Assessing green gentrification in historically disenfranchised neighborhoods: a longitudinal and spatial analysis of Barcelona
Open accessAbstract
To date, little is known about the extent to which the creation of municipal green spaces over an entire city addresses social or racial inequalities in the distribution of environmental amenities – or whether such an agenda creates contributes to green gentrification. In this study, we evaluate the effects of creating 18 green spaces in socially vulnerable neighborhoods of Barcelona during the 1990s and early 2000s. We examined the evolution over time of six socio-demographic gentrification indicators in the areas close to green spaces in comparison with the entire districts. Our results indicate that new parks in the old town and formerly industrialized neighborhoods seem to have experienced green gentrification. In contrast, most economically depressed areas and working-class neighborhoods with less desirable housing stock and more isolated from the city center gained vulnerable residents as they became greener, indicating a possible redistribution and greater concentration of vulnerable residents through the city.
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Building green and climate-responsive cities with an equity-focused approach can advance long-term health equity rather than perpetuating or deepening patterns of unequal urban development.
“Building green and climate-responsive cities with an equity-focused approach (127, 128) can advance long-term health equity rather than perpetuating or deepening patterns of unequal urban development (129-132).”
From Bridging Sectors and Disciplines to Gain a Critical Understanding of the Eco-Social Determinants of Health Inequities: The ESDHI-EU Conference (2025) · cites this paper as [128]
Climate or resilience gentrification occurs when increases in land and property prices driven by adaptation initiatives force low-income and minority residents to relocate, while attracting residents with a higher economic status to previously undesirable neighborhoods.
“One outcome of this process is a phenomenon known as climate or resilience gentrification, in which increases in land and property prices driven by adaptation initiativessuch as new green areas, pedestrianized zones, and bike lanesforce low-income and minority residents to relocate, while attracting residents with a higher economic status to previously undesirable neighborhoods (Anguelovski et al.”
From Intersectional climate justice: A conceptual pathway for bridging adaptation planning, transformative action, and social equity (2022) · cites this paper as Anguelovski et al., 2018
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Social-ecological and technological factors moderate the value of urban nature
Keeler, B. L., Hamel, P., McPhearson, T., Hamann, M. H., Donahue, M. L., Meza Prado, K. A., Arkema, K. K., Bratman, G. N., Brauman, K. A., Finlay, J. C., et al. (2019) · Nature Sustainability · doi:10.1038/s41893-018-0202-1 · Cited by 530 · see citing works
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Self-citationNexus between nature-based solutions, ecosystem services and urban challenges
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Climate gentrification: from theory to empiricism in Miami-Dade County, Florida
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“…Gentrification,’ wherein investments in sustainability amenities and infrastructure are unevenly distributed or otherwise associated with gentrification (Checker 2011, Curran and Hamilton 2012, Bryson 2013, Sandberg 2014, Curran and Hamilton 2017, Gould and Lewis 2017, Anguelovski et al 2018).”
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How does exposure to climate risk contribute to gentrification?
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- Authors
- Anguelovski, I., Connolly, J. J. T., Masip, L., & Pearsall, H.
- Affiliations
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES)
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)
- Temple University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Anguelovski, Isabelle
- Venue
- Urban Geography
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2017-07-26
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 458-491
- ISSN
- 0272-3638 (ISSN-L)
- 1938-2847
- OpenAlex
- W2625518584
- Cited by
- 521
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 82 · 2025: 97 · 2024: 63 · 2023: 69 · 2022: 56 · 2021: 62 · 2020: 46 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 64.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Urban Geography (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Repositori digital de la UPF (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- European Research Council (Greenlulus 678034)
- Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (Naturvation 730243)
- Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MDM-2015-0552)
- MINECO (JCI-2012-12971)
- Ramon y Cajal (RYC-2014-15870)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Environmental Justice and Health Disparities
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Urban Green Space and Health
- Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban Planning and Governance
- Keywords
- green gentrification, urban green space, parks, socio-spatial segregation, racial inequality, environmental amenities, vulnerable neighborhoods, socio-demographic change, Barcelona, urban regeneration, working-class neighborhoods
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