Showing papers in "Local Environment in 2013"

Understanding urban vulnerability, adaptation and resilience in the context of climate change

Abstract: This paper introduces a special issue of Local Environment that has arisen through collaboration between academic researchers and the Urban Planning and Design Branch of UN-Habitat, focused on how we can understand and respond to the challenges of urban vulnerability, adaptation and resilience in the context of climate change. The paper establishes the existing state of the art in the field, and considers critical challenges that are emerging in the research-based literature. In this context, it introduces UN-Habitat's Cities and Climate Change Initiative and reflects on the lessons learnt and challenges ahead, drawing on insights from across the papers in the special issue. In conclusion, it identifies the role of international/transnational co-operation, the relation between adaptation and mitigation, issues of multi-level governance and the ways in which change in urban socio-technical systems might be achieved as critical issues across the science/policy interface where increased dialogue and the co-p...

Social sustainability – society at the intersection of development and maintenance

Abstract: Since the late 1980s, much of the debate on sustainability has been dominated by ecological perspectives. However, the last decade has seen an increasing interest in the social aspects of sustainability. While, to some extent, general consensus has been reached regarding the definitions of ecological sustainability, the definition of social sustainability is still in the making. Therefore, there is a need for conceptual frameworks and theoretical constructs in order to develop the understanding of social sustainability further. This article addresses the lack of theorisation and is composed of three different sections. The first section is a literature overview covering some of the most influential texts on social sustainability. The second section introduces and relates a number of existing, polemically constructed theoretical frameworks. In the third section, Jacques Derrida's theory of differance is used to suggest a way of understanding the relationship between the oppositional positions identified in...

Constructing resilient, transformative communities through sustainable “food hubs”

Abstract: The papers in this special issue describe a research project in Ontario, Canada, that drew on the expertise and embedded connections of faculty/activists and student/activists within their “communi...

“The future lies in our hands”: children as researchers and environmental change agents in designing a child-friendly neighbourhood

Abstract: This paper reports on the Dapto dreaming project that was implemented in early 2011. Funded by Stockland, a large Australian urban developer, the project was a child-friendly research activity to support the building of a new urban development located in the outer suburbs of a large regional city in Australia. The urban developers provided a unique opportunity for children to have authentic input into the design of the urban development so that the development could incorporate the visions and experiences of the local neighbourhood children growing up in the area. Therefore, this was not a process of post-design consultation but a genuine participatory action research opportunity for children to be dreamers, designers and agents of change. The project was implemented through a series of child-focused participatory research workshops conducted with residents and children from Horsley, a neighbourhood in the suburban town of Dapto. This paper seeks to understand the relationship between the significant rich...

Exploring the role of children and young people as agents of change in sustainable community development

Abstract: In 2007, the Department for Children Schools and Families in the UK outlined the Sustainable Schools Strategy setting out an agenda for schools and environmental education. While many schools made advances in their provision of learning for sustainability, questions remained about the impact school-based Education for Sustainable Development could have in making communities more sustainable. A central question concerns the roles envisaged for children and youth and what forms of (transformative) learning are needed for children to become active agents in sustainable community development. Based on learning from an ESRC action research project exploring the role of schools in developing sustainable communities and drawing on international experience, this article presents a framework for discussing the roles children and young people might take as agents of change in sustainable community development. The article concludes by discussing the implications for cultures of learning in schools.

Seeking Indigenous food sovereignty: origins of and responses to the food crisis in northern Manitoba, Canada

Abstract: A food crisis confronts many Indigenous communities in northwestern Canada, as reflected by wide-scale food insecurity and diet-related disease. South-generated responses to this crisis generally disregard principles of Indigenous food sovereignty and are disengaged from concerns related to environmental and food justice. This study seeks to explore the needs and priorities of a First Nation (Misipawistik Cree Nation) and an associated Metis community (Grand Rapids) regarding existing and potential responses to the food crisis in northern Manitoba. Substantial changes to the traditional food system were initiated during the establishment of the reserve system in the 1800s and now extend to damage associated with hydro development. Responses to these changes were categorised according to themes and include the revival of country food traditions, individual and community gardens, agriculture in the North, and better quality imported foods. Regardless of response, decision-making needs to be community-driven...

Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail? Examining the “green” of Green Infrastructure development

Abstract: The rapid development of Green Infrastructure as an approach to planning has enabled landscape practitioners to implement a range of projects utilising its principles. Discussions though exist examining what Green Infrastructure is, how it should be planned, and whether it can be identified as only those elements of the landscape that are green. A further element of this argument examines the use of water within this process. Therefore, as planners, we can ask: can we tell a green field from a cold steel rail? Both may have a green or sustainable function with only the visual appearance differing. Debates, however, focus on practitioner selectivity of the interpretation of “green” infrastructure planning exploring whether physical landscape characteristics or the function of an investment is the main focus of discussion. Using the grey–green continuum developed by Davies et al. [2006. Green infrastructure planning guide project: Final report. Annfield Plain: NECF], this paper examines whether geographical...

New approaches to energy: equity, justice and vulnerability. Introduction to the special issue

Abstract: Energy is currently high on political agendas around the world, due to concerns over security of supply, rising prices and climate change. At the same time, the global financial crisis means that m...

Multi-level coordination of climate change adaptation: by national hierarchical steering or by regional network governance?

Abstract: The institutional structure and public service delivery apparatus required to meet the future effects of climate change already exist in Norway. However, there are huge challenges in coordinating these institutions at different authority levels for climate change adaptation purposes. Based upon a broad case study, this article presents how local actors consider the multi-level coordination of different levels of government and policy sectors to function today, which are the mechanisms that are used and what are the coordination challenges that are identified. Based upon the challenges revealed, this article discusses how best can the government-level institutions be organised for better goal attainment. We argue here that the elected regional level in Norway – the counties – has a huge potential to act as a multi-level coordination actor.

Status, stigma and energy practices in the home

Abstract: Domestic energy practices are a topical policy issue, with implications for climate change, energy security and fuel poverty. Accordingly, a growing body of literature examines ways of promoting energy conservation and generation by individuals. However, there has been relatively little discussion of how status and stigma are implicated in these practices, and may act as facilitators or barriers to “behaviour change”. To help address this gap, this article draws both on existing literature and a new UK-based study of people who are attempting to live sustainable lives, to provide insights into how domestic energy practices may be status-enhancing or stigmatising, and how these risks and opportunities can be managed. While energy practices are often understood as “inconspicuous”, it is argued here that in some circumstances individuals may actively manage the visibility of their energy practices. The discussion considers these findings with regard to social power relations, and identifies issues warranting...

Energy justice and ethical consumption: comparison, synthesis and lesson drawing

Abstract: This paper takes a first step in comparing and synthesising the emerging concept of energy justice with extant ethical consumption literatures as two complementary theoretical approaches to ethics and consumption To date, theories of ethical consumption and energy justice remain somewhat disconnected, so while they have some areas of potential comparability, these have not yet been fleshed out or developed To address this lacuna, this paper explores areas where research into ethical consumption might be useful for furthering concepts of energy justice More specifically the discussion draws on the philosophical foundations, the relationship between consumption and development, and the role of transparency and visibility in reconnecting consumption and production practices as the main areas of overlap in these literatures The conclusion points to some lessons for emerging energy justice literatures that can be drawn from this task of comparison and synthesis

Opening up the “local” to analysis: exploring the spatiality of UK urban decentralised energy initiatives

Abstract: Debates surrounding the decarbonisation of energy systems in developed societies have been overlaid with controversy about the merits of decentralised or “community” energy. These are ambiguous concepts, implicating energy generation or demand reduction activities carried out in buildings or across neighbourhood or urban areas, as well as social and political aspects such as trust and communitarian relations amongst participating actors. This research was based on the criticism that most existing advocacy for, and research into decentralised energy (DE) has neglected the spatiality of such initiatives. In particular, the concept of “local” has been largely presumed to be self-evident and unproblematic. Drawing on the analysis of primary and secondary data from nine UK case studies, this study reveals the different degrees to which DE initiatives are locally embedded, dependent upon the sector of the instigating actors. Findings also reveal the multi-dimensionality of discourses of DE, going beyond purely ...

