Sociedade de risco e justiça socioambiental na era da emergência climática

In this article, we intend to analyze the current climate emergency through the lenses of risk society and socio-environmental justice. Our main aim is to reflect on the social and environmental changes brought about by late modernity, drawing on Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens’s works on reflexive modernity, as capable to anticipate the climatic crisis. We ask the following research question: in what way does the current climate emergency—as a manifestation of the risks created by late modernity— makes evident that the traditional techno-scientific rationality was insufficient and calls for adopting Henri Acselrad’s urban matrices for socio-environmental justice? Articulating postulates by Beck, Giddens, with Acselrad’s urban matrices, we adopted a hypothetical-deductive method, a bibliographic review, and a systematic-sociological interpretation to identify some directives for mitigation and socio-environmental justice in urban settings. Findings suggest that climate emergency stems from unevenly distributed risks. To conclude, we propose some mitigation guidelines based on Acselrad’s three matrices: a sustainable city, a capital city, and citizenship city. This confirms the initial hypothesis and highlights the need for urban policies guided by socio-environmental justice

Citizenship · Climate justice · Economic Justice · Rationality · Reflexivity · Risk society · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities · Latin American Urban Studies · Urban Development and Societal Issues