Analysing the narrative on Urban Green Infrastructure and Environmental justice A case study of the municipalities of Aarhus and Malmö.

Abstract: Greening projects are becoming increasingly popular as part of urban transitions towards sustainable cities. Many academic studies have shown that under certain conditions these projects do not address or even execrate existing socio-spatial inequalities. This research attempts to explore the narrative on UGI and environmental justice in academic literature and in the practitioner narrative at municipalities of Aarhus and Malmö. The research uses qualitative methods for data collection such as content analysis of policy documents and practitioner interviews. In traditional approaches to examine urban green inequities, challenges related to distribution, recognition and procedural justice or participation aspects are identified. Current research expands the concept beyond this trilogy and proposes more fluid models and principles for equity in urban greening. Based on findings of these studies, it can be concluded that the narrative on environmental justice and urban greening in the municipality of Aarhus is more advanced than in Malmö Municipality. Recognition participation and relational justice challenges were the main challenges in Aarhus while distribution justice challenge is an important part of the greening narrative in Malmö. This study suggests that the way cities look at the relation between urban greening and environmental justice also depends on the situational factors such as size of the city, natural and built landscape, geographic composition of cities, challenges towards greening, as well as approaches and strategies implemented by municipalities to overcome those challenges. Further research can help to explore the differences identified between the two cities and deepen the understanding of the environmental justice concept in theory and in practice.