Melissa García
Associate senior lecturer
Perceived urban ecosystem services and disservices in gentrifying neighborhoods : Contrasting views between community members and state informants
Author
Summary, in English
As assessing urban ecosystem services and disservices is of rapidly growing interest in a context of increasingly urbanized environments, greater scholarly attention needs to be placed on how different informants perceive these services and disservices. Previous research in urban geography and planning has already pointed at the challenges of building inclusive natural outdoor environments such as green and blue spaces in gentrifying neighborhoods, particularly those undergoing green gentrification. In response, we analyze the ecosystem services and disservices identified by community and state respondents in seven cities with gentrifying neighborhoods, pronounced social inequalities, and where natural outdoor environments were created or improved: Amsterdam, Bristol, Cleveland, Lyon, Montreal, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. We found that in cities experiencing green gentrification, interviewees – particularly community informants – reported a wide array of ecosystem services and disservices, and identified some disservices previously under-studied (i.e. physical tiredness, low attractiveness and forced displacement). Our study illustrates how differences in decision making positions can impact perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices. Our study has implications for urban environmental planning decisions that will help maximize the ecosystem services provided by urban natural outdoor environments. Only if all perceived ecosystem services and disservices are considered, will it be possible to design green just cities.
Publishing year
2024-02
Language
English
Publication/Series
Ecosystem Services
Volume
65
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Elsevier
Topic
- Environmental Management
- Landscape Architecture
Keywords
- Environmental gentrification
- Europe
- Greenspaces
- Nature-based solutions
- North America
- Parks
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 2212-0416