scholarly journals The Role of Biophilic Agents in Building a Green Resilient City; the Case of Birmingham, UK

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5033
Author(s):  
Linda Novosadová ◽  
Wim van der Knaap
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Natural Land ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Community Projects ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
The City

The present research offers an exploration into the biophilic approach and the role of its agents in urban planning in questions of building a green, resilient urban environment. Biophilia, the innate need of humans to connect with nature, coined by Edgar O. Wilson in 1984, is a concept that has been used in urban governance through institutions, agents’ behaviours, activities and systems to make the environment nature-inclusive. Therefore, it leads to green, resilient environments and to making cities more sustainable. Due to an increasing population, space within and around cities keeps on being urbanised, replacing natural land cover with concrete surfaces. These changes to land use influence and stress the environment, its components, and consequently impact the overall resilience of the space. To understand the interactions and address the adverse impacts these changes might have, it is necessary to identify and define the environment’s components: the institutions, systems, and agents. This paper exemplifies the biophilic approach through a case study in the city of Birmingham, United Kingdom and its biophilic agents. Using the categorisation of agents, the data obtained through in-situ interviews with local professionals provided details on the agent fabric and their dynamics with the other two environments’ components within the climate resilience framework. The qualitative analysis demonstrates the ways biophilic agents act upon and interact within the environment in the realm of urban planning and influence building a climate-resilient city. Their activities range from small-scale community projects for improving their neighbourhood to public administration programs focusing on regenerating and regreening the city. From individuals advocating for and educating on biophilic approach, to private organisations challenging the business-as-usual regulations, it appeared that in Birmingham the biophilic approach has found its representatives in every agent category. Overall, the activities they perform in the environment define their role in building resilience. Nonetheless, the role of biophilic agents appears to be one of the major challengers to the urban design’s status quo and the business-as-usual of urban governance. Researching the environment, focused on agents and their behaviour and activities based on nature as inspiration in addressing climate change on a city level, is an opposite approach to searching and addressing the negative impacts of human activity on the environment. This focus can provide visibility of the local human activities that enhance resilience, while these are becoming a valuable input to city governance and planning, with the potential of scaling it up to other cities and on to regional, national, and global levels.

scholarly journals City Labs as Vehicles for Innovation in Urban Planning Processes

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 89-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Scholl ◽  
René Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Collaborative Planning ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Local Planning ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
The City ◽  
Case Based ◽  
Planning Approaches

This paper assesses the role of urban experiments for local planning processes through a case-based analysis of the city lab of Maastricht. In conjunction with this, the article offers three contributions, as additional elements. Firstly, the paper develops a set of defining characteristics of city labs as an analytical concept which is relevant for discussions about (collaborative) planning. Secondly, it refines the literature on collaborative planning by drawing attention to experimentation and innovation. Thirdly, the paper assesses the potential of city labs to contribute to the innovation of urban governance. The work draws from the literature on experimentation and learning as well as the literature on collaborative urban planning. In the conclusions, we discuss the potential of city labs as vehicles for learning about new urban planning approaches and their limitations as spaces for small-scale experimentation. The paper is based on research for the URB@Exp research project funded by JPI Urban Europe.

scholarly journals Integration Efforts in Agriculture

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 91-96
Author(s):  
Judit Beke Lisányi
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Consumer Prices ◽  
Downward Pressure ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Capital Intensive

The economic and political transition brought many challenges for the Hungarian agricultural sector. The break-up of large agricultural holdings had serious negative impacts on food production and on the export of agricultural products. Capital intensive profit-seeking intermediaries dominate the trading of agricultural goods that has injurious effects in terms of downward pressure on production prices and an increase in consumer prices. Cooperatives have a key role in effectively tackling the common challenges that small-scale producers have to face. More vertical integration along the food chain could contribute to providing rural employment and to an increase in living standards in rural areas. This study reviews the development, the specific features and the driving forces of modern cooperatives in Central Europe in general, and in Hungary in particular. The focus is on the integrator role of cooperatives and their future role in our globalised world. JEL Classification: Q10, Q13

Trendy urbanists, innovation laboratories and best practices: in pursuit of ‘progressive’ urban planning in Mexico City

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (0) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Ryan A. Whitney
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
The City

This research explores the role of trendy urbanists in best practice uptake within an innovation laboratory in Latin America. Trendy urbanists are the privileged professionals who aspire to be on the cutting edge of urban planning, frequently referencing best practice policies and programmes that they see as supporting ‘livable’ and ‘sustainable’ city building. Taking the case of the Laboratory for the City in Mexico City, I illustrate that the preferred best practices of trendy urbanists are reflective of their own privilege. I conclude that, by relying on best practices and trendy urbanists, innovation laboratories are susceptible to fostering inequitable planning outcomes.

Smart City: An Approach from the View of Smart Urban Governance

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hung Viet NGO ◽  
◽  
Quan LE ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Smart City ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Effective Governance ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
Government Work ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Urban Issues ◽  
The City

The world’s population is forecasted of having 68% to be urban residents by 2050 while urbanization in the world continues to grow. Along with that phenomenon, there is a global trend towards the creation of smart cities in many countries. Looking at the overview of studies and reports on smart cities, it can be seen that the concept of “smart city” is not clearly defined. Information and communication technology have often been being recognized by the vast majority of agencies, authorities and people when thinking about smart city but the meaning of smart city goes beyond that. Smart city concept should come with the emphasizing on the role of social resources and smart urban governance in the management of urban issues. Therefore, the "smart city" label should refer to the capacity of smart people and smart officials who create smart urban governance solutions for urban problems. The autonomy in smart cities allows its members (whether individuals or the community in general) of the city to participate in governance and management of the city and become active users and that is the picture of e-democracy. E-democracy makes it easier for stakeholders to become more involved in government work and fosters effective governance by using the IT platform of smart city. This approach will be discussed more in this paper.

Urban Growth Machines—But at What Scale?

2019 ◽  
pp. 233-255
Author(s):  
Neil Brenner
Keyword(s):  
Urban Growth ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
Territorial Development ◽  
Growth Machine ◽  
Institutional Frameworks ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
Growth Machines ◽  
The City

Theories of the urban growth machine have long been a central analytical tool for contemporary research on urban governance. But in what sense are growth machines, in fact, “urban”? To what degree must “the city” serve as the spatial locus for growth machine strategies? To address such questions, this chapter critically evaluates the influential work of urban sociologists John Logan and Harvey Molotch on US growth machine dynamics. In contrast to an influential line of critique that reproaches these authors for their putative methodological localism, it is argued that their framework is, in fact, explicitly attuned to the role of interscalar politico-institutional relays in the construction of urban growth machines. These considerations lead to a dynamically multiscalar reading of the national institutional frameworks that have facilitated the formation of growth machines at the urban scale during the course of US territorial development. This analysis has broad methodological implications for the comparative-historical investigation of urban governance.

scholarly journals Features of the formation of the St. Petersburg agglomeration by the beginning of the XX century

2020 ◽  
Vol 164 ◽  
pp. 05009
Author(s):  
Sergey Sementsov ◽  
Svetozar Zavarikhin ◽  
Yuryi Kurbatov ◽  
Yuryi Pukharenko
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Communication Analysis ◽  
Garden Cities ◽  
Central Russia ◽  
Environmental Transport ◽  
Spatially Extended ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The City

The study of the Russian historical St. Petersburg agglomeration at all stages from its foundation (from 1703) until the final imperial stage (1917) required the use of complex functional, urban-planning and landscape, socio-economic, environmental, transport and communication analysis on the basis of data from archives, historical cartography and iconography. The main results were the conclusions that during the XVIII - early XX centuries, there was a crystallization of a huge agglomeration around the city of St. Petersburg, which included three belts: “external”, “middle”, “nearby”, which spatially extended from Yaroslavl (in Central Russia) to Riga (in the Baltic). The paper discusses the features of the formation of the “nearby belt” of agglomeration in the initial (1703 - January 1725) and in the final (1901-1916) development periods. The study revealed a significant role of special types of objects in these processes - estates of the aristocratic society and “garden cities” that provided a belt (around St. Petersburg and the largest settlements and complexes), linear (along radial and ring highways), and nodal (around individual large settlements) construction, spreading in the latitudinal direction from Narva and Ivangorod to the mouth of the Syas river, and in the meridian direction - from Vyborg to the city of Luga. Within the boundaries of this agglomeration zone, four sub-agglomerations had begun to emerge since the 1710s and have fully formed by the 1910s. The materials of the paper can be useful both for historians of urban planning and for modern urbanists.

scholarly journals How Can Climate Resilience Be Measured and Visualized? Assessing a Vague Concept Using GIS-Based Fuzzy Logic

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathias Schaefer ◽  
Nguyen Xuan Thinh ◽  
Stefan Greiving
Keyword(s):  
Fuzzy Logic ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Urban Core ◽  
Essential Components ◽  
Local Expert ◽  
Vague Concept ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The City

As negative impacts of climate change tend to increase in the future, densely-populated cities especially need to take action on being robust against natural hazards. Consequently, there is a growing interest from scientists in measuring the climate resilience of cities and regions. However, current measurements are usually assessed on administrative levels, not covering potential hotspots of hazardous or sensitive areas. The main aim of this paper focusses on the measurement of climate resilience in the City of Dortmund, Germany, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Based on a literature review, we identified five essential components of climate resilience and initially designed a theoretical framework of 18 indicators. Since climate resilience is still a vague concept in scientific discourses, we implemented local expert knowledge and fuzzy logic modelling into our analysis. The benefit of this study not only lies in the fine-scale application, but also in the relevance for multiple disciplines by integrating social and ecological factors. We conclude that climate resilience varies within the city pattern, with the urban core tending to be less resilient than its surrounding districts. As almost the entire geodata set used is freely available, the presented indicators and methods are to a certain degree applicable to comparable cities.

CENTER FOR URBAN INITIATIVES. EVOLUTION OF ARCHITECTURAL TYPOLOGY OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-43
Author(s):  
K. V ChIKRIZOVA ◽  
A. G GOLOVIN
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Urban Communities ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Central City ◽  
Development Strategies ◽  
Planning Strategies ◽  
Project Objectives ◽  
The City

The article is an attempt to rethink the interaction between urban communities, Urban governance bodies, architects and town planners in matters of urban development strategy for the case of Ulyanovsk city.A number of problems, such as low functional appeal of the central space, the lack of urban development strategies, formal participation in the development and adoption of urban development programs requires a new approach in the current socio-economic environment. Entering the setting of project objectives for the development of the central city area is not possible without an analysis of the current situation, the development of urban planning strategies and discuss, which is difficulty realizable within the existing administrative structure. Consolidation of efforts to make decisions on urban planning strategies available with the participation of stakeholders: Urban governance bodies, architects, people, and creating an environment of interaction: social complex, the Center for Urban Initiatives (CUI). As part of the CUI is to develop, negotiate and influence decisions on urban development strategies and integration in the development of the city and the creation of a comfortable urban environment.Create a full environment for the public and professional discussion on urban prospects can solve some urgent problems of the city.

scholarly journals Advocacy Coalition Framework Dalam Tata Kelola Perkotaan Berbasis Ruang Terbuka Hijau Di Kota Makassar

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 146
Author(s):  
Wahdania Suardi ◽  
Suswanta Suswanta
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Open Space ◽  
City Government ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
The Government ◽  
Role Of The Government ◽  
The City

This study aims to describe the role of the government-private and role of the government-NGO coalition in Green Open Space Based Urban Governance in Makassar City. This type of research is qualitative, research conducted to systematically search for and compile all data obtained, both interview data, field notes and other data that support research. The results of this study indicate that the confidence of the private / private sector in the city government green open space policy is still low because the government's political will problem is that it does not involve all components in the private sector. One of the strategies is optimizing planters in RTR in strategic areas such as in the Untia region. The strategy that is pressed on the private sector is segmentation of activities that can increase green open space. Decisions taken by the private or private sector are based on the mission of the organization itself which has environmental concerns as outlined through CSR programs, the program is not intervened by the city government. Although there have been Regional Regulations Number 3 of 2014 concerning the arrangement and management of green open spaces but not yet assessed WALHI has provided significant progress for the addition of RTH in Makassar Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan peran koalisi pemerintah-swasta dan peran koalisi pemerintah-LSM Dalam Tata Kelola Perkotaan Berbasis Ruang Terbuka Hijau (RTH) di Kota Makassar. Jenis penelitian ini adalah kualitatif, penelitian yang dilakukan untuk mencari dan menyusun secara sistematis seluruh data yang diperoleh baik itu data hasil wawancara, catatan lapangan dan data-data lain yang sifatnya menunjang penelitian. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa keyakinan sektor swasta/privat terhadap kebijakan RTH pemerintah kota masih rendah karena persoalan political will dari pemerintah yang kurang melibatkan seluruh komponen pada sektor swasta. Salah satu strateginya adalah optimalisasi penanam pada RTR Kawasan strategis seperti di Kawasan Untia. Strategi yang ditekan pada pihak swasta adalah segmentasi pada kegiatan yang dapat meningkatkan ruang terbuka hijau. Keputusan yang diambil sektor privat atau swasta adalah berdasarkan misi dari organisasi itu sendiri yang memiliki kepedulian terhadap lingkungan yang dituangkan melalui program CSR, program tersebut tidak mendapat intervensi oleh pemerintah kota. Meskipun telah ada Peraturan Daerah Nomor 3 Tahun 2014 tentang penataan dan pengelolaan ruang terbuka hijau namun belum dinilai WALHI memberikan kemajuan berarti bagi penambahan RTH di Kota Makassar

scholarly journals Radiance in Reclamation

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-89
Author(s):  
Ali Javeed
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Depth Of Field ◽  
East Side ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Activist Group ◽  
Don River ◽  
Photo Essay ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
The City

In the sharp frosty winds of the morning of January 9th, 2019, Indigenous activist group Idle no More and their allies shut down the Bloor Viaduct, a well-used truss arch bridge in Tkaronto, Ontario, Kanata (Three Fire Territories) that connects the city’s east-side to its downtown core. The action took place during rush hour in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. The Canadian government was once again violating unceded land by mobilizing armed federal law enforcement to forcibly remove the nation from their land in order to build a gas pipeline. In response to this violence, allies throughout the city, myself among them, decided to show Tkaronto that it was not business as usual by bringing traffic on the Viaduct to a halt. Importantly, the bridge looms over the Don River. Reclamation of this space was therefore a reminder of the sanctity of water, gesturing to the fact that it is a privilege to be able to access clean water, while also reminding us of the threat of contamination posed by the pipelines’ development. As the day came to an end and the sun retreated, cycling through its farewell hues of yellow and orange, the elders began to sing. We round danced, our bodies flowing as one like the river beneath us. Our melodic voices of hope and mourning, joining the gusts of wind that whistled between the bridge supports. After the protest, we continued to chant as we walked back, fists raised with the awareness that, although this action was over, our spirits had been rekindled for the next one. This photo essay seeks to echo the calls of resistance of that day. I capture the warm hopeful tones of the sunset in an otherwise frigid colour scheme, while using wide angles to capture the scope of attendance, and a low depth of field to center the role of femme-identifying water protectors in the movement.

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