Green City Rising: Contamination, Cleanup, and Collective Action

Green City Rising is an ethnographic account of collective organizing for environmental justice in an era of growing concern about environmental and climate challenges. The conventional sustainability paradigm promises improved environmental conditions for all, such as fresh air and clean water, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, green space access, and protection from climate crises. Yet, without particular interventions, the pursuit of such environmental amenities often contributes to displacement and further harm for communities that have historically borne the brunt of land theft, racial capitalism, and toxic industries.

Drawing on the work of an alliance of grassroots organizations called the Portland Harbor Community Coalition (PHCC), Erin Goodling shows how communities have come together across lines of race and class to work for a more just, green future in Portland, Oregon. Green City Rising reveals that the violence of settler colonialism and white supremacy are far from endpoints: a collective vision for a better future is emerging, and ordinary people are building the understanding, skills, and relationships necessary to usher it in.

ERIN GOODLING is a researcher and public scholar who received her PhD in Urban Studies from the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University. She has worked extensively with the Western Regional Advocacy Project, an alliance of homeless-led activist groups across the western U.S., as well as others focused on housing, anticriminalization, and environmental justice.