scholarly journals Bhutan: Can the 1.5 °C Agenda Be Integrated with Growth in Wealth and Happiness?

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorji Yangka ◽  
Peter Newman
Keyword(s):  
Urban Policy ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Hydro Power ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Zero Carbon ◽  
Carbon Neutral ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
Business As Usual

Bhutan is a tiny kingdom nested in the fragile ecosystem of the eastern Himalayan range, with urbanisation striding at a rapid rate. To the global community, Bhutan is known for its Gross National Happiness (GNH), which in many ways is an expression of the Sustainable Development concept. Bhutan is less known for its policy of being carbon neutral, which has been in place since the 15th session of the Conference of Parties meeting in 2009 and was reiterated in their Nationally Determined Contribution with the Paris Agreement. Bhutan achieves its carbon neutral status through its hydro power and forest cover. Like most emerging countries, Bhutan wants to increase its wealth and become a middle income country by 2020, as well as increase its GNH. This article looks at the planning options to integrate the three core national goals of GNH, economic growth (GDP) and greenhouse gas (GHG). We investigate whether Bhutan can contribute to the 1.5 °C agenda through its ‘zero carbon commitment’ as well as growing in GDP and improving GNH. Using the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning model, this article shows that carbon neutral status would be broken by 2037 or 2044 under a high GDP economic outlook, as well as a business as usual scenario. National and urban policy interventions are thus required to maintain carbon neutral status. Key areas of transport and industry are examined under two alternative scenarios and these are feasible to integrate the three goals of GHG, GDP and GNH. Power can be kept carbon neutral relatively easily through modest increases in hydro. The biggest issue is to electrify the transport system and plans are being developed to electrify both freight and passenger transport.

scholarly journals Microsimulation of Residential Activity for Alternative Urban Development Scenarios: A Case Study on Brussels and Flemish Brabant

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2370
Author(s):  
Frederik Priem ◽  
Philip Stessens ◽  
Frank Canters
Keyword(s):  
Urban Development ◽  
Urban Sprawl ◽  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Urban Policy ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Demographic Projections ◽  
Development Scenarios ◽  
Natural Land ◽  
Business As Usual

The historically rooted suburbanization of Flanders and the Brussels Capital Region (BCR) in Belgium has resulted in severe urban sprawl, traffic congestion, natural land degradation and many related problems. Recent policy proposals put forward by the two regions aim for more compact urban development in well-serviced areas. Yet, it is unclear how these proposed policies may impact residential dynamics over the coming decades. To address this issue, we developed a Residential Microsimulation (RM) framework that spatially refines coarse-scale demographic projections at the district level to the level of census tracts. The validation of simulated changes from 2001 to 2011 reveals that the proposed framework succeeds in modelling historic trends and clearly outperforms a random model. To support simulation from 2011 to 2040, two alternative urban development scenarios are defined. The Business As Usual (BAU) scenario essentially represents a continuation of urban sprawl development, whereas the Sustainable Development (SUS) scenario strives for higher-density development around strategic well-serviced nodes in line with proposed policies. This study demonstrates how residential microsimulation supported by scenario analysis can play a constructive role in urban policy design and evaluation.

scholarly journals Analyzing National and Local Pathways to Carbon-Neutrality from Technology, Emissions, and Resilience Perspectives—Case of Finland

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sannamari Pilpola ◽  
Vahid Arabzadeh ◽  
Jani Mikkola ◽  
Peter Lund
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Market ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
System Optimization ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Carbon Neutrality ◽  
Zero Carbon ◽  
Carbon Neutral ◽  
Flexibility Measures ◽  
Business As Usual

The Paris Climate Accord calls for urgent CO2 reductions. Here we investigate low and zero carbon pathways based on clean electricity and sector coupling. Effects from different spatialities are considered through city and national cases (Helsinki and Finland). The methodology employs techno-economic energy system optimization, including resilience aspects. In the Finnish case, wind, nuclear, and biomass coupled to power-to-heat and other flexibility measures could provide a cost-effective carbon-neutral pathway (annual costs −18%), but nuclear and wind are, to some extent, exclusionary. A (near) carbon-neutral energy system seems possible even without nuclear (−94% CO2). Zero-carbon energy production benefits from a stronger link to the broader electricity market albeit flexibility measures. On the city level, wind would not easily replace local combined heat and power (CHP), but may increase electricity export. In the Helsinki case, a business-as-usual approach could halve emissions and annual costs, while in a comprehensive zero-emission approach, the operating costs (OPEX) could decrease by 87%. Generally, electrification of heat production could be effective to reduce CO2. Low or zero carbon solutions have a positive impact on resilience, but in the heating sector this is more problematic, e.g., power outage and adequacy of supply during peak demand will require more attention when planning future carbon-free energy systems.

Leveraging Bogotá: Sustainable development, global philanthropy and the rise of urban solutionism

Urban Studies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (11) ◽  
pp. 2263-2281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Montero
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
International Development ◽  
Urban Policy ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Global Development ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Policy Solutions

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is marked by the consolidation of sustainability as a key guiding principle and an emphasis on cities as a potential solution to global development problems. However, in the absence of an agreement on how to implement sustainable development in cities, a set of urban policy solutions and ‘best practices’ became the vehicles through which the sustainable development agenda is spreading worldwide. This article shows that the rapid circulation of Bogotá as a model of sustainable transport since the 2000s reflects an increasing focus of the international development apparatus on urban policy solutions as an arena to achieve global development impacts, what I call the ‘leveraging cities’ logic in this article. This logic emerges at a particular historical conjuncture characterised by: (1) the rising power of global philanthropy to set development agendas; (2) the generalisation of solutionism as a strategy of action among development and philanthropic organisations; and (3) the increasing attention on cities as solutions for global development problems, particularly around sustainability and climate change. By connecting urban policy mobilities debates with development studies this article seeks to unpack the emergence, and the limits, of ‘leveraging cities’ as a proliferating global development practice. These urban policy solutions are far from being a clear framework of action. Rather, their circulation becomes a ‘quick fix’ to frame the problem of sustainable development given the unwillingness of development and philanthropic organisations to intervene in the structural factors and multiple scales that produce environmental degradation and climate change.

scholarly journals Toward Model-Generated Household Listing in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Using Deep Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Chew ◽  
Kasey Jones ◽  
Jennifer Unangst ◽  
James Cajka ◽  
Justine Allpress ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Object Detection ◽  
Household Surveys ◽  
Building Structures ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Detection Model ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Low And Middle Income

While governments, researchers, and NGOs are exploring ways to leverage big data sources for sustainable development, household surveys are still a critical source of information for dozens of the 232 indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Though some countries’ statistical agencies maintain databases of persons or households for sampling, conducting household surveys in LMICs is complicated due to incomplete, outdated, or inaccurate sampling frames. As a means to develop or update household listings in LMICs, this paper explores the use of machine learning models to detect and enumerate building structures directly from satellite imagery in the Kaduna state of Nigeria. Specifically, an object detection model was used to identify and locate buildings in satellite images. In the test set, the model attained a mean average precision (mAP) of 0.48 for detecting structures, with relatively higher values in areas with lower building density (mAP = 0.65). Furthermore, when model predictions were compared against recent household listings from fieldwork in Nigeria, the predictions showed high correlation with household coverage (Pearson = 0.70; Spearman = 0.81). With the need to produce comparable, scalable SDG indicators, this case study explores the feasibility and challenges of using object detection models to help develop timely enumerated household lists in LMICs.

scholarly journals La rehabilitación urbana como integración en la ciudad: Modelo de análisis desde la experiencia española

REVISTARQUIS ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ángela Matesanz Parellada ◽  
Agustín Hernández Aja
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Urban Policy ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Real Estate Market ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Analysis Framework ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods ◽  
The City

