Dorceta E. Taylor

Yale University | YU · School for the Environment

Access to fresh, healthy, affordable foods is a pressing concern in cities worldwide. American cities are no exception. Although many scholars study food access in large cities, small and mid-sized American cities can provide valuable information about inequities in the food system. This paper focuses on two adjoining, racially mixed Mid-Michigan c...

This report examines the environmental grantmaking practices of 220 foundations that distributed more than 30,000 grants totaling $4.9 billion that were distributed over three years. It reveals disparities in environmental grantmaking that are related to region, the size of the grantees' revenues, the sex and race/ethnicity of the grantees' cheif e...

Environmental injustices have exposed our current system of reliance on polluting and toxic chemicals and chemistries as untenable and one whose risks and burdens are disproportionately borne by those who are disadvantaged. Aiming for effective interventions to create system-wide change, green chemistry and adjacent approaches are powerful leverage...

This article examines the relationship between mass incarceration and environmental inequalities. The United States incarcerates more people than any other country, and incarceration is highly racialized. The article discusses how prisons are settler colonial ecosystems that produce injustice. Prisons are located close to hazardous sites and in are...

Most food access studies focus on large cities, examine traditional grocery stores, and only consider operational food outlets. This siloed approach exposes a gap in food access literature. Therefore, as a part of our assessment of Flint’s food landscape, we examined closed food outlets in the city and surrounding townships. We investigated the rel...

The primary objective of this study was to describe the food landscape of Flint, Michigan, and the surrounding townships. We investigated the relationship between the location of food outlets and the racial composition of census tracts. We collected data from multiple sources; however, Data Axle, a repository of information on the U.S. and Canadian...

The article reports the findings of a pathbreaking national study that examines executive compensation in American environmental nonprofits. This article seeks to accomplish two goals: (1) examine the gender disparities in the pay of chief executive officers (CEOs), executive directors, and presidents in environmental organizations; and (2) analyze...

Community gardens are more popular than ever, yet we know little about how leadership structure and neighborhood characteristics relate to programming. Hence, this paper analyzes how the racial/ethnic backgrounds of the community garden leaders are related to the activities the garden undertakes. What types of initiatives do gardens undertake to re...

Michigan is a critical agricultural state, and small family farms are a crucial component of the state’s food sector. This paper examines how the race/ethnicity of the family farm owners/operators is related to farm characteristics, financing, and impacts of the pandemic. It compares 75 farms owned/operated solely by Whites and 15 with People of Co...

This study of eight types of emergency food assis­tance organizations in Michigan, USA, is the first statewide study of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the operations of these organizations. It focuses on the following question: How did the pandemic affect the operations of emergency food assistance organizations? The paper examines how the race...

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In recent years, diversity advocates have organized a national campaign aimed to get environmental organizations to reveal data on the demographic characteristics of their institutions publicly. Environmental organizations are urged to be more transparent and put their data on GuideStar (renamed Candid). Past research indicates that as of 2018, les...

Nature and landscapes are essential elements of American culture. Consequently, many scholars have examined the public’s perceptions of nature and landscapes. Some posit that Blacks are averse to wildlands and prefer urban settings. Despite the plethora of research, few studies investigate what comes to people’s minds when they contemplate nature....

In recent decades, the number of farmer’s markets has increased dramatically across the country. Though farmers markets have been described as White spaces, they can play important roles in reducing food insecurity. This is particularly true in Michigan where farmer’s markets were crucial collaborators in pioneering programs such as Double-Up Food...

To date, the research that examines food accessibility has tended to ignore ethnic food outlets. This void leaves us with a limited understanding of how such food stores may, or may not, impact food security. The study discussed herein addressed this by conducting a geospatial assessment of ethnic food outlet accessibility in two U.S. cities: Flint...

Executive Summary Over the past five years there has been a push for greater transparency about the demographic characteristics of the staff and board of environmental organizations. Such transparency is important because it allows environmental nonprofits and external actors to evaluate progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Within a few de...

There has been a scholarly interest in the demographic characteristics of American environmental organizations since the 1960s, but until recently there was no readily available way of knowing the composition of the staff or board of these institutions as few revealed any of their demographic data publicly. For the past five years, there has been a...

Despite the existence of a robust body of research that investigates human–nature connections, few scholars have examined what people tend to ponder when they think of nature. The objective of the study is to find out how college and university students think about nature. The study also seeks to identify which factors are most significant in influ...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This document presents the findings of a study that examines programming in environmental organizations. The goal is to find out (a) how many institutions have diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) pathway programming; (b) what kinds of programs exist; (c) where are organizations with diversity programs located; and (d) what kind...

From the outset, the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) has sought to create a diverse and inclusive organization. Though AESS has clearly outlined strategies for enhancing diversity, the association has found it challenging to attract robust numbers of students of color as well as faculty of color to its ranks. This paper co...

An extensive body of environmental psychology, outdoor recreation, and landscape preference research reports that blacks are alienated from nature, fearful of it, and prefer urbanized and developed landscapes to wild or natural environments. But, are these responses and preferences as widespread as reported? Most of the studies in these genres focu...

Environmental institutions have been working on diversity efforts for the better part of five decades. This report discusses the findings of a study of three types of environmental institutions: 191 conservation and preservation organizations, 74 government environmental agencies, and 28 environmental grantmaking foundations. It also reports the fi...

Environmental institutions have been working on diversity efforts for the better part of five decades. This report discusses the findings of a study of three types of environmental institutions: 191 conservation and preservation organizations, 74 government environmental agencies, and 28 environmental grantmaking foundations. It also reports the fi...

Blacks have been farming in the USA for about four centuries and in Michigan since the 1830s. Yet, for blacks, owning and retaining farmland has been a continuous challenge. This historical analysis uses environmental justice and food sovereignty frameworks to examine the farming experiences of blacks in the USA generally, and more specifically in...

