To content
Department of Spatial Planning

New paper on advancing sacrifice zone analysis

© Sage Journals
Víctor Cobs-Muñoz and René Westerholt have published a new article in the journal Progress in Environmental Geography on advancing sacrifice zone analysis through second-generation environmental justice and critical realism.

Our latest article, "Proposing Critical Realism and Second-Generation Environmental Justice for Advancing Sacrifice Zone Analysis," is now published in Progress in Environmental Geography.

It introduces a theoretical framework grounded in critical realism and second-generation environmental justice to uncover systemic drivers—economic exploitation, policy failures, and power imbalances—that perpetuate sacrifice zones. This work advances environmental justice research by highlighting the structural mechanisms sustaining injustice and providing tools for deeper analysis of marginalized communities' challenges. 

Cobs-Muñoz, V., & Westerholt, R. (2025). Proposing critical realism and second-generation environmental justice for advancing sacrifice zone analysis. Progress in Environmental Geography. DOI: 10.1177/27539687241307953