Complex Engineering Systems and Liberation Movements: A Case Study of Earth Observation Technologies Applied to Environmental Injustice in Carceral Landscapes

Wednesday, October 26, 2022
2:00 – 3:30PM, ET (Zoom Meeting)

Ufuoma Ovienmhada
Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT)

Bio:
Ufuoma Ovienmhada is a third year PhD student at MIT in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department. She studies applications of satellite remote sensing data for environmental justice. In her dissertation, she employs a multi-method approach to research the distribution of environmental hazards in carceral landscapes and co-design Earth Observation technologies to support environmental justice advocacy. Prior to beginning her PhD, she completed a Masters in the MIT Media Lab. Her Masters Thesis focused on applying remote sensing, low-cost sensors, drone data collection and community-centered design techniques to invasive plant species management in West Africa. Before arriving at MIT, she completed a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and worked at Public Lab, a community science nonprofit. Outside of research, Ufuoma is involved in campus activism pertaining to DEI and alternative forms of public safety.

Abstract:
Over the last few decades, numerous scholars have documented the fact that in general, people of color and other socio-economically marginalized groups in the United States experience a disproportionate burden of environmental challenges - this pattern is referred to as environmental justice (EJ). Satellite Earth Observations (EO) can be used to monitor air quality, water quality, extreme weather and other quantities relevant to Environmental Justice. However the application of this technology in measuring environmental justice, or supporting EJ advocacy efforts has not been widely explored. In fact, satellite technologies originate from highly political, imperial and militaristic agendas - origins that may have entrenched certain norms and systems that continue to marginalize the application of EO technology for social justice. On a high level, this thesis is about technological and methodological interventions in the pursuit of environmental justice and liberatory politics. This is explored through case study research of prison ecology in the United States, an environmental justice issue referring to a pattern of exposure to environmental hazards in carceral landscapes. The first phase of research employs semi-structured interviews with community organizers to understand the potential role and limitations of geospatial data in EJ organizing. The second phase applies remote sensing techniques to compute quantitative assessments of prison ecology, relevant to organizer needs. The last phase zooms out to reflect on lessons learned from the case study research on how the broader system of satellite engineering and mission design can better tend to EJ applications and radical organizing.