The report examines the status of diversity in 2,057 American environmental nonprofits. It explores the extent to which organizations report their demographic characteristics and diversity activities on the GuideStar reporting system. The report analyzes the period from 2014 to 2016.

Urban gardens are important sources of sustenance for communities with limited access to food. Hence, this study focuses on food production in gardens in the Toledo metropolitan area in Northwest Ohio. We administered surveys to 150 garden managers from November 2014 to February 2015 in our attempt to better understand how neighbourhood racial comp...

There is strong evidence that minority students are interested in environmental careers despite data showing that the percentage of people of color currently employed in environmental organizations is low. This study explores this conundrum by examining five factors that are related to workforce diversity. It assesses the racial and ethnic differen...

There is has been strong interest in the state of diversity in the environmental field for some time now. Recent studies have shown that gender diversity is progressing at a faster pace than racial diversity. This article reports on data collected from 324 mainstream environmental organizations in 2014. It examines gender and racial diversity in si...

This article takes a new approach to studying food access. It combines environmental justice analysis with systems thinking in an examination of the food environment of Detroit. The article reviews food access literature and identifies how each body of scholarship’s underlying assumptions help or distort our understanding of urban food environments...

The Great Lakes region has a plethora of environmental organizations, but employee diversity in these organizations has not been studied systematically in the past. This report discusses the findings of a study of two types of environmental institutions in the region: 59 freshwater organizations and 188 other Great Lakes environmental organizations...

This article argues that there is a long history of environmental racism in American society. The first part of the article briefly discusses some of the environmental practices that discriminated against and negatively impacted people of color. It also discusses the responses of people color to these inequities. The second part of the article exam...

Despite the plethora of studies about environmental organizations, few studies have examined the work experiences of employees. Consequently, this study analyzes the job mobility and earnings of 265 environmental professionals. The survey sample consisted of 153 White and 112 minority respondents, including 150 men and 115 women. The study examines...

Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to explore the viability of heritage tourism as an alternative and/or supplementary economic mechanism to help black farmers retain their lands. Design/methodology/approach – In this case study, a family-owned farm in Virginia was examined to determine why and how people used this black-owned farm to share h...

Purpose – This chapter will examine the role of Central Park in setting in motion certain practices related to park development as well as revolutionizing park financing in the mid-nineteenth century and again in modern times. It will examine the shift from public financing of parks to the development of public–private partnerships to design, build...

Purpose – The lack of diversity in environmental institutions has been a concern of environmental justice activists and scholars for several decades now. Although studies have been conducted on the level of diversity in environmental groups, environmental organizations, and student participation in environmental programs, little research has been c...

Purpose – This chapter analyzes two environmental conflicts in Southeast Michigan. It analyzes how activists in each community framed each conflict and what factors prevented the groups from collaborating. Design/methodology/approach – This essay uses a multi-method approach. Researchers used participant observation, interviews, and archival inform...

Purpose – This chapter examines the factors that influence the ability of anti-gentrification movements to get media coverage for their core policy goals. It takes, as a point of departure, the suggestion that the media supports the growth machine and is not inclined to provide favorable coverage to movements trying to limit development. Design/met...

Purpose – Ecological cohousing communities, or ecovillages, are emerging as contemporary housing models that attempt to recreate a sense of community and encourage an environmentally sustainable lifestyle. This chapter analyzes a rural ecovillage (Ecovillage at Ithaca – EVI) to find out how the community conceptualizes and practices sustainability....

There is growing interest in diversity in the environmental field. The issue has become more pertinent as country undergoes noticeable demographic changes. Researchers have been interested in diversity for sometime too. This chapter traces the evolution of research on diversity and the environment. It discusses the results of new studies examining...

Diversity in environmental institutions is of increasing concern to scholars and practitioners. The author examined student perceptions of the importance of 20 diversity and equity factors in their decisions to accept a job. A national sample of 1,239 students in 9 environmental disciplines (biological sciences, geosciences, natural resources, agri...

What kinds of workplace are current life sciences students, and other students in science and engineering, willing to work in? What kinds of salaries do they expect to earn upon graduation? How well do the salary expectations of life sciences students match the reality of the job market? Do white and minority life sciences students have similar wor...

This article uses social movement theory to analyze environmental justice rhetoric. It argues that the environmental justice frame is a master frame that uses discourses about injustice as an effective mobilizing tool. The article identifies an environmental justice paradigm and compares it with the new environmental paradigm. In addition, the arti...

This article uses social movement theory to analyze environmentaljustice rhetoric. It argues that the environmental justice frame is a masterframe that uses discourses about injustice as an effective mobilizing tool. The article identifies an environmental justice paradigm and compares it with the new environmental paradigm. In addition, the articl...

Throughout the nineteenth century, the leading landscape architects and park advocates believed that parks were important instruments of enlightenment and social control. Consequently, they praised and promoted parks for their health-giving characteristics and character-molding capabilities. Landscape architects used these arguments to convince cit...

Historically, the British environmental movement has been devoid of minority participation, but this is changing very slowly, with the emergence of ethnic minority environmental groups and multiracial environmental alliances. These groups have argued that ethnic minorities have little or no access to public funds earmarked for countryside and wildl...

In the past, social psychological and cultural theories have been used to explain why blacks display lower levels of environmental concern than whites. The article argues that the environmental concern gap that exists between blacks and whites can be better understood by exploring the gap that exists between concern and action. In addition, several...

A 1984 study of Jamaican teachers found them to be highly supportive of the idea of including environmental studies in the high school curriculum. Eighty-nine percent thought such studies should be incorporated into existing courses, and 74.3 percent indicated that they would attend seminars to prepare them to teach such material. An examination of...