Our current food regime is inherently unstable and susceptible to crises. Different food initiatives like community-supported agriculture (CSA) have been addressing these crises, mostly in Northern America and Western Europe, for over 50 years. CSA initiatives in these regions have been largely examined within the alternative food network literature, e.g., focusing on their modus operandi or members’ motivations. We have analyzed CSA in three different countries—Switzerland, Czechia and Argentina. While certain mechanisms and motivations are similar, our analysis highlights the importance of context-specific factors in shaping the transformative potential of these alternatives, and the unique challenges they encounter within the current food regime. Drawing on the interdisciplinary theoretical framework of values-based modes of production and consumption, we put our three cases into dialogue and show that (historical) political contexts (authoritarian political regime, (post) socialism, (direct) democracy) and different positions within uneven development influence the current agricultural structure of each respective country and thus the role of CSA within it. Whereas Argentina and Czechia are characterized by export-driven agroholdings with transnational retail chains profoundly shaping domestic consumption in the case of the latter, Switzerland's agri-food system is strongly finance-led but family-farm orientated. Unlike Czechia, Argentina has not fully adopted the Western model of CSA, among other reasons, due to inhibiting high inflation rates. In Czechia, (peri-)urban areas are centers of CSA and women on maternity leave often represent crucial actors since they value healthy food for their children. There is however, similar to the Argentinian case, a lack of solidarity with farmers on the side of consumers in times of economic hardship, and insufficient institutional support of these bottom-up initiatives. The researched Swiss CSA links urban consumers with rural mountain farmers. The spatial distance and members’ required work stays encompassing the physically demanding and time-intensive task of herding goats pose challenges to the participating members and farmers. Membership in this CSA demands a high level of commitment that diverts from the convenience of the dominant food system, limiting the accessibility of this alternative food initiative. Overall, CSAs in all countries struggle reaching larger groups of the population.

Using qualitative sociological methods, this paper investigates the place and role of alternative food systems and sustainable food consumption as they appear in the everyday food consumption of middle-class, shopping community member consumers in Hungary. The paper is part of a larger nationwide project exploring sustainable food and energy consumption patterns in the context of social inequalities, analysing the meanings of sustainability, and food and energy consumption practices for different social groups.

Shopping communities are typically made up of middle-class consumers. Women and families with small children are at the centre of these communities. The central question is: How does the shopping community change the everyday patterns of food consumption of its members? What amounts of food that are being purchased regularly through the shopping community? What limitations and obstacles have been identified by the members? How is the mainstream food system perceived and represented by the members of the shopping community? How do the community and the activities of the community influence the attitudes, perceptions and behaviour of its members towards sustainable consumption and alternative food system in opposition to mainstream food system?

Shopping communities have mushroomed in Hungary in recent years, mobilising different types of communities and services, typically focusing on issues such as health, quality food, sustainability, local awareness, community values and self-help. In spite of this, the share of the alternative food system in the Hungarian food consumption is still very small and limited. This paper is based on participant observation and over 50 semi-structured interviews with members and organisers of shopping communities across Hungary. We analyse four different types of shopping communities, ranging from online markets to community-supported agriculture (CSA), and from well-organised small-town communities to loose, extended networks in Budapest. The study sheds light on the diverse attitudes and perspectives of middle-class consumers towards alternative food systems and sustainable food consumption.

The first results of the analysis show that the main value of the shopping community as an alternative food system is related to health and quality food. However, most consumers also use the mainstream food system in their daily food consumption practices. Only the members of a small, strong community are more focused on sustainable food choices, awareness and behaviour, and tend to use the alternative food system in their everyday food consuming practices.

Framed within debates about moral/affective economies, and based on longitudinal ethnographic research, this paper explores intergenerational exchanges of food and foodstuffs within families in rural South Bohemia. Through a detailed examination of the kinds of foodstuffs that are exchanged, the paper demonstrates how various intra-familial modes of food sharing smoothly combine market-based products with home grown food and include a range of substances; from raw meat via readymade dishes to food waste. Food is given and received as part of everyday, non-conspicuous interactions between kin (mainly women), bordering on other often “invisible” everyday activities such as childcare. The “easiness” of the exchanges, and the strong lines of affect and obligation that underlie this circulation, indicate a local food system that is both flexible and resilient. In a longitudinal perspective, we find that it has been subject to substantial change, though. This includes changes in the food self-provisioning carried out by families - thus the mix between “home grown/bred” and market- based food stuff - and in gendered responsibilities and labour related to food work. The paper discusses some of these changes and their possible implications for the local food system as such.

Food self-provisioning (FSP) is one of the most important legacies of agricultural civilizations. In today’s world of uncertainties, the practice of FSP enhances resilience and promotes sustainable growth. FSP also has the function of creating and altering spaces in both tangible and intangible ways. With the needs for green living, it not only promotes balanced development and a symbiotic relationship between human and nature, but also to transform of existing lifestyles with vitality and creativity.
FSP disrupts and reconnects the dualities of urban/rural and human/nature. Rural life experiences have become increasingly popular among urban residents, who spend their holidays at farmhouses, orchards, and farmers’ markets. Farming-related activities bring people close to nature, where burnt-out urbanites rediscover the integration of the mind and the body through unalienated leisure. FSP is thus viewed as a nurturing practice to enhance one’s vitality, creativity and mindfulness.
The philosophy of FSP also contributes to community building by educating its participants on virtues such as diligence, thrift, and solidarity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, FSP not only relieved the stress of food shortage for many households, but also promoted mutual assistance and friendship among community members.
This article starts with sociological empirical evidence but then moves further to explore the significance of FSP as a bridge for integrating urban and rural development. The author will discuss the future potential of FPS in the framework of sociological imagination, the practical challenges of its popularization in China, and the capacity of “space” as an enabling mechanism for social change. Our conclusion: as a resilient food supply alternative system, FSP can be sure to help people resist climate change and uncertain future, as well as to transform of existing lifestyles with vitality and creativity.

Most studies of food resilience adopt a ‘macro’ perspective and consider the functioning of the food system at the national or even international scale. At the centre of these studies typically lies the capacity of the food system to withstand or adapt to the effects of external disturbances and its ability to restore the status quo. The key question is the degree of the food system’s resilience, not whether it is or is not resilient. In the context of the Global North, a resilient food system is usually associated with policy interventions aimed at enhancing resilience, these interventions are confined to the market food system and understood as a result of organised groups’ lobbying and campaigning. In this paper, we take a profoundly different approach to studying food system resilience. First, instead of the macroscale perspective, we are concerned with the food system at the micro-level perspective of individual households and their interactions with other households. Second, rather than considering the degree of resilience that arises from political activism and policy actions, we focus on everyday behaviour that is rarely motivated politically. Third, and most importantly, we do not limit our analysis to the commercial food sector but explore how households navigate the complex terrain of market-, alternative market and non-market food sources. The underlying idea is that households combining these three sources of food have a good chance of being more resilient than those that have to rely solely on the mainstream market sector. The results of the twelve focus groups we conducted with different types of households in different geographic contexts do not show the households as seeking to maintain or restore the status quo. Instead, the multiplicity of resources enables them to creatively explore food securing options, considering individual values ​​and local conditions. We combine this qualitative data with the results of a representative survey of Czech households, determining the share of households involved in non-market food production and sharing, and the amount of food produced in these networks. The results show a significant contribution of non-market household food networks to food system resilience.

The shift towards sustainable living necessitates systemic transformations supported by transformative knowledge that integrates diverse forms of expertise, practices, and innovations. Within alternative food systems (AFS), knowledge emerges as a hybrid of expert and lay insights, blending scientific research, traditional practices, and experiential learning. This study focuses on the commodification and institutionalization of sustainability knowledge in Hungary's AFS and its transformative potential for regional development and the ecological paradigm shift.
The interplay between conventional Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) and grassroots alternatives is crucial to understanding these dynamics. Alternative systems thrive on community-based knowledge production, citizen science, and informal networks, while formal AKIS offers structured resources. This research highlights the hybrid spaces where mainstream and alternative food systems interact, creating opportunities for mutual learning, cross-fertilization, and systemic transformation.
However, significant challenges remain, including fragmentation of knowledge networks, limited accessibility, and conflicts between competing food systems. Addressing these barriers requires integrating social innovation, citizen engagement, and digital tools—such as AI—to enhance knowledge exchange and foster resilience. By examining the economics of knowledge in AFS, this study provides critical insights into the hybridization of food systems, offering policymakers and practitioners actionable strategies to bridge divides and strengthen food system resilience.

Achieving sustainable and healthy diets for all is a key goal within the scope of initiatives like the European Green Deal and its Farm-to-Fork strategy. However, socially vulnerable populations face significant barriers in accessing sustainable and nutritious food. This paper explores the enablers and constraints shaping food practices in diverse geographic, cultural, and socio-economic contexts.

Drawing on 50 narrative interviews conducted in Austria, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, and Turkey as part of the ACCTING project (Advancing Behavioural Change through an Inclusive Green Deal), funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 program, the study employs a gender+ intersectional framework to analyse the individual and structural factors influencing food access, consumption, and waste.

