a landfill does not further expose an already vulnerable population to an additional type of risk, environmental risk. (Less)
- Abstract (Portuguese)
- A disposição ambientalmente segura de resíduos urbanos é uma preocupação global que recentemente ganhou uma nova dimensão através do conceito de Justiça Ambiental, com um crescente campo de estudo mostrando correlação entre a localização de aterros e grupos desfavorecidos na sociedade. A presente dissertação buscou verificar se os aterros (em operação e desativados) na cidade de São Paulo estão localizados em regiões onde vivem grupos vulneráveis socioeconomicamente, a fim de promover a inclusão do conceito de justiça ambiental no processo de planejamento do gerenciamento de resíduos sólidos. Este trabalho também questiona os efeitos que a presença de um aterro sanitário tem nas condições socioeconômicas de populações adjacentes e os... (More)
- A disposição ambientalmente segura de resíduos urbanos é uma preocupação global que recentemente ganhou uma nova dimensão através do conceito de Justiça Ambiental, com um crescente campo de estudo mostrando correlação entre a localização de aterros e grupos desfavorecidos na sociedade. A presente dissertação buscou verificar se os aterros (em operação e desativados) na cidade de São Paulo estão localizados em regiões onde vivem grupos vulneráveis socioeconomicamente, a fim de promover a inclusão do conceito de justiça ambiental no processo de planejamento do gerenciamento de resíduos sólidos. Este trabalho também questiona os efeitos que a presença de um aterro sanitário tem nas condições socioeconômicas de populações adjacentes e os motivos pelos quais tais populações vivem perto de aterros sanitários. A cidade de São Paulo (SP, Brasil) foi escolhida como estudo de caso e a estratégia de pesquisa baseou-se em métodos mistos: revisão de literatura, produção e análise de mapas e visita de campo. Uma comunidade na proximidade do aterro CTL Leste foi estudada em detalhes, e observações de campo e aplicação de entrevistas semi-estruturadas foram utilizadas como estratégia de coleta de dados. O conteúdo das entrevistas foi analisado estatisticamente e através de análise de conteúdo. Os dois mapas criados com o software ArcGIS mostraram que a maioria dos aterros sanitários de São Paulo está localizada em regiões ocupadas hoje por populações economicamente desfavorecidas, independente do período de ocupação urbana das áreas onde os aterros foram implementados. A visita de campo confirmou as condições sociais e ambientais dos moradores e forneceu informações sobre o efeito que o aterro tem em tais condições. É possível afirmar que a presença de um aterro em si não é a principal causa das precárias condições socioeconômicas dos habitantes circundantes. Em contrapartida, a dinâmica da cidade fez e faz com que populações que já são socioeconômicas vulneráveis aceitem viver nas proximidades de aterros sanitários. É confirmado então um caso de injustiça ambiental, em que populações já vulneráveis estão sendo expostas a riscos ambientais adicionais. Conclui-se que o conceito de justiça ambiental pode assim ajudar no processo de formulação de políticas públicas e práticas regulatórias, de forma a melhor proteger populações desfavorecidas, garantindo que presença de um aterro não os exponha a mais um risco, o risco ambiental. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Environmentally safe disposal of urban waste is a global concern that recently gained a new dimension through the lens of Environmental Justice, with a growing literature showing correlation between the placement of waste facilities and disadvantaged groups in society. This thesis seeks to verify whether landfills in the city of São Paulo are located in regions where socially and economically vulnerable groups live, in order to promote the inclusion of the concept of environmental justice in the solid waste management planning process. This thesis also questions the role that the presence of a landfill poses to the socioeconomic conditions of the surrounding population and the reasons behind why they live close to landfills. São Paulo (SP,... (More)
- Environmentally safe disposal of urban waste is a global concern that recently gained a new dimension through the lens of Environmental Justice, with a growing literature showing correlation between the placement of waste facilities and disadvantaged groups in society. This thesis seeks to verify whether landfills in the city of São Paulo are located in regions where socially and economically vulnerable groups live, in order to promote the inclusion of the concept of environmental justice in the solid waste management planning process. This thesis also questions the role that the presence of a landfill poses to the socioeconomic conditions of the surrounding population and the reasons behind why they live close to landfills. São Paulo (SP, Brazil) was chosen as the case study and the research strategy is based on a mixed methods approach: literature review, production /analysis of GIS maps and field visit. One community in the vicinity of CTL Leste landfill was studied in detail, in which field observations and application of semi-structured interviews were used as data collection strategy to gain insights from the case study area. The data from interviews were analysed statistically and through content analysis. The two maps created with ArcGIS software showed that most of the landfills of São Paulo are located mainly in areas occupied today by economically disadvantaged populations, regardless the period of urban occupation of the areas by the time of landfills implementation. The field visit confirmed social and environmental conditions of the residents and provided insights about the effect that the landfill has on these conditions. It is fair to say that the presence of a landfill itself is not the main cause of the precarious socioeconomic conditions of the surrounding inhabitants; instead, the city dynamics makes populations that are already socioeconomically vulnerable accept to live in the vicinity of landfill sites. It is confirmed a case of environmental injustice, in which an already more vulnerable population are being exposed to additional environmental risks. It is concluded that the concept of environmental justice may help the process of policy making and regulatory practices to better protect disadvantaged populations, in order to guarantee that the presence of a landfill does not further expose an already vulnerable population to an additional type of risk, environmental risk. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8914590
- author
- Tau Zymberg Tomaszewski, Débora LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MESM02 20171
- year
- 2017
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- environmental justice, waste management, landfill, São Paulo, Brazil, sustainability science
- publication/series
- Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science
- report number
- 2017:026
- funder
- Svenska Institutet
- language
- English
- id
- 8914590
- date added to LUP
- 2017-06-18 16:14:40
- date last changed
- 2017-06-18 16:14:40
@misc{8914590,
abstract = {{Environmentally safe disposal of urban waste is a global concern that recently gained a new dimension through the lens of Environmental Justice, with a growing literature showing correlation between the placement of waste facilities and disadvantaged groups in society. This thesis seeks to verify whether landfills in the city of São Paulo are located in regions where socially and economically vulnerable groups live, in order to promote the inclusion of the concept of environmental justice in the solid waste management planning process. This thesis also questions the role that the presence of a landfill poses to the socioeconomic conditions of the surrounding population and the reasons behind why they live close to landfills. São Paulo (SP, Brazil) was chosen as the case study and the research strategy is based on a mixed methods approach: literature review, production /analysis of GIS maps and field visit. One community in the vicinity of CTL Leste landfill was studied in detail, in which field observations and application of semi-structured interviews were used as data collection strategy to gain insights from the case study area. The data from interviews were analysed statistically and through content analysis. The two maps created with ArcGIS software showed that most of the landfills of São Paulo are located mainly in areas occupied today by economically disadvantaged populations, regardless the period of urban occupation of the areas by the time of landfills implementation. The field visit confirmed social and environmental conditions of the residents and provided insights about the effect that the landfill has on these conditions. It is fair to say that the presence of a landfill itself is not the main cause of the precarious socioeconomic conditions of the surrounding inhabitants; instead, the city dynamics makes populations that are already socioeconomically vulnerable accept to live in the vicinity of landfill sites. It is confirmed a case of environmental injustice, in which an already more vulnerable population are being exposed to additional environmental risks. It is concluded that the concept of environmental justice may help the process of policy making and regulatory practices to better protect disadvantaged populations, in order to guarantee that the presence of a landfill does not further expose an already vulnerable population to an additional type of risk, environmental risk.}},
author = {{Tau Zymberg Tomaszewski, Débora}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science}},
title = {{Environmental Justice and Waste Management : location of landfills and socioeconomic conditions in São Paulo (SP, Brazil)}},
year = {{2017}},
}