Greening cities – To be socially inclusive? About the alleged paradox of society and ecology in cities

Dagmar Haase, Sigrun Kabisch, Annegret Haase, Erik Andersson, Ellen Banzhaf, Francesc Baró, Miriam Brenck, Leonie K. Fischer, Niki Frantzeskaki, Nadja Kabisch, Kerstin Krellenberg, Peleg Kremer, Jakub Kronenberg, Neele Larondelle, Juliane Mathey, Stephan Pauleit, Irene Ring, Dieter Rink, Nina Schwarz, Manuel Wolff

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

345 Scopus citations

Abstract

Greening cities, namely installing new parks, rooftop gardens or planting trees along the streets, undoubtedly contributes to an increase in wellbeing and enhances the attractiveness of open spaces in cities. At the same time, we observe an increasing use of greening strategies as ingredients of urban renewal, upgrading and urban revitalization as primarily market-driven endeavours targeting middle class and higher income groups sometimes at the expense of less privileged residents. This paper reflects on the current debate of the social effects of greening using selected examples. We discuss what trade-offs between social and ecological developments in cities mean for the future debate on greening cities and a socially balanced and inclusive way of developing our cities for various groups of urban dwellers. We conclude that current and future functions and features of greening cities have to be discussed more critically including a greater awareness of social impacts.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)41-48
Number of pages8
JournalHabitat International
Volume64
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jun 2017

Keywords

  • Cities
  • Green and eco-gentrification
  • Green infrastructure
  • Nature-based solutions
  • Social inclusiveness
  • Urban renewal

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