Join us in the STUDIO for a lecture by Ufuoma Ovienmhada!

Prisons and other carceral facilities face threats from multiple environmental hazards including extreme heat, air pollution, flooding and more. Geospatial data combined with information on facility-level population or vulnerability factors can elucidate spatial patterns of risk to environmental hazards and support interventions to advance environmental justice (EJ) in these landscapes of disproportionately low-income people of color. Community organizers already use geospatial data and tools in advocacy to mitigate exposure to environmental hazards in prisons and prevent prisons from being built in hazardous areas. However, many organizers report that existing data and tools are insufficient to inform decision making (Ovienmhada et. al 2023), pointing to a need for new science and mapping tools responsive to the needs of advocates.

Following 3 years of community-engaged research with activists who organize at the intersection of mass incarceration and environmental injustice, I present an operational geographic information system (GIS) that integrates earth observation measurements and storytelling data to respond to data needs in decision-making workflows for prison EJ activists. I will summarize the community engagement strategy and outputs, including reflections on performing ethical participatory research in this context. Then, I’ll present the process of translating the needs and desired outcomes of activists into design specifications for the tool. Finally, I present a prototype of the GIS tool, including environmental indicators and contextual data for each carceral facility, user interface and functionality options, and areas for future development. This tool can enhance the capability of prisoner rights activists, policymakers, and the public to apply earth observation data to support decision-making and narrative-building to advance the EJ movement.

Bio

I’m an engineer by education, and environmental justice geographer by training, generating data-driven actionable insights about the environmental burdens experienced by marginalized identities in the United States. My current work focuses on communities impacted by incarceration. Currently, I’m a Baker Endowed Postdoctoral Research Associate in Climate Change and Human Resiliency at the University of Arizona.

In 2024, I completed my PhD in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In my dissertation, I employed a multi-method approach applying satellite-derived data to research the distribution of environmental hazards in carceral landscapes and co-design geospatial technologies to support environmental justice advocacy. Prior to beginning my PhD, I completed a Masters (2020) in the MIT Media Lab. My Masters thesis focused on applying remote sensing, low-cost sensors, drone data and community-centered design techniques to invasive plant species management in West Africa. Before arriving at MIT, I completed a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University (2018).

As a Black daughter of immigrants, I am often few and far in between in the academic spaces I occupy. Because of this experience, I maintain a longstanding commitment to creating more equitable realities for people of color and other marginalized identities in and out of the academy.

Contact me at ufuoma@media.mit.edu