Reimagining Urban Ecologies: An Ethnographic Study of Climate-Justice Activism in Seattle

This study presents an ethnographic exploration of how marginalized communities in Seattle contest environmental inequalities through grassroots activism. Despite the city’s reputation for progressive climate initiatives; environmental benefits—such as access to green spaces, clean air, and ecologically sustainable infrastructure—are unevenly distributed, with low-income and racialized communities disproportionately facing environmental harm. This research examines how activists and community organizers in Seattle resist these structural inequities by developing alternative modes of environmental engagement, rooted in care work, solidarity, and place-based knowledge that challenges the ever-present colonial ontologies and materialities of a city that remains haunted by a settler-colonial and racist past (Asaka 2022, Henderson 2022).

Drawing on intersectional and decolonial methodologies (Escobar 2008, Fanon 1963, Quijano et al 2024), the study analyzes how urban ecologies of Seattle reflect broader dynamics of race, class, and power. It explores how community actors create spaces of resistance and resilience, developing strategies that counter mainstream sustainability narratives, which have often prioritized economic growth and ecological restoration in wealthier areas. By engaging with grassroots initiatives, the research reveals how marginalized groups reimagine urban environments and ecological futures that move beyond the technocratic frameworks of municipal governance.

Using participant observation and in-depth interviews with climate advocates and local organizers, the project documents the tensions between working within institutional frameworks and cultivating autonomous, community-led alternatives. The analysis highlights how these activists confront environmental injustice through everyday practices of resistance, care, and mutual support, while also navigating the contradictions of engaging with state-led environmental initiatives.This study contributes to scholarly debates on climate justice in the Anthropocene by emphasizing the importance of grassroots resistance in reshaping urban ecologies. It offers empirical insights into how communities most affected by environmental harm forge alternative pathways toward justice, revealing the transformative potential of climate activism to reconfigure relationships between urban space, nature, and inequality.