Grassroots science : power, knowledge, and participation in the San Francisco Bay Area

This study examines the role of grassroots air quality monitoring in connecting community members to environmental decision-making processes. This is a mixed method case study of two nonprofit organizations, The West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project in West Oakland, CA and the Global Community Monitor, in Richmond, CA. Both organizations utilize grassroots air quality monitoring as a tool to include communities in environmental decision-making processes, and achieve environmental justice goals. Each community is exposed to high levels of air pollution that disproportionately impacts people of color and low income residents. Methods include: Semi-structured interviews, document review, and participant observation. Data are analyzed through discourse analyses. Although the policy and decision-making outcomes of grassroots monitoring vary on a case-by-case basis, the monitoring processes engage community members in environmental justice work in new ways, by restructuring power relationships between community members, polluters, and regulators, building capacity, and involving regulatory agencies in local projects