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Land
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Planning for Socio-Spatial Justice and Quality of Life in the...
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Planning for Socio-Spatial Justice and Quality of Life in the Face of Competing Urban Development Dynamics

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Planning and Landscape Architecture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 4666

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Antigoni Faka

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geography, Harokopio University, El. Venizelou 70, 17671 Athens, Greece
Interests: spatial analysis; GIS; applied geography; spatial inequalities; urban quality of life; spatial epidemiology
Dr. Angeliki Paidakaki

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Geography, Harokopio University, El. Venizelou 70, 17671 Athens, Greece
2. Department of Architecture, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 1, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
Interests: urban development and governance; post-disaster resilience; affordable housing; urban and planning politics; social innovation; community architecture
Dr. Pieter Van den Broeck

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Architecture, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 1, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
Interests: spatial planning; social innovation; territorial development; land policy; commons; socio-ecological systems; alternate urbanisms; critical institutionalism; strategic-relational approach

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In many parts of the world, profit-oriented urban development rationales significantly limit the access to basic necessities such as housing, healthcare, education, transportation, cultural amenities and employment opportunities. Processes of dispossession and enclosure, value extraction and accumulation, land and real estate speculation, land grabbing, socio-spatial segregation, displacement and eviction, monopolization of land and housing rights, cause disproportionate access to both natural and social resources. As a result, individuals and urban communities face socio-spatial injustice and reduced quality of life. At the same time however, communities and socially innovative actors challenge spatial disparities, spatial injustice and reduced quality of life. As agents of change they co-shape more egalitarian urban environments through alternative forms of spatial development, land uses and ownership. They explore more diverse, dynamic, layered, equitable and just access to urban land, real estate and resources, transport, green spaces, community and health services, housing, work, etc. In some cases, spatial development planning is actually contributing to socio-spatial justice and increased quality of life, but actionable knowledge for spatial planners, urban designers and developers on how exactly this process works seems to be lacking. The nexus of extractive dynamics, alternative practices and planning interventions leaves us with many questions some of which we aim to address in this Special Issue.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) that advance the understanding of the relationships among extractive urban development dynamics, alternative practices, spatial development planning, socio-spatial justice, and quality of life. This involves investigating (1) social and environmental inequalities, as well as the uneven distribution of urban resources, services, public, social and private infrastructure and sustainable livelihood opportunities across city neighborhoods, and how these are expressed in extractive land and real estate dynamics; (2) (emerging) socially innovative initiatives and novel governance forms aiming at challenging state-enabled private property regimes and market-mediated urban development, such as commoning and sharing initiatives, non-profit/non-governmental organizations and grassroots and indigenous initiatives; (3) counter-suggesting egalitarian forms of urban development planning; (4) the impact of the previous on socio-spatial justice and quality of life. Papers shall focus on one or more of these topics and questions, and specifically address the role of urban development planning in promoting socio-spatial justice and quality of life in the dialectics of extractive and socially innovative urban development.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

  • Market-mediated urban development, socio-spatial inequalities and urban quality of life;
  • Spatial justice in relation to urban quality of life, urban amenities distribution, environmental inequalities and public transportation;
  • The impact of socio-spatial inequalities on urban quality of life;
  • Spatial and land justice, social innovation indigenous and grassroots land right activism;
  • Urban sustainability, commoning, alternative land tenure and ownership.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Antigoni Faka
Dr. Angeliki Paidakaki
Dr. Pieter Van den Broeck
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • socio-spatial justice
  • spatial inequalities
  • socioeconomic inequalities
  • quality of life
  • urban sustainability
  • spatial analysis

