Abstract
Urban resilience planning increasingly aims to address social equity, yet marginalized communities often remain excluded from decision-making processes. This study examines how integrating marginalized voices can enhance equity in urban resilience planning, using a mixed-methods approach combining a systematic literature review, case study analysis of three cities (Cape Town, Medellín, and Rotterdam), and a participatory decision-making experiment with 120 community stakeholders. Results reveal that current planning frameworks frequently prioritize technical efficiency over inclusive participation, leading to maladaptive outcomes for vulnerable groups. The participatory experiment demonstrates that structured deliberation tools, such as equity audits and gamified decision support systems, significantly improve perceived fairness and representation (p < 0.01). However, barriers including institutional inertia, resource constraints, and white fragility persist. We propose an integrated framework—Equity-Centered Resilience Planning (ECRP)—that operationalizes inclusive decision-making through multi-criteria analysis, community-based monitoring, and adaptive governance. Findings underscore the necessity of embedding equity safeguards from the outset of planning cycles to avoid reinforcing existing inequalities.