Social and Ecological Infrastructure for Recidivism Reduction

Dear Colleagues,

There is growing interest in ecological sustainability policies, programs, and practices that also reduce recidivism and promote prisoner resettlement. Research is being conducted in collaboration with corrections departments that seek more cost-effective facilities management and rehabilitative opportunities, horticultural practitioners who strive to improve correctional programming that contributes to positive environmental and social outcomes, educators and mental health professionals who want to develop an evidence base for best practices, and social scientists studying connections among crime, environment, and urban space. Currently, existing scholarship and practice is fragmented across specialized fields, and this Special Issue will be the first completion of perspectives on ecological sustainability practices in the criminal justice system. The overall purpose of the Special Issue is to map an emerging interdisciplinary field, while serving as an inspiration for future research. Articles will be selected that show how creative and innovative ecological sustainability initiatives are shaping the criminal justice system. Also selected will be those that highlight ways in which engagements with living plant ecologies are transforming existing conceptions of justice to better serve communities that are most impacted by crime and incarceration.

This Special Issue will draw on participant research presentations from 2022 conference on “Social and Ecological Infrastructure for Recidivism Reduction” (funded by the National Science Foundation). The event is planned to take place at the Urban Resources Institute in New Haven, Connecticut. While the majority of participants at the conference will be from the United States, this Special Issue will broaden the scope to include international submissions.

Dr. Matthew DelSesto
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• criminology
• conceptions of justice
• environmental education
• therapeutic horticulture
• organizational change
• social–ecological systems
• community greening