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1229 KiB  
Article
Residents’ Perceptions of Urban Greenspace in a Shrinking City: Ecosystem Services and Environmental Justice
by Sonja Wilhelm Stanis, Emily Piontek, Shuangyu Xu, Andrew Mallinak, Charles Nilon and Damon M. Hall
Land 2024, 13(10), 1554; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13101554 - 25 Sep 2024
Viewed by 902
Abstract
Although urban greenspace enhances ecological functioning and human well-being through ecosystem services (ES), it is oftentimes inequitably distributed. Environmental justice (EJ) encompasses aspects of distributive, procedural, and interactive justice related to accessibility and allocation of environmental benefits. Vacant land in shrinking cities has [...] Read more.
Although urban greenspace enhances ecological functioning and human well-being through ecosystem services (ES), it is oftentimes inequitably distributed. Environmental justice (EJ) encompasses aspects of distributive, procedural, and interactive justice related to accessibility and allocation of environmental benefits. Vacant land in shrinking cities has the potential to address greenspace inequalities and provide ES. This study investigated the perceptions of residents regarding urban ES and EJ in their communities in St. Louis (MO, USA)—a shrinking city that was undergoing green development, through semi-structured interviews. Altogether, 27 residents were selected from socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods characterized by high levels of vacancy due to legacies of redlining and systemic racism. Interview analysis revealed four themes: green benefits (including recreation opportunities), green costs (e.g., concerns for increased crime and nuisance animals), injustice issues (e.g., access to community greenspaces), and changes in the community (e.g., higher property taxes). Results revealed that residents perceived ES as closely connected with EJ when it comes to urban greening projects in their city. This study helps inform the process of urban greening projects, particularly in shrinking cities at risk of inequities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning for Socio-Spatial Justice and Quality of Life in the Face of Competing Urban Development Dynamics)
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19 pages, 6727 KiB  
Article
Environmental Justice in the Context of Access to Urban Green Spaces for Refugee Children
by Siqi Chen and Martin Knöll
Land 2024, 13(5), 716; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13050716 - 20 May 2024
Viewed by 1342
Abstract
Accessible and high-quality urban green space (UGS) can provide significant benefits to refugee children for their development, health, and well-being. However, few studies have examined the actual accessibility of UGS from refugee children’s perspectives (i.e., with restricted walking radius, particular vulnerability towards barriers [...] Read more.
Accessible and high-quality urban green space (UGS) can provide significant benefits to refugee children for their development, health, and well-being. However, few studies have examined the actual accessibility of UGS from refugee children’s perspectives (i.e., with restricted walking radius, particular vulnerability towards barriers such as traffic infrastructures and disconnected road forms) and related them with other environmental or social burdens under the context of environmental justice. It is necessary to explore related evidence and investigate the underlying causes since refugee facilities are primarily located in areas with restricted social and environmental resources strongly related to attributes of environmental justice. This paper investigated (1) availability, accessibility, and attractiveness of UGS in 30 refugee accommodation locations in Berlin using GIS and Space Syntax, (2) environmental burdens using the Berlin Atlas of Environmental Justice, and (3) neighbourhood characteristics. Findings indicate that 63% of refugee accommodations have availability of green space that is above average official standards, but from refugee children’s perspectives, 60% of the locations have limited access to UGS, lower attractive green spaces, and most locations face multi-environmental burdens. Currently, little guidance focuses on ensuring equal access to and the usability of UGS for specific socioeconomic and demographic groups, such as refugee children. Therefore, this paper has contributed empirical materials to begin such research and develop inclusive decision-making strategies in environmental and health policy to ensure the provision and high quality of UGS for refugee children who need it. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning for Socio-Spatial Justice and Quality of Life in the Face of Competing Urban Development Dynamics)
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18 pages, 1505 KiB  
Article
The Value of Reentry Housing, Zoning, and “Not in My Back Yard” (NIMBY) Obstacles, and How to Overcome Them
by Ivis García
Land 2024, 13(3), 275; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030275 - 22 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1454
Abstract
Given the housing issues that people who have been in prison face, this article examines the permitting process to operate a vocational and life skills training program for the formerly incarcerated in Salt Lake City, UT, called The Other Side Academy (TOSA). This [...] Read more.
Given the housing issues that people who have been in prison face, this article examines the permitting process to operate a vocational and life skills training program for the formerly incarcerated in Salt Lake City, UT, called The Other Side Academy (TOSA). This article employs participant observation, personal and public meeting conversations, planning division staff reports, public comments, and newspaper articles to answer the following question: How was TOSA described in the public input process for a conditional use permit? The author examines how TOSA neighbors first opposed the project and then came to support it. But even with community support, planning staff struggled to find a zoning code that would allow TOSA operations. In the end, the final decision to approve the conditional use permit came to the hearing officer, who sided in favor of TOSA. In this case, planners can learn about the zoning obstacles that reentry housing faces and how those obstacles can be overcome. Finally, academia and planning divisions need to better educate planners involved in administrative process into understanding the intent of the code to achieve just outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning for Socio-Spatial Justice and Quality of Life in the Face of Competing Urban Development Dynamics)
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