Green Growth or Green Displacement? The Hidden Geography of Urban Sustainability
Sustainability is usually talked about as if it is automatically good. Cycle lanes, low-emission zones, green buildings and pedestrianised streets all sound like positive progress. In many ways, they are. But the geography behind this is more complex. Environmental improvement does not affect every place, or every group of people, in a uniform fashion. Sometimes, policies designed to make cities greener can end up making them more unequal and more divided. Cities need to become more sustainable. They concentrate traffic, pollution, energy use and waste, so it makes sense that planners want cleaner transport, more green space and streets designed less around cars. These changes can make urban areas healthier and more pleasant to live in. But there is a problem. Once an area becomes cleaner, safer and more attractive, it often becomes more expensive too. Property values rise. Developers become more interested. Wealthier residents move in. The people who needed those improvements most find themselves pushed out before they get to properly benefit from it.