Urban Inequalities_ How can cities include people_.pdf

Ruth Nelson
TU Delft PhD Researcher and spatial data scientist
Urban Inequalities:
How can cities include people?
January 2023.
Ruth Nelson

Ruth Nelson
Contents
Background
1
2
3
4
5
Perspectives
Examples: socially inclusive design
Action steps: towards socially inclusive design!
Insights
Fig: Unequal Scenes
Ref: unequalscenes.com

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01. Background
Why is reducing urban inequalities
important and what are urban
inequalities?
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01.1
Urban inequalities have grown within almost every
single country in the world over the last 30 years
(World Inequality Report, 2022).
Reducing urban inequalities is widely acknowledged
as imperative by organisations such as the United
Nations for creating and working towards
Sustainable Development.
Ref: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-region?country=~FRA
Sustainable Development
Fig: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Ref: https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu

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01.2
Fig: Global Gini Index
Ref: data.worldbank.org.
Inequality
● Primarily been deﬁned as an
economic issue - relating to the
distribution of income and wealth
● Metrics developed such as the Gini
Index, Atkinson Index to measure
income inequality.

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Urban inequalities
are about much
more than just
income and wealth…

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01.3
Housing
inequalities
● Access to shelter
● Access to housing in centrally
located areas
● Home ownership
Fig: Protests
Ref: https://www.ft.com/content/eab48cd2-06a2-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5

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01.4
Energy
inequalities
● Access to electricity
● Soaring gas prices in Europe
Fig: Energy inequalities
Ref: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202210/1277499.shtml

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01.5
Transportation
inequalities
● Can you walk, cycle safely in
your city?
● Do you have access to efﬁcient
and safe public transport?
● Can you afford public transport?
Fig: Cycling
Ref Upsplash:

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01.6
Digital
inequalities
● Internet access
● Cost
Fig: Wiﬁ
Ref:Upsplash

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02. Perspectives
How can we engage with and measure
urban inequalities beyond economic
metrics?
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● Amenities
● Grocery stores
● Employment opportunities
● Transit
02.1
Access
● Transportation
Research
● Economics
● Network science
Inequalities through an
accessibility lens
Access to: Methods/metrics

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02.1
Access
Barriers Disadvantages Processes

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● Market distributions
● Infrastructure
● Income
● Housing
02.2
Distribution
● GIS
● Statistics
● Dimension
reducing
techniques
Geographies of distribution Kinds of distributions Methods/metrics

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02.2
Distribution Scale
Country
City Neighbourhoods
● Welfare Systems
● Housing policies
● National development frameworks
● Rural to urban migration
● Housing prices
● Infrastructure
● Transport
● Zoning
● Crime
● Educational Facilities
● Local services
● Local environmental factors

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● Women
● Socio-economically
disadvantaged
Policy and Stakeholders
● Participatory
methods
● Computational: ie
ABM
Policy and stakeholder lens Stakeholders Methods/metrics
02.3

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02.3
Policy and Stakeholders
Effects of past policy Effects of current policy Future policy effects

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03. Insights
What insights have we drawn from
examining inequalities from these
perspectives?
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Urban inequalities
are complex
problems

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Inequalities and complexity theory
● Exist in relational systems
that are composed of
interacting components
● These components do not
interact in a way that is
linear in cause and effect
● The interactions can
lead to new
emergent patterns
of self organisation
03.1
● There will always be
trade-offs in
developing solutions

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What is the system
that urban
inequalities emerge in
composed of?

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03.2
Framework
Urban inequality emerges through the
interaction between social and
critical infrastructure systems over
space and time.
Ecological
Material & Energy
Transport , Buildings,
Housing, etc.
Water, Waste,
Electricity etc.
Green areas, Trees,
Water, Terrain etc.
Digital
ICT, Internet, Cloud,
Markets, Data etc.
Social
Components
Critical
Infrastructure
Components
Urban Inequalities emerge
through the interaction
between Social and Critical
Infrastructure components
over space and time.
Space and Time
Governance
Individual
State Actors,
Municipal, etc.
Capital, Race, Gender,
Education etc.
Community
organisations etc.
Private
Companies, Business,
NGOs etc.
Community
Top down
Bottom Up
Physical
Ephemeral
Social Components shape
Infrastructure through policy,
private investment and
community action.
Over time, Infrastructure
Components reﬂect on the
structure of the Social through
access + distribution
Urban Infrastructure

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How do the social and
critical infrastructure
components in the
city interact?

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03.3
Spatial Segregation and
inequality
Extreme spatial segregation and
inequalities can form a vicious cycle.
Extreme
segregation
Social
Exclusion
Unemployment
Poverty

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03.4
Individual and
Neighbourhood
The socio-spatial composition of
neighbourhoods matter: it inﬂuences
the type of school an individual
attends, community support,
employment opportunities, transport
they have access to…

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03.5
The role of the State
in perpetuating
inequalities.
Governance structures and regulation
(or lack thereof) inﬂuence the way
critical infrastructure is
distributed across space and
therefore ultimately who has access to
it.
Fig: Abandoned Infonavit Homes in Mexico
Ref:https://www.mexicanist.com/l/there-are-more-than-4-million-abandoned-houses-in-mexico/

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03.6
Identity and
inequalities
Identity can be thought of as the
qualities, beliefs, personality traits,
appearance or expressions that
characterise a speciﬁc group, which
may be rooted in their gender, religion,
race, nationality, or age.
Fig: Protests
Ref: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Lives-Matter

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04. Examples
How can we design to include people
and reduce (hopefully) inequalities?
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04.1
Buildings:
The Student Centre,
UCL
Creating many different kinds of
spaces for all students across
faculties to meet and interact at the
University College London.
Fig 6: Different kinds of spaces, Student Centre, UCL
Ref:https://www.nicholashare.co.uk/projects/view/new-student-centre-ucl

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04.2
Streets:
Paseo de la Reforma,
Mexico City
The transformation of Paseo de la
Reforma from a street dominated by
cars to cyclists-only on a Sunday in
Mexico City attracting hundreds of
families, friends and even pets.
Fig 7: Avenida Obregon on a Sunday
Ref: Author

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04.3
Neighbourhoods:
Utrecht City Centre,
Netherlands
The transformation of a highway to a
pedestrian walkway and canal in
Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Fig 8: Utrecht transformation
Ref: https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2020/09/joining-the-circle-utrecht-removes-road-to-be-ringed-by-water-once-more/

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04.4
Cities:
London
New tube line connecting East and
West London, which have historically
been divided along income and class
lines.
Fig: Elizabeth Line, London
Ref: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-61095510

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04.5
Country:
Housing Policy,
South Africa
Prototype with an attempt to change
policy in upgrading shacks:
Empower Shack Project Khayelitsha,
Cape Town, by Urban think tank.
Showcasing a prototype of shack
upgrading, as a means to try and
inﬂuence national policy.
Fig: Empower Shack, Cape Town
Ref:https://www.architectural-review.com/buildings/family-business-empower-shack-in-khayelitsha-near-cape-tow
n-south-africa-by-urban-think-tank-and-eth-zurich

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05. Action Steps
What steps can be taken by
practitioners & students in the built
environment to reduce inequalities?
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Ruth Nelson
Incorporate metrics of
accessibility and
distribution into the
design process.
05.1

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Engage with policy as
part of the design
process:
ie. land use zoning - is
it fair and just?
05.2

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Design for different kinds
of transport:
Ie. Walking, bicycles, buses, trains,
trams
05.3

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Design for the needs of
different kinds of people:
Women, the disabled, children, the
elderly, LGBTQ+ etc.
05.4

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Addressing inequalities requires
challenging transdisciplinary and
multidisciplinary barriers.
05.5

Ruth Nelson
Thank you!

Ruth Nelson
Ruth Nelson Ruth Nelson
@ RuthJNelson
Get in touch:

Ruth Nelson
Link to research
"Conceptualising urban inequalities as a complex
socio-technical phenomenon"
Nelson, Warnier and Verma (2022)
Scan me!

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