Going Green and Going Dense: A Systematic Review of Compatibilities and Conflicts in Urban Research

Helena Madureira and Ana Monteiro
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Helena Madureira: Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Porto/CEGOT, via Panoramica Edgar Cardoso, 4150-564 Porto, Portugal
Ana Monteiro: Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Porto/CITTA/CEGOT, via Panoramica Edgar Cardoso, 4150-564 Porto, Portugal

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-20

Abstract: The dilemma of simultaneously promoting the advantages of urban densification and urban liveability, namely the environmental and social benefits of urban green spaces, has been widely acknowledged in the research literature. This paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of evidence on benefits, conflicts and challenges emerging from fostering both urban densification and urban greening aims. A systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines was conducted. Searches for peer-reviewed papers were conducted in Scopus and Web of Science. Our search yielded an initial 357 papers, which were then further sorted and screened to the 117 manuscripts retained and included in this review. The authors systematized the multiple perspectives in which the interactions between urban densification and urban greening have been explored. Moreover, the results revealed a lack of clear agreement about the existence or not of conflicts emerging from fostering both urban densification and urban greening aims, suggesting that the positive or negative interactions are not absolute but depend on the scale or the context on which the studies are conducted. Further research should explore multiple potential mediating variables (e.g., the mediator effect of scale and context) to deepen our understanding of interactions between density and greening.

Keywords: urban densification; compact cities; green spaces; urban planning; land use planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:19:p:10643-:d:642809

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