Sustainably Speaking: Considering Linguistic Isolation in Citywide Sustainability Planning

摘要

In recent years urban planning has evolved such that many cities have environmental sustainability offices and departments, enabling environmental concerns to receive significant attention from people and policy makers. However, these offices may notbe available equally to all members of the community. Individuals and members of households who have Limited English Proficiency (LEP) can be acutely affected by communication issues that may create impediments for individuals and their ability to meaningfully participate in decision making by their communities and to hold policy makers and administrators accountable. This study evaluates the attention that sustainability planners give to LEP communities. A review of the linguistic accessibility of sustainability documents from the most populated cities in the United States shows that many cities are failing to take basic steps to provide LEP communities with access to public policy documents. Marginalized populations potentially face increased vulnerability because their exclusion can have profound consequences on their participation in civic life. Linguistically isolated LEP populations are often inhibited by these challenges, thus limiting their abilities to have legitimate roles in environmental decision making pertaining to their communities.