Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 86 (2023) 127984 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Urban Forestry & Urban Greening journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ufug Original article Greening plans as (re)presentation of the city: Toward an inclusive and gender-sensitive approach to urban greenspaces Amalia Calderón-Argelich a, *, Isabelle Anguelovski a, b, James J.T. Connolly c, Francesc Baró d, e a Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Spain b Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain c School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada d Department of Geography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium e Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Handling Editor: Dr Cecil Konijnendijk van den Cities around the world are increasingly expanding their sustainability agendas and adopting urban green and Bosch blue infrastructure planning as a strategy to become more resilient, healthy and sustainable. However, the development of urban greening governance often lacks a holistic vision that considers social inequities within the Keywords: planning, implementation and management of green and blue spaces. Further, gender inequities have been a Ecosystem services specific dimension particularly overlooked in urban greening planning, despite gender concerns gaining Feminist urbanism increasing political relevance in recent years. In this research, we assessed the extento to which social and gender Environmental justice Governance equity are being considered in urban greening plans and projects at the local level. We chose Barcelona (Spain) as Planning main case study due to its pioneering role in implementing crosscutting equity and gender policies at the Policy municipal level. Building on document analysis and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, we Gender equity examined how social justice and gender are understood and operationalized in practice, from the design phase to implementation and maintenance of greening projects. Our findings suggest a shift in the role of urban greening which evolved from an ornamental role to a multifunctional vision of greening and is recently incorporating equity and inclusivity concerns. We identified three action areas of inclusive, gender-sensitive urban green planning practices: first, the incorporation of inclusivity and care as guiding visible values to recognize multiple needs of city residents; second, urban design for different uses and perceptions of greenspaces, particularly in relation to accessibility and autonomy; and third, the awareness and expertise from municipal staff vis-à-vis the consideration of social and gender equity in green planning and participatory approaches. Finally, we provide practical examples of the strategies that the City of Barcelona is implementing in each area and discuss some challenges and limitations, including what we identify as ad hoc intersectional greening. 1. Introduction North local governments, often in response to international directives, strategies, and awards (Grădinaru and Hersperger, 2019; Lindley et al., Urban greening is gaining more and more prominence in municipal 2018; Matsler et al., 2021; Neidig et al., 2022; Pauleit et al., 2018). As policies. Cities worldwide are expanding their sustainability agendas part of this trend, for instance, the EU’s biodiversity strategy for 2030 through the planning and implementation of urban green and blue has recently called for European cities of more than 20,000 inhabitants spaces to address different environmental and social challenges like to “develop ambitious urban greening plans by the end of 2021” (Eu­ adapting to climate change, protecting biodiversity, improving citizens’ ropean Commission, 2021). health and wellbeing, and creating spaces for social interaction and Urban plans of all types often have significant implications in terms recreation opportunities, among others. As part of this trend, concepts of social and environmental justice (Cortinovis and Geneletti, 2018; such as Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI), Ecosystem Services (ES), and Grabowski et al., 2023) and yet, green planning has often lacked an Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have been incorporated into many official equity perspective (Gradinaru et al., 2023; Hansen et al., 2022; Pearsall city plans. Such frameworks have been especially integrated by Global and Pierce, 2010). In recent years, there has been an increasing interest * Corresponding author. E-mail address: amalia.calderon@uab.cat (A. Calderón-Argelich). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127984 Received 13 March 2023; Received in revised form 1 June 2023; Accepted 1 June 2023 Available online 2 June 2023 1618-8667/© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier GmbH. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). A. Calderón-Argelich et al. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 86 (2023) 127984 in how urban greening is not neutral in front of pre-existing social in­ gardens, street trees, green corridors and squares, roofs, and walls equities (e.g., Schell et al., 2020) and how (green) planning practices can (Taylor and Hochuli, 2017). To date, research on greenspaces consid­ trigger or exacerbate such inequities among marginalized and socially ering gender has mostly focused on users’ perceptions (e.g., Braçe et al., vulnerable groups (Anguelovski et al., 2020; Wolch et al., 2014). Envi­ 2021; Colley et al., 2022; Ode Sang et al., 2016) and health benefits (e.g., ronmental justice scholarship has produced increasing evidence that Fernández Núñez et al., 2022; Sillman et al., 2022). What is not yet clear some vulnerable social groups face injustices in cities’ green trans­ is whether and how urban greening strategies and governance processes formation: they are more exposed to environmental hazards, experience attempt to address social justice goals including gender inequities. more disadvantages in the benefits from UGI and lack agency to Gender and greening policy agendas have largely evolved in parallel and participate in city making processes (Agyeman, 2013; Haase et al., 2017; are only now converging within current plans for “inclusive, safe resil­ Wachsmuth and Angelo, 2018). The assumption that greenspaces in ient, and sustainable cities” (SDG 11). As a consequence, urban policy­ cities are always win-win interventions has been thoroughly questioned, makers, planners and other practitioners often continue to lack practical problematizing so-called “sustainability fixes” and calling for a guidance and tools to guarantee that urban greening involves just pro­ re-politization of urban greening (Diep et al., 2022,2022; Kotsila et al., cesses and outcomes (Diep et al., 2022; Ugolini et al., 2022). Thus, the 2020a; Neidig et al., 2022; Rutt and Gulsrud, 2016). assumption that greenspaces benefit everybody equally is not only However, far too little attention has been paid to how gender in­ inaccurate but also problematic from an environmental justice equities in particular are reproduced in the use and planning of UGI and perspective (Berbés-Blázquez et al., 2016; Felipe-Lucia et al., 2015; to how such inequities should be considered through a feminist lens in Leach et al., 2018). the design of (green) cities (Bella, 2023). Indeed, research shows that In response to these knowledge gaps, this research aims at deter­ women and girls tend to use and perceive greenspaces differently, for mining how social justice and gender equity considerations are being instance by being discouraged from developing certain activities or incorporated into urban greening policies, and how stakeholders oper­ spending time in parks (Fernández Núñez et al., 2022). We draw here on ationalize these perspectives when designing and implementing urban environmental justice (Buckingham, 2016; MacGregor, 2020) and greenspace interventions. These aims are addressed through the feminist geography (Curran, 2017; Hayden, 1980; Miralles-Guasch following research questions: 1) To what extent do leading examples of et al., 2016; Sánchez de Madariaga and Neuman, 2020) delving into green urban planning incorporate social justice in general, and gender how gender inequities permeate people’s experience of the urban equity in particular? 2) How can cities incorporate justice and inclu­ environment. A key insight yielded by this literature is that cities have sivity as guiding goals for their greening strategies and practices? been historically designed to meet the needs of the male-dominated Following a non-exhaustive exploratory analysis of urban greening plans productive sphere of work, relegating women to (unpaid) care work in recently implemented in Global North cities, we focus on the case of the private sphere (Kern, 2021; Spain, 2014; Wiesel et al., 2020). This Barcelona (Spain) due to its pioneering role in the implementation of hierarchization of urban activities reproduces gender inequities in the both ambitious greening strategies and cross-cutting equity and gender way women and girls interact with public space and meet their daily policies at the municipal level. needs (Sánchez de Madariaga and Roberts, 2016). Efforts towards achieving gender equity in cities have recently 2. Material and methods become more prominent in policy frameworks at different levels. For instance, Sustainable Development Goal 11’s Target 11.7 calls for 2.1. Document analysis of justice trends in green city planning “providing universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and Our analysis first consisted of examining broader international urban persons with disabilities”. International organizations have launched trends regarding the role of gender within efforts to link social justice frameworks and tools to guide the incorporation of a gender perspective and urban greening practice. Then, we delve in greater detail into our in the practices of policymakers and planners (The World Bank, 2020; target case of Barcelona’s approach. We thus first developed a com­ UN-Habitat, 2021). Cities like Vienna or Paris have launched guides to parison of the greening plans of cities considered international refer­ raise awareness on the subject (Ville de Paris, 2021; Wien Stadt, 2014). ences according to the strategic greening plan of Barcelona “Pla Natura Furthermore, “gender mainstreaming” has emerged as a key concern in 2021-2030” (see Table 1). We analyzed each greening plan’s main ob­ the European Commission’s policies, through “the integration of a jectives and rationales, how plans framed the role of green spaces in the gender perspective into the preparation, design, implementation, city, and whether these frames included any social justice and gender monitoring and evaluation of policies, regulatory measures and considerations. For gauging the degree of social justice considerations, spending programmes” (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2022). we looked for references to distributional, procedural, and recognitional Other national governments have followed suit, such as Canada’s federal justice, which comprise the three-dimensional framework of environ­ endorsement of the Gender Based Analysis Plus tool (Women and mental justice (Schlosberg, 2013), a well-established analytical frame­ Gender Equality Canada, 2021). work in the context of urban greening research (e.g., Campbell et al., Consequently, there is a need to further understand to what extent 2022; Fitzgerald, 2022; Mullenbach et al., 2022). For gender consider­ planning processes have in practice and on the ground integrated a ations, we assessed whether there was any mention of feminism, gender, gender perspective in the design, implementation, and management of or any concerns related to women and/or girls in green planning. greenspaces. Here, we refer to greenspaces as a range of publicly accessible small or large-scale green infrastructures such as parks, Table 1 Key international urban greening plans analyzed through a social justice and gender equity lens. City Document Scope of the document Barcelona Pla Natura 2021–2030 Urban greening strategy Paris Plan Biodiversité de Paris 2018–2024 Urban greening strategy Berlin Strategie Stadtlandschaft Berlin 2012–2050 Urban greening strategy London The London Plan 2021 Urban sustainability strategy with greening integrated Montréal Montréal durable 2016–2020 Urban sustainability strategy with greening integrated New York PlaNYC 2011–2030 Urban sustainability strategy with greening integrated 2 A. Calderón-Argelich et al. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 86 (2023) 127984 Table 2 Key planning documents analyzed from Barcelona City Council (available in BCNROC). Year Document type Policy document (original title) Policy document (translated) Acronym 2022 Guide Carta del Verd i de la Biodiversitat Charter of the Green and Biodiversity CVB-2022 2021 Strategic plan Pla Natura 2030 Nature Plan 2030 PN-2021 2021 Strategic plan II Pla per la justícia de gènere 2021–2025 II Plan for gender justice 2021–2025 PJG-2021 2021 Strategic plan Pla d’Acció per l’Emergència Climàtica 2030 Action Plan for Climate Emergency 2030 PAEC- 2021 2020 Guide Guia pràctica per a la integració de la perspectiva de gènere als Practical guide for the integration of the gender perspective in the GPG-2020 plans i projectes de la ciutat de Barcelona plans and projects of the city of Barcelona 2019 Manual Manual d’urbanisme de la vida quotidiana. Urbanisme amb Manual of the daily life urbanism. Urbanism with gender MUVQ- perspectiva de gènere perspective 2019 2019 Strategic plan Pla del joc a l’espai públic de Barcelona amb horitzó 2030 Plan for play in public spaces, 2030 horizon in Barcelona PJEP-2019 2018 Report Serveis socioambientals dels espais verds de Barcelona Socioenvironmental services from the Barcelona greenspaces SSA-2018 2017 Strategic plan Arbres per viure. Pla director de l’arbrat de Barcelona Trees for life. Director plan for Barcelona trees 2017–2037 PDA-2017 2017–2037 2017 Government Mesura de govern. Urbanisme amb perspectiva de gènere. Government measure. Urbanism with gender perspective. Daily life UPG-2017 measure L’urbanisme de la vida quotidiana urbanism 2016 Government bill La implantació de les Superilles a Barcelona Implementation of Barcelona Superblock Plan ISB-2016 2015 Government Mesura de govern. La transversalitat de gènere a l’Ajuntament Government measure. Gender mainstreaming at the City Council of TG-2015 measure de Barcelona Barcelona 2013 Strategic plan Pla del Verd i de la Biodiversitat de Barcelona 2020 Green and Biodiversity Plan 2020 PVB-2013 2.2. Barcelona as an emblematic case of inclusive green planning documents were identified through the document repository of the City Council BCNROC, other policy documents, and through interviews. Data 2.2.1. A brief context of urban greening practice was analyzed using thematic analysis identifying the main objectives, Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain with 1.7 million in­ motivations, and actions of strategic plans and projects. This approach habitants and one of the densest urban areas in Europe with an average allowed us to identify how official planning documents operationalize of 16,325 inhabitants per km2 (Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2021a). As a social justice and gender concerns surrounding urban greening in the Mediterranean city, it is characterized by its compact form and a low context of Barcelona. ratio of urban greenspaces, that is, a surface of 17.1% publicly accessible greenspaces compared with the European average of 41.2% (Barboza 2.2.3. Semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders et al., 2021). Indeed, following the World Health Organization’s Along with the previous stage, we conducted 15 in-depth semi- recommendation of having accessible greenspaces within a 300 m dis­ structured interviews with key stakeholders including municipal offi­ tance of residence, Barboza et al. (2021) found that 86.2% of the pop­ cers, city planners, technicians, and practitioners from environmental, ulation of Barcelona does not meet this requirement. planning or social disciplines that have been involved in the design and Barcelona’s current greenspace deficit originates from a historical implementation of the public greenspace of Barcelona (see Table 3). legacy of high-density and compact urbanization. Following Honey-­ Interviews were used to further understand how different involved ac­ Rosés (2022), most of the city greenspaces come from either tors understand and translate into practice the relationship between non-urbanized residual space and squares and gardens that became urban greening, social justice, and gender equity in their day-to-day accessible after urban transformations and claims and petitions from work. We identified interviewees through snowball sampling, building residents. Additionally, the internationalization and touristification of from previous research experience, policy documents and municipal Barcelona since the mid-1990 s due to the organization of the Olympic websites review until reaching saturation point. All interviews were Games (1992) led to a development-focused strategy. This urban plan­ conducted via video call in Spanish or Catalan with a 45–60 min length ning strategy shaped the location and size of new parks and public following a semi-structured interview guide (available in Appendix A) greenspaces, which became notoriously oriented toward international and an informed consent form previously signed. Interviews were visitors and tourists (Anguelovski et al., 2017). Since 2015, when the transcribed and analyzed in their original language using Nvivo soft­ progressive Barcelona en Comú party won the municipal elections, Bar­ ware and translated by the authors. Interview data was iteratively coded celona has held a leading role in the implementation of local sustain­ combining broad categories pre-defined theoretically (e.g., dimension of ability policies aiming to make a more livable and inclusive city. The justice, gender equity strategy, alliances between sectors, limitations) City Council has led multiple initiatives around the development of and emerging themes and categories from a grounded theory approach. citizen participation, feminism, urban ecology, and social economy. Some of these initiatives are standing out as international references for 3. Results progressive municipal governance including mainstreaming gender policies (C40 Women4Climate, 2019), the Climate Emergency Plan We present our analysis of social justice and gender considerations in (Satorras et al., 2020), and the Decidim digital participatory platform local greening strategies. We start by summarizing the greening plans of (Borge et al., 2022). It is in this broader context that, in 2021, the City Barcelona’s international reference cities. We then delve into the case of launched the “Pla Natura 2021–2030” as the key strategic plan for the Barcelona to disentangle how social justice and gender equity-oriented city’s green planning and management. strategies are being transversally incorporated into local urban greening processes. We describe how the City is deploying different 2.2.2. Content analysis of strategic urban greening policy instruments strategies in response to social and gender inequity problems, in which To specifically analyze the practice of urban greening in the City of we identify three spheres of action: 1) inclusivity and care as strategic Barcelona, we developed a content analysis of strategic policies, plans guiding values 2) accessibility and autonomy in the use and perception and documents. In order to identify how the municipality is framing its of greenspaces, and 3) awareness and representation in decision-making strategic urban planning, we conducted an in-depth review of municipal and participatory processes (see Fig. 1). We analyze the role of these plans, strategic documents and local policies related to urban greening three action points in relation to specific greening interventions to and gender equity in Barcelona from the last 10 years (see Table 2). All illustrate how justice and inclusivity can be translated into practice. 3 A. Calderón-Argelich et al. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 86 (2023) 127984 Table 3 Interviewee characteristics. Interview Profile Motivation for inclusion number I01 Member of the Gender Mainstreaming Department (original name: Transversalitat Involved in the gender mainstreaming strategy of the city and gender equity de Gènere). Barcelona City Council policies I02 Members (2) of the biodiversity program in the Environmental area. Barcelona City Involved in the Pla Natura 2030 Council I03 Member of feminist urban planning group Has experience in working on feminist urbanism projects and activism in Barcelona I04 Member of Urban Ecology and Parks and Gardens (Parcs i Jardins). Barcelona City Involved in public urban greening projects Council I05 Members (2) feminist urban planning group Have experience in working on urban planning projects in Barcelona, including BCN Superblock (original name: BCN Superilla) I06 Member of the Strategy department of Urban Architecture. Barcelona City Council Involved in BCN Superblock I07 Member of the Municipal Institute of Parks and Gardens (Institut Municipal de Parcs Has experience as technician managing and designing greenspaces in i Jardins). Barcelona City Council Barcelona I08 Member of feminist urban planning group Has experience in working on feminist urbanism projects and activism in Barcelona I09 Researcher and expert in urban ecology Member of the scientific advisory board of BCN Superblock I10 Member of the Participation Department at Urban Ecology Barcelona City Council Involved in Pla Natura 2030 and other participatory processes related with greenspaces I11 Member of the Strategy department of Urban Architecture. Barcelona City Council Involved in the design and implementation of the gender strategy in the public space I12 Members (2) of the Municipal Institute of Persons with Disabilities (Institut Involved in the design and implementation of greenspaces Municipal de Persones amb Discapacitat). Barcelona City Council I13 Member of the Climate Change and Sustainability office (Oficina de Canvi Climàtic i Involved in the Action Plan for Climate Emergency 2030 Barcelona Sostenibilitat). Barcelona City Council I14 Member of Institute for Childhood and Adolescence (Institut de la Infància i Involved in the strategic plan PJEP-2019 l’Adolescència). Barcelona City Council I15 Member of the Environmental area. Barcelona City Council Involved in the design and implementation of greenspaces Finally, we provide a summarized compilation of our results in terms of services but differ in the conception of their relationship with the built barriers, strategies and limitations as identified in our case study environment of the city. (Table 4). Distributional justice is a central concern of all the analyzed plans. Our results are presented with the following caveats, building from Equity is mentioned as ensuring the availability and accessibility of previous environmental literature on closely related topics like gender greenspaces for all city residents. For instance, the Paris plan highlights and care (Macgregor et al., 2022). First, we treat gender as a category social justice as a key objective due to the “increased dependency of low- that helps to analyze how power relations interact within green planning income residents on their immediate greenspaces”. Similarly, the NYC processes. We advocate for women as a non-homogenous category and plan states greenspaces as a public infrastructure that must be guaran­ contend that gender intersects with different axes of inequality teed “to all New Yorkers”. The Berlin plan starts with a universal access (including class, race, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and goal by stating that all residents should have access to a greenspace disability). Further, recognizing non-binary gender and within a distance of less than 500 m from their home and, similarly, the non-heteronormativity should not be overlooked. Finally, we reject any NYC and Paris plans aim to ensure accessibility to a greenspace within a assumption essentializing women as intrinsically more vulnerable and 10- and 7-minute walk, respectively. Furthermore, the Barcelona and caring and use instead a systemic understanding of gender inequities Berlin plans include a diagnosis of the distribution of their green infra­ comprising complex and dynamic relationships, norms, and processes structure and London’s suggests creating accessible open space in “areas (Lau et al., 2021). of deficiency”. Procedural justice is present in most of the plans through the implementation of participation programs. Paris and Barcelona have 3.1. Comparative analysis of urban greening plans ambitious aims for participatory processes, framed in terms of partici­ patory democracy, empowerment, support for citizens’ bottom-up ini­ Comparing the six cities (Appendix A displays full analysis), we see tiatives, and their right to participate. Berlin’s plan calls for the that all greening plans highlight the contribution of greenspaces to cooperation of citizens in increasing the sense of belonging and cohe­ human well-being and to the livability of cities. The Montréal and sion. However, Montréal’s plan does not explicitly mention any partic­ London plans are framed around a broader urban sustainability strategy ipatory approaches in relation to greening and London’s plan only cites and portray greenspaces as a strategic element for addressing climate participation in the case of community gardens. Finally, NYC’s plan change challenges, among others. The Berlin and New York plans have a justifies participatory processes as a way to maximize impact and pro­ stronger focus on public space, emphasizing the function of greenspaces mote civic engagement in the co-design and management of green­ as places of encounter and as a key infrastructure of the urban landscape spaces. Most participatory programs do not specify the mechanisms by with an important economic role (e.g., flagship parks). London’s plan means of which to achieve a fair representation of participants, although includes a chapter explicitly pointing at green and blue infrastructure some are broadly targeted towards children and families, actors from conceived as a network to be designed and managed in an integrated public and private sectors, and non-profit organizations. way within the city’s built infrastructure. In contrast, Montréal’s plan Finally, recognitional justice (i.e., the acknowledgment of the does not include a green infrastructure approach but frames its objec­ different values, needs, and identities of historically marginalized tives in terms of increasing tree canopy cover and protecting natural communities) is rarely explicitly considered within the urban greening areas. The Paris plan highlights the importance of conserving urban plans. NYC and Berlin recognize the importance of considering the biodiversity. In short, urban greening plans acknowledge the multi­ needs, uses, and preferences of different social and cultural groups in the functional role of greenspaces through the provision of ecosystem 4 A. Calderón-Argelich et al. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 86 (2023) 127984 Fig. 1. Conceptual framework. Three areas of action identified in the practices and strategies of the City of Barcelona for ensuring an inclusive green planning approach. Action areas are proposed as closely related with the three dimensions of environmental justice. design of greenspaces. Berlin’s Plan also frames greenspaces as spaces of technicians: “In the last 15 years, it’s been like a professional and personal representation where historical legacies have an important role referring transition (...) from a city that didn’t consider greenspace as something to the former Wall separation. strategic (...) we talked about it only as something aesthetic or horticultural Gender equity is not explicitly mentioned as a goal in any of the plans (...) to a city that starts to consider it as an infrastructure” (I7). except for the Barcelona case, which aims to “address to the new needs In parallel, the city implemented the UPG-2017, a set of measures for of parks (...) in [supporting] gender perspective and social justice” (PN- the incorporation of gender equity, inclusivity, social cohesion, and care 2021, p.98). However, the document does not specify how to apply such at the forefront of urban planning processes to “situate the sustainability perspectives and how it is expected to be implemented in practice. of daily life at the center of policies” and, in sum, for creating an “in­ Instead, it leaves it as an action point to be developed in the future. clusive public space from a gender perspective”. These policies Nevertheless, in this context, Barcelona stands out as a unique example contribute to a broader trend of gender mainstreaming, developed in the of a city aiming to employ the gender perspective as a cross-cutting lens TG-2015, designed to incorporate the gender perspective in all local in bringing together social justice concerns with greening strategies. government policies and measures. Consolidated later with the PJG- Thus, unlike the other analyzed cities, Barcelona can provide novel 2021, these documents point out the importance of caring activities in perspectives into how cities integrate social and gender equity into the public space, the feminization and invisibilization of care work, and green planning practices. To trace how such goals are being understood how such aspects have historically influenced the design of cities. and operationalized, we present in the next subsections an analysis of The explicit link between gender equity and urban greening in the processes behind the production of Barcelona’s strategic greening practice is crystallized when the City Council launched the MUVQ-2019 plan. and the GPG-2020 as a set of guidelines for the integration of the gender perspective in urban plans and projects. Their purpose is to design and manage public spaces –such as squares and parks– so they can contribute 3.2. Strategic guiding values: inclusivity and care to the creation of spaces of comfort, safety, and autonomy where people can develop their daily tasks, socialize and take care of themselves and The first strategic green guiding plan of Barcelona was the PVB-2013 others. Building from the understanding of urban space as a mechanism (see Table 1). The PVB-2013 established a strategic vision for urban for the reproduction or transformation of gender inequalities, the aim of greening and framed green and blue spaces as an interconnected, such documents is to facilitate everyday life activities, also through multifunctional infrastructure, while emphasizing biodiversity goals greenspaces. And, therefore, greenspaces are displayed as a physical and management criteria. However, that first policy document lacked infrastructure that can be designed for the diverse needs of city residents any consideration on equity or distribution. This strategic vision was in everyday life, that is, also taking into account care work and self-care consolidated with the PN-2021, which fully deploys a multifunctional needs. However, there is no questioning or elaboration of the care work role of green infrastructure; and complemented with the CVB-2022, a within broader social and gender dynamics of who undertake that work reference guide for implementation and management needs within and at what cost. biodiversity and sustainability criteria. The PN-2021 presents a green Such recognitions of inclusivity and care configure a particular infrastructure aimed at making the city more livable, sustainable, and model of greening that we see evolving in Barcelona. In this context, the healthy, in addition to its aesthetic and heritage role. And, as mentioned Superblock (originally Superilla in Catalan) program emerges as the ul­ in previous international comparison, the PN-2021 starts making timate green intervention following proximity, inclusion, and care explicit reference to the (un)equal distribution and accessibility of values (ISB-2016). The Superblocks program is a flagship urban plan­ greenspaces throughout the city. Thus, we identify a shift in the role ning initiative aiming to transform public space mostly dedicated to assigned to greening, which goes essentially from an ornamental to a traffic/car parking into new pedestrian areas with more greening and to multifunctional focus. This shift was experienced by municipal 5 A. Calderón-Argelich et al. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 86 (2023) 127984 Table 4 Compilation of barriers, strategies and limitations identified from interviews and policy analysis in the prevention of social and gender inequities in the planning of the Barcelona urban green infrastructure. Barriers in ensuring social and gender equity within urban Strategies and measures (envisioned or already in (Potential) limitations and risks greenspaces practice) to address inequities Strategic guiding values City model strategies and greening plans do not incorporate Applying transversally those perspectives in all policies Mainstreaming social and gender perspective can a social and gender equity in their diagnosis and and plans, and producing action plans, guidelines, banalize its concepts if carried out superficially or by objectives. methodological toolkits and indicators. non-experts. Strategic documents acknowledging environmental, social Acknowledging feminist and justice symbolic values in Differences in the understanding of concepts and and gender inequities do not include a specific action plan the planning of the city such as feminism, care, methodologies of gender-related concepts (perceived as and mandatory norms. inclusivity, daily life, and conviviality. subjective). Lack of acknowledgement of historically marginalized Translating the gender-sensitive criteria into clear and Ideological dissensus or politization of gender-related communities and activist movements from feminism and replicable technical standards adapted to the context and concepts which hinders consensus or the continuity of LGTBIQ+ movements. needs of green planning. projects. Use and perceptions Unequal and patchy distribution of the urban green Including diverse socioeconomic variables in the criteria Ecological and biodiversity criteria of greenspaces do infrastructure in the neighborhoods across the city. for the diagnosis of needs in the implementation, not always coincide with inclusivity and accessibility renewal, and maintenance of greenspaces. criteria. Unequal maintenance of greenspaces and unequal provision of ecosystem services across the city. Improving greenspace inclusivity and accessibility Limited capacity to increase the surface of green due to through design guidelines: improving lighting, pruning compact and built form of the city. vegetation to avoid high and dense trees and bushes, Differences in the use, frequency and perception of city prioritizing perennial over evergreen vegetation, residents, particularly affecting women, migrants, avoiding cul-de-sacs and corners, facilitating Design guidelines are easier to apply in new green children and elderly feeling unsafe or unwelcome. permeability and visibility of the park from outside, interventions but are more difficult and costly to transfer avoiding walls and separations, prioritizing polycentric to the already existing spaces. design, and facilitating the orientation and itineraries. Inclusivity criteria tends to focus mainly on physical access and overlook cognitive accessibility. The design and use of greenspaces can reproduce and Identifying demands and potential uses for a greenspace perpetuate gender roles (e.g., essentializing women as focusing on different scales and responding to their local the caregiver). Risk of green gentrification and touristification within and context-specific needs (e.g., implementing pocket greenspace (re)development. parks to benefit nearby residents). Limited potential (ineffective or slow) of policies changing sexist behaviors (which is often reproduced in Allowing different activities and uses within greenspaces the private sphere). and avoid mono-functional areas. Promote flexibility, mixed uses and naturalization (e.g., use of natural elements for playing is suggested as a more gender- Lack of resources for managing and maintaining the UGI neutral space for children). (financial support, staff, etc.). Implementing different types of UGI according to the space availability (e.g., vertical surfaces, terraces, roofs, tree pits, pots and other small structures). Establishing usage plan policies (Pla d′ usos) to diversify commerce while limiting certain uses to control gentrification and touristification processes. Decision-making and participation Lack of awareness and expertise in environmental justice Establishing specific teams in charge of the application of Lack of transparency and accessibility in participatory and gender topics. In particular, environmental gender and social equity perspectives (e.g., gender processes may impede city residents to participate (e.g., departments focus on ecological and biodiversity criteria mainstreaming department). formal language, legal procedures, unclear impact, lack but not on the social and justice implications of their of trust towards the institutions, time poverty). The policies. Incorporating social equity and intersectionality as digital sphere for online participation is a barrier complementary goals in urban greening particularly present among women with other intersecting identities (e.g., women with disabilities, Reluctancy and contestation towards the use of gender migrant women). perspective in urban (green) planning. Establishing training programs to raise awareness to the people working on the public administration and establishing collaborations with professional experts on The politization of gender and feminism can delay Unequal representation in participatory processes. Some gender and social topics (e.g., feminist urban planners). changes and compromise its institutional stability. social groups (e.g., single women, children and teenagers, low income, and immigrant residents) tend to be underrepresented. Incorporating gender-sensitive methodologies in Participatory programs tend to have a limited participatory sessions such as small workshops, focus transformative potential, and tends to be reduced to a groups, exploratory walks, street surveys, online compilation of opinions from decisions previously taken. Internal gender inequities among municipal workers, participation, time flexibility in participatory sessions, including unequal representation and discrimination. For providing economic compensation, contacting entities instance, with gardeners as a traditionally masculinized and associations (e.g., associations of people with Tokenistic approaches to participation. (continued on next page) 6 A. Calderón-Argelich et al. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 86 (2023) 127984 Table 4 (continued ) Barriers in ensuring social and gender equity within urban Strategies and measures (envisioned or already in (Potential) limitations and risks greenspaces practice) to address inequities professional sector. disabilities, feminist assemblies). Silos and difficulties in establishing long-term Carrying out participatory processes at different collaborations among different departments in the institutional scales like city, district, and neighborhood to administration. Lack of transversal planning across identify the different needs of citizens and leverage from agencies and sectors. different governance structures. Targeting specific social groups to ensure representativity with an intersectional focus (e.g., women with disabilities, migrant women, teenage girls, older women, etc.). Developing internal policies and protocols for gender equity, representativity, gender and sexual harassment and any kind of discrimination. create accessible and secure public areas for diverse groups with of times without visibility or recognition. (…) [The City Council] appropriates particular care needs like children, families, and older residents. This feminist claims and knowledge” (I8). project gained international attention as an ambitious city-wide plan­ ning model bringing together environmental (i.e., climate change, 3.3. Use and perceptions: accessibility and autonomy ecosystem services) and social (i.e., human health, inclusivity, convivi­ ality) concerns (Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2022a; Mueller et al., 2020; Secondly, moving towards operationalization and implementation, a Torrens et al., 2022). Thus, the Superblocks materialize a reformulation recurring topic during the interviews was the distribution of greenspaces of the public space proposed with special attention to the tasks of across the city. The average ratio of greenspace per inhabitant in Bar­ everyday life and care, and aiming for “greener, healthier spaces to be, celona is relatively low and unevenly distributed. For instance, the walk, sit, play, and socialize, and with the ability to strengthen the social Eixample district has the lowest ratio with 2.01 m2 of urban green per network of everyday life (…) and make the neighborhood spaces more inhabitant, while Sants-Montjuïc has the highest with 17.48 m2 per comfortable for all people and jobs” (p. 98, PJG-2021). Similarly, the inhabitant, mostly due to the proximity of the Montjuïc mountain park 2020 program Protegim les escoles (“Protecting schools” translated), also (Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2021b). However, because of the compact aims to implement small greenspaces for pedestrians around schools in and consolidated urban morphology of the city, the creation of new order to protect children from traffic and provide a more comfortable large greenspaces is often driven by major renewal or development space to socialize and take care of children (PJEP-2019). Additionally, projects rather than a real green equity agenda. This phenomenon re­ another policy strategy that explicitly considers gender equity and sus­ lates to an “opportunistic” approach to greening: “Urbanistically, Bar­ tainability is the Climate Plan PAEC-2021, where gender is included celona is an almost finished city. There is no space to add greenery, and within an intersectional perspective of climate change vulnerability (e. greenery is placed where there is an opportunity (…) [which] of course, it g., p. 25 and 29 and first 3 action lines). does not always coincide with the map of deficits” (I2). In this context, the While we see an emerging trend of including the gender perspective City Council tries to compensate green deficit areas with the imple­ as a pathway for ensuring social justice within Barcelona’s greening mentation of smaller green interventions such as pocket parks, green plans, some challenges remain in their actual implementation. We found walls, façades and community gardens. This approach is best embodied that the increasing prominence of greening in the political agenda of the in the Superblock and the Green Axis and Squares (Eixos Verds i Places a city has created a political instrumentalization of greening policies: “A l’Eixample) programs, which creates new pedestrianized squares in lot of people are like ‘all for the green!’ (…) [and this] is rhetorical, brand­ former traffic intersections with greenery and urban furniture (Ajunta­ ing” (I7) or “These topics are used as political weapons” (I6). Another ment de Barcelona, 2022a). Still, it is important to consider that green recurrent theme emerging from the interviews was a sense that, even if (re)development areas can contribute to green gentrification and greenspaces are now considered a key urban infrastructure, the re­ tourism, potentially leading to the exclusion and displacement of local sources allocated have not increased proportionally enough. Besides, residents. To address these concerns, the City Council proposes the although the Superblock program is presented as a long-term green and implementation of usage plans (Pla d’usos) as a proactive policy inclusive transformation of the public space, its implementation may fall approach to regulating specific commercial activities and housing short as a city-level transformation: “I miss a city model (…) that goes prices. beyond specific interventions” (I9) or lose continuity in time: “[In] long- However, having physical access to greenspaces does not guarantee term issues with big investments… the administration often gives up. (…) an equal use and benefit, since differences in citizens’ perceptions and The main risk is that nothing gets consolidated, that [the Superblock pro­ preferences –constraint by social roles and dynamics– affect the prac­ gram] remains anecdotical” (I6). tices and activities carried out there. This aspect was very present when Finally, interviewed feminist architects argued that the current asking about gender equity in greenspaces, since interviewees very often institutionalization of the gender perspective can undermine its trans­ expressed their concerns about how men and women use such spaces in formative potential: “[Feminist urbanism] is in all agendas, it is a different ways. Municipal managers (I04, I07, I15) acknowledged how requirement. We could be now in the opposite situation, banalizing the men tend to use these spaces mostly for leisure time and sport, while concept” (I3). Besides, the incorporation of the gender perspective into women tend to use them less intensively, including more passive rec­ official documents creates tensions with feminist activists, who consider reation and care tasks. Besides, women often perceive parks and other that their historical influence and societal contributions are not being greenspaces as unsafe, particularly at night hours, thus preventing them fully recognized: “There is a very powerful feminist movement in Barcelona from accessing and using those spaces autonomously to the same extent from many decades ago. And the City Council builds on that, no doubt. A lot as men: “A greenspace does not mean to be a safe space, or a space for 7 A. Calderón-Argelich et al. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 86 (2023) 127984 women (…) a lot of times it is the opposite” (I9). To address this problem, planning policies. Participatory processes related to urban greening the City Council is applying a set of design and management guidelines unfold in two aspects: one, for the inclusion of citizens’ opinions and (compiled in GPG-2020, p.31–34) on green infrastructure quality and needs in the diagnosis, design, and evaluation of plans, programs, and accessibility (further detailed in Table 4). Such guidelines tended to go interventions; and two, for the stewardship of greenspaces with pro­ hand in hand with considerations of further axes of vulnerability and grams like volunteering and co-management of parks and gardens. inequalities, making reference not only to gender but also (dis)ability, The former includes, for instance, the formulation of the Superblock age and migration background. Several common points around acces­ program, the “Barcelona Green Axes” project (Eixos Verds i Places de sibility and autonomy in the public space were suggested when asked l’Eixample), and strategic plans like PN-2021, PAEC-2021 and PGJ-2021. about specifically gender equity (I12, I14, I10), forming spontaneous These programs have often been accompanied with feminist method­ interdepartmental alliances in their needs and diagnosis: “It’s interesting ologies like participatory walks, that is, urban routes led by women because, coming from different discourses, like gender or disabilities, at the neighbors that allow for in situ public space assessments (Departament end we reach the same conclusion. (…) Accessibility is linked with disabilities de Transversalitat de Gènere, 2019). However, when we asked in­ (…) [but] safety, community, comfortability, autonomy are features that terviewees from environmental departments, who work addressing cit­ benefit everybody” (I12). Besides, the operationalization of the gender izen petitions and complaints, they expressed fewer requests centered on perspective in urban greening is not applied as a one-size-fits-all solu­ girls’ and women’s needs comparing with other users of greenspaces tion: “The reality is not standard” (I12) but as an inclusive framework for such as dog-owners or people doing sport (I04). These comments suggest the improvement of public space design: “Safety is not only good for somehow a gender imbalance in the articulation of demands