14 research outputs found
Co-production outcomes for urban equality: Learning from different trajectories of citizens' involvement in urban change
The involvement of citizens and communities in processes that affect their lives and livelihoods through co-production methods has gained currency in recent years as a method to deliver place-based action capable of advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. Co-production represents a promising approach that addresses criticisms leveraged against community-oriented and participatory planning approaches. In this paper, we investigate the potential of co-production methods to advance different dimensions of urban equality in urban environments, including progress towards equitable distribution of resources and services, the reciprocal recognition of communities and institutions, the access to political and decision-making processes, and the recognition of multiple forms of knowledge and perspectives.
First, the paper reviews what is unique about co-production as a method in urban development planning. Co-production is distinct because it focuses on delivering a shared outcome. In doing so, it challenges epistemic injustices. Second, the paper presents a collective assessment of the outcomes of co-production practices in six different cities. The comparative analysis of these experiences shows that multiple co-production practices can help to establish long-term, adaptable partnerships to deliver urban equality. However, such a process requires constant adjustment and trade-offs to achieve equality gains in different domains. For that reason, the transformative impacts of co-production are not always measurable, even when its role in social change is evident
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EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
« Co-producing knowledge for global urban justice in precarious neighborhoods: claims, critical reflexions and coalitions"
International audienc
Urban Dynamics for Environmental Action
Urban growth and urbanization processes have accelerated globally, especially in the last 45 years (United Nations Population Fund [UNFPA] 2007; United Nations 2019a).
This has improved the quality of life of many people. Urban
life provides some groups with access to better jobs, better
services like drinking water and sanitation, better education,
housing and health care, resulting in longer life expectancies
(Vardoulakis and Kinney 2019). For others, however, urban
life is characterized by the challenges of poverty and
inequality, congestion, poor health and feelings of isolation or
dislocation. Significant portions of the urban population still
struggle to access the basic services required for a dignified
human life (Satterthwaite et al. 2020) and feel trapped within
harsh living conditions. At the same time, urbanization, along
with biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and pollution,
are central drivers of environmental change (United Nations
2019b and see chapter 3). As highlighted in the GEO-6 report,
urban inequality and environmental sustainability are deeply
intertwined. This report argues, so are their solutions.
This chapter, along with chapter 3, sets out the context
through which deep urban transformation objectives and
pathways can be understood. It outlines the deeply rooted and
persistent challenges of inequality, pollution, environmental
degradation, resource depletion and biodiversity loss faced
by the majority of cities. All these problems have intensified
in recent decades, despite global, national and local efforts
to facilitate sustainable urban transitions. Rising to the
challenge of necessary urban transformations first requires
us to identify and understand these persistent challenges,
referred to here as “lock-ins”. For the purposes of this chapter
this term is defined as complex, structural barriers that are
deeply rooted in the political economy and the governance
web particular to each city and that, combined, contribute to
”business-as-usual” urban planning visions and practices.
Effectively, lock-ins refer to sociopolitical and behavioral
processes that lead to physical lock-ins of energy use and
carbon emissions in built infrastructure and urban form,
biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and pollution. This
interconnected set of lock-ins is ultimately slowing down
the pace of urban transformation.
This account of the systemic failures to deliver
transformation – or at the very least to slow the pace of
change in most cities (section 2.3) – is developed after a
description of larger global urbanization trends (section 2.2).
These trends include the diversity of cities and urban areas
in terms of population, size, urbanization, their relationship to
the environment and ecosystems, and their varying capacities
to respond to the growing and interconnected challenges
of urbanization in the twenty-first century. In particular,
many of the rapidly urbanizing cities of the Global South are
poorly equipped to deal with these challenges. They are also
the most affected by deepening inequality, the impacts of
climate change and environmental degradation. Most cities
are currently on unsustainable trajectories. This contributes
to multiple dimensions of ecological, social and economic
damage, although this can take different forms, with different impacts and in ways that are yet to be fully grasped.
Finally, the chapter explores ways in which a growing
number of cities are already experimenting with
transformative actions to overcome intersecting sociopolitical,
behavioural and physical lock-ins, positioning
them as drivers of environmentally sustainable, low-carbon,
resilient, healthy and inclusive futures (section 2.4). This
section shows that disruption to “business as usual” can
occur on different scales, can come from multiple sources
and agents, and is often pioneered by singular, even small
catalytic actions, as is explained in more detail in chapter
5. However, for the large-scale systemic change that is
urgently called for and described in chapter 4 to happen,
local authorities and urban communities will need support
and must share risks beyond their boundaries. Setting and
maintaining cities on transformative pathways will mean
reinforcing networks of learning and support, from the level
of key communities all the way to national governments