Envisioning healthy futures: Youth perceptions of justice-oriented environments and communities in Northern British Columbia Canada

Through an anti-colonial and critical race theoretical framework as well as arts-based methods (photovoice) that engage Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth, we explore the question: what do youth perceive as healthy and just environments and communities? Youth identified two overarching, strength-based messages: Firstly, youth demonstrate the need for a structural-level analysis of the conditions that influence individual-level outcomes of environmental health. Secondly, youth perspectives on healthy and justice-oriented environments and communities challenge environmental health scholars to consider youth as powerful actors. Youth perspectives of healthy and justice-oriented communities present a necessarily structural perspective to consider not only the impacts of environmental decision-making on health, but the conditions that have allowed for harmful impacts. In doing so, youth demonstrate the need for intersectional and complex understandings of health and wellbeing when discussing the environment. And, as we argue here, challenge us as scholars of environmental health to do the same.

Automated summary

Through an anti-colonial and critical race theoretical framework as well as arts-based methods, this study engages Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth to explore their perceptions of healthy and just environments and communities. The findings reveal that youth emphasize the importance of analyzing the structural conditions that influence individual outcomes of environmental health and challenge environmental health scholars to recognize youth as powerful actors. Their perspectives highlight the need for intersectional and complex understandings of health and wellbeing when discussing the environment.