About the lecture
Global urban development is increasingly prioritizing sustainability strategies and green urbanism. Goals related to sustainability, coupled with objectives for climate adaptation and mitigation, have become integral to urban policy and planning. Despite this, the social justice implications of urban greening have been overlooked for a very long time. A significant contemporary challenge lies in establishing resilient cities without exacerbating the vulnerability of marginalized groups or causing their displacement. The phenomenon known as 'green' or 'environmental' gentrification—defined as the process that leads to the exclusion of economically vulnerable groups from residential areas following the implementation of an environmental planning agenda—poses a serious threat to achieving socio-ecological justice. This lecture aims to introduce mechanisms and contextual factors relevant to understanding the potential drivers of green gentrification, with a specific focus on European cities. Additionally, it explores strategies to align greening strategies with housing affordability policies.
About the speaker
Roberta Cucca is Associate Professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, where she teaches Urban Sociology. Previously she was Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Vienna, Assistant Professor at the Polytechnic of Milan, and Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto. Her main research interests are: socio-spatial inequalities in contemporary cities; the social dimension of sustainability and the multilevel governance of urban social policies. She is a member of the board of the RC21 (Urban and Regional Development) in the International Sociological Association (ISA).
This is a breakfast seminar, where there will be served some light food and coffee.
The seminar is free and open to all, but please register here in advance.