The findings reveal that economic constraints are the most significant barriers to sustainable diets, heavily influencing purchasing decisions and limiting access to healthier options. These constraints, however, often lead to adaptive strategies such as reducing food waste and leveraging community networks or urban gardening for supplemental food production. Structural barriers, including geographic inaccessibility and insufficient infrastructure, further restrict the availability of nutritious and sustainable food.

Cultural values, beliefs, and gendered dynamics also play an important role in shaping household dietary choices. Enablers include strong community support systems, localized food production, and increasing environmental awareness. Urban gardening and solidarity networks are identified as transformative practices, offering both material and emotional support to vulnerable groups.

Regional variations underscore the importance of localized approaches. Younger participants in Greece and Sweden exhibit a greater tendency toward sustainable diets, driven by education and cultural shifts, while narratives from Turkey and Portugal highlight the critical role of community solidarity and local production in mitigating food insecurity.

By disentangling the complex interplay of economic, social, and cultural factors, this study deepens understanding of how to foster sustainable and healthy diets among vulnerable populations.

The Sand Ridge is one tenth of Hungary’s territory, and is located within the Danube-Tisza Interfluve region, a lowland with highly diverse environmental conditions embraced by the two main rivers of the Carpathian Basin. The landscape has been characterized by wetlands and dry sand grasslands. However due to aridification processes (also exacerbated by industrial agricultural practices) this dry-wet duality of the landscape is fading away.The region is well integrated to the globalized capitalist food system. Conventional agribusiness is facing challenges in relation to climate change, as the region was severely affected by drought in 2022 and 2024. To overcome livelihood challenges in an aridifying region a handful of farmers, small and large scale, became interested in (semi-)alternative production practices. Regenerative agriculture promoted by the TMG-REAG Association includes the practices of the use of cover crops, no-till, strip-till or direct sowing, can be applied in both small and large scale and has a potential to improve soil quality and water management. Other alternative production practices (such as organic and permaculture farming) are normally not viable for farmers as they are highly labour intensive. These practices are popular among backyard farmers and often are undertaken by women as unpaid care work. We aim to conduct narrative interviews with both industrial and regenerative agricultural farmers from the Sand Ridge, including those ones, who are engaged in extensive grazing systems as well as backyard farmers focusing on food self-provisioning both with and without an engagement in permaculture/organic farming. Our aim is to better understand how the different stakeholders of the food system(s) engage in different food production practices and how their strategies contribute to their individual and household resilience and how (bio)regional resilience is reflected in their narratives. This research is conducted within the framework of the “Increasing Resilience through Bioregional Planning in the Sand Ridge” project (FK_146599) financed under the NRDI FK_23 funding scheme.

This paper explores the efforts of an interdisciplinary and transnational team to create a transdisciplinary and intersectional framework for analyzing youth from different geopolitical contexts, their practices of using and occupying public spaces, and the impact of digital media technologies on these practices. The central hypothesis is that technology increasingly mediates young people's access to and experience of public spaces, affecting their (dis)information, (dis)mobilisation, and appropriation of these spaces.

Three key research questions guide the study: How do mediation, social media, streaming platforms, and messaging services contribute to shaping young people's engagement with urban public spaces? How do intersecting forms of marginalisation affect their ability to engage in both urban and digital public spaces, considering the need for physical, social, and digital infrastructures? What spatial strategies and digital tactics do young people use to reshape social, cultural, and political routines in public spaces?

Empirical research was conducted in Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Vienna (Austria), and Tel Aviv (Israel) with young people aged 18 to 29. The study used various methodological strategies such as interviews, online and offline participant observation, focus groups, and social mapping. In Belo Horizonte, the focus was on comparing elite and peripheral youth, highlighting social inequalities. In Tel Aviv, the study concentrated on youth involved in protests, while in Vienna, it examined changes in geographical mobilities among self-identified female youth.

The findings in all three cities reveal that social inequalities and power structures significantly shape how young people experience and appropriate public spaces. Issues such as (in)security, urban mobility access, police violence, and the dynamics of gender, sexual orientation, social class, and race directly influence young people's ability to fully access and utilise public spaces. Youth adapt strategically to these challenges, either through collective organisation, new protest strategies, or digital security tactics. Patriarchal structures, particularly the vulnerability of women, are also a common theme, with specific forms of exclusion or oppression in both physical and digital spaces.

Despite socioeconomic, cultural, and political obstacles, the findings highlight that socio-technological changes are not hindering young people's pursuit of greater equality and autonomy in public spaces.

This paper takes the 2024 European Parliament elections as an empirical starting point to examine the circulation of extremist discourses in urban space during the elections campaign in and across three European countries and regions: Sweden (northern Europe), Austria (central Europe), and Bulgaria (eastern Europe). As a significant political event, the 2024 EP elections acted as a catalyst of violent discourse and actions, bringing underlying tensions and grievances among European populations to the fore and into the streets.

The research presented in this paper draws on a hybrid ethnography, combining non-participant observations across digital and urban spaces in Europe in the lead-up to election day. Drawing on an extensive and multi-modal data set, we examine how extremist discourse emerged around political campaigning and discussions surrounding the election period across online and offline settings.

During the election period, the cities of Vienna (Austria), Malmö (Sweden) and Sofia (Bulgaria) were turned into deeply politized hybrid spaces that were partly informed by political discussions unfolding online. Our analysis highlights the hybridity and interconnections between interactions in these two spheres, demonstrating how extremist discourse travels back and forth between digital platforms and urban spaces, turning both into arenas of political struggle. Physical artefacts, such as election posters, flyers, and photographs, were often transformed into memes circulating online. Conversely, digital ephemera, including memes and slogans from online conversations, found their way into physical spaces through graffiti, stickers, and other visual manifestations.

We observed how political contestation and resentment towards institutional politics often slid into or merged with extremist and violent discourse in particular around contentious topics such as migration, climate change, and gender identity and expressions, and how such discourse seamlessly flowed between online and offline realms. The findings indicate a troubling normalisation of violent rhetoric in a development towards what we term ”everyday extremism” in which anti-democratic and violent ideas increasingly seep into mundane political discussions and public space.

Public spaces set the frame for encounters between individuals and groups with varying backgrounds, not least in super-diverse cities like Vienna. They are places where different social realities meet and cohabitate while being at the same time not equally accessible and important to everyone. Furthermore, there is a strong connection between public space and social inequality: For lower-income and/or marginalized groups, urban public space is more important as a place to meet and spend leisure time than for better-off city dwellers. Conflicts of use in densely built-up urban areas, which are characterised by ethnic segregation, are on the daily agenda.

Currently, urban public space is coming under increasing pressure due to multiple events and crises: Population growth, the climate crisis, the pandemic and inflation are contributing to the fact that public space in Vienna is demanded by more and more users with different interests and backgrounds. These developments may lead to increasing tensions when it comes to the use of public spaces. Notions of inclusion and exclusion and the question of belonging in the form of “us” versus “them” are increasingly observable.

The paper is based on data collected through the Horizon 2020 project D.Rad – DeRadicalisation in Europe and Beyond – Detect, Resolve, Reintegrate. By means of expert interviews, non-participant observation, focus group interviews with stakeholders as well as young urban residents in a contested urban area, we aim to understand how public space becomes a tool for steering the inclusion and exclusion of marginalized youths and how different actors claim urban space.

Public spaces bear witness to the growth in control policies and socio-spatial inequalities, and at the same time reflect changes in urban practices and the concept of the ‘public’. Embedded in the capitalist, racist and sexist structure of society and fuelled by media discourse, the rhetoric of security weighs all the more heavily on public night-time spaces in southern Europe. It contributes to a ‘colonisation’ of the night, generating spatial micro-segregations and forms of resistance. The analysis focuses on these two aspects, in two fragments of Mediterranean city centres - those of Palermo and Marseilles - confronted with the phenomena of gentrification and touristification and a staging of their popular and Mediterranean public spaces. Moreover, while the night is in fact a more subversive and complex space-time, it is becoming increasingly controlled and integrated into daytime economic and spatial dynamics. Using an ethnographic approach, the study identifies everyday micro-violence linked to the application of policies that reinforce the control and standardisation of night-time rhythms and spaces. This violence takes the form of dictating the times and spaces to be frequented, as well as the behaviour to be adopted. They highlight the fact that public policies do not reflect the complexity of the night-time public spaces studied and the presence of structural inequalities, and therefore reinforce the marginalisation of certain residents. The second aspect of the study concerns the forms of resistance found in the practices observed. On the one hand, the proliferation and unpredictability of meeting places and times makes it more difficult to read and control the streets at night. On the other hand, nocturnal micro-movements, characterised by their spontaneity and complexity, make it possible to create alternative spaces for socialisation and reveal spontaneous moments of attention to the Other, of self-safety in the street. Through other modes and rhythms of communication and consumption, these time-spaces are less subject to the imposition of ‘normality’ in practices, bodies and behaviour. Using rhythm as a starting point allows us to consider the phenomena of resistance to a fixed night, which would like to dictate times and spaces, outside the security logic of exclusion and surveillance. It opens the way to an ontological reflection on public space that moves away from Western-centric logics.

