Abstract

This paper points to the importance of studying the intersection of sustainability planning, revitalization, and equity in urban spaces by applying Henri Lefebvre’s representation of space in a critique of the ongoing debate over "green gentrification" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In this paper, I examine how the city of Pittsburgh sustains that (1) gentrification is sustainable and just, (2) it will help better neighborhoods for local families and create better 'green' communities and (3) green gentrification along with greening of city spaces result in city-wide benefits for all citizens, not just White or affluent citizens. Through this rhetorical representation of space, the city of Pittsburgh defines the process and associated values of gentrification as desirable, unavoidable, and most importantly, a sustainable process with just outcomes for obtaining equality throughout all the city’s neighborhoods. Ultimately, the material reality of how the city of Pittsburgh is planning on creating a sustainably just city for all its citizens is hidden in its rhetorical sustainable discourses when surveyed utilizing Lefebvre’s theoretical production of space as a foundation.

Key words: Climate action planning, green gentrification, representations of space, sustainable, Pittsburgh