Suchergebnisse

We find Roma settlements on the outskirts of villages, separated from the majority population by roads, railways or other barriers, disconnected from water pipelines and sewage treatment. Why are some people (or groups) better off than others when it comes to the distribution of environmental benefits? In order to understand the present situation and identify ways to address the impacts of these inequalities we must understand the past and mechanisms related to the differentiated treatment. The situation and discrimination of the Roma ethnic minority in Slovakia is examined from the perspective of environmental conditions and injustice. There is no simple answer as to why there is environmental injustice. Environmental conditions in Roma settlements are just one of the indicators of failures of policies addressing the problem of poverty and social exclusion in marginalized groups, structural discrimination, and internal Roma problems. Environmental injustice is not an outcome of the "historical determination" of the Roma population to live in environmentally problematic places

The site known as Lipnica is a segregated Roma settlement built on the edge of a municipal landfill in the district town of Turčany, central Slovakia (fictitious names have been used for the site and the town). The settlement emerged as a result of processes rooted in neoliberal economic restructuring, accompanied by a sharp rise in unemployment in the 1990s. The settlement was originally built to provide temporary housing for those who were in arrears for rent in municipal flats, and originally consisted of one apartment building and several modular cabins. In the following years it expanded, and today it is an ethnic quasi-ghetto for approximately 400 Roma inhabitants. From a theoretical perspective, an analysis of the Lipnica settlement is situated at the intersection of critical race theory and environmental justice theory. In this article, we describe the trajectory leading to the formation of the settlement and analyse how the impoverishment of the Roma, coupled with the construction of the community as 'maladjusted' anti-social others, facilitated their spatial exclusion. We conclude that the case demythologises culturising explanations for the emergence of Roma settlements, by using empirical data to show how Lipnica developed as a result of intentional discriminatory policies of the local ruling class used against an ethnic minority.

This article explores how multiple health risks in municipalities with Roma settlements in Slovakia are related to the varieties of local governance and the authorities' conduct towards the local Roma population. The first part of the paper describes the situation in Roma settlements from the perspective of unequal access to sewerage and water pipelines. Introduced here are data on identified contagious diseases that correlated multiple health risks with the lack of sanitation and/or water infrastructure. The second section of the paper put forth typologies of government approaches towards the Roma, which based on ethnographic fieldwork, allows us to identify factors of attitudinal, structural and policy-oriented nature. Research results point to a "triad" of key circumstances: these are the structural conditions in municipalities and the history of local inter-ethnic relations and attitude of authorities towards Roma. Finally, possible solutions and approaches regarding how to mitigate the multiple health risks are discussed. It is suggested that on the one hand, in many villages there is a profound institutional discrimination of Roma with respect to water and sanitation infrastructure; on the other hand, water services are increasingly becoming an expensive commodity that not everyone can afford. The article concludes with discussion on enabling conditions and ways to ensure access to basic infrastructure in rural Roma communities. The solution is not only a compliance with principles of non-discrimination and existing technical norms and standards but also in securing the accessible funding for construction of the sanitation infrastructure in a smart way, including innovations and operation of cheaper and environmentally responsible sanitation technologies.

AbstractIn this article, we explore populist politics, discourses and social practices regarding the ethnic Roma in the rural regions of eastern Slovakia. Our approach was guided by a theoretical discussion of right‐wing populism and social inequalities. Methodologically, we relied on Bourdieu's conceptual apparatus as a useful scholastic device to translate very practical data from interviews and observations into structured analytical information. The article is based on field research, in which we explored waste management practices in the municipality of Laborov. We came to the conclusion that essential components of right‐wing populism in Laborov rest on what we characterised as ongoing racialised stigmatisation, reconfiguring previously racially uncategorised issues into ethnic problems and thus, reinforcing the stigmatisation and oppression of the disempowered Roma minority groups.

Abstract
More than half of the Roma population in Slovakia lives in spaces that are segregated or separated from dominant non-Roma communities. The socio-spatial marginalization of Roma is both generated and reinforced through open and discrete social processes and measures largely orchestrated by local governments, enabled by an ineffective state; and reinforced by the general socio-economic policy framework. This article builds on extensive field research on predominantly Roma-occupied spaces (i.e., 'settlements') in Slovakia and focuses on the nature and function of Roma segregation and separation in Slovakia from an ecological socio-political, and economic standpoint. Based on Loi'c Wacquant's work on ethno-racial segregation and the concept of environmental justice, we discuss social and environmental discrimination as one of the constituent elements in understanding Roma socio-spatial marginalization and its functions, and employ the neologism, 'hyper-osada' as a tool to conceptually and analytically investigate the; new impetus and recent trajectory of Roma segregation and separation.

There is overwhelming evidence that one of the most important challenges facing society today is the growing scale and unequal distribution of consumption of natural resources. Both the socio-economic implications of resource scarcities and the documented decline in provision of and rising threats to ecosystem services have spurred parts of the academic and policy communities into identification of problems and solutions. Some of the most fundamental debates, led by researchers from various disciplines, centre around economic growth and sustainable consumption. However, there is often a lack of knowledge exchange between these researchers as well as between researchers and policy makers. Together with other factors this results in slow policy progress. In this paper, we seek to contribute to the dialogue and understanding between sustainability science and policy by identifying a set of important research questions that link the challenges of sustainable consumption with economic growth debates and critiques. The research questions have been identified through an extensive participatory process involving leading researchers and policy makers responsible for sustainability policies throughout the whole EU and cover five areas (food, housing, mobility, information and communication technology, finance). The aim of the research questions is to orient researchers towards important research priorities as well as guide policy makers and public authorities in funding of research and use of sound scientific evidence and policy advice to inform decision making. We anticipate that addressing these questions will contribute to rethinking of societal institutions and forms of consumption in order to transition towards sustainability, while improving the synergy between policy and sustainability science. This paper presents some results of the RESPONDER project, Linking Research and Policy Making for Managing the Contradictions of Sustainable Consumption and Economic Growth, funded by the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme, 2011–2014.

As Europe's public realms face upheaval, this is the first book to identify how social solidarity is being reinvented from below and redefined from above. Interdisciplinary transnational approaches provide new insights into the relationship between national and transnational social solidarity across Europe.Valuable to students, policy makers and scholars, it reveals social solidarity as the defining pillar of European integration, bringing a greater dimension and integrity beyond democracy across nation states

Struggles for environmental justice involve communities mobilising against powerful forces which advocate 'development', driven increasingly by neoliberal imperatives. In doing so, communities face questions about their alliances with other groups, working with outsiders and issues of class, race, ethnicity, gender, worker/community and settler/indigenous relationships. Written by a wide range of international scholars and activists, contributors explore these dynamics and the opportunities for agency and solidarity. They critique the practice of community development professionals, academics, trade union organisers, social movements and activists and inform those engaged in the pursuit of justice as community, development and environment interact