Social Justice and Sustainability in Poor Neighborhoods

Abstract

Sustainability is the new lens that many planning educators and practitioners employ in their efforts. We taught an undergraduate service-learning studio focused on neighborhood sustainability in Detroit, Michigan. To evaluate the course, we identified four desirable learning outcomes based on a modified environmental education framework. Students gained a sense of personal investment in the sustainability challenges faced by the community and developed a more nuanced understanding of the power relationships inherent in these issues. This educational framework can help instructors design and evaluate service-learning studios that highlight the embedded social justice issues in impoverished neighborhoods.