ResumenDesde Europa, en un contexto global de crisis económica, social y ambiental, agravado en el caso español por las consecuencias de la burbuja inmobiliaria, se preconiza la apuesta por la Regeneración Urbana Integrada enmarcada dentro de la Estrategia de Desarrollo Urbano Sostenible Integrado (MHAP, 2015). Aunque ambas estrategias tienen continuidad con el modelo de intervención urbana territorializada de enfoque integrado, impulsadas mediante programas de financiación europeos y dirigidas a barrios desfavorecidos, se incorpora la visión, hasta ahora poco visible, de la necesidad de considerar estas áreas como parte de una ciudad concebida como un todo y en la que resulta fundamental el equilibrio entre sus partes. Esta idea de la rehabilitación urbana como una herramienta de cohesión global, apenas tratada hasta ahora, precisa de un nuevo marco que permita evaluar los resultados de las acciones desarrolladas hasta la fecha, de forma que sus experiencias puedan servir de base para desarrollar nuevas propuestas.Este artículo parte de la necesidad, urgente en el contexto español en el que se enmarca, de definir un nuevo modelo de rehabilitación urbana, que además de integrar las políticas sectoriales y la participación de todos los agentes, incluya el objetivo de la integración de los barrios en un modelo integrado de ciudad. Para ello, plantea un modelo de análisis del objetivo de integración que supere las metodologías, en muchos casos sectoriales, de las actuales políticas e intervención en barrios. AbstractIn the European context of economic, social and environmental crisis, we find theSpanish case where its context is hardly worse, as consequences of an economic model based on real estate market. From this point the European Union’s commitment advocates the Integrated Urban Regeneration framed in the overall context of the strategy for Integrated Sustainable Urban Development (MHAP, 2015). Moreover, both strategies establish some continuity with the line of area-based urban interventions with integrated approach promoted by European programs and targeted on disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Equally the vision of the city as a whole and the necessary balance between its parts has been incorporated to them. This last issue, treated so far in a context with falling interest in planning, requires a new analysis framework to assess the actions taken and also to date and serve as a basis for developing new proposals.Therefore, it is considered the urgency in defining a new model of urban rehabilitation in Spain, which integrates sectoral policies and the (real) participation of all actors, so that, the paper will be based on the need of the neighbourhood’s integration into the city. It is also purposed a possible base of analysis for such integration, which might improve or get over the current urban policy interventions in neighbourhoods.

scholarly journals Risk Factors That Cause Stunting in Indonesia

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-48
Author(s):  
Arief Andriyanto ◽  
Faisal Ibnu ◽  
Rina Nur Hidayati
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Complementary Feeding ◽  
Family Factors ◽  
Poor Child ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Breastfeeding Practices ◽  
Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals emphasizing an intervention to prioritize solutions to the global challenge of poor child development in low and middle income countries (LMICs). In 2015, about 25% of children under five years of age in low were stunted (Kim & Subramanian, 2017; Perkins et al., 2017; UNICEF, 2015) The WHO conceptual framework for stunting (2013) identified household and family factors, complementary feeding, breastfeeding practices and infections as the most plausible causes of stunting(Stewart, Iannotti, Dewey, Michaelsen, & Onyango, 2013)

scholarly journals Policy interventions for attraction and retention of female teachers in rural secondary schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-59
Author(s):  
Isabela M. Kamere ◽  
M I Makatiani ◽  
Arthur Kalanza Nzau
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Female Teachers ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Life Long Learning ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Attraction And Retention

The potential role of female teachers in achieving the Education for all (EFA) and the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically on  ensuring  inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting life-long learning opportunities for all (Goal 4), achieving gender equality and empowering  all women and girls(Goal 5 ) is well documented. Available evidence, however, suggests that attraction and retention of female teachers in secondary schools located in rural areas remains a significant and on-going challenge. In response, policy makers in Kenya have recommended three key policy interventions namely decentralization of teacher recruitment, payment of hardship allowance and provision of housing. A literature search reveals a dearth of information on the perspectives of rural educators on the effectiveness of these interventions. The paper presents findings based on one objective of a broader study which was to: Establish the views of female teachers’ and other stakeholders’ regarding the effectiveness of strategies for attraction and retention of female teachers in Makueni County. This study adopted a mixed methods design. The paper presents findings from the qualitative component of the study. Interviews were used to gather data. Based on their interpretations, the authors provide useful   insights and offer suggestions on how the implementation of these policies could be improved.  

scholarly journals Synergising Research and Service Activities at Swiss Research Institutions to Accelerate Sustainable Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9626
Author(s):  
Jasmina Saric ◽  
Fabian Käser ◽  
Jon-Andri Lys ◽  
Jürg Utzinger ◽  
Thomas Breu
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Scientific Quality ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
The Individual

