Date of Graduation
Spring 5-14-2020
Document Access
Project/Capstone - Global access
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Urban and Public Affairs
College/School
College of Arts and Sciences
Department/Program
Urban and Public Affairs
First Advisor
Diana Negrín
Second Advisor
Stephen Zavetovski
Abstract
This capstone project examines the relationship between the colonial structures of governance that persist in Puerto Rico and how they affect the island’s resilience to the onslaught of climate change. Within the frameworks of climate change, governance and colonialism, I set out to analyze the means by which Puerto Rico’s status as a colony of the United States has led to its history and present circumstances that have left a gap in terms of effective governance at the federal and other upper levels of government. The conclusion made is that there needs to be a greater level of focus placed on local governance, because of their capacity to respond to a locality with better reactivity and conscientiousness of the balance between capacity building for the effects of climate change, and the needs of the Puerto Rican people, especially those most vulnerable.
Recommended Citation
Pearson, Justin Grant, "A Colonial Climate: Climate Change Governance in Puerto Rico, USA" (2020). Master's Projects and Capstones. 1903.
https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/1903
Included in
Environmental Policy Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Migration Studies Commons, Place and Environment Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Public Policy Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons
