Greening plans as (re)presentation of the city : toward an inclusive and gender-sensitive approach to urban greenspaces
Calderón-Argelich, Amalia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Anguelovski, Isabelle (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Connolly, James J. T (University of British Columbia. School of Community and Regional Planning)
Baró Porras, Francesc (Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Bèlgica). Department of Geography)

Date:	2023
Abstract:	Cities around the world are increasingly expanding their sustainability agendas and adopting urban green and 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 planning, implementation and management of green and blue spaces. Further, gender inequities have been a specific dimension particularly overlooked in urban greening planning, despite gender concerns gaining increasing political relevance in recent years. In this research, we assessed the extento to which social and gender equity are being considered in urban greening plans and projects at the local level. We chose Barcelona (Spain) as main case study due to its pioneering role in implementing crosscutting equity and gender policies at the municipal level. Building on document analysis and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, we 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.
Grants:	European Commission 678034 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEX2019-000940-M European Commission 821242
Note:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Ecosystem services ; Feminist urbanism ; Environmental justice ; Governance ; Planning ; Policy ; Gender equity
Published in:	Urban forestry & urban greening, Vol. 86 (August 2023) , art. 127984, ISSN 1610-8167

DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127984

13 p, 1.9 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles