Sustainable Development Goals

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Economics of natural resources and the environment

Sustainability assessment is being increasingly viewed as an important tool to aid in the shift towards sustainability. However, this is a new and evolving concept and there remain very few examples of effective sustainability assessment processes implemented anywhere in the world. Sustainability assessment is often described as a process by which the implications of an initiative on sustainability are evaluated, where the initiative can be a proposed or existing policy, plan, programme, project, piece of legislation, or a current practice or activity. However, this generic definition covers a broad range of different processes, many of which have been described in the literature as 'sustainability assessment'. This article seeks to provide some clarification by reflecting on the different approaches described in the literature as being forms of sustainability assessment, and evaluating them in terms of their potential contributions to sustainability. Many of these are actually examples of 'integrated assessment', derived from environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA), but which have been extended to incorporate social and economic considerations as well as environmental ones, reflecting a 'triple bottom line' (TBL) approach to sustainability. These integrated assessment processes typically either seek to minimise 'unsustainability', or to achieve TBL objectives. Both aims may, or may not, result in sustainable practice. We present an alternative conception of sustainability assessment, with the more ambitious aim of seeking to determine whether or not an initiative is actually sustainable. We term such processes 'assessment for sustainability'. 'Assessment for sustainability' firstly requires that the concept of sustainability be well-defined. The article compares TBL approaches and principles-based approaches to developing such sustainability criteria, concluding that the latter are more appropriate, since they avoid many of the inherent limitations of the triple-bottom-line as a conception of sustainability.

Conceptualising sustainability assessment

The modern compact city is identified as a high-density and mixed-use pattern. Its features are believed to contribute to a form of functional urban design that supports sustainability and, restresses, the importance of ecosystem services. Urban green space (UGS) plays a vital role in the design and impact on how compact cities have developed and triggered a scientific discord on the amount of greenery individuals require and to what extent contemporary approaches address the question. Research points to at least 9 m2 of green space per individual with an ideal UGS value of 50 m2 per capita. An examination on the perception, use, quality, accessibility and health risks of urban green and blue spaces is explored, alongside the availability of novel UGS and greenery-related approaches that investigate compact city design and planning for health and wellbeing. The amount of ‘green’ and relating UGS availability in cities indicates vital knowledge modern compact cities must consider.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/10/2180/pdf

Modern Compact Cities: How Much Greenery Do We Need?

The crisis of professional knowledge and the pursuit of an epistemology of practice

The Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management represents an ambitious attempt to bring together a vast array of scholarship from potentially disparate fields, but also to begin to construct the fou...

The Oxford handbook of megaproject management

This paper explores how health aspects connected with the planning of urban green space are currently supported through two types of impact assessments: health impact assessment (HIA) and environme...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14615517.2017.1364021

Consideration of urban green space in impact assessments for health

In this paper we briefly review the state of academic research in the UK in the field of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Through consideration of the number of articles related to EIA and SEA published in academic journals and the contribution of post-graduate students' (PhD and master level) dissertation theses we aim to understand where activity has occurred in the field over recent decades. Simple literature and database searches reveal that the UK is an active environment for researchers and students in the field with numerous universities engaged in research and teaching (although not always both activities). However, we have also collected evidence to suggest that research funding is lacking and that there is variation over time in the number and scale of research projects being funded in the UK.

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Environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment research in the uk

The impact of flood events in the UK has drawn attention to limitations associated with traditional flood defence regimes. In recognition of this there has been a significant level of advocacy for a systems based approach which assumes a greater role for spatial planning. This paper considers the extent to which strategic assessment contributes toward the consideration of flooding within spatial planning. The paper draws on four cases from England and Scotland. Specific attention is given to the nature of flood management approaches considered in assessment and the recommendations presented. The research indicates that assessment practice is dominated by probabilistic calculations of flood risk and typically replicates national policy and guidance on flood management. It is argued that there exists potential for assessment to foster more nuanced and tailored consideration of flood management by including multiple perspectives, such as management of the whole system, risk and vulnerability, resilience and adaptation.

/pdf/flood-management-consideration-in-sustainability-appraisal-33cj0ugg6t.pdf

Flood management consideration in sustainability appraisal and strategic environmental assessment in England and Scotland

Contributing to sustainable development is commonly noted as an overall goal for both Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Over a decade ago, EU Directive 2001/42/EC (SEA Directive) reinforced the need for strategic assessment of plans and programmes in the UK. However, the SEA Directive does not stipulate the methodological approach and, as environmental matters are devolved to the individual nations of the UK, implementation is varied. This research considers strategic assessment processes in England and Scotland and the implications of system variation upon the contribution made to sustainable development. Attention is paid to the purposes expressed for strategic assessment, the roles and relationships between actors and organisations involved and also the processes, practices and outcomes of SA and SEA. Two case studies of SA in England and two of SEA in Scotland as applied to development plans are analysed. A range of purposes for both SA and SEA are identified, including; regulatory compliance, identifying and documenting impacts, considering options and alternatives, allowing consultation, and informing and influencing plans. This research concludes that there exists variation between cases in the ambition held for strategic assessment, ranging from basic compliance to influencing plans. This research then focuses on the relationships between actors and organisations involved in SA and SEA with particular attention given to the role of assessment practitioners, planners and consultees. It is found that independence or ?distance?, to provide legitimacy, and ?closeness?, to enable influence, are both considered desirable features of the relationship between planning and assessment. In addition, overlap between consultation on both plans and assessment reports adds complexity to the role of consultees.Finally, this research concludes that strategic assessment influence is largely limited to marginal modifications to policy wording and explanatory text, including; strengthening language, increasing clarity, cross referencing to other policies and plans, and requiring lower tier assessments. Thus, strategic assessment fails to achieve more substantial influence, significantly limiting its ability to contribute to sustainability transition in development planning. A number of institutional barriers to increasing strategic assessment influence and contribution to sustainable development or sustainability are identified.

Samuel Hayes

Papers

The Oxford handbook of megaproject management

Consideration of urban green space in impact assessments for health

Environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment research in the uk

Flood management consideration in sustainability appraisal and strategic environmental assessment in England and Scotland

Strategic assessment in England and Scotland : analysing the contribution to sustainability