Environmental Racism and Socio-Environmental Vulnerability in Rochdale (Osasco/SP): An Analysis of the Impacts of Rainfall and Political (In)Visibility

• Grant number: 25/12619-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2025
• End date: November 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Physical Geography
• Principal Investigator: Nádia Gilma Beserra de Lima
• Grantee: Karina Santos Goes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This scientific initiation project investigates how ethnic-racial groups in the Rochdale neighborhood of Osasco, São Paulo (SP), confront the unequal distribution of climate change impacts, with a focus on recurrent flooding and inundation during extreme precipitation events. Anchored in the concept of environmental racism, the study posits that peripheral populations - predominantly Black, low-income, and historically marginalized - are disproportionately affected by socio-environmental disasters due to governmental neglect and the resulting socio-spatial segregation. The methodology combines quantitative and spatial analysis, utilizing Brazilian Census (IBGE) data with variables such as race/color, income, and exposure to climate risks. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), socioeconomic indicators are overlaid with climate data, enabling the mapping of correlations between social vulnerability and environmental impacts.Consequently, the expected results of this research have the potential to demonstrate, in each identified case, the presence of racism in its configuration, reinforcing its material existence and contributing to a critical awareness that breaks with social and institutional inertia. Thus, the study aims not only to evidence territorial asymmetries but also to analyze the political mechanisms that perpetuate the invisibilization of these communities within public climate adaptation policies. (AU)