From neoliberal urban green space production and consumption to urban greening as part of a degrowth agenda

Abstract

Urban green spaces are increasingly seen through the lens of their contributions to economic growth, neglecting the broader aspects of common goods and social-ecological priorities. Following a ‘green economy’ agenda, the interests of green spaces are acknowledged when they can be coupled with economic interests. Multiple ideas have challenged this neoliberal economic perception of environment–society–economy interactions, focusing on social and environmental justice and multiple values of nature. This paper features degrowth as one such alternative. It proposes a degrowth agenda on urban green spaces, drawing on various ideas that oppose neoliberal governance. It calls for the repoliticisation and decolonisation of green spaces and a broader political commitment to creating a good place for all. This agenda revolves around three aspects and suggests ensuring equitable opportunities to benefit from green spaces for all urban inhabitants. (1) Co-production rather than production: conviviality, care, and commons promote egalitarian opportunities to join greening efforts. (2) Instead of seeing urban green spaces as commodified arenas of consumption, focus on their potential to curb economic throughput. (3) Decentring the human: enhancing multispecies entanglements in urban green spaces to fundamentally alter how people connect to nature.