related to women, it is good for everybody. (…) Gender criteria brings quality” (I10). greenspace use: “We have few petitions in this sense [gender-related needs or Such principles for accessibility and autonomy, when brought to demands]” and “Barcelona’s planning process takes different neighborhood greenspaces, may entail some tradeoffs vis-à-vis ecology and biodiver­ needs into account [but those] are frequently dominated by men” (I7). Be­ sity needs. Environmental professionals expressed certain in­ sides, while participatory processes and methods entail an important compatibilities with what is recommended for fauna in terms of habitat step toward bringing gender issues to bear on urban greening in­ conditions: “For fauna preservation, during the night there should be no terventions, participatory schemes have tended to be limited to a lighting. [Parks] should be dark spaces (…) and [they] should be closed so compilation of opinions rather than a real co-creation process, and often people don’t enter” (I4). This tradeoff also limits the potential of some based in an incomplete and biased representation of the population. ecosystem services like temperature regulation: “[When creating open Regarding the latter aspect, participatory mechanisms for public and visible greenspaces] you lose the buffer effect that greenspaces can have, greenspaces stewardship seem to face a high demand: “There is a high even on noise or heat reduction” (I4). Additionally, green interventions demand in collaborating, in being able to participate (…) The City Council is more embedded in the urban fabric present a reduced potential trans­ always behind the demand” (I10). With such demands coming particu­ formation from the environmental and biodiversity point of view. larly from women, according to municipal workers involved in partici­ Although small-scale greening may increase the canopy cover within the patory programs: “The majority of proposals come from women who want compact form of the city, the extent and quality of such greenspaces is to plant and take care of spaces and who have this awareness. (…) The rather limited. For instance, Superblocks are often built with tactical leadership comes from women” (I10). This observation follows other temporary elements such as flowerpots that limit plants growth and are research findings on Barcelona’s informal green spaces, including costly to maintain, according to municipal managers: “Those are spaces community gardens, in which women have been shown to take a which are complex to manage because having trees in large pots is not viable particularly important role throughout (Kotsila et al., 2020b) – a role (...) neither for the trees nor for the gardeners” (I7). that is being compromised by the overburdening of women and by Last, another gender-sensitive aspect relevant in greenspace design is administrative procedures and timelines that can undermine the sus­ the facilitation of care tasks (e.g., taking care of children and older tainability of the civic green projects. adults) through the installation of benches, tables, playgrounds and On the other hand, the operationalization of a social and gender other street furniture. This approach is embedded in a broader city equity perspective in green public spaces is an intrinsically interdisci­ model emphasizing the value of care work, as reflected in the “Caring plinary task which requires close –yet challenging– collaboration be­ city Plan” (original name Ciutat Cuidadora), the PJG-2021 and the tween different municipal departments and institutions. Municipal staff Government Measure for Democratizing Care Work (2017–2020) from greening areas recognize difficulties in breaking silos and working (original name, Democratització de les cures a la ciutat de Barcelona, across disciplines and in collaboration with different departments: “It’s Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2022b). However, presenting the difficult to work with everybody coordinated” (I2) and “In the end, we end up care-oriented design for greenspaces as an isolated measure for the doing participation for the administration. Departments are very fragmented, benefit of women poses the risk of creating an image that essentializes they don’t have this internal communication” (I5). In this sense, the Gender women as mothers and caregivers: “I am a mother and I am happy to bring Mainstreaming department works with the objective of applying a cross- my children to the park, but my partner can also bring them. (...) Not as an cutting approach: “What we do is to assess, collaborate and assist all City axioma that says that our greenspaces use must be this [taking care of chil­ Council [areas] to integrate the gender perspective” (I01). However, we find dren]” (I09). Heeding this concern reflects a delicate balance between that the institutionalization and mainstreaming of the gender perspec­ use, demand and gender roles: “One thing is the reinforcement of gender tive is still a relatively new and challenging task for the City Council. roles, and another is not to take into account the differential day-to-day re­ First, some respondents expressed a lack of awareness and knowledge in ality of women and men” (I8). These measures, according to the gender-sensitive planning, particularly among departments related to above-mentioned policies promoted by the City Council, meet two environmental issues: “It’s a new world to us” (I2). This is also noted by equally important objectives: to acknowledge and dignify care tasks experts on gender issues who work in the implementation of public developed in the public space, and to redistribute the responsibility to­ space projects: “Is it guaranteed that there are expert persons carrying out ward care (Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2022c). the projects? What does it mean to apply a gender perspective? To put more public lighting and that’s it? What is the level of depth being applied?” (I3). 3.4. Decision-making and participation: awareness and representation Second, some interviewees expressed that it is frequent to find reluctant attitudes towards gender equity in the administration: “We find a lot of The third relevant aspect emerging from our results is related to resistance” (I1) and “When the word ‘gender’ appears you have to justify procedural justice within Barcelona’s greening strategies. With the aim yourself, and whatever you present cannot have any mistake” (I5). How­ of attending the different needs and values of society, the City Council ever, this situation has apparently evolved over the last years: “I has established participatory programs as a priority within their urban remember doing [participatory] gender walks, and the urban planner was 8 A. Calderón-Argelich et al. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 86 (2023) 127984 laughing. Younger generations of architects/planners have it [the gender greenspaces will be equally received unless additional gender perspective] more incorporated” (I10). Third, the rise of a gender equity-driven policies are implemented. The issue of care and gender perspective in the political agenda is a conspicuously contested topic follows a similar line of reasoning: merely providing high-quality and gender policies might get compromised by political turnovers and greenspaces to support and acknowledge care work will not bring changes in the municipal government. Public officers working on gender about transformative change unless accompanied by comprehensive mainstreaming expressed their fears about the fragile institutionaliza­ policies and structural adjustments aimed at redistributing care tasks. tion of gender equity criteria and the risk of projects losing continuity: This shift is necessary to ensure that care work is not solely perceived as “We are interested in institutionalizing these [gender equity-driven] processes a women’s burden but rather shared equitably both within households (…) so it can be maintained [across time and institutional changes] and some and public space (Macgregor et al., 2022). According to Buckingham elements remain and impregnate the organization” (I1). The challenge here (2016), there is a risk that city planners may overlook gender relations is that gender equity goals in the public space often do not benefit from and inequalities, mistakenly assuming that these issues are adequately legally binding rules. Municipal staff with experience working with addressed within the broader sustainability urban agenda This is why it people with disabilities and public space expressed similar obstacles and is necessary to problematize and account for different social groups that experiences that were eventually overcome through mandatory guide­ may be more or less advantaged by greening and sustainable-driven lines and policies: “What is going on with gender is like what happened with activities, even when these activities and plans are framed as broadly accessibility for people with disabilities. (…) When norms get approved, inclusive and beneficial. planners and architects have to adapt” (I10). Our findings also indicate that urban greening plans and gender Finally, another aspect that emerged from our analysis is the po­ equity policies remain relatively separate in urban governance. We tential reproduction of gender inequities within staff positions in the acknowledge that although justice-oriented goals were scarcely City Council, including discrimination, harassment and (under)repre­ mentioned in urban greening plans, this does not imply that cities steer sentation of women in different units and agencies. For instance, the away from social and gender equity discussions in their agendas. management and maintenance of greenspaces is a highly masculinized However, we found that this discussion has not transversally permeated sector which has faced sexual harassment complaints by its workers in across greening and other environmental policies. And therefore, even if the last 20 years (El Crític, 2021). In response, the City launched an European institutions push for gender mainstreaming recommenda­ internal equity plan with a protocol for the “prevention, detection and tions, the incorporation of the gender perspective in greening plans and action” of sexual harassment (PN-2021) and a campaign to encourage policies is still scarce and inconsistent. On this particular topic, the City the incorporation of female gardeners called “I am a woman, I am a of Vienna stands out as a historically pioneering case introducing gardener” (Soc dona, soc jardinera) (Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2021c). gender-sensitive parks and officially accounting for women and girls’ needs in public space design (Irschik and Kail, 2016; Stadt Wien, 1999). 