Cities contribute an estimated 70 percent of the