Abstract
I. MISSION STATEMENT
II. THEMES FOR FUTURE ISSUES
III. DISCOUNTED PRICES AND ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO E&U
IV. SISTER JOURNALS
V. BLOGS
VI. SOCIAL MEDIA
VII. EMAIL NEWSLETTER
VIII. ENGAGING READERS IN BOOK NOTES
I. Mission Statement
Environment and Urbanization (E&U) seeks to advance a more socially just and environmentally sustainable urban world through the provision of knowledge. Our focus is the Global South, where an estimated one in three of the urban population live in informal settlements and where more than half work within the informal economy. UN projections suggest that almost all the world’s growth in population in the next few decades will be in urban centres in the Global South.
Contributors to E&U include those engaging with critical social science to add theoretical and conceptual insights, those reporting innovative empirical findings that augment our understanding of context and solutions (and their significance for theories and concepts), and those able to share the voices of activist representative groups and movements that are rarely seen in the scholarly literature. In other words, our journal aims both to advance social justice and be the change we strive for by encouraging contributions that share the perspectives of disadvantaged and marginalized groups.
E&U particularly encourages researchers, NGO staff, professionals and activists in Africa, Asia and Latin America to write about their work, present their ideas and debate issues. We promote the work of French-, Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking authors by arranging for the translation of their work into English.
Papers commonly deal with poverty, inequality and the power relations underpinning both disadvantage and transformation. Papers also report on trends, policies, programmes and practices related to urbanization, urban development and urban environments. We are concerned with processes of progressive change, while recognizing that these are contested, and that change is neither uni-linear nor necessarily progressive. Urbanization processes are often poorly understood and papers that contribute insights supporting an accurate understanding of grounded realities are important to us. We recognize that sustainable development, including needed responses to climate change, is critical to both current and future populations, and that ecosystems have a critical role in the wellbeing of urban populations and the resilience of their cities. We encourage contributions related to such themes.
II. Themes for Future Issues
With three-quarters of cities now more unequal than in 1996, urban inequality has increasingly been recognized as a key global challenge (UN-Habitat). More recently, inequalities have been heightened by phenomena such as the climate emergency, forced migrations and COVID-19. Growing concern for national and global inequalities has been accompanied by an acknowledgement of the multidimensional aspects of inequality that are particularly severe in urban areas. Spatial, political, economic and social disadvantage combines to deny individuals and groups their right to safe and meaningful life. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN-Habitat New Urban Agenda recognize that addressing growing inequality has to be a priority for local and national governments, and these global agendas are working alongside local efforts to support urban transformation.
While reducing inequalities has been increasingly acknowledged as a global challenge shaped by structural conditions, local action is indispensable to tackle the territorial manifestations and many of the underlying causes of inequities. Global phenomena such as the climate emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic, increased housing insecurity, and the precarization of working conditions have deepened existing inequalities and created new ones, which bring challenges that are locally experienced. Drawing on the work of the KNOW programme, this special issue of Environment and Urbanization will include papers that advance our understanding of inequality and how it can be addressed at different scales.
We are looking for academic articles and “field notes” that present original research, practices, experiences, or theoretical reflections about the construction of pathways towards urban equality, discussing the multi-scalar challenges of addressing urban inequalities. In doing so, we encourage an approach to urban equality that is a multidimensional experience for urban dwellers, which requires a combination of equitable distribution, reciprocal recognition, parity political participation, and solidarity and care. This definition builds upon seminal works on social justice by Nancy Fraser (1995) and Iris Marion Young (1990), as well as research that has mobilized the concept of social justice to explore issues of urban equality (Allen and Frediani 2013; Levy 2015; Levy and Davila 2018).
We encourage paper submissions that address one or more of the following key themes:
The concept, measurement and framing of urban (in)equalities from a multidimensional perspective.
The role of different knowledge claims and knowledge co-production in addressing urban inequalities.
Comparative and collaborative perspectives on urban inequalities and the notion of “pathways” to urban equality.
The challenges of addressing inequality from a situated and intersectional perspective, considering issues of class, gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, ability, migration status or sexuality, as well as local trajectories that have shaped disparities.
Discussions on urban and territorial governance, democracy and participation in addressing urban inequality.
Experiences of community participation and social movements’ involvement in tackling urban inequalities.
Interconnections between urban inequality challenges and contemporary phenomena such as climate emergency, forced migrations and COVID-19.
The role of sectorial policies (land, housing, transport, health, education, energy, infrastructure, etc.), financial mechanisms and planning in tackling urban inequalities at different scales.
Urbanization processes and the (re)production of inequalities, segregation and fragmented infrastructure and cities.
The interconnection between urban inequalities and wider development challenges and human rights.