Pastor_USC

Manuel Pastor

Distinguished Professor
University of Southern California

Dr. Manuel Pastor is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California (USC). He currently directs the Equity Research Institute at USC. Pastor holds an economics PhD from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is the inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC. Pastor’s research has generally focused on issues of the economic, environmental, and social conditions facing low-income urban communities and the social movements seeking to change those realities. His latest book, State of Resistance: What California's Dizzying Descent and Remarkable Resurgence Means for America's Future, came out in 2018 and was lauded in a New York Times review as “concise, clear, and convincing.” 

  • As state and federal policymakers work to address climate change through climate investments that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and build resilience—for instance, clean transportation, solar panels, urban greening, transit-oriented housing development—it is critical that investments are geared to support the communities that have been historically marginalized and left behind.

    February 16, 2024

  • Senate Bill 535 and Assembly Bill 1550, combined, require the state to dedicate a minimum of 35 percent of revenues raised through Cap-and-Trade to communities that are environmentally overburdened and socially vulnerable. This was an explicit effort to promote health, economic, and racial equity in California's climate policy strategy. This project will research and evaluate the implementation of the $12.6 billion California Climate Investment program (SB 535 and AB 1550) in creating solutions that promote health, economic, and racial equity in environmentally disadvantaged communities.

    December 15, 2021

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