Less greenery for the Poor, Social inequity and urban nature distribution in tropical Asian megacities
Yun hye Hwang et all
Many studies on disparities in the distribution of green spaces have highlighted that highly deprived urban areas have fewer green spaces. These studies have mainly focused on access to urban parks and public open spaces that are usually for recreational purposes and exist as neighbourhood amenities. However, when other types of urban nature beyond designated parks are accounted for, claims of green space distributive injustice become even more complicated. In many developing Asian megacities, for example, the poor are forced to live on marginal lands which may contain remnant green spaces that could otherwise provide substantial ecological and biophysical functions. The loss of green spaces in underprivileged communities in these cities has accelerated over decades, yet little research has sought to quantify the distribution of different types of green spaces and their relationship with social disparities. Using the case studies of Mumbai and Jakarta, in our research, we questioned the common assumption that the poor have less access to green space by analysing green space distribution patterns; in doing so, we initiated a discussion on socio-ecological justice in sprawling developing Asian megacities.
Event: Land Governance in an Interconnected World_Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty_2018
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