Urban regeneration in the light of social innovation: A systematic integrative literature review

Abstract

The growth of the urban population has generated unequal access to basic infrastructure and creates heterogeneous spaces in the urban fabric. In this sense, it is necessary to rethink the use of land with alternatives to promote the adequate use of these urban spaces. Urban regeneration (UR) is a construct aimed at studying the use of urban spaces, and social innovation seeks to develop innovative solutions to social problems. Thus, this article aims to analyze characteristics of social innovation that can contribute to urban regeneration. For that, an integrative systematic literature review was used, in the databases Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo, and Portal de Periódicos Capes. As a result, nine characteristics of social innovation stand out that contribute to urban regeneration projects to achieve more inclusive and sustainable results: networks, social relations, collaboration, social cohesion, satisfaction of human needs, improvements in quality of life, empowerment, sustainability, and scalability. The research contributes to broadening the discussion on urban regeneration with differentiated approaches, in addition to contributing to urban managers, society, cities, and organizations.