From past, persisting, and consolidating ecologies of segregation to ecologies of repair

Abstract

Across the United States and Europe, urban and periurban spaces have historically been shaped by land dispossession and enclosure that systematically exclude marginalized, non-White communities from the benefits of society, including access to nature. These dynamics, which have played out and perdured over centuries as part of historic land dispossession and recent green racial capitalism, form the bedrock of contemporary urban segregation and socioecological inequalities. As a result, we see that minoritized and low-wealth groups continue to be deprived of ecological resources and suffer perturbations and loss in urban ecosystem functions and balances. This piece examines the complex relationship between segregation and urban ecologies, drawing on examples from the United States and Europe. We identify five concurrent pathways through which exclusionary land use results in unequal urban ecologies that undermine both social well-being and ecological health. In doing so, we explore how legacies of racial capitalism, colonialism, and segregation create ecologically unbalanced urban landscapes and ecosystems and entangle periurban and rural areas in unequal urbanization. We conclude by advocating for emancipatory and reparative planning practices that confront unequal ecologies and green racial capitalism. These integrate reparations, community-led solutions, equitable green infrastructure, and a radical rethinking of exclusionary socioecological systems.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2026 · DOI ↗