A new toolkit provides planners and policymakers with 50 tools that fight displacement and gentrification while also improving the accessibility and inclusiveness of green spaces in cities.
How can cities be both green and equitable? In our new policy and planning toolkit in partnership with ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, we present a series of tools to help municipal planners find ways of providing affordable housing while also improving green equity and ensuring that new green spaces benefit rather than displace local residents.
The discussion around urban green equity—the fair distribution and access of green spaces and amenities in cities—must consider the housing security of socially and economically vulnerable residents in neighborhoods undergoing urban development and change. Through our GreenLULUs research conducted since 2016 (in partnership with Naturvation and UrbanA), we have engaged with community activists, municipal planners and urban leaders to find pathways to green equity that prioritize appropriate and affordable housing, and distilled our findings into a framework that can be used in practice by urban change-makers.
Based on qualitative interview data collected in 40 cities across Western Europe, the United States and Canada, the report presents a summary and analysis of 50 policy tools and policies that fight displacement and gentrification while also improving the accessibility and inclusiveness of green amenities and green spaces in urban contexts.
The toolkit features:
- 30 anti-displacement/anti-gentrification policy tools organized by stakeholder type
- 20 equitable green development tools
- Simulations of possible applications of policy tools depending on urban context
- Recommendations for policy-makers in the EU, North American, and global contexts
Through this report we hope to emphasize that the policy and planning path toward urban green justice lies in finding the right mix of anti-displacement and equitable green development tools. The recommendations made here are meant to be a starting point for policy-makers, planners, and community activists in cities across the world to take action and embrace the right to the green city as one that can and should be extended to all residents.
Download the toolkit here, and check out this excellent complementary toolkit Sharing the Benefits of a Greening City by our colleagues at The CREATE Initiative based in University of Minnesota.
