Pursuing more equitable access to urban green spaces: engaging with social equity in urban planning in low- and middle-income countries

Lower-income and marginalized communities in urban areas often have limited access to quality urban green spaces and their benefits. This is a growing concern in in low- and lower-middle-income countries where cities are expanding rapidly, and unplanned, informal settlements are common.

The priorities for the amenities of urban green spaces in lower-income areas may differ from the priorities in higher-income areas and countries.As a result, traditional top-down planning may fail to address the needs of local populations.

This report reviews existing literature from cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America (where top-down planning approaches are commonplace), and incorporates insights from the authors’ experiences working on issues related to nature areas near a river running through an informal settlement in Kenya. The brief discusses the following:

• What are the positive and negative impacts of urban green spaces on different
groups of people?
• How can diverse population groups be empowered to offer a complementary
pathway to top-down approaches for implementing urban nature planning,
maintenance, restoration and expansion?
• What barriers keep community-led initiatives from achieving their full potential?