Building Equality: A “Litmus Test” for Recognising and Evidencing Inequalities and Segregation in the Built Environment
The current convergence of global challenges, particularly the climate change emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter movement, have highlighted the need for a new lens to challenge and interrogate key urban planning assumptions related to spatial urban inequality. Yet urban ine...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cogitatio
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Urban Planning |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/6085 |
| _version_ | 1797869248511475712 |
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| author | Michael Crilly Georgiana Varna Chandra Mouli Vemury Mark Lemon Andrew Mitchell |
| author_facet | Michael Crilly Georgiana Varna Chandra Mouli Vemury Mark Lemon Andrew Mitchell |
| author_sort | Michael Crilly |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The current convergence of global challenges, particularly the climate change emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter movement, have highlighted the need for a new lens to challenge and interrogate key urban planning assumptions related to spatial urban inequality. Yet urban inequality is often and invariably described from a limited economic perspective, commonly interpreted and measured as income inequality. This is an overtly statistical measure, or Gini-Type index, often giving limited and unsatisfactory results. Yet, in practice, the spatial distribution and concentration of income inequality is a multi-scalar, multi-variant, and multi-disciplinary issue and has links with other and wider dimensions of inequality and well-being. As such, this article argues for a holistic understanding of urban inequality that goes beyond narrow empirical and quantitative models. It presents collaborative research that aims to impact the actions of urban professionals, to accurately identify and adequately respond to urban inequalities. Through the establishment of an interdisciplinary expert panel, we have uncovered a series of provisional mechanisms and responses to aid practitioners to achieve more spatial equality. We introduce an integrated analytical method, the “litmus test,” that acts as a planning tool for understanding, evaluating, and responding to inequalities and segregation present in the built environment. This novel methodology and procedural framework will assist us in (a) identifying and defining different forms of inequality and segregation beyond the current scope of physical and agency-based forms; (b) measuring and demonstrating the latter with a combination of qualitative, empirical sources that are materially significant in supporting and evidencing planning strategies; and (c) setting out a series of planning and built environment specific responses. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T00:09:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-25343236f3304b2fb5576e094b756a4e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2183-7635 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T00:09:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Urban Planning |
| spelling | doaj.art-25343236f3304b2fb5576e094b756a4e2023-03-16T11:29:10ZengCogitatioUrban Planning2183-76352023-03-018137238710.17645/up.v8i1.60852946Building Equality: A “Litmus Test” for Recognising and Evidencing Inequalities and Segregation in the Built EnvironmentMichael Crilly0Georgiana Varna1Chandra Mouli Vemury2Mark Lemon3Andrew Mitchell4Architecture and Built Environment, Northumbria University, UKSchool of Architecture Planning & Landscape, Newcastle University, UKVemury Structural Consultancy Ltd, UKInstitute of Energy and Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, UKInstitute of Energy and Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, UKThe current convergence of global challenges, particularly the climate change emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter movement, have highlighted the need for a new lens to challenge and interrogate key urban planning assumptions related to spatial urban inequality. Yet urban inequality is often and invariably described from a limited economic perspective, commonly interpreted and measured as income inequality. This is an overtly statistical measure, or Gini-Type index, often giving limited and unsatisfactory results. Yet, in practice, the spatial distribution and concentration of income inequality is a multi-scalar, multi-variant, and multi-disciplinary issue and has links with other and wider dimensions of inequality and well-being. As such, this article argues for a holistic understanding of urban inequality that goes beyond narrow empirical and quantitative models. It presents collaborative research that aims to impact the actions of urban professionals, to accurately identify and adequately respond to urban inequalities. Through the establishment of an interdisciplinary expert panel, we have uncovered a series of provisional mechanisms and responses to aid practitioners to achieve more spatial equality. We introduce an integrated analytical method, the “litmus test,” that acts as a planning tool for understanding, evaluating, and responding to inequalities and segregation present in the built environment. This novel methodology and procedural framework will assist us in (a) identifying and defining different forms of inequality and segregation beyond the current scope of physical and agency-based forms; (b) measuring and demonstrating the latter with a combination of qualitative, empirical sources that are materially significant in supporting and evidencing planning strategies; and (c) setting out a series of planning and built environment specific responses.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/6085inequalitylevelling uplitmus testspatial segregationun sustainable development goalsurban planning |
| spellingShingle | Michael Crilly Georgiana Varna Chandra Mouli Vemury Mark Lemon Andrew Mitchell Building Equality: A “Litmus Test” for Recognising and Evidencing Inequalities and Segregation in the Built Environment Urban Planning inequality levelling up litmus test spatial segregation un sustainable development goals urban planning |
| title | Building Equality: A “Litmus Test” for Recognising and Evidencing Inequalities and Segregation in the Built Environment |
| title_full | Building Equality: A “Litmus Test” for Recognising and Evidencing Inequalities and Segregation in the Built Environment |
| title_fullStr | Building Equality: A “Litmus Test” for Recognising and Evidencing Inequalities and Segregation in the Built Environment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Building Equality: A “Litmus Test” for Recognising and Evidencing Inequalities and Segregation in the Built Environment |
| title_short | Building Equality: A “Litmus Test” for Recognising and Evidencing Inequalities and Segregation in the Built Environment |
| title_sort | building equality a litmus test for recognising and evidencing inequalities and segregation in the built environment |
| topic | inequality levelling up litmus test spatial segregation un sustainable development goals urban planning |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/6085 |
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