This paper aims to explore the potential role of public spaces as social infrastructures by considering the results of a study conducted in Palermo as part of a research project funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research. The theoretical approach of the research is based on the importance of social infrastructures as crucial places that can foster contact, mutual support and collaboration among people. The presence of public spaces acting as social infrastructure is essential to place-making and the creation of territorial identity especially in deprived places. Despite the positive impact of green spaces on residents’ daily lives, Palermo is recently experiencing a crisis of public green spaces, caused by austerity measures and the lack of financial resources for local administrations and their social infrastructure policies. The unequal distribution of easily accessible green spaces in the city mainly affects the economically weaker groups with a considerable disparity between neighbourhoods and the resulting dynamics of exclusion. Urban policies and consumption-driven regeneration processes concentrate resources and funding mainly on specific central spaces, to the detriment of peripheral areas that remain on the margins. In this context, this paper investigates possible solutions to address these challenges and support a participatory model of urban governance. The research project relies on a qualitative methodology largely based on intensive fieldwork, participant observation, a collection of mental maps, participatory practices and in-depth interviews. With this methodological approach, the project addresses two main questions: 1) How do urban policies involve Palermo's neighbourhoods by differentially excluding or including their public spaces? 2) How can the material organisation and the perception of a public green space shape social interactions? To address these topics, this contribution will explore an example of a model of shared and inclusive management of public spaces in Palermo: Parco Uditore, a successful story of reclaiming spaces not intended for public use and turning them into powerful social infrastructures. Moreover, through the analysis of this experience, the contribution will reflect on the effects of an accessible public space on the neighbourhood and its inhabitants. On the one hand, we will observe how austerity policies affect neighbourhoods unevenly. On the other, we will highlight the exemplarity of a neighbourhood capable of catalysing its social capital into effective public space projects.

This contribution focuses on an urban public park in order to explore empirically the intersections of urban natures and cultures in relation to segregation processes. Le Cascine, the biggest park of Florence, Italy, has recently attracted ample attention in public debates characterized by two interrelated arguments promoted by local political and cultural stakeholders: On the one hand, informal and illegal activities, criminality, decay, and the imperative necessity of requalification become dominant elements of stratified discourses that have produced the park’s stigmatisation. On the other, the same stakeholders provide responses to this stigmatisation through an imaginary centred on the park’s “natural” value towards a sustainable future of a city that needs to finally deal with the climate crisis.

Suggesting a processual rather than static view on the segregation of urban public spaces, and based on ongoing qualitative and in-situ arts-based geographic research, the latter taking the form of public geography, our analysis approaches Le Cascine as a spatiality that is intertwined with segregation processes: How does the park allow us to rethink of segregation in terms of socio-economically advantaged groups expansion rather than seclusion? Which is the role of culture in its intersection with urban nature in a contested public space? And how does an urban public space commonly perceived as segregated become the active terrain of socio-spatial processes that might result in novel segregation patterns?

A critical reading of a selection of both top-down and bottom-up activities as forms of re-appropriation by the affluent urban populations, and exercises of control over diversity and informality, together with in-depth interviews and performative geographic experimentations, provide answers to our questions. Precisely, the gradual insertion of formal cultural activities into the urban green in question might result in a “soft expansion” of the socio-economically advantaged groups of Florence’s urban public space, and particularly green space. Nevertheless, this cultural expansion, however “soft”, intervenes onto the ordinary uses of the park by underprivileged and racialized populations, rendering it a contentious space. In an apparently homogeneous and pacified urban context, we read Le Cascine park as a public space where conflictual and exclusionary dynamics become evident.

Public spaces in Ulaanbaatar face unprecedented pressures due to rapid urbanization, climate change, and socio-economic change. In line with this, ambitious policies were set under the Green Development Policy and the Ulaanbaatar 2020 Master Plan, but the quantity of green space per capita still remains at a critically low level: 0.12-5 m² per person, against global recommendations. Challenges include weak policy implementation, fragmented institutional responsibilities, and limited financial resources. Moreover, informal settlements and chaotic urban expansion further complicate efforts to secure and enhance urban public spaces. The present study has critically assessed policy and institutional barriers impeding the development of public space in Ulaanbaatar. Critical document analysis and interviews with key stakeholders revealed four major issues: poor action plans, inadequate coordination of stakeholders, financial problems, and the failure to establish any kind of sustainable urban planning framework. As potential solutions, we evaluate the city’s capacity to increase green spaces through innovative interventions. These include converting neglected public spaces into pocket gardens, redeveloping school and kindergarten yards, utilizing university and educational institution campuses for greening, and adopting green parking lot designs. Additionally, integrating green space creation into ger area redevelopment and reallocating underutilized land are explored as ways to increase urban greenery. Preliminary calculations reveal the significant potential of these measures to boost per capita green space, contributing to Ulaanbaatar’s sustainability goals and improving residents' quality of life.

In recent years insecurity issues and the ‘fear of crime’ have become central concerns among analysts and policy-makers, due to the growth of perceived unsafety in different social groups and especially in vulnerable people. To approximate a realistic representation of demands for institutional intervention, it’s essential to document and analyse determining factors and particular profiles behind people’s preoccupations. The paper aims to mention data coming from international surveys (ESS and EQLS-Eurofound) to illustrate connections between sense of insecurity and territorially contextualised dimensions of life. For some vulnerable segments of society, the perception of disadvantaged urban neighborhoods appears crucial, which may be contrasted by social interventions aimed at the community.

On the other side, there’s need to deem what’s happening in EU Member States, where homeless’ situation goes on worsening. Usually described by epidemiological/pathological approaches, ‘people in the streets’ are considered as a threat for public order, neglecting spatial practices and mechanisms of reproduction of urban marginalities. Public sphere is the real and only place in which they can (and want at last) live, but they are continuously removed or even cancelled by ‘dark design’ and ‘hostile architecture’, because public spaces aren’t made for exhibition of vulnerable and defiant persons. So homeless people (traditionally coming from abroad: which means cumulative stigma) are really forced into constant motion, even if they have nowhere to go: they dramatically seem not to have any right to space. Are some measures planned in NextGeneration-Italy (for example ‘Stazioni di posta’) going to change homelessness situation combining institutional action with civil society efforts?

Some biblio references:

Allik M., Kearns A. (2017), ‘There goes the fear’. Feelings of safety at home and in the neighbourhood: the role of personal, social and service factors. Journal of Community Psychology, 45, n.4

Doucette-Préville, J.P. (2017), The challenge of homelessness to spatial practices. OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 8

Jabareen Y., Eizenberg E., Zilberman O. (2017), Conceptualizing urban ontological security: ‘Being-in-the-city’ and its social and spatial dimensions. Cities, 68

Mc Carthy, L. (2018). (Re)conceptualising the boundaries between home and homelessness: the unheimlich. Housing Studies 33(6)

Zavattaro S. (2019), Using Feminist Geography to Understand Feelings of Safety and Neighborhood Image. Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 42, n.2

The housing crisis is European: across the EU, reports point to problems of housing unaffordability/housing inadequacy. From Ireland to Hungary, countries with very different housing systems experience similar issues. While housing research has, in recent years, focussed more on urban contexts and cities, this study poses a need for contextualising such approaches.

The presentation will position the urban debates in Central, Eastern and Southeastern European cities and their national housing systems and a wider European context and compare the housing systems in CEE/SEE countries to other European housing systems. The question of housing systems is approached through the lens of the Political Economy of Housing, focussing on the (differing) ways housing is commodified.

The author will present selected findings of a larger study of housing system trajectories of EU member states, presenting preliminary results of a macrolevel analysis of those housing systems and their trajectories. The study utilizes a modified Varieties of residential Capitalism approach and focusses on housing finance regulation in fiscal, financial and monetary policy.

Utilizing public data on the national level covering the last twenty years, the presentation will provide an analysis of the trajectories beyond grouping them all together as one postsocialist or familial cluster. Moving beyond a singular causality in understanding and towards a more differentiated approach to comparing the cases also opens the analysis for differences in the trajectories after the collapse of socialist rule. There are relevant differences between Central, Eastern and Southeastern European countries’ housing systems that will be compared to patterns across Europe.

These differences stem from differing policies, especially those shaping housing finance. The presentation will cover central policies shaping the housing systems in fiscal, financial or monetary regulation. This offers an understanding of the production of different housing systems and contextualises studies more focussed on local and urban contexts. Thus, the presented research enables a deepened comparison of different case studies across Central, Eastern and Southeastern European countries.

At some point in comparative housing studies, findings need to be inbedded in concepts and typologies of their respective economies and societies. Formally, these can be grouped into theories of convergence and theories of divergence – with much overlap when looking into details. Both originated in the advanced countries of the European core. Later both housing and welfare typologies were extended to the European (semi-) peripheries, but research is still scarce and fragmented. Here, large (capital) cities and their housing markets are even more distinct from their countries than in the European core. Both extensions, to the periphery and to the urban, offer substantial challenges to established fusions of housing regimes, welfare regimes and varieties of capitalism.

Based on research experience with a number of East and South East European cities, traditional framings of comparative housing research will be examined. Until the 1970s, developmental concepts prevailed, fully concentrating on European core countries on their way to comprehensive housing policies (DONNISON). In the 1980s, the re-commodification of housing (HARLOE) was in focus - an update and extension of the earlier linear developmental view. Only in the 1990s, ESPING-ANDERSEN sparked off interest in a wider framework for his welfare regimes, soon to be adapted for housing by KEMENY. In their basic ideas, these concepts try to locate groupings of institutions within a „welfare triangle“ between market, state and families – expanding the earlier market and state dichotomies.

