Caring
Discover 4 keys to make cities caring:
#Solidarity - Solidarity is fairness in action
A sustainable and just city is built on solidarity. It fosters the sharing of abundance in time and resources through equitable redistributive mechanisms and sharing programs. Bottom-up social and affordable housing programs are supported and strengthened through robust regulation. Shared forms of housing and care-oriented ways of living and working are encouraged and supported. Sustainable and affordable food networks are woven together to support local farmers and offer high-quality sustenance for residents.
Related keys: #Participation #CivilSociety #Economy
What approaches can activate this key?
Solidarity can be fostered by funding schemes such as financial practices and instruments, participatory budgeting, and also by enhancing governance and participation processes. Policies and practices for inclusion of disadvantaged groups can lead to increased multi-stakeholder partnership, as local impact is seen and felt. Central is the role of sharing and cooperatives for urban commons, which, in the spirit of care and solidarity, work for and with vulnerable and marginalised groups.
What governance arrangements enable this key?
A sustainable and just city based on solidarity seeks to involve the most vulnerable and marginalised people in multiple processes that shape their territories. Tapping into existing community networks is a vital first step to maximising the inclusion of the greatest diversity of voices and perspectives. This must be followed up by city authorities committing to a meaningful participation process that recognizes traditional power imbalances against such groups and by the bridging of different stakeholder groups to implement co-created community visions. If vulnerable groups and communities feel tricked, exposed or duped, their participation can be quickly turned against existing systems.
What drivers of injustice does this key address?
Solidarity is often needed for communities fighting against physical injustices due to uneven environmental health and pollution patterns. Furthermore, solidarity is key for addressing forms of racialized or ethnically exclusionary urbanisation, as well as urban communities impacted by evictions and gentrification processes caused by unquestioned Neoliberal growth and austerity urbanism. Solidarity is fairness in action, with key battles consisting of simply seeking balance in uneven and exclusionary urban intensification and regeneration, strengthening of weak(ened) civil society, remediation or replacement of unfit institutional structures and solutions to limited citizen participation in urban planning. Solidarity can be manifested at the local level, but also translocally.
Extra insights from UrbanA Community
- “Once mechanisms are put in place for people to be able to support others in their community, it's incredible to see how many people want to be involved, how committed they get and what a difference people can make.” (Emma Erwin of Transition Stirling)
- “Solidarity describes very well the components of a city. It contains the basic needs that should be accessible for everyone (housing and nutrition) but also sheds light on the fact that living goes beyond those needs: caring for each other, sharing, sustainability.” (Nina Rosstalnyj, Central European University (CEU))
Inspirational example: Fighting hunger while reducing retail food waste, Vantaa (Finland)
Instead of throwing away food, factories, wholesalers and supermarkets can donate their food to the Shared Table network where centralized collection then leads to distribution of the surplus through communal meals and bags of food to take home.
The model was developed by the City of Vantaa and Vantaa Parish Union in 2015, and it has been adopted by other cities across Finland. In addition to helping people in need of food, the model has also successfully reduced food waste, provided jobs for long-term unemployed people and reduced loneliness with its community- and welfare-based approach to food aid. According to Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, Vantaa has managed to reduce retail food waste by 1 kg per inhabitant with this model.
Avenues for action
Start and support solidarity-based community groups
- Start community groups which are focused on helping and sharing in the neighbourhood.
- Provide subsidised and self-managed spaces, "community living rooms", for locals to meet and use the space for their own activities as they wish (e.g. community spaces, urban gardens).
- Build these communities based on existing networks and initiatives. Inspire more actions for solidarity by showcasing, celebrating and rewarding these groups.
See "Zusammen Leben" (Living Together) garden in Freiburg, Germany, as an example of a low-barrier, inclusive community initiative. Read more about examples of such community groups, and advice for supporting them, on the UrbanA Wiki.
Come together through mutually enjoyable activities
- Use food as a connector and incentive for people to meet.
- Organise communal dinner for people from different (cultural) backgrounds to meet and interact in a positive environment.
- Collaborate with local communities and NGOs in organising communal meals and food sharing initiatives.
- Explore and harness other common denominators which could bring people from different backgrounds together (hobbies etc.)
Read about the Edible Cities Network - Integrating Edible City Solutions for social resilient and sustainably productive cities, on the UrbanA Wiki. Learn more about SHARECITY, a research project that explores food sharing initiatives in cities aroudn the world, culminating in the [SHARECITY100 database], aimed at increasing visibility and accessibility of these initiaitves.
#Accessibility - Green is for everyone
Sustainable and just cities respond to the ecological crisis by developing greener infrastructure and services that are accessible to all urban dwellers. In these cities, a person’s disability, gender, class, race, age, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, to name just a few, are not barriers. Everyone has equal access to urban amenities, green infrastructure, mobility, job opportunities, housing, food and energy. Accessibility is not only a physical issue, such as access to public space, it is also an economic issue (e.g. affordability), a knowledge one (e.g. language used), a social one (e.g. homelessness) and a political one (e.g. transparency in decision-making).
Related keys: #Economy #Power #Nature
What approaches can activate this key?
Here, the application of Nature-based Solutions for health and equality is crucial, as the approach focuses on how residents in all urban areas can benefit from greening interventions, as opposed to just a privileged few. Yet making urban sustainability accessible also means cultivating community and providing opportunities for residents to live dignified and healthy lives, especially those who have been targeted by systematic exclusion and discrimination. This type of community focused and driven work towards accessibility is evidenced by the right to housing movement and the expansion of community gardens. Often, exclusion from sustainability initiatives and benefits is a combined result of underlying inequalities and exclusions. In this sense, other helpful inclusion-oriented approaches can be used, like participative budgeting schemes, alternative financial practices and instruments (e.g., public ownership of services such as water and energy-services) and policies and practices for inclusion of disadvantaged groups.
What governance arrangements enable this key?
Increasing accessibility to green space requires more (and more meaningful) opportunities for public participation. Only by including the voices of socio-economically vulnerable groups in the process of shaping sustainability initiatives, can procedural justice be pursued. Thus, problems of accessibility otherwise invisible or unknown to planners and politicians can be paid due attention. This inclusion also needs to be complemented by policies that build bridges between separate, and even potentially opposed social groups. Finally, developing resilient and self-sufficient financing arrangements is fundamental for the creation of new tools and pathways that facilitate accessibility to urban environments.
What drivers of injustice does this key address?
Extra insights from UrbanA Community
Inspirational example
Avenues for action
You might be wondering, what everyday actions can I take to put all this theory into practice? Take a look at the avenues for action, below, for some practical guidance.
#Diversity - Inclusion starts by embracing diversity
Sustainable and just cities recognize and acknowledge diversity, analysing the real and diverse needs of all residents through an intersectional approach. Intersectionality helps city-makers understand combined inequalities based on the different identities and characteristics of a person or group. In a sustainable and just city, for example, a policy working to make greener areas safer for women examines not only gender-based inequalities, but also the influences of race and class. Such analysis is the basis for local policy solutions that lead to inclusive, people-centred and carbon-neutral cities.
Related keys: #Participation #Solidarity #Power (LINK TO THEIR CLUSTER PAGES)
What approaches can activate this key?
What governance arrangements enable this key?
What drivers of injustice does this key address?
Extra insights from UrbanA Community
Inspirational example
Avenues for action
You might be wondering, what everyday actions can I take to put all this theory into practice? Take a look at the avenues for action, below, for some practical guidance.
#Nature - Nature creates living and breathing cities
In sustainable and just cities, nature-based planning is central. Rewilding initiatives, permaculture, biodiversity and continuously productive urban landscapes intersect with social and economic initiatives. They are designed with and around blue and green infrastructure, and aim for enhanced resilience. Urban nature provides shelter to flora and fauna, which, in turn, people use and enjoy. Natural infrastructure helps reduce hazards like urban heat islands, and this infrastructure is implemented and maintained in a way that supports the most vulnerable neighbourhoods. Harmful and polluting industries are scaled down and the use of cars is significantly reduced in order to allow human and non-human life to thrive.
Related keys: #Adaptation #Accessibility #Regional (LINK TO THEIR CLUSTER PAGES)
What approaches can activate this key?
What governance arrangements enable this key?
What drivers of injustice does this key address?
Extra insights from UrbanA Community
Inspirational example
Avenues for action
You might be wondering, what everyday actions can I take to put all this theory into practice? Take a look at the avenues for action, below, for some practical guidance.