Doing environmental justice research: the challenges of operationalising conceptions of the 'environment' in field research interviews

Abstract

Drawing on sixteen field research interviews in the community of Parkdale in Toronto (Canada), this paper examines the challenges of operationalizing broad conceptions of the environment as defined by the American environmental justice literature. I argue that, without an established environmental justice movement in communities such as Parkdale, a gap exists between environmental justice theory and environmental justice empirical reality. Based on the findings of the interviews, I conclude that in order to address the gap and to ensure the empirical credibility of environmental justice research, researchers need to be willing to further redefine environmental justice concepts, such as operational definitions of the environment.