4. Discussion Despite considerable disparities in terms of implementation, awareness of social justice issues in urban greening is gaining increasing The goal of this article was to determine whether and how urban attention (Gradinaru et al., 2023; Hansen et al., 2022). As depicted in green planning addresses social justice with a focus on gender equity, Fig. 2, we contextualize this trend in relation to a previous approach of using the pioneering agenda of the city of Barcelona as a particularly valuing greening for its ornamental, patrimonial value, materialized in exemplary case study. First, our initial international review revealed more estheticized and manicured gardens and large parks. As we have that social justice is often addressed in a superficial and unstructured seen in the case of Barcelona, this focus has shifted toward a model manner within strategic greening plans. Second, our case study stands valuing ecological functions and social benefits, materialized in smaller out in the realm of green infrastructure planning by effectively incor­ pocket parks and squares integrated within the compact urban fabric. porating multiple objectives related to social and gender equity. We While the ornamental focus builds on a vision of nature as an urban asset identified three key spheres of action where these objectives are prior­ for the beautification of the city (Angelo, 2020), the multifunctional itized and implemented. focus articulates greening as an integrated, connected infrastructure addressing daily life needs of city residents. Such vision of the green 4.1. Adding the lenses of social justice to urban greening: a shifting focus infrastructure is aimed at making cities sustainable and resilient (Con­ nolly, 2019) and considers greenspaces essentially as “infrastructural Our comparative analysis indicates consistent patterns in how urban fixes” (Diep et al., 2022). Although an in-depth historical analysis of greening is being addressed within strategic policies across various cit­ urban greening models is out of the scope of this article, we suggest that ies. In all policy documents, greenspace is portrayed as a multifunctional our case study exemplifies a shift in urban greening approaches, intro­ infrastructure that brings social, economic, and environmental benefits ducing the lenses of social justice, inclusivity and care to the multi­ to city residents. However, this multifunctional approach does not functional model. In the context of Barcelona’s green planning model, necessarily align with ambitious goals for social justice to ensure that these lenses gradually and unevenly shape an urban greening approach benefits are equally shared. Similar to previous research conducted in that addresses inequities and incorporates socially inclusive governance different geographic contexts (Grabowski et al., 2023; Gradinaru et al., processes. 2023; Hoover et al., 2021), the policy documents we examined demonstrated a superficial engagement with justice, focusing primarily 4.2. Consensus-based and ad hoc intersectional planning in urban on distributive aspects and participatory processes. Additionally, we greening practice observed minimal direct connections with recognitional justice and gender equity. Our analysis shows how in Barcelona similar criteria for the different Drawing on the literature problematizing “technocratic approaches” spheres of action stemmed from greening policies and gender-sensitive to greenspaces (Diep et al., 2022) our findings question the potential of planning guidelines and plans. The strategic role assigned to public urban greening as a transformative amenity that can automatically space in policy documents–even if coming from different departments contribute to inclusivity in a trickle-down manner. For instance, if girls and disciplines– is increasingly linked with delivering equitable, inclu­ and women perceive parks as unsafe and consequently utilize them less sive, and accessible public spaces and ensuring “livable, proximate and frequently, as reported by our interviewees and supported by research green” neighborhoods. This finding suggests a strong resemblance be­ (Derose et al., 2018; Fernández Núñez et al., 2022; Fontán-Vela et al., tween explicitly gendered approaches and implicitly-gender sensitive 2021; Marquet et al., 2019), we cannot assume that the benefits of approaches emphasizing quality of living, a matter already described in 9 A. Calderón-Argelich et al. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 86 (2023) 127984 Fig. 2. Conceptual framework for the three urban greening models proposed in our analysis. The ornamental focus, the multifunctional focus and the inclusive focus act as lenses that can be added to the rationale and operationalization of green planning in cities. the literature (Sturm et al., 2019). However, we have identified two 4.3. Recommendations for inclusive urban greening policy and practice elements to consider for the unique pathway created by bringing the gender lens on to socially just greening. In this article, we aimed to assess the relevance of social and gender First, although we often see “green” or “sustainable” at the forefront equity within urban greenspaces to eventually identify best practices of urban policies (Andersson, 2016; Garcia-Lamarca et al., 2021) while and examples from our case study. In the following subsections, we “feminism” and gender-related concepts tend to be disguised and more provide recommendations for policy-makers and practitioners in urban implicitly addressed in urban planning. At the discursive level, greening greening to move beyond consensus-based and ad hoc intersectional can contribute to processes of “consensus-making” (Angelo, 2020; Nei­ planning. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge that the imple­ dig et al., 2022) under a broader current of de-politization of urban mentation of some of our recommendations may be limited and environmental planning (Rosol et al., 2017). In contrast, the contested contingent upon specific contexts. and politicized disposition toward feminist cross-sectional policies may hinder the explicit incorporation of such terms. In consequence, inclu­ 4.3.1. Define green infrastructure goals aligned with equity goals sivity and equity terms are employed instead, encompassed within First, urban greening policies need to explicitly incorporate the social broader objectives of promoting well-being and fostering social and equity links with their environmental goals and actions. To achieve cohesion. this, it is necessary to provide clear definitions and goals of justice and Second, our Barcelona analysis reveals that similar recommenda­ equity in the outcome and processes of (greening) policies. Second, tions for greenspaces quality and design converged even if planned for guiding strategies, action plans and indicators ought to be provided to different social groups separately. We call this apparently spontaneous ensure the execution, continuity and evaluability of the policy. City confluence ad hoc intersectional planning. Our interviewees –when planners working on green interventions often lack the tools and asked for justice-driven actions in greening– expressed their concerns for guidelines for ensuring equity, particularly regarding procedural and girls, women with disabilities, single mothers and migrant families, recognitional justice aspects. This can take form as toolkits with in­ among others. Therefore, the intersection of different axes of in­ dicators previously identified by the literature (see, for instance, equalities was present when applying inclusivity and accessibility Kato-Huerta and Geneletti, 2022) and by gathering sex-disaggregated guidelines in greenspace practice. Although these strategies may not data for understanding gender inequities in urban issues. Third, green have been explicitly integrated in advance, they were reflected through infrastructure interventions are not necessarily win-win solutions. It is the day-to-day implementation of greenspaces by the City. We argue important to openly address and discuss conflicting interests and that, under the terms “inclusivity” and “accessibility”, we found an ad trade-offs that can arise during such interventions. By doing so, we can hoc intersectional planning approach responding to different combina­ proactively prevent and manage potential urban processes that may tions of residents’ needs, even if not being strategically anticipated as hinder accessibility and inclusivity. For instance, Oscilowicz et al. such. (2022) reviews anti-gentrification, displacement and equitable greening However, we contend that adopting an inherently intersectional policies. Finally, gender inequities have shown to been particularly approach, building from previous scholarship on intersectionality and overlooked within green planning, and therefore we consider that greenspaces (Anguelovski et al., 2020; Colley et al., 2022; Henderson environmental and city planners would greatly benefit from other and Gibson, 2013; Powers et al., 2020) would enable a more accountable framing lenses, such as feminist urbanism. Greening planners and and responsive focus on the specific needs of marginalized communities. decision-makers could seriously incorporate guidelines, toolkits and In the case of Barcelona, this approach is particularly absent in relation manuals from research and international organisms working on the to racialized minorities (Amorim-Maia et al., 2022). Similarly, partici­ topic (e.g., UN-Habitat, 2021). patory programs tend to build on top-down approaches aimed at “col­ lecting opinions” and failing in the fair representation of 4.3.2. Provide adequate training and work in an interdisciplinary manner underprivileged population and their perspectives. Such tokenistic ap­ Breaking silos and interdisciplinary work constitute an essential step proaches, rather than a real co-design process, have shown a limited in ensuring a real integration of the urban green infrastructure into empowerment potential (Kotsila et al., 2023). strategic urban planning. Facilitating collaborations with different 10 A. Calderón-Argelich et al. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 86 (2023) 127984 infrastructure types, policy domains and stakeholders is crucial. Trans­ 5. Conclusion versal departments such as those dedicated to participation and gender mainstreaming have shown to be useful in ensuring the inclusion of This study is, to the best of our knowledge, one of the first attempts to certain criteria throughout different policies and avoiding duplication of evaluate the incorporation of social justice and gender equity within efforts. Additionally, cities can benefit from building alliances with urban greening plans and strategies. Consequently, it sheds light on the other cities and regions with similar greening strategies and demands (e. unique trajectory formed by applying a gender lens to the pursuit of g., the “Green City Accord” by the EU, or the Covenant for Mayors for socially just greening. Despite the growing adoption of ambitious Climate & Energy at the global level). For instance, a common repository greening plans by cities to address urgent environmental and social is­ of greening plans could facilitate the consultation of strategic policies sues, our analysis reveals that these plans often inadequately address and serve as example to other cities. justice considerations in a superficial and unstructured manner. As a Furthermore, changes in the decision-making processes and new result, there is a risk of perpetuating existing social and gender in­ planning concepts have continued to develop and, hence, there is a need equities within greenspaces. to provide continuous training to municipal officers (e.g., training on We contextualize our findings as part of a shifting trend in the stra­ gender perspective, LGTBIQ+, and social justice aspects to environ­ tegic role of urban greening. Global North cities are currently building mental departments). Likewise, it is very necessary to provide training and promoting its green infrastructure under a multifunctional urban and resources about sexual and gender harassment and to develop greening model in mind, which builds from an “infrastructural fix” un­ protocols on action and prevention of abuse and discrimination, which is derstanding of greening. This multifunctional focus has evolved from a an indispensable condition for gender equity among staff. former and more traditional role of greening seen as an ornamental asset. However, the increasing considerations of social and justice as­ 4.3.3. Avoid standardization and assess needs intersectionally pects within green planning processes have recently shaped a new jus­ There is no standard solutions or one-size-fits-all approach for an tice- and inclusivity-focused lenses for urban greening. We situate our inclusive green infrastructure. Put differently, the prioritization of case study, Barcelona, as a city gradually pushing for this model. increasing m2 of greenspace per inhabitant (as often conveyed) does not We identified the key characteristics of three spheres of social and necessarily address conjunctural unjust aspects of everyday access to gender equity action that Barcelona is currently implementing within its and use of greenspaces. Applying a social and gender equity perspective green planning. First, greening is assigned a social and functional role requires engaging with the diversity of needs, preferences and values of centered on values of inclusivity and care with a transformative poten­ all users, which can evolve or enter in conflict. This involves attending tial on the public space. Yet, we saw that those values have not fully different communities, listening to civil society organizations and ac­ permeated greening guidelines and there is room to improve synergies tivists, and acknowledging historical injustices and legacies. Therefore, and coordination between greening, urban and feminist/gender pol­ it is important to take into account local needs at different scales (i.e., icies. Second, regarding the implementation of green interventions, the neighborhood, district, municipality, metropolitan area, etc.) and to City launched some design guidelines for the accessibility and autonomy ensure meaningful participatory processes and co-production of strate­ in the use and perceptions of greenspaces. These included, more notably, gies. An intersectional approach can serve to acquire a deeper and more measures to increase comfort, safety, and visibility in parks for different precise understanding and a justice-led action towards the inequalities socially vulnerable groups. However, such guiding principles can enter that are reproduced within public space. in conflict with recommendations for the fauna and habitat conserva­ tion. Third, decision-making and governance processes are increasingly 4.3.4. Engage with the specific characteristics of green infrastructure incorporating justice and gender concerns and establishing participatory We have seen how cities are increasingly planning greenspaces as a approaches. Yet, greater progress in this area will likely be achieved strategic, multifunctional, multi-scalar and networked infrastructure. through clear guidelines and definitions able to transcend both profes­ However, the multi-functional and multi-scalar characteristics of the sional traditions and gender-adverse practices by municipal staff and urban green infrastructure add a layer of complexity in ensuring an through the implementation of participatory processes that move environmentally just governance. A key policy priority should therefore beyond top-down tokenistic approaches. Finally, the combination of the be to plan for the long-term care of the greenspaces considering the above-mentioned strategies on the day-to-day practices of the City specific demands that differentiate such infrastructure from others. As Council produces particular solutions for intersectional inequalities, in stated by Rivera and Hendricks (2022), the planning and management of what we call an ad hoc intersectional planning approach. green infrastructure requires not only its initial design and imple­ We acknowledge the limited scope of this research, focusing on mentation, but also a frequent maintenance over a lifecycle. For having an overview of social justice with a particular emphasis on instance, newly implemented green interventions require time to grow gender issues. Future research directions could explore how different and provide their full potential of benefits (e.g., shade, fruits…), axes of inequality (like gender and sexual identities, dis/ability, socio­ polluted ecosystems might need to be restored, and some species may economic status, race, age, religious beliefs, among others) shape use not adapt to the new conditions and structures of climate change and and perception of greenspaces (differentiated from other public spaces) urbanization processes. and how results can be incorporated into urban policies and governance Besides, unlike other infrastructures, greenspaces may take form in processes. Besides, while our analysis was limited to official planning different degrees of formality, and the responsibility for its maintenance documents and practices, there is much space and need for research is sometimes shared between municipalities and volunteer work by city exploring community and grassroot led efforts, particularly outside residents. For instance, Barcelona developed the program “Hands on Global North contexts. Future studies are needed to develop inter­ Green” (Mans al Verd) for the collaborative management of greenspaces disciplinar contextual research of the potential pathways wherein green to involve citizens, organizations and businesses from the city. A interventions can simultaneously contribute to social and gender- reasonable approach in ensuring an equitable maintenance of greening transformative change. could be to involve different actors while attending to the local dy­ Lastly, we would like to include a final note in the light of the namics of environmental stewardship and the capabilities of each municipal elections of May 2023, which took place during the final neighborhood (Campbell et al., 2022) and then provide adequate stages of this article’s review. The election results revealed that most resources. votes were obtained by a moderate conservative party campaigning against to Mayor Colau. We are yet to witness the implications of a likely 11 A. Calderón-Argelich et al. 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