Research that takes a pro-active role in bridging science and practice holds promise to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. While passing on best practices outside of academia, inspiration can be drawn from pressing global challenges. Using Swiss research institutions that maintain partnerships with low- and middle-income countries as a case study, the purpose of this study was to identify synergies between research and services for development (R&S4D). We mapped Swiss research institutions that host both types of activities and identified the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) linked to their hybrid models. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives from the identified institutions, and data were analysed using the Framework Method. Strengths of combining R&S4D were observed on four levels: (i) individual (i.e., high employability outside academia); (ii) project (i.e., higher quality and practical relevance); (iii) entity (i.e., flexibility regarding funders, resources, and partners); and (iv) sustainable development (i.e., more impactful work). The main weaknesses were named as a decrease in the scientific quality of research projects specifically and inefficiency/lack of feasibility of implementation services. A lack of career paths and positions for individuals who wish to pursue academic research alongside services was identified as a threat. The Universities of Applied Sciences account for the largest share of hybrid positions in Switzerland; increasing their currently limited funding for research and international activities represents an opportunity. Our reserch adds a unique viewpoint to the discussion on the role of academia in supporting society to move towards sustainable development. It does so by exploring whether and how the concept of multisectoriality can work as an integral part of academia at the individual and the institutional level.

Evaluating Change in Housing for Sustainable Development: Kosuyolu Case in Istanbul

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 55-62
Author(s):  
Dilek Yildiz
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Land Use Pattern ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Urban Dynamics ◽  
Unique Identity ◽  
Historic Memory ◽  
Alternative Scenarios

Sparse attention has been paid to the inevitable processes of change that enable progress in today's globalizing urban centres, but also threaten their unique identity, historic memory, and cultural heritage. The aims of this work are to understand the urban dynamics that trigger these change processes, uncover their effects, and discuss how these changes can be utilized to achieve sustainable development. The case study, which uses a comparative mixed method strategy consisting of archival research, fieldwork, and semi-structured interviews, is the Kosuyolu Housing Settlement, a project dating to the 1950s that represents one of Istanbul's best examples of urban development and housing culture. Displaying the architectural and urban planning ideals of the Modern period, this settlement is a concrete example that reflects the period's considerations regarding social housing. Through this case, change in housing has been evaluated in terms of sustainability indicators. The derived evidences show the significant role of governance and the maintained land use pattern for the achievement of the sustainable development and these evidences are used to suggest the development of an adaption guide that will assist in sustainable development in the short term, and the creation of alternative scenarios that are flexible and easy to adapt, active, and based on participatory processes for the long term.

Socioeconomic inequalities in unhealthy lifestyles in low- and middle-income countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Dieteren ◽  
Igna Bonfrer
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Tobacco Use ◽  
Socioeconomic Inequalities ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Harmful Alcohol ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Background: The heavy and ever rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) warrants interventions to reduce unhealthy lifestyles. To effectively target these interventions, it is important to know how unhealthy lifestyles vary with socioeconomic characteristics. This study quantifies prevalence and socioeconomic inequalities in unhealthy lifestyles in LMICs, to identify policy priorities conducive to the Sustainable Development Goal of a one third reduction in deaths from NCDs by 2030.Methods: Data from 1,278,624 adult respondents to Demographic & Health Surveys across 22 LMICs between 2013 and 2018 are used to estimate crude prevalence rates and socioeconomic inequalities in tobacco use, overweight, harmful alcohol use and the clustering of these three in a household. Inequalities are measured by a concentration index and correlated with the percentage of GDP spent on health. We estimate a multilevel model to examine associations of individual characteristics with different unhealthy lifestyles.Results: The prevalence of tobacco use among men ranges from 59.6% (Armenia) to 6.6% (Nigeria). The highest level of overweight among women is 83.7% (Egypt) while this is less than 12% in Burundi, Chad and Timor-Leste. 82.5% of women in Burundi report that their partner is “often or sometimes drunk” compared to 1.3% in Gambia. Tobacco use is concentrated among the poor, except for the low share of men smoking in Nigeria. Overweight, however, is concentrated among the better off, especially in Tanzania and Zimbabwe (Erreygers Index (EI) 0.227 and 0.232). Harmful alcohol use is more concentrated among the better off in Nigeria (EI 0.127), while Chad, Rwanda and Togo show an unequal pro-poor distribution (EI respectively -0.147, -0.210, -0.266). Cambodia exhibits the largest socioeconomic inequality in unhealthy household behaviour (EI -0.253). The multilevel analyses confirm that in LMICs, tobacco and alcohol use are largely concentrated among the poor, while overweight is concentrated among the better-off.Conclusions: This study emphasizes the importance of unhealthy lifestyles in LMICs and the socioeconomic variation therein. Given the different socioeconomic patterns in unhealthy lifestyles - overweight patters in LMICs differ considerably from those in high income countries- tailored interventions towards specific high-risk populations are warranted.

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