Planning for Just Cities with Nature-Based Solutions: Sustainability and Socio-Environmental Inequalities in San José de Chamanga, Ecuador

Abstract

Self-constructed cities refer to impoverished neighborhoods that suffer from inadequate housing. Such cities are the result of individual or communal initiatives that must self-construct their neighborhoods. Most of the self-constructed cities are located near endangered bioregions on the Earth, and their continued growth will inevitably aggravate the human impact on our planet. Dwellers in these areas tackle threats such as poverty, environmental degradation, and disaster vulnerability. The lack of knowledge in planning self-constructed cities causes conditions of injustice. However, appropriate management of the existing natural capital of the surrounding areas of such cities can address the mentioned challenges and the conditions for justice. This paper aims to evaluate the role of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in planning procedures, to create conditions of fairness and equity in self-constructed cities. The paper focused on the linkage between the application of NBS and four principles of justice: distributive justice, restorative justice, spatial justice, and interactional justice. Considering data from a review of the literature, scrutiny of past planning and policy measures and a field study with interviews with stakeholders, the empirical result of our study delineates important strategic implications of Nature-Based Solutions for sustainable planning in the case study of San José de Chamanga, Ecuador. It was demonstrated how small-scale, natural-based interventions, instead of broader actions based on a pure engineering perspective, are economically and ecologically profitable, with a positive impact on local communities’ well-being and social cohesion.

Mangrove Health: A Review of Functions, Threats, and Challenges Associated with Mangrove Management Practices

“…If there are poorly defined property rights, there is a possibility of uncontrolled exploitation [290]. The unrestrained exploitation of mangroves can damage the ecosystem and decrease the provision of mangrove services [291], which also increases the risk of poverty prevalence in the region [292]. Therefore, it is necessary to educate people, especially those who are residing near coastal areas and are directly dependent on mangrove goods and services [293], to put in place measures to prevent opportunists from elsewhere from unsustainably exploiting the ecosystem.…”

Architectural Heritage and Archetypal Landscape Approaches Facing Environmental Hazards

“…[15] provided an overview of nature-based solutions (NBS), representing the basis for an inventory in the field. More methodological examples are given by [16][17][18]. As [1] observes, there is not much literature dealing with social aspects and even less dealing with costs.…”