Environmental Leadership Program: ELP News: Winter/Spring 2003: Fellow Profiles

1609 Connecticut Ave NW #400
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 202.332.3320
Fax: 202.332.3327

Support ELP
Help us SUPPORT the next generation of environmental leaders

newsletter Winter/Spring 2003

Download PDF*

ELP News:

Fellow Profile

JAMES SPENCER

Mini Profile

CHIP GILLER, ELP Fellow 2001-2003, president and editor of the popular online environmental magazine Grist, got a big boost from an ELP Activity Fund grant in 2002. The grant kick-started the process of securing independent status for the magazine and developing a financial plan that will keep Grist sustainable into the future.

With support from ELP, Chip organized a two-day retreat for more than a dozen environmental activists, journalists, marketing specialists, technical experts, and others dedicated to the long-term success of the magazine. After getting up to speed on Grist's achievements to date, and reviewing its precarious financial and organizational situation, the retreat attendees were energized to create a formal advisory committee and a detailed fundraising plan.

Less than a year later, Grist has spun off from its former sponsor, Earth Day Network, to become an independent nonprofit organization, and has garnered a major grant from the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation. Grist also made its first funding appeal to readers and raised more than $90,000, a clear indicator that the magazine is highly valued and well loved by its audience. Building an independent nonprofit isn't easy, and Chip has been busy sorting out personnel policies and office logistics, while seeking additional funds to support the magazine. But Grist is alive and well, continuing to publish high-quality environmental news and features in keeping with its slogan, "gloom and doom with a sense of humor." In addition, Grist plans to expand upon its current offerings with more investigative reporting, additional stories and columns, and efforts to reach a broader audience. "Grist is the realization of a long-standing dream of mine, marrying my passions for the environment and journalism," says Chip. "I'm excited about moving forward , and I know I couldn't have come so far without the financial support of ELP and the friendships and support network I've formed through being part of the program."

With ELP seed funding, support from an enthusiastic advisory committee and staff, and key financial contributions, Chip has been able to give Grist the new life it needs to continue providing critical environmental information and a touch of humor to tens of thousands of dedicated readers. This is a fine example of what good management practices, as guided by a dedicated advisory committee, can mean to the success of a fledgling venture like Grist.

James Spencer, ELP Fellow 2000-2002, is an assistant professor in the Urban Planning and Political Science departments at the University of Hawai'i. His previous research has included evaluations of community forestry initiatives in Viet Nam, U.S. smart growth initiatives, and incentives for neighborhood economic development.

What is the focus of your urban planning work?

Since 1996, I have focused my research and participation in public debates around urban poverty, community development and the distribution of regional economic growth. To me, these are environmental issues: inequality in the spatial development of metropolitan regions creates social, physical and environmentally unsustainable conditions. My most current research focuses on the related topics of policy efforts to provide economic opportunities for disadvantaged groups in metropolitan areas; the effect of urban unrest on economic growth; and the effect of spatial concentration of the poor on socioeconomic development.

It is easy to see how this neighborhood-level equity analysis connects to the environmental justice movement. After all, environmental quality is simply one more form of wealth. What is less easily recognized is the political and social instability that these inequalities have on the public culture of metropolitan regions. Cities with great differentials in wealth and environmental conditions are politically unstable - which ultimately hurts the whole region.

How have your experiences in Vietnam complimented or informed your work in the U.S.?

This is a difficult question to answer. I began my professional career working on Agent Orange, reforestation and national park preservation in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam. As with my current work, these experiences were always focused on conflicts between those with power and those without. This is not to say that the disenfranchised were always "right." In fact, more often than not their disenfranchisement did not enable them to see the entire range of issues being balanced by the government. Often, to do what local communities suggested would have been vastly unfair to those disenfranchised outside of the local community.

What these experiences taught me was that there will always be differences over "what should be done." In most environmental situations, this is unavoidable. Yet mutual respect is attainable. In Viet Nam, I learned that good conflict management always involves some kind of investment on the part of the negotiator. Whether it is learning the language, living for extended periods with local farmers to learn the day-to-day of their struggles, or simply reading a book about someone else's history, a small investment on my part was a basic sign of respect that allowed me to engage on a much more collaborative and effective level. These skills, I believe, have helped me in my current work, since any attempt at finding policy solutions across power and cultural differences requires each participant to step outside of his or her comfort zone.

Still, there is not much that connects community reforestation in Viet Nam and urban revitalization in Los Angeles beyond my own interests and values. And this is a key point. Each situation strikes me as one where the situation can and should be improved. This sense of possibility motivates me to draw what I can from previous experiences and apply it to my current work. And the beauty of this is that it doesn't really matter what the issue is: if you care about something, then you will learn from it.

Tell us about your research on "livability" standards of metropolitan areas.

There are a lot of innovative state-level projects that keep track of how well metropolitan regions are performing on environmental standards and livability concepts such as the "Three E's," a measure of sustainability incorporating environment, economics, and equity. This is complicated work, since livability is an extremely elusive concept, but some places are making admirable attempts. For example, Minnesota has summarized twenty-six existing livability indicators into one index of progress on the "Three E's." I believe that other states should construct similar indices. Nonetheless, we must view these kinds of efforts as handles for greater public discussion and not as answers in themselves. As with any statistic, an index will never perfectly describe the reality; what it contributes is a benchmark for the public and organizations to negotiate future steps by comparing previous time periods and other metropolitan regions with the current state of a region.

Moreover, there should be no single index of what is "right," because a blanket approach can be misleading about the value of the information. In the case of urban planning, there should be multiple sources and estimates of how well metropolitan regions are doing on the Three E's. It is only when independent estimates tell similar stories that we can be relatively confident that we're moving in the right direction.

What do you consider to be the role of urban planning and smart growth in environmental work more broadly?

A good environment is something we strive for and value. However, without tools for action it is a dream achievable only through chance. Planning, public policy, activism and personal education are the tools by which people can make regulations, market transactions and political culture friendlier to the environment. I am a big fan of planning because it focuses on the future. In major metropolitan regions where smart growth has taken root there are unavoidable historical suspicions, miscommunications and ignorances. Such differences will continue to exist as cities grow. The importance of smart growth planning is that it provides a forum for parties across class, race and ethnic lines to discuss how they depend on one another to create a sustainable community. The outcomes are - almost by definition - controversial. Hopefully, the smart growth process can be a tool to improve environmental quality and the distribution of wealth. What is certain, however, is that through planning and smart growth discussions, persistent metropolitan-level conflicts on class, race, and ethnicity can be addressed with an eye to future possibilities instead of continuing to be a paralyzing dilemma about the past.

prev, Cassandra Carmichael, Lula Odom, James Spencer