Complexity and food hubs: five case studies from Northern Ontario

Abstract: This paper reports findings from the Northern region of a province-wide initiative aimed at better understanding local food hubs in communities throughout the province of Ontario. Drawing on case studies of five key hubs in the emerging Northern local food system, we explore from the theoretical framework of complex adaptive systems theory the emergence and development of each hub as they collectively give shape to a regional local food system. This analysis focuses on the four phases of the adaptive cycle which describes the typical developmental sequence of complex systems and reveals how they emerge, self-organise, adapt to change and harness innovation for new cycles of growth within the shadow of the dominant food system.

Community knowledge networks: an action-orientated approach to energy research

Abstract: The Climate Change Act 2008 commits the UK to reducing carbon emissions by 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. With household emissions constituting more than a quarter of current total energy use in the UK, energy practices in the home have taken on increased policy attention. In this paper, we argue that the UK government's approach is founded upon a variant of methodological individualism that assumes that providing greater energy information to individuals will effect behaviour change in relation to energy use. Such an approach is potentially limited in its effectiveness and does not afford appropriate recognition to all those affected by energy policy. In contrast to this approach, we set out an alternative perspective, a community knowledge networks approach to energy and justice which recognises the contexts and relationships in which people live and use energy. Such an approach emphasises situated knowledge and practices in order to gain a greater understanding of how individuals and communities use energ...

A picture of change: Using photovoice to explore social and environmental change in coastal communities on the Andaman Coast of Thailand

Abstract: Coastal communities experience a wide array of environmental and social changes to which they must constantly adapt. Further, a community's perception of change and risk has significant implications for a community's willingness and ability to adapt to both current and future changes. As part of a larger study focusing on the adaptive capacity of communities on the Andaman Coast of Thailand, we used Photovoice to open a dialogue with communities about changes in the marine environment and in coastal communities. This article presents the results of two exploratory Photovoice processes and discusses prospects for using the Photovoice method for exploring social and environmental change. Changes examined included a number of broader environmental and social trends as well as ecological specifics and social particularities in each site. Participants also explored the social implications of environmental changes, the impacts of macro-scale processes on local outcomes, and emotive and active responses of indiv...

Replacing neoliberalism: Theoretical implications of the rise of local food movements

Abstract: The papers in this special issue mark an important stage in the now vibrant development of scholarship relating to alternative food initiatives and movements around the world. These papers particul...

Work, education and out-migration among children and youth in upland Asia: changing patterns of labour and ecological knowledge in an era of globalisation

Abstract: In the context of ecological and economic change, this paper identifies the impact of ongoing transformations in young people's labour contribution in four natural resource-dependent regions in India, Vietnam and China. Children's work is important to maximise household labour productivity, while also endowing them with the ecological knowledge necessary to sustain key productive livelihood activities. However, today, an increased emphasis on education and the out-migration of youth is reducing their labour contribution, particularly in the more economically developed case study communities in Northern Vietnam and China. While selective in its extent, these changes have increased the labour burden of older household members and women, while the economic opportunities young people aspire to following schooling or migration frequently prove elusive in a competitive liberalised economy. Another implication of young people diverting their labour and learning away from traditional natural resource-based liveli...

Parallel alternatives: Chinese-Canadian farmers and the Metro Vancouver local food movement

Abstract: This article explores how food system localisation efforts in Metro Vancouver, Canada, intersect with tensions in the global agri-food system, including racial inequalities. Drawing on archival research, participant observation of local food marketing and policy-making, and interviews with local food movement participants, policy-makers, and Chinese-Canadian farmers, we explore factors that have influenced the emergence of a food system comprised of at least two parallel food networks, both of which challenge dominant modes of food production and distribution. An older network consists of roadside stores and greengrocers supplied by Chinese-Canadian farmers. A newer, rapidly expanding network includes farmers' markets and other institutions publicly supported by the local food movement. Both networks are “local” in that they link producers, consumers, and places; however, these networks have few points of intentional connection and collaboration. We conclude by considering some of the subtle and surprisin...

Barriers to the local food movement: Ontario's community food projects and the capacity for convergence

Abstract: This article presents results from a survey of community food projects, and explores the relationships between organisational type, rationales and the barriers that prevent each from increasing the scale of their operations. Organisations were divided according to their primary rationale (e.g. rural economic development and distribution), and then subdivided – by form – as a non-profit, private business, governmental agency or cooperative. Data from the interviews and surveys were coded using a qualitative grounded theory approach, to reveal the barriers experienced by each. Overall, access to long-term stable income is a recurrent theme across all types of projects, but income sources dramatically change how these organisations prioritise barriers. Similarly, the organisation's primary rationale and experiences influence the interpretation and approach to collaboration and education. Despite these differences, our results suggest a large degree of convergence that cuts across organisational forms and rat...

Sustainability through intervention: a case study of guerrilla gardening in Kingston, Ontario

Abstract: The purpose of our paper is to provide an in-depth look at guerrilla gardening as an example of sustainability in action. Through participatory action research methods that triangulate content analysis, 16 semi-structured interviews and researcher logs, two case studies were developed. The first was of Dig Kingston, a guerrilla gardening project and the second of the Oak Street Community Garden, both located in Kingston Ontario. The focus of the research was on guerrilla gardening, while the community gardening case was used for contrast and to deepen our analysis. Key themes that emerged from our case research included expression, intervention and spatial manipulation. Our main findings present a deeper understanding of guerrilla gardening as well as an analysis on the relationship between space and sustainability. In particular our paper lays the groundwork for how interventions, like guerrilla gardening, open up unexpected and non-normative possibilities for conceptualising sustainability. These themes...

“Unwritten, unsaid, just known”: the role of Indigenous knowledge(s) in water planning in Australia

Abstract: Water planning processes in Australia have struggled to account for Indigenous interests and rights in water, including the use of Indigenous knowledge in water management. In exploring the role of Indigenous knowledge in government-led water planning processes, how might tensions between Western scientific and Indigenous knowledges be lessened? Drawing on two case studies from northern Australia we examine how Indigenous knowledge is represented and managed as a different social knowledge to that of Western science in a management context where legal and planning conventions assume priority. The role of Indigenous (social) knowledges in developing options and strategies for sustainable water management is contingent upon the participation of Indigenous people in water planning. We suggest that water planning processes must contain the possibility of an explicit approach to mutual recognition and consequent translation of the conceptual and pragmatic bases of water management and planning in both Western ...

Legitimacy for climate policy: politics and participation in the Green City of Freiburg

Abstract: Cities are crucial to mitigating climate change and can serve as sites for innovations, providing examples of ways to conduct effective politics in transport, energy and land-use. What does it take to become a model for climate politics? This article argues that a few innovative measures will not suffice. A common vision based on broad legitimacy is crucial to achieving this position. Using a theoretical framework on input and output legitimacy with the City of Freiburg as the case, this article explores the political dimensions of the climate innovative city. The study shows that a specific kind of “green conservative” politics and a consensual view on climate issues across parties have been very important to creating political legitimacy. This has been supported by extraordinary and extensive citizen engagement in combination with the actual output, i.e. what environmental policies have delivered. The legitimacy for the Green City model also means that Freiburg is viewed as a highly livable city, in tur...

Governing climate change for a just city: challenges and lessons from Maputo, Mozambique

Abstract: As new forms of governance for climate change emerge in African cities, will they enable emancipatory and socially progressive transformations or will they exacerbate existing inequality, poverty and vulnerability patterns? This paper presents one of the case studies developed by UN-Habitat Cities and Climate Change Initiative in Maputo, Mozambique. The case analyses first, the production of urban vulnerabilities under climate change, and second, the existing governance arrangements for climate change in the city. Building on the lessons of the case study, the paper argues that to ensure that new forms of climate change governance lead to socially and environmentally just outcomes climate change interventions should, at least, meet two conditions: first, they should consider the close interactions between social and ecological elements and, specially, how patterns of urban inequality interact with environmental factors; second, they should recognise the opportunities in African cities through a broad noti...

Field of dreams: just food's proposal to create a community food and sustainable agriculture hub in Ottawa, Ontario

Abstract: As groups within civil society seek to advance discursive constructs of food security, social justice and sustainability through concrete, on-the-ground projects, they challenge the economic, social and ecological status quo. This paper will evaluate Just Food's proposal to create a Community Food and Sustainable Agriculture Hub in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, through the lens of Gibson-Graham's alternative/community economy and politics of possibility, and will argue that Just Food cultivates the emergence of new social and economic relations, even as their activities are constrained by and interwoven with neoliberal market logic. The introduction will provide the substantive context, methodological and conceptual approach. It is followed by an outline of the case study that will establish the conditions within which this project proposal emerged, and detail some of the challenges that have been overcome to date. The conclusion will demonstrate the food hub's alignment with Gibson-Graham's concepts of altern...

Local Food Plus: the connective tissue in local/sustainable supply chain development

Abstract: Local Food Plus (LFP) is a non-governmental organisation that blurs the lines between traditional community and private sector functions by creating space for buyers and sellers to meet; building trust among diverse food-system actors; and creating new markets for goods. This article uses a participatory action research method to explore these functions in detail. The first section examines how LFP has both emerged from a community of food practice and in turn become a pivot in creating new communities of practice within values-based food chains. The second section identifies and analyses the diversity of tools that have proven essential to LFP's model. The third section examines how LFP has contributed to alternative norm construction by balancing various conventions. Finally, the fourth section explains LFP's engagement with the state and other “strange bedfellows” to advance change, to ultimately comment on LFP's role in fostering food hub development.

Street food and vibrant urban spaces: lessons from Portland, Oregon

Abstract: Across North America, street vending of snacks and small meals is growing in popularity, coinciding with a rising interest in local food systems and mixed-use planning in urban neighbourhoods. However, many cities have little or no urban street food due to historically strict bylaws, and in some centres, the move to relax the prohibition on street foods has been difficult. This paper examines the theoretical discourse surrounding street food and presents a case study of the city of Portland, Oregon, which is seen as a leader in the area of allowing a vibrant street food culture to develop. This study found that Portland's success is a product of both progressive municipal bylaws and intrinsic spatial and social qualities of the urban landscape. Lessons for cities trying to encourage a street food industry are discussed.

The historical–geographical construction of power: electricity in Eastern North Carolina

Abstract: This paper examines the production of the uneven landscape of electricity in Eastern North Carolina using a historical geographical materialist approach. In particular, it traces the development of infrastructures designed for both the mass generation and consumption of electricity using archival sources that include oral histories, newspaper reports, and corporate documents. The electric utilities and related infrastructure that have emerged are an important contributor to the energy poverty and uneven economic development that plagues the region. I argue that exploring the historical–geographical construction of electricity in this way brings forward a number of considerations for conceptions of energy poverty and energy justice.

Gendering local climate adaptation

Abstract: Empirical evidence suggests that climate change will hit women disproportionately hard. Lack of political power, small economic resources, gender-bound patterns in the division of labour, entrenche ...

Community energy plans in Canadian cities: success and barriers in implementation

Abstract: Climate change and sustainable development concerns have motivated some municipalities in Canada to develop community energy plans, which focus on energy needs at the local level for the development of efficient, economical and environmental energy systems. Five Canadian cities that were early adopters of community energy planning principles were studied to assess whether implementation has occurred and what barriers have been experienced. The cities achieved success in the implementation of energy management in municipal operations despite barriers in jurisdiction, perception of cost, communication and capacity, but energy management in the community had not been fully implemented and long-term changes were not prevalent. While reductions were made in the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by municipal operations, the community's overall GHG emissions were not significantly reduced. Long-term impacts on a city's function and growth will be key if community energy planning is to significantly impact ...

Waxing ledges: built environments, alternative sustainability, and the Chicago skateboarding scene

Abstract: Young people appropriate and redefine built environments through their everyday playful practices. Among a widening spectrum of young city dwellers, skateboarders transform urban spaces by exploring terrains and performing unforeseen uses. These urban explorations ascribe new meanings and pleasures to otherwise mundane built forms. Waxing ledges is a ubiquitous practice among skateboarders that signals creative appropriation through the application of wax on rough surfaces. The smoothening of ledges enables speed and exhilaration, while the traces engraved on the urban landscape communicate to other skateboarders a pleasurable space. This article chronicles the emergence of an alternative ethic of care for built environments through the urban practice of skateboarding. It focuses on the Chicago skateboarding scene and draws from data gathered through ethnographic fieldwork during 2009–2010. Skateboarders' ethic of care for built environments is further developed in this article through the coupling of ska...