Recognitional justice in adaptation planning lessons from 25 U.S. cities

Abstract Abolitionist and critical climate justice approaches provide a theoretical framework beyond environmental justice for identifying inequities driving or stemming from climate change, specifically those related to recognitional injustice. Leveraging these insights, we provide an empirical assessment of how U.S. cities are considering mobilizing recognitional justice while implementing climate adaptation efforts on the ground. Doing so illustrates the ways in which critical climate justice theories have and have not yet been put into practice to ameliorate inequality. To do this, we analyze adaptation plans across 25 U.S. cities using a robust content analytical approach. Despite increasing scholarly attention on abolitionist climate justice, we find that, in practice, cities are only beginning to center their plans on recognizing historical inequalities, with attention paid to racism and redlining, a discriminatory practice of restricting who can live where based on race or ethnicity, in particular. We see fewer examples of how cities are considering or addressing systemic drivers of climate vulnerability and socio-economic inequality. Our focus on recognitional dimensions complements and builds on existing research on procedural and distributive equity in urban climate action, and supports ways to advance and implement broader, more comprehensive climate justice goals in cities across the U.S.