Green Cities, Gray Realities: The Rhetoric of Sustainability and Urban Segregation

Objective: Critically analyze the concept of urban sustainability, highlighting how it has been instrumentalized by neoliberal logics that favor social exclusion. The study seeks to expose how sustainability has lost its transformative character and become a tool for marketing and real estate valuation, contributing to gentrification and urban segregation. Theoretical Framework: The research is based on authors such as David Harvey, Erik Swyngedouw, and Sharon Zukin, who discuss the commodification of urban space, green neoliberalism, and the alienation of the right to the city. Theories by Henri Lefebvre on the right to the city and Pierre Bourdieu on the dynamics of power in social space are also explored. Method: A methodological approach based on critical literature review and case analysis was adopted to understand how the discourse of sustainability has been appropriated by economic interests to legitimize urban inequalities. Results and Discussion: The study concludes that urban sustainability, when co-opted by neoliberal practices, reinforces the status quo, legitimizes the privatization of public space, and deepens inequalities. The so-called "green cities" are often showcases to attract investments and tourists, excluding vulnerable populations. To reclaim its critical potential, sustainability must be linked to a social justice agenda and resource redistribution. Research Implications: The findings point to the need to reorient urban sustainability policies to make them inclusive and promote equity. This includes questioning the power structures that generate inequalities and ensuring that the benefits of environmental policies are distributed among all urban inhabitants. Originality/Value: The research provides an original contribution by criticizing the instrumentalization of urban sustainability as a tool of exclusion and proposing a conceptual restructuring that integrates socio-environmental justice into the urban agenda.