Introduction

This special issue aims at a better understanding of the process of ecological gentrification, defined as new or intensified socio-spatial inequalities produced by urban greening agendas and environmental policies fostered at a local level. This phenomenon, extensively studied in the United States, is more recently becoming an important object of analysis in Europe as well. However, the research carried out in our continent, with few exceptions, is still patchy and there are many conceptual and methodological aspects that need to be clarified, especially in the light of the differences between North America and Europe. This special issue aims to fill this gap in the theoretical debate as well as in the empirical investigation, by combining case studies and literature review analysis, focusing on some contextual aspects that are helpful to understand how ecological gentrification has been developing in Europe. Two key issues are persistent in these analyses: the relevance of the effects of public policies and the territorial dimension of changes and challenges.