James Duminy (Moderator) from South Africa, 4 May 2012
Equity versus equality?
Debates in policy and governance studies have often contrasted the ideas of ‘equality’ and ‘equity’. Equality is usually taken to mean that everyone should be treated the same (due to the fundamental equality of all persons), whereas an equity approach holds that groups and individuals should be treated according to their particular circumstances and requirements. Equity recognizes that some people have to overcome obstacles to access resources or opportunities. Therefore, groups can be treated differently in the application of policy or the law, so as to compensate for these obstacles, and to produce just or fair outcomes.
Which concept is a better starting point for thinking about cities and distributive policy?
Make your choice!
Channe Oguzhan, 7 May 2012I understand equity as a general term used in development economics to refer more broadly to the fair distribution of opportunities, outcomes and impacts (as opposed to approaches that focus only on economic growth, or "market freedom", etc.) and it therefore appears a good place to start when thinking in pragmatic terms about cities and economic distributive/re-distributive policy.
It is, however, important not to utilize the concept of equity in lieu of equality, one of the fundamental principles upon which the UN rests. The precise and legal concepts of equality and of non-discrimination (and other related human rights principles) must remain part of the underlying assumptions of distributive/re-distributive policies for any UN Member States who have signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights treaties.
I attach to this post the summary version of the Human Development Report 2011 entitled "Sustainability and Equity. A better future for All". The report argues, inter alia, that "many debates about sustainability neglect equality, treating it as a separate and unrelated concern. This perspective is incomplete and counterproductive". In the context of environmental sustainability, the report argues that "[in] many instances there will be trade-offs. Measures to improve the environment can have adverse effects on equity - for example, if they constrain economic growth in developing
countries".
I am interested to hear experiences of whether this hold true in the context of urban sustainability, too?
Frida Abilla from Kenya, 15 May 2012I am glad that this topic came up. I agree with both definitions and while I think both are important concepts with regards to equity and prosperity of cities, I think that while it is important to treat all people equally, it is not possible to have an equal society due to certain factors. However, I think that equity is important as I take equity to mean that all people should be provided with the same opportunities, it is up to that person to make the most of it. Thus the need for social, political, cultural and economic equity.
Professor KK Pandey, 14 August 2012Equity leads to action whereas equality is a cocept .In a way both are two sides of same coin.equality is also a chance to exist and act whereas equity is linked with a need to bridge the gap upto a minimum desirable level.