Is it possible to prevent or limit gentrification in green cities? Insights from Oslo and Vienna

Abstract

Cities slowly oriented towards strategies for sustainability and green concepts. Since the1990s, sustainability goals increasingly became woven into urban policies and planning practices. Especially climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies have become more important in urban areas in recent years, since these contexts are more vulnerable to severe flood or heat-wave events. However, social justice implications of urban greening have been overlooked for a long time. A key challenge today is how we can provide a resilient city without encouraging the risk of displacement of vulnerable groups. So-called green or environmental gentrification is a serious threat in different urban regions across the globe. Increasingly, many studies have focused on the impact of vegetative greening and the potential negative consequences in the communities. However, there is still little information about how we can implement the needed actions against climate change avoiding the risk of green gentrification. Most papers dealing with strategies and policies preventing or limiting green gentrification analyse case studies of community engagement against increasing housing costs or displacement following green renewal and only a very limited number analyse planning tools such as the “just green enough” approach or housing policy interventions, e.g. rent control or social housing implementation in greening strategies. Based on a thematic document analysis and qualitative analysis of interviews, the paper presents the results of an exploratory studies on the recognition of possible challenges associated with green gentrification among planners, policy makers and other relevant stakeholders; the strategies put in place to prevent or avoid gentrification; the possible multilevel governance constrains and conflicting interests. This paper scrutinizes how the risk of green gentrification is faced in two “very green” cities: Oslo and Vienna. Oslo is internationally recognised as a “welfare city” and a “green capital”. An important target was recently reached with the recognition of Oslo’s European green capital in 2019, which included relevant strategies for climate change mitigation and development of green and blue infrastructures especially in the central part of the city. However, these interventions have been one important driver of increasing gentrification and decreasing housing affordability in previously deprived areas. Similarly, Vienna has been awarded as the most liveable cities worldwide for several years. Its reputation stems mostly from a strive towards integrating both the ecological and social dimensions into urban (re‑)development. Substantial social housing policies and rent protection limits gentrification tendencies at large. The effects of new green and blue infrastructure is not clear cut, but recent deregulation in private rental housing and increasing social inequalities create future challenges towards a greener Vienna.