Still, regime groupings, in welfare and housing, were mainly defined for European core countries. Only from the 2000s, other configurations were claimed for the European peripheries, Southern Europe (ALLEN) and Eastern, post-communist Europe (STEPHENS et al.). In these extensions, many organizers of welfare and housing congregate in the family/informal economy corner of the welfare triangle. This is where recent changes are taking place: from informal and small-scale housing provision towards more professionalized, profit-led housing markets, still with a strong element of familialist support, counter-balancing the lack of housing subsidies for the many with family wealth. My presentation will draw together examples for such developments in the ownership cities of the Southern and Eastern periphery of Europe – working towards an alternative framework for comparative housing research.

The ongoing migration crises, particularly the war in Ukraine and increasing political and economic instability in Russia, have prompted significant waves of people seeking refuge in various European cities. Among these destinations, Belgrade has emerged as a key location for many migrants. As a result, the local housing market has been significantly impacted, leading to shifts in rental prices, property values, and residential behaviour.

The growing influx of migrants has intensified population pressure on Belgrade’s housing market, with central neighbourhoods—traditionally the most sought-after areas—seeing a surge in demand. In particular, Russian migrants, facing limited migration options, have played a central role in driving this increase. It has been most evident in rental prices, which have nearly doubled since the migration influx began. While house prices have also risen, they have not escalated at the same rate as rents.

The rapid changes in housing market have had a profound impact on the local population, particularly those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who find it increasingly difficult to afford housing in the face of rising rents and property prices. This shift exposes the vulnerability of Belgrade’s post-socialist, deregulated housing system, which struggles to keep up with rapid demographic and economic changes.

This research utilizes quantitative and qualitative methods to explore these issues. Beside in-depth semi-structured interviews which were conducted with experts from major real estate agencies in Belgrade, additional interviews and surveys were conducted with migrants who have settled in Belgrade in order to explore their residential preferences.

The complex spatial-demographic and socio-economic transformations during Serbia's post-socialist transition have profoundly impacted demographic trends in urban settlements, resulting in widespread urban shrinkage. At the beginning of the 21st century, Serbia's urban population went from growing to shrinking, with 86.2% of urban settlements affected by this process. Paradoxically, despite this significant population shrinkage, urban housing stock has continued to grow. Simultaneously the number of urban dwellings grew at an average annual rate of 1.22% per 100 inhabitants between 2011 and 2022, thus exceeding the rate of population change. These trends highlight increasing spatial-demographic imbalances, particularly evident in shrinking cities. This paper examines the relationship between demographic trends and urban housing demand across 167 urban settlements in Serbia. The aim of the study is to investigate the dynamics of spatial-demographic imbalances, emphasizing the interplay between urban population decline and the sustained growth in housing construction during the 21st century.

Since the 1990s, Croatia’s public sector has played a significantly reduced direct role in housing provision. However, public policies continue to influence housing provision indirectly, operating within broader post-socialist welfare regimes. Permissive land use and development policies reflect a housing system which evolved to ensure broad homeownership based on small-scale housing provision. This paper argues that spatial governance and planning practices in Croatia serve as tools to maintain a steady supply of construction land, aimed at making homeownership affordable. While these practices offer some security in the context of diminished welfare systems, they also perpetuate inequalities and contribute to urban sprawl.

The relationship between housing systems and urban development patterns in Croatia remains understudied. This paper examines how contemporary Croatian spatial planning practices align with the broader housing system, situating these practices within housing regime theory. Croatia’s current small-scale housing provision patterns are framed as a path-dependent continuation of the socialist-era system, in which informal and formal small-scale construction existed alongside large-scale public housing. When publicly led housing provision ceased in the 1990s, small-scale provision became dominant, further stimulated by the emergence of homeownership as the only viable tenure type for households following the “giveaway privatization” of housing.

Croatia’s land use policies have evolved to support this model, stimulating individual and small-scale housing construction through generous zoning of greenfield sites and the absence of public land value capture mechanisms. Such urbanization models, however, are increasingly seen as unsustainable, contributing to land take, car-dependency and unserviceable infrastructure costs.

This paper assesses the potential impacts of evolving national and EU policies in the fields of sustainable land use, housing and environmental protection on the Croatian housing system, highlighting the difficult trade-off between the objectives of affordability and other sustainability criteria. We argue that the understanding of urbanization within the broader framework of housing systems and welfare regimes is necessary for the success of the objectives of sustainable urbanization, as the tools required for their achievement, such as stricter zoning and greater public land value capture, would entail a significant transformation of institutional arrangements between the state, market and civil society.

In post-socialist Serbia, the commodification of housing has perceptibly affected standards in residential urban planning and design, which are increasingly subordinated to profit interests. In the context of the current challenges of residential intensification and urban sprawl in the capital city, one of the key urban issues is the quality of housing and its environment. This paper discusses the sustainability of new housing complexes in comparison to those built during the socialist period. As representative cases for comparative analysis, old and new neighborhoods in the Višnjička Banja settlement in Belgrade have been selected, namely the Višnjička Banja neighborhood from the 1970s-80s, and the Sunnyville neighborhood, the construction of which began in the late 2010s. Drawing on a conceptual framework of sustainable housing which integrates desirable socio-cultural, environmental and economic characteristics in this field, the study develops the Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment (NSA) tool, based on a literature review, previously established conceptual models and an empirical approach. The materials used in the research include original data and graphic documentation from the project authors’ publications, available planning and project documentation, open-source spatial data, and photo documentation from the field. This study questions whether the new, post-socialist practice of building residential settlements is oriented towards the goals and recommendations of sustainable housing, and whether it leads to an improvement or deterioration of housing conditions, compared to those fostered during the socialist period. The general research aim is to examine the prospects of current housing practices in Serbia, and highlight their long-term and irreversible effects on urban development and the quality of life of residents. Finally, by reaffirming thorough and comprehensive reflections on housing from the socialist period, in light of contemporary sustainability requirements, the authors indicate the need for improving the existing methodological frameworks in the domain of the urban planning and design of new residential developments in Serbia.

Vienna is considered one of the most livable and greenest cities in the world. With its long-standing social policy framework and highly regulated housing market, it is also a role model for a just city, in which social inequities are assumed to be marginal. However, recent research has revealed emerging gentrification processes in various neighborhoods across the city, including those surrounding the Augarten park.

The proposed presentation investigates the overlooked relationship between the Augarten – an important inner-city provider of ecosystem services – and the gentrification dynamics in its surrounding areas. By focusing on the supply-side perspectives of real estate agents and investors, this study addresses the following research questions:

RQ1: Which specific upgrading effects of the Augarten are perceived and marketed by supply-side actors, and what other factors may contribute to gentrification in the area?

RQ2: Which opportunities exist to increase and capitalize property value, despite the constraints imposed by a highly regulated housing market?

To explore these questions, a mixed methods approach was employed. First, a spatial analysis of 308 online real estate advertisements was conducted to assess the geographic scope of commercial marketing of the park. Advertisements explicitly mentioning the Augarten (n=128) were then subjected to an inductive content analysis, which included a rhetorical and target group analysis. In the final step, semi-structured interviews with seven estate agents provided fundamental insights into sales strategies and possible profit increases.

Results indicate that the Augarten plays an influential role on the supply side of the housing market. Proximity to the park is highly sought after, translating into location premiums between 10 and 27.5 percent. This makes the park a driver of local gentrification. Despite the limitations of Austrian tenancy law, which caps rents for properties built before 1945, such premiums are still capitalizable for newer properties. Legal conversions of historic tenement houses and rooftop extensions are popular means of enhancing property value in the study area. These practices effectively close ‘green gaps’ (rent gap theory), but also accelerate gentrification processes. A deeper understanding of the interplay between urban green spaces and gentrification in highly regulated housing markets is needed.

While in Hungary the proportion of private rental housing have been growing rapidly since the aftermath of the 2008 mortgage crisis, rental housing is still unwanted and considered only a temporary solution according to our surveys and interviews. Even if the generation under 35 has seriously decreased chances of homeownership compared to older cohorts.

The current situation is an effect of historical experiences: the socialist housing policy (with 60% self-built private housing and notorious lack of maintenance in the public sector), privatisation in the post-socialist transformation (for low prices to sitting tenants, creating the superhomeownership housing system and completely residualizing renting, lacking adequate institutions), the age of cheap mortgages and the 2008 mortgage crisis, and the illiberal system with politically created dependencies from power (as for example the traditionalist, pronatalist family policy framework perversely supporting mortgages of the better off in the future decades).

All these factors combined, made renting extremely stressful in Hungary. Landlords, are often cash poor, lack knowledge and resources to deal with the risks of property management, and only sporadically pay taxes, while tenants are experiencing complete insecurity, lack of privacy and exploitation, as our interviews illustrate that.

Consequently, many apartments are simply left empty: instead of rental income capital gains are expected in a speculative spiral. A large part of the rental contracts is still made between previously related sides (family members, acquaintances), causing informal dependence and even more bitter conflicts. Therefore, some interviewees would even prefer impersonal relations as in the case of banks before 2008. However, corporate landlords are absent due to the large scale of informality and political risks. As being a tenant for life is still considered inacceptable, tenant and housing movements are also missing. Inequalities depend now more on family wealth than before, and social relations are becoming increasingly closed.

