Mobilizing knowledge about urban change for equity and sustainability: developing 'Change Stories', a multi-country...

Area of Science:

• Global Health Research
• Urban Development Studies
• Social Equity in Research

Background:

• Growing support for multi-country research partnerships in global health, urban development, and equity.
• Need to integrate diverse knowledge and data while addressing coloniality, power imbalances, and epistemic injustices.
• Research focused on developing a transdisciplinary study proposal with embedded equity in methodology and funding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a transdisciplinary study proposal for multi-country research on health, urban development, and equity.
• To embed principles of equity into the research methodology and funding model.
• To address challenges of coloniality within international research collaborations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized participatory and social research methods alongside literature review.
• Conducted semi-structured interviews with sustainable urban development experts (n=23 in USA).
• Co-developed research approach with a global advisory group (n=14) and held a participatory workshop (n=30).

Main Results:

• Identified a need to study urban transformation preconditions and the influence of coloniality.
• Highlighted the failure of standard development practices to meet diverse resident and planetary needs.
• Found decolonial and storytelling methods effective for illustrating urban transformation complexities and marginalized populations' roles.

Conclusions:

• Developing equitable multi-country research collaborations offers significant benefits.
• Fostered new partnerships and co-developed research approaches, enhancing understanding of diverse perspectives.
• Increased research impact potential by addressing specific informational needs of U.S. sustainable development actors.