Governing Urban Densification Towards Social Sustainability

This book explores the relationship between densification and social sustainability, aiming to understand the complexities and contradictions inherent to contemporary urban development. Densification can exacerbate social tensions, as it contributes to creating denser, but gentrified neighbourhoods. Moreover, densification is increasingly associated with greenwashing, with many projects marketed as densification projects only marginally increasing population density. What goes wrong?

“Governing Densification” addresses this paradox by pursuing four interrelated objectives. First, it analyses densification as a political process through which stakeholders compete over a variety of goals. Second, it examines the mechanisms leading to the shortcomings of densification – insisting on the tricky role played by more managerial and project-based approaches in planning. Third, the book revisits the crucial planning concept of power dynamics in urban development, offering new insights into how power is distributed and exercised in project-based negotiations. Finally, it provides illustrative examples from which lessons are drawn on how spatial planning can lead to negotiated density increases while maintaining urban quality for residents, including vulnerable socio-economic groups.

The book is aimed at academics interested in spatial and urban planning, as well as those in other subject areas, including geo-information, urban studies, and administrative and public policy sciences.