Bridging Climate Justice and Urban Policies: Insights from a Research Visit to UC Berkeley
May 8, 2025The understanding that climate change not only exacerbates social inequalities, but is also fueled by them was the central question of my PhD research on America’s largest city: São Paulo. Tackling this pressing issue motivated my desire to strengthen connections between Berkeley’s tradition of integrating climate policy with social science and ETH Zurich’s expertise in data-driven urban studies and design. With this in mind, I began my research visit to UC Berkeley through the IARU Early-Career Collaboration Grant.
During my time there, I was hosted by Professor of Sociology Daniel Cohen, who also serves as the Director of the Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative (SC²). My interaction with him began in 2021 when I wrote a book review for A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal, of which he is a co-author. Following that, Professor Cohen served as a board member during my thesis defense, which was the topic of the talk I gave there, titled Carbocentric Urbanism: An Ecocapitalist Mirage in Brazilian Segregated Cities.
The presentation highlighted the two main findings of my PhD: one theoretical, stating that carbocentric climate policies, sustained by an eco-capitalism lens, tend to exacerbate socio-territorial injustices. This finding examines their urban forms and tools, including electric and flying cars, green highwayism, green extractivism, green buildings, and issues of climate gentrification and financialization. The other finding is empirical, providing evidence that expanding mobility infrastructure while enhancing overall accessibility and reducing carbon emissions contributes to increased multidimensional inequalities, such as race, income, and early childhood outcomes. I recorded a brief video summarizing my thesis’s key concepts and findings.
Beyond the event, I represented the ETH Chair of Architecture and Urban Design, where I serve as a lecturer and researcher. I participated in meetings to share research projects and prospect future collaborations. I met with Prof. Daniel Rodríguez to discuss transportation and public health projects in Latin America, with Prof. Alison Post regarding climate politics and governance, with Prof. Zoé Hamstead about vulnerabilities to urban weather extremes, with Prof. Mara Loveman on biopolitics and ethnoracial politics, and with lecturer Marisa Raya concerning spatial justice projects in periurban areas of California. Furthermore, I engaged in discussions with two PhD researchers, Flavia Leite and Isabela Montini, with whom I share common agendas. During a long layover in Washington, D.C., I also met with World Bank and IDB Cities LAB representatives. There, we discussed public transportation electrification projects in São Paulo and social housing initiatives globally, respectively.
I return to ETH Zurich with renewed energy to expand networks and frameworks to academically support the development of equitable climate policies in urban areas in Brazil and worldwide.
