University of Oregon
IN-50: Innovation D
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 0.50 |
Sarah
Stoeckl Assistant Director Office of Sustainability |
Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:
Part of the PNW Just Futures Institute, the Atlas of Essential Work is an atlas about placemaking, about how labor and stories intertwine to craft a sense of where we live and who we are. The Pacific Northwest Atlas of Essential Work is not a traditional atlas but rather a cartography of lived experience: data and stories through which we can better understand this region and the people who work and make their lives here.
The Atlas unfurls across space and time, in three consecutive case studies about the invisible, yet essential, foundational work that transforms the Pacific Northwest as a region. Stories of agricultural work, home care work, and the work of incarcerated firefighters reflect a region in a time of climate crisis, pandemic, and socioeconomic instability. What counts as essential work is rapidly evolving, but at its core is a frontline protecting the region’s well-being. These are the workers who are often the least visible or valued, but whose vulnerabilities are often the most extreme.
In powerful stories told through maps, prose, and data visualizations, this Atlas aims to spotlight the essential workers who bring the Pacific Northwest into being day-by-day, season-by-season. The Atlas aspires to further restorative justice, and to dignify and celebrate essential workers. Like many memory projects, The Pacific Northwest Atlas of Essential Work looks to the present and past with an eye towards how we shape the future. A reimagining of the relationship between work and place gestures toward the possibility of an economy organized around the immense projects of ecological and social repair.
Work on the Atlas is done in collaboration with faculty from the JFI, staff from the Office of Sustainability, and staff from the InfoGraphics Lab.
A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise or a press release or publication featuring the innovation :
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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