Heat stress is the primary cause of climate-related deaths in the WHO European Region, and it has risen by 30% over the past 20 years. In urban areas, research highlights the importance of integrating health and climate change adaptation strategies to reduce the health risks, including those associated with extreme heat events. To enhance urban climate resilience, the development of green-blue infrastructure (GBI), which is an interconnected network of nature-based solutions (NbS), has been encouraged. NbS are, in their turn, interventions inspired by nature that not only support nature but also benefit humans socially, environmentally and economically. Research shows that while NbS provide co-benefits, they can also increase inequalities and limit opportunities for vulnerable groups, which have already been confirmed to have higher heat-related health risks.
The Horizon Europe ARCADIA project (TrAnsformative climate ResilienCe by nAture-baseD solutions in the contInentAl bio-geographical region) aims to galvanise climate resilience through NbS in 8 regions in 8 European countries. The core of the project are co-innovation labs currently being organised in regions and cities such as Malmö (SE), Odense (DK), Zagreb (HR) and Amstetten (AT). The goal is to test and to co-develop NbS to make urban environments more resilient to extreme weather events. The ambition is to bring outcomes from the co-innovation labs to regional political agendas.
Justice is a key topic the ARCADIA project is paying particular attention. The results of the report “Principles for just and equitable nature-based solutions and green-blue infrastructure” (Mottaghi et al., 2024) set the foundation for the project when it comes to issues such as access to GBI, or potential land use conflicts and trade-offs with NbS. The report concludes that there is a critical need for a perspective change on justice, viewing it as a dynamic process rather than a by-product of NbS.
Considering a multi-dimensional notion of justice (distributional, procedural, and recognitional), this paper will present a series of insights from the on-going ARCADIA co-innovation labs. It will particularly focus on how the cities and regions in the ARCADIA project plan to utilise NbS to respond to heat and, ultimately, foster urban health.

Biodiversity loss is a global challenge, but mitigation actions need to be taken locally. Novel solutions are needed to restore biodiversity where habitats are lost due to urbanization. The Urban Biodiversity Parks project (funded by EU-UIA) applies an experimental approach to tackling biodiversity loss. In addition to the establishing the main urban biodiversity park in Skanssi area in Turku, Finland, the biodiversity park concept is partly replicated in two sub-urban neighborhoods. This research concerns the sub-urban neighborhoods, Jyrkkälä and Halinen, which differ in size and composition but hold similar socio-economic challenges, with differently perceived levels of community dynamics.

Technocratic and traditional approaches to address environmental challenges risk stabilising or even exacerbating socio-spatial inequalities if the plurality of values of space and interrelationships between social and ecological problems are not addressed. Further, urban regeneration practices frequently lack citizen engagement in development and implementation of interventions, leaving citizens outside of decision-making processes. To tackle this, the project applies a strong focus on community engagement, with diverse groups participating in the planning and implementation of local Nature-Based solutions. Through a citizen survey, we have researched the citizens` perceptions of community, socio-ecological values, and preference of nature-based solutions and local community-building activities. Our results demonstrate how residents perceive community dynamics, where they spent time in the neighbourhood, and the type of NBS and participatory nature management activities they prefer.

Understanding participation as a context-specific process based on the goals of the spatial intervention, the survey data provides the baseline for co-developing the NbS interventions. While increasing focus is put on how citizens may participate in the planning and implementation of NbS, it is not clear how the local context can effectively be utilised in the process. This presentation highlights how a place-based co-creation process for NbS planning can support its social sustainability aims, contributing to more inclusive urban regeneration. This research ultimately supports co-creating NbS and increasing biodiversity based on local knowledge and placemaking practices. The implementation of the nature-based-solutions will take place in 2025 & 2026, aiming to create solutions that live on past the duration of the project, contributing to neighborhood identity.

Ill mental health is among the global leading causes for poor health status affecting all socio-economic demographic groups. To lower the burden of poor mental health, cost-effective health-intervention strategies for mental health disorders are high priority. An extensive amount of research underpins the knowledge that interaction with natural environments can have positive effects on mental health, linked to specific characteristics such as amount, accessibility and quality of green and bluespace. Still the use of nature-based interventions (NBI) is not incorporated as a substantive resource in the individualized treatment of mental illness or to improve public mental health and well-being. The aim of this study was to investigate stakeholders’ views and knowledge of landscape characteristics, both among decision-makers responsible for planning urban landscapes for health, and among implementers who use naturalistic landscapes to provide nature-based health interventions. This to reveal if the view of characteristics differs between policy makers or implementers, between different countries, and between stakeholders and research-based recommendations.

As part of the international GreenME project, semi-structured interviews were conducted with policy and decision-makers, NGOs and NBI-providers in seven countries. The stakeholders’ views on environmental characteristics supporting NBI for mental health were recorded and transcribed, and data processed using thematic analysis. With focus on data coded to describe Area characteristics, relevant relationships to other themes in the data were identified using co-occurrence network analysis, that were qualitative interpreted to identifying patterns informing the result.

Our findings identified how actors at different decision and NBI-provider levels describe different landscape types, characteristics and functions that they consider to be relevant, or not, to support different types of NBI for mental health. Aspects of importance to different categories of stakeholders are identified and similarities and differences between stakeholder groups and countries, were compared and discussed. Within- and between-country results bridge the gap between existing research evidence and applied practice, while deepening understanding of region-specific aspects of practical relevance to physical planning, design and management of urban nature-based environments, which can inform policy and decision making, guidelines, as well as planning-, design and management processes to support NBI for mental health.

Parks and green spaces in particular have a high public nature and can contribute to community development and health promotion, as local people are involved as users, as well as in maintenance and conservation activities. It also has aspects of making effective use of local resources, and historical heritage, and the conservation of cultural assets, and are expected to have positive impacts on local areas and communities, by achieving multiple goals in the SDGs. This study aims to clarify the integration between health promotion and park and green space policies in ‘SDGs Future Cities’, a selection of advanced SDGs initiatives by the Japanese Government’s Cabinet Office. The research question is how policy integration with health promotion have contributed to the creation of more green spaces to create a healthy urban environment. The research method is to review the policies of each local government's Master Plans for Parks and Green Spaces (MPPGS) from the viewpoint of health promotion in the Kansai Metropolitan Region. The results showed that all large cities and many medium-sized cities with populations 100,000 or more had formulated MPPGS in regards to health promotion, and that the content ranges from the conservation of historical environments to creation and renewal of urban parks such as conserving forests and trees in shrines and temples, and new construction and revitalization of parks and green spaces. On the other hand, only one of the 17 small cities with less than 100,000 inhabitants had formulated the plan. The roles of newly created or redeveloped parks and green spaces in health promotion are mentioned in many plans as residents nearby can better use them. Furthermore, the conservation of forests and farmlands also encourage people to visit there more frequently. In conclusion, we found that policy integration can promote to incorporate other health related policies into park and green space policies, and future support is particularly needed for small cities in their policy development. The health promotion can also contribute to the creation of more green spaces, as it is listed as a key component in developing the MPPGS.

Citizen engagement in climate adaptation is gaining traction, with an increasing number of cities resorting to the co-production of adaptation. This approach extends beyond collaborative planning, as individual citizens and the private sector are tasked with implementing flood-proof measures, which include Nature-Based Solutions, on their premises to improve overall soil permeability. Consequently, adaptation becomes a shared responsibility of all urban actors.

While community-based adaptation has the potential to address the limitations of top-down planning, by incorporating local knowledge and context-specific solutions, this responsibility shift in the provision of flood security can have severe implications for climate justice. If a city's flood security depends on citizens' action, how can policymakers ensure everyone is equally protected from flooding, thus preventing green enclaves? How can adaptation plans which rely on property-level measures prevent green gentrification?

The extent to which co-produced adaptation can contribute to climate (in)justice deserves further scrutiny. In particular, the literature is yet to address how the different actors involved in co-production (local governments, private businesses, and individual residents) frame climate justice and responsibility for flood adaptation. How do these actors think about just adaptation determines their actions and the responsibility they take in the co-production of flood adaptation.

To address this gap, this research employs a Q-Methodology study to map perceptions of stakeholders involved in the Amsterdam Rainproof programme. Amsterdam Rainproof is a leading example of participatory flood adaptation in a city facing increasing pluvial flood risk. The Q-study explores the priorities and narratives around climate justice of public and private stakeholders carrying the responsibility of adaptation within the programme.

The Q-study will produce a narrative landscape of Amsterdam Rainproof, which will identify the predominant narratives around climate justice and responsibility for flood adaptation in Amsterdam. It will also highlight areas of consensus and dissensus between the different positions, which can serve as entry points to navigate conflict in participatory greening programmes.

Urban green spaces are an essential environmental feature of cities and their presence is positively associated with health outcomes and higher physical activity (PA). While previous studies highlight the importance of context for PA, longitudinal studies examining changes across life stages are currently lacking. This study will investigate how life-stage context ­ – before and after statutory retirement – are associated with PA among late middle-aged participants (n=124) from the Finnish Retirement and Aging Study. We will further examine whether greenness exposure, measured using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within activity spaces, impacted these associations. Activity spaces were outlined using the Individualized Residential Exposure Model (IREM), which estimates place exposure and its variation through the participant’s activity spaces. PA was measured using accelerometers, as expressed as light and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. For the statistical analysis, linear regression with Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) will be applied to account for intra-individual correlations which then will be adjusted for age, gender, occupational status, BMI, mobility limitations, residential rurality and season. To consider the impact of leisure time availability, we will compare PA and green exposure across three distinctive scenarios: before retirement during working days and days off and lastly during retirement days. Our study aims to highlight the importance of considering life-stage transitions, such as retirement, in studying the role and just distribution of urban green spaces in promoting health benefits. In our best knowledge, this is the first study to examine the associations between green exposure within activity spaces and PA across these specific contexts.

Access to urban green spaces has demonstrated positive effects on the health and well-being of adolescents. However, the increasing engagement in sedentary activities and after-school activities has reduced the time spent outdoors, limiting contact with these spaces. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that adolescents have access to high-quality green spaces near their homes to encourage their use and promote healthier habits.

This study aims to analyse possible associations between the availability of urban green spaces within a 300-meter buffer from homes and the frequency and duration of visits to these spaces by adolescents in six major Spanish cities. The methodology involves geocoding residential addresses and measuring the percentage of green spaces within 300-meter buffers. Using these data, we will assess how proximity to these green spaces influences adolescents' use of them.

Preliminary results suggest that proximity to green spaces is associated with increased frequency and duration of visits. Additionally, cities with a higher percentage of green spaces show greater use by adolescents. However, factors such as safety, maintenance of spaces, lifestyle, and socioeconomic characteristics also play a significant role in the use of these areas.

This study highlights the importance of proximity to green spaces in promoting healthy habits among adolescents and provides relevant evidence for urban planning, advocating for the creation of high-quality green spaces in urban areas.

This study is part of the European Union-Next Generation EU funded research on Urban green infrastructure, policies related to green spaces, and health outcomes, focusing on the relationships between green areas, public health, and climate change adaptation policies. The research addresses the question on how the characteristics and spatial organization of urban green areas can influence public health and climate resilience in medium-sized Italian cities. Combining insights from geography, urban planning, and public health, the study evaluates green spaces based on their accessibility, proximity, and quality, using cities in Tuscany and Lazio as case studies.

The theoretical framework integrates urban health and climate adaptation paradigms, emphasizing the co-benefits of green spaces in mitigating environmental exposures (e.g., improved air quality, reduced heat) and promoting well-being (e.g., increased physical activity, social cohesion). Methodologically, the research employs Geographic Information System (GIS) tools and indicators such as NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), LST (Land Surface Temperature), woodland coefficient, and soil sealing degree to map and classify green areas. Proximity and accessibility analyses leverage official and OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to identify disparities in green space distribution.

Moreover, this paper aims to investigate the characteristics of green areas in order to define their quality. The equitable distribution of green spaces - considering factors such as green vigor, accessibility, distance, proximity to urban settings, and green space per capita - is then analyzed, divided into three main categories: urban parks, agricultural areas, and forest areas.

Preliminary results reveal some inequalities in green space availability and quality across different urban contexts, with implications for public health outcomes. By highlighting these disparities, the study underscores the necessity of integrating green infrastructure policies with public health strategies. This approach aligns with the concept of “healing cities,” which prioritize citizen well-being while addressing climate challenges.

The findings provide actionable insights for urban planning, offering a pathway to enhance the role of the green areas and, more in general, of the nature for health, through strategic green infrastructure development.

This study aims to scientifically justify the identification of suitable urban properties for urban green infrastructure (UGI) interventions to optimize its natural regulating functions for long-term pollution mitigation and secondary dust reduction. This study adheres to the perception that planning urban transformations to improve ambient air quality (AQ) requires a thorough understanding of urban structural heterogeneity and its interrelationship with the local microclimate. We apply an approach in which UGI and its potential multifunctionality are explored as a structural–functional element of urban local climatic zones. The same (100 × 100 m) spatial framework is used to develop place-based adapted solutions for intervention in UGI. A complex geospatial analysis of Burgas City, the second largest city (by area) in Bulgaria, was conducted by integrating 12 indicators to reveal the spatial disbalance of AQ regulation’ demand and UGI’s potential to supply ecosystem services. A total of 174 municipally owned properties have been identified, of which 79 are of priority importance, including for transport landscaping, inner-quarter spaces, and social infrastructure. Indicators of population density and location of social facilities were applied with the highest weight in the process of prioritizing sites. The study relies on public data and information from the integrated city platform of Burgas, in cooperation with the city’s government. The results have been discussed with stakeholders and implemented by the Municipality of Burgas in immediate greening measures in support of an ongoing program for Burgas Municipality AQ improvement.

Adapting cities to climate change is bringing new trends in urban green planning. Cities adapting to climate change are realizing that urban ecosystems have a significant role in mitigating heat waves and reducing direct runoff during heavy rainfall events. The development of green urban infrastructure is not possible without the participation of residents. The emerging generation of young people, their perception of green spaces and their ideas about urban planning and their public spaces play a key role in the future development of climate-resilient and healthy cities. Based on a broad online survey, we investigated the visual preferences of young adults in the Czech Republic for green spaces in their settlements. The survey was based on questions about the selection of graphically presented urban environments, their public spaces, housing typologies, and street profiles. The aim was to assess the links between the current state and the ideal vision of the future environment of settlements. Part of the survey also reveals preferences for public space amenities (green or technical infrastructure elements) in the form of a participatory budget game. The identified visual preferences of the young generation (15–18 years old) should be understood as a potential ideal image that is influenced by specific factors associated with the general characteristics of Generation Z (or Alpha), such as their relationship to technology, ideas about employment, and their relationship to the environment and sustainability. Based on the research results, recommendations were made for local governments on how to communicate with the young age group, how to involve them in planning, and above all, what environment to create for their lives.

Urbanization, climate chance, and more extreme weather patterns have increased flood risk in recent years. Communities worldwide are facing more severe and frequent flood events due to intensified storms and rising sea levels. Coping capacities and adaptation are key factors in reducing vulnerabilities of the affected population, hence leading to risk reduction. In this context, risk communication and public awareness are critical, however, people are often not aware of their exposure to risk. People have differing risk perceptions and coping capacities based on socio-economic factors and experiences, and therefore, their perception needs to be included for adequate risk communication. In addition, in just risk communication, it is essential to be aware of digital and language barriers due to an ageing society and increased migration as well as available coping strategies based on previous experiences and local knowledge. Furthermore, green and blue infrastructure are important nature-based solutions (NBS) for consequences of climate change and the wellbeing of urban dwellers. Thus, NBS can adapt urban areas to storm water while providing co-benefits for citizens such as recreational areas and cooling effects. Similar to risks, the awareness of such NBS is essential so that citizens are willing to accept and even support them. Local knowledge is crucial in the planning of NBS and thus, a dialogue between citizens and planners is required.

The first research objective of our study is to define the characteristics of individual risk awareness in order to establish categories for personalized risk communication. The second focusses on developing a conceptual approach to evaluate the influence of flood risk awareness on the awareness of NBS and vice versa.

Methods comprise of an in-depth literature review and collaborative methods from transdisciplinary research to account for diverse cultures, policies, experiences, and socio-economic factors. Interviews and surveys complement these methods. The framework is tested and evaluated in a pilot study in a European urban area.

The expected outcomes will provide new insights for individualized risk communication and successful implementation of urban green and blue infrastructure as NBS.

Evidence for the health and social benefits generated through urban green and blue spaces is comprehensive. Numerous studies have found that visits to parks and natural spaces can help address policy priorities such as reducing obesity, diabetes and heart disease; support social integration and community engagement; and encourage connections with the natural world (Dobson et al., 2019). The Covid-19 pandemic underlined these benefits at a global scale, with multiple contemporary studies reporting the health and wellbeing benefits of access to green spaces in mitigating the impacts of pandemic-era restrictions (Ugolini et al., 2020; Venter et al., 2020; Xie et al., 2020).

However, there is little evidence that knowledge of these benefits has resulted in greater care for and investment in urban green spaces. In the UK green spaces have been starved of funding for more than a decade due to government austerity policies, and this is likely to continue. Drawing on a three-year longitudinal qualitative study focusing on eight urban locations in the UK, this paper examines the impact of an intervention which was designed to initiate systemic change in local and national policies to give urban green spaces a sustainable future. We outline the programme's achievements and limitations and reflect on the challenges of changing embedded systems so as to promote and share the benefits of green spaces more widely.

Engaging with recent thinking on the rights of nature (Stone, 2010, Talbot-Jones & Bennett, 2022), we therefore ask what voice natural spaces can have in policymaking; how that voice may be amplified to protect and enhance the health of urban green spaces and their users; and how entrenched systems may be changed to generate greater benefits for human and nonhuman species. In posing these questions we also consider the ontological and practical dilemmas raised when green spaces are considered as possessing agency and value.

The paper focuses on the relationship between climate and health by discussing how local communities approach sustainability, and what kind of communal solutions they can offer for the the most recent challenges of climate change. The research constitutes a part of a nation-wide research studying sustainable consumption involving a large number of interviews from different fields. In this research field, we focused on an inner district of Budapest, which can be characterized by fast and radical changes, increased gentrification, but at the same time, it is also home to a rising number of urban community projects aiming at the local, rapidly changing population. In our research we analyzed local community programs, which aimed at integration programs for the marginalized population. Within those programs, we focused on societal groups with various backroungs, such as Roma people, most particularly children and young people, the local elderly, and the specific segment of young mothers with small children.

The paper examines the attitudes and practies of these societal groups towards various segments of sustainability, such as climate change, food consumption, clothing, access to healthy food and home practices of energy consumption - and the role of community within those.

The main question is, what are the community solutions for the challenges of climate change and how can communal programs contribute to sustainable solutions on a local level in a quickly changing urban area with a great societal diversity? We aimed to examine how the societal groups with very different backgrounds approach problems of climate and sustainability, what it means for them, and whether and how communal programs can help them to co-operate. The research is based on about 40 qualitative interviews and ethnographic research.

This presentation explores the intersection of urban ecological transformation and children’s well-being through the lens of the Oasis Schoolyard program in Paris. Initiated in 2019, this program aims to depave and green schoolyards, addressing climate change adaptation, fostering biodiversity, and improving children’s quality of life in a dense urban environment.

With 70 hectares of asphalted schoolyards, Paris has a unique opportunity to create cooling islands that benefit children and local communities, particularly when these spaces are open to the public. Contact with nature provides well-documented benefits for children, including stress reduction, enhanced immune systems, cognitive development, decreased bullying, improved academic performance, and better social relationships. These considerations make children’s well-being the cornerstone of the Oasis program, facilitating the integration of vegetation and other living elements despite potential resistance from educational stakeholders.

This talk will focus on research conducted in partnership between the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle and the City of Paris. Drawing on data collected in 2024 and 2025, including vegetation inventories, interviews with urban designers, managers, and school staff, as well as observations of children’s interactions with vegetation, the study examines perceptions of greening efforts and the ways children engage with these new spaces. This presentation will focus on understanding which parameters play a role in the ecosystem services children can benefit from in green schoolyards. We will use interviews and observations carried out in a Parisian school environment to test the hypothesis of the role of the educational community in promoting these interactions, as well as the importance of plant diversity for children. This work brings together inventory data on the ecological quality of environments and how they are appropriated by children, in an interdisciplinary approach combining urban ecology and science.

The Oasis Schoolyard program also highlights Paris’s broader strategy of ecological transformation which extends beyond schoolyards to include streets, housing courtyards, and other urban areas. This talk will provide insights into how urban initiatives can successfully combine climate adaptation, biodiversity, and human well-being, using Paris as a living laboratory for sustainable urban development.

In the new geographical research, the concept of urban care involves the spaces, materialities, and subjects, of care. （Emma R. Power，Miriam J Williams, 2019）This is a striking departure from classical research of urban care. Based on these ideas, this article explains the multiple values of gardening in urban care through the practices of Beijing residents. Our research yielded four key and novel findings: (1) The involvement of Beijing residents in urban care through gardening is widespread, fostering a harmonious space where nature, humanity, and spirituality coexist. Nearly all participants exude generosity and vitality, both in body and mind. (2) The neglected corners and wild land spaces within the community were transformed, adding more natural areas to the urban landscape and enhancing livability for residents. (3) Urban care encompasses both material and spiritual dimensions. On the material side, it includes activities like planting food that can be readily consumed, while spiritually, it manifests in acts of mutual assistance, charity, giving, and interpersonal support, all contributing to the realization of self-worth. (4) The subject of care includes both individuals and the harmonious symbiosis between humans and non-human entities. This creates an experience of bringing the idyll of nature back home. This article explores the diverse values of gardening in urban care, highlighting its role in bridging the divide between humans and nature, as well as addressing the alienation of human nature in the context of postmodern. It emphasizes the value and creativity inherent in gardening as a means of urban care, as well as the positive correlation between urban environments and quality of life. It also explores the pathways for public participation and practice of gardening in urban care spaces. The issue under discussion is the impact of gardening, as a form of urban care, on urban planning, management, and services, as well as the challenges and difficulties it presents. In conclusion, while gardening may be considered a micro-system, it is omnipresent. Its prominent features—naturalness, physicality, interconnectedness, and well-being—enable it to play a unique role in urban care, particularly in the context of climate change.

Global heating is projected to threaten the livelihoods of billions of people within decades. Despite widespread expansion, renewable energies have not replaced fossil fuels but instead increased overall energy supply. Following a period of relative restraint, fossil capital is once again investing heavily in the renewal and expansion of fossil infrastructure. Executive boards of fossil fuel companies remain confident in the long-term profitability of these investments. Should stranded assets accumulate due to climate policies, the industry is poised to demand extensive compensation from governments and, therefore from the societies. For fossil fuel corporations, coal, oil, and gas reserves represent capital awaiting valorisation. Nearly all 700 major oil and gas companies continue to explore new reserves, while over 1,000 firms plan additional LNG terminals, pipelines, and gas-fired power plants.

This dynamic is reinforced by government policies in key capitalist states, creating what amounts to a fossil fuel backlash. The UN’s Production Gap Report forecasts increasing coal production until 2030 and rising oil and gas production until at least 2050 under current plans. Concurrently, the Emissions Gap Report predicts a global temperature increase of at least three degrees Celsius by 2100, casting doubt on the viability of a “green accumulation regime”.

Why has the socio-ecological transformation been blocked? This contribution examines the barriers on three interconnected economic levels: a) I analyze the investment strategies of leading oil and gas corporations, linking their profit expectations to the potential capital devaluation posed by a fossil fuel phase-out. b) I examine the role of institutional investors, who continue to place significant capital flows into the fossil sector. c) I highlight the structural persistence of fossil energy systems, driven by path dependencies in industrial infrastructure. Crucially, I argue that the social and political power dynamics in Europe and North America remain insufficient to enact consistent socio-ecological reforms and to overcome these barriers.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is increasingly featured in political strategies as a potential solution to mitigate industrial CO₂ emissions. In Germany, the national carbon management strategy positions CCS as a tool for decarbonizing industries and gas-fired power plants, aligning with climate neutrality goals by 2045. However, CCS’s energy intensity poses a significant challenge to the broader energy transition.

This study evaluates the energy demand of CCS in Germany in 2045, with a particular focus on its application in the power sector. Using a scenario-based model grounded in mixed-methods analysis, the research quantifies the energy implications of CCS under different deployment scenarios. Results reveal substantial variation in energy demand: from 9 TWh annually when CCS is strictly limited to the most unavoidable emissions using advanced technologies, to as much as 190 TWh in a business-as-usual scenario with extensive CCS deployment, including widespread use in power generation.

These findings highlight a critical tension between CCS and the energy transition. With a potential demand of up to 14% of Germany’s projected final energy consumption by 2045, extensive CCS usage could divert valuable renewable energy resources, delaying rapid decarbonization efforts. Consequently, CCS should not be treated as a backstop technology but as a complementary measure within a comprehensive and efficiency-oriented decarbonization strategy with particular attention to the spatial distribution of CO₂ sources, storage sites, and energy resources across Germany.

By analyzing the spatial, sectoral and systemic dynamics of CCS-related energy demand, this contribution scrutinizes the implications of relying on CCS as a cornerstone of climate policy. The findings challenge the assumption that technological fixes alone can drive a sustainable transition, emphasizing the need to confront structural contradictions in capitalist economies that prioritize growth over ecological limits. This critique offers valuable insights for policymakers and economic geographers addressing industrial transformation, resource allocation, and the tensions between economic imperatives and climate goals.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 reignited debates about Moscow's dominance in the global nuclear fuel market, prompting a range of fragmented securitization strategies across Europe and North America. Responses varied widely, from transitioning to non-Russian alternative suppliers and investing in domestic fuel production facilities to taking no action at all. These policies reflect parallels with past disruptions in gas exports, fueling concerns that the Kremlin might wield nuclear fuel trade as a tool of diplomatic coercion. But is this comparison justified? Are nuclear fuel markets politically comparable to fossil fuel markets, and could exporters exploit them coercively?

To address these questions, we examined the nuclear fuel supply of EU member states. Drawing on insights from critical geopolitics and critical security studies, we developed an analytical framework to identify the conditions under which nuclear fuel trade could be weaponized by exporting countries. Our study followed a two-step methodology. First, we conducted interviews with 11 key stakeholders in the nuclear supply chain from the UK, Sweden, and France to validate and refine our framework. Next, we applied this framework through 16 additional semi-structured interviews with political and administrative actors involved in policy formulation and by observing four international congresses on nuclear fuel supply.

Our findings indicate that, under current circumstances, the ability of exporters to weaponize nuclear fuel trade against Europe is limited but not negligible, presenting risks under specific conditions. First, diversification strategies have significantly reduced the vulnerability of most European countries to supply disruptions. Second, the physical and organizational flexibility of the enriched uranium trade constrains exporters’ leverage. Third, existing market overcapacity diminishes the potential threat. Finally, exporters’ lack of control over nuclear fuel transportation further restricts their ability to weaponize supply chains effectively.

The growing global demand for energy, coupled with increasingly stringent environmental regulations, has led to a significant rise in the utilization of wind power and a surge in the construction of wind energy facilities. The establishment of wind power plants is a multifaceted endeavor that spans several years and encompasses numerous tasks, including the planning and execution of various analyses. A critical component of this process is the wind estimation analysis, which assesses the wind potential at a specific site and evaluates the economic viability of the project.

This wind estimation process is intricate and involves multiple steps, with simulations based on meteorological and topographical factors such as altitude, surface roughness, and obstacles. These simulations can be conducted using various physical models, including the well-known linear BZ model utilized by the WAsP program, as well as the increasingly popular Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models. This study employs the WAsP program to analyze the existing wind power plant "Danilo," located near Šibenik, Croatia, in order to assess the impact of topographical parameters on wind estimation. The research primarily focuses on altitude data that closely represent the actual terrain surrounding the wind power plant. This data has been sourced from six different global Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), topographic maps at a scale of 1:25,000, and the Digital Elevation Model provided by the National Geodetic Administration of the Republic of Croatia. The contour lines derived from these sources have been categorized into four groups based on varying equidistances of 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 meters. Simulations were carried out within a radius of 5, 10, 15, and 20 kilometers around each turbine of the "Danilo" wind power plant. By testing various areas and altitude datasets, a total of 136 combinations were generated. The findings indicate that the estimated average power output is 12 to 15% lower than the actual power generation, depending on the altitude source used.

Large parts of the Ústí Region in the Czech Republic have long been affected by intensive opencast lignite mining. In some of the opencast quarries, mining has already ceased, and hydraulic reclamation has been used to restore parts of these former quarries - for example, the creation of the post-mining lakes Most, Milada and Matylda. In other parts of the region, intensive mining within other large quarries is just ending (CSA quarry) or is still ongoing (quarries: Nástup Tušimice, Vršany, Bílina), but under the influence of EU climate protection policies, coal mining is expected to end here as well. The end of mining is expected in 2033 or even in 2030 (depending especially on the prices of emission allowances). On the one hand, ambitious visions have arisen that a system of lakes connected to canals with hydroelectric power plants could be created within the quarries, thus could partly replace energy from coal mining. On the other hand, other studies have warned before that the current system of creating large post-mining lakes is outdated under climate change conditions because there is not enough water in the region. Previous experiences with the results of hydraulic reclamation have shown that technical forms of solutions can be problematic in terms of economic and environmental sustainability, because, for example, in the case of post-mining lakes Most or Matylda, it was and is necessary to regularly provide financially demanding replenishment of water levels from water sources outside the basin. In the case of some other quarries, such as CSA, the new development concept documents recommend the creation of an isolated lake that will be filled only with water from the basin, with the understanding that the situation may change - if an investor can be found who is willing to finance the construction of a pumped storage plant as well as the costly controlled filling of the lake to the target level from water sources outside the basin. Qualitative interviews with selected actors were conducted as part of the research activities and their opinions on various options for the future use of hydraulic reclamation in the Ústí Region were identified. The survey found that some actors prefer traditional hydraulic reclamation and expect large public investments from the state or the EU, while other actors are sceptical about the creation of large post-mining lakes under climate change conditions.

Energy regulation and energy strategies do not take into account the use of wind energy on settlement inner area, and building legislation on the municipal environment severely restricts such development.

Investors are understandably focusing on the areas with the best wind potential. To achieve maximum efficiency, both the size of individual turbines and the size of wind farms are constantly increasing. However, despite their undisputed role in the energy transition and in curbing global warming, these installations are increasingly carving out a slice of the natural and agricurtural environment. Clean energy production from wind will therefore lead to the development of new areas.

At the same time, the urban environment, already intensively used for multifunctionality, has significant renewable energy potential that is currently untapped. The exploitation of this wind potential does not necessarily require the construction of new facilities. With creative industrial and architectural design, existing buildings and landmarks can be used to generate energy. These objects, in addition to their current function, can also be used to harness kinetic energy generated naturally and by artificial landforms.

The research assesses the perceived or real reasons for this situation and shows the potential of wind energy for municipalities. Our investigations have included exploring the reasons behind restrictive legislation and verifying its relevance. The analysis attempts to demonstrate that wind energy generated in municipalities can contribute a significant share of local electricity demand. According to the methodology used, a site was selected from the elements of the municipal landscape that, in addition to its current function, is also suitable for wind energy production. This choice was made for light poles, which are existing objects, have low space requirements, reach a cleaner wind zone due to their height, and are available in large numbers. Among the turbines, vertical axis wind turbines were chosen, which are better adapted to the conditions of the urban environment, are suitable for small-scale wind power generation and can be installed in large numbers. The number of electricity poles installed in Hungarian cities, municipal wind data and factory production data of the selected turbines were used for the analysis.

This paper focuses on the Baltic countries and the broader Central and Eastern European (CEE) region, drawing on a literature review conducted for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship project Affective Vélomobilities of Care (VELOCARE). Beginning in February 2025, VELOCARE will explore the practice of co-cycling among women and their children in Tallinn. The project aims to:

1. Identify the factors that motivate or discourage women from cycling when performing care-related mobility tasks.
2. Examine historical factors—such as the legacy of "post-socialist" urban planning—that contribute to low cycling rates among women.
3. Investigate how co-cycling shapes affective relationships between mothers, their children, and the urban environment.

This presentation will concentrate on the first two objectives by reviewing previous research on gendered (vélo)mobilities of care in CEE countries and discussing preliminary findings from the VELOCARE project. It will hypothesize how planning and policy challenges have impeded women’s ability to cycle between workplaces, care institutions, and home. By mapping historical barriers to women’s care mobilities, this study seeks to propose solutions that promote a more sustainable work-care nexus—benefiting both the environment and individual caregiver-employees

This study examines the potential of applying gender-sensitive planning models in rural areas, where socio-spatial challenges intertwin with caregiving responsibilities. While feminist critiques of spatial planning have largely focused on urban contexts, rural areas present distinct issues that demand attention, making them a crucial focal point for advancing research on this topic.

Rural areas face challenges such as depopulation, demographic decline, limited access to basic services and infrastructure, and an ageing population, all of which amplify the role and impact of care on local communities and economies. While these challenges affect the entire population, they disproportionately impact women, especially those with caregiving responsibilities.

Women in rural areas face the double burden of disproportionate caregiving responsibilities, including the care of children, older people, those with disabilities, and dependent individuals, and work while contending with limited access to essential services, transportation, and infrastructure. These barriers heighten their physical, mental, and emotional strain, restricting their economic opportunities and contributing to their underrepresentation in the workforce. The lack of services and support systems drives many young women to migrate to urban areas in search of better opportunities, further fueling rural depopulation, ageing, and economic decline in rural areas.

To ground this research in concrete data and examples, the study is set within the framework of the Horizon Europe RURACTIVE project, which works with 12 rural study areas, called Dynamos, to co-develop innovative and inclusive solutions for rural development. This research will utilize the RURACTIVE Solutions Catalogue, a repository of community-led and innovative initiatives, to analyze projects focused on collective care, employability, local services for health and wellbeing, and work-life balance in rural contexts. By examining these solutions, the study aims to analyze the enabling factors that make these initiatives effective in addressing caregiving challenges while balancing paid work, promoting gender equality and social justice. The final goal is to investigate how solutions focusing on care as a regenerative principle, emphasizing interdependence and collective responsibility, can act as a catalyst for gender equality, spatial justice, and promote a just rural development process.

Industrial production in small and medium-sized towns in peripheral locations remains an important and distinctive feature of Central and Eastern Europe (OECD, 2023). Its economic base demands specific occupational profiles, resulting in narrow labour markets (Harfst et al., 2024), where women often find themselves in precarious employment situations. As part of the “group at risk of exclusion”, they are more likely to work part-time, occupy lower-paid positions (Iszkowska et al., 2021), and bear the burden of unpaid care work (Christensen et al., 2016). Additionally, patriarchal structures, which are particularly evident in industrial communities and the periphery, foster and reproduce these inequalities. Policies often fail to effectively address these issues due to the absence of dedicated employment strategies, insufficient vertical policy integration, and the lack of a comprehensive place-based approach.

This contribution aims to raise awareness about the specific challenges women face in industrial peripheral settings in CEE countries. It seeks to enhance understanding of a group that is typically underrepresented in academic debates on economic transformations, despite often being among the most affected. Additionally, a policy review will outline the current state of the policy landscape, its gaps, and shortcomings, while proposing potential solutions. These insights are based on a survey conducted among international project partners and expert interviews, drawing on preliminary results from the INTERREG Danube WIN project (Improving the Position of Women in the Labour Markets of Peripheral Industrial Regions), co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

OECD (2023). The Future of Rural Manufacturing. OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/499ed299-en

Christiansen, L. E., Lin, H., Pereira, J., Topalova, P., Turk Ariss, R., & Koeva, P. (2016). Unlocking female employment potential in Europe: Drivers and benefits. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/dp/2016/eur1601.pdf

Iszkowska, J., Kawecka, K., Lázár, J., Matécsa, M., Nawrocki, P., Novak, J., Róna, D., & Štverková, I. (2021). Win-win: How empowering women can benefit Central and Eastern Europe. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/europe/closing%20the%20gender%20gap%20in%20central%20and%20eastern%20europe/20210917_win%20win_cee%20wome n%20report_final.pdf

Harfst, J., Kozina, J., Sandriester, J., Tiran, J., Bole, D., & Pizzera, J. (2024). Problematization and policy responses to youth (out)migration in small and medium-sized industrial towns. European Planning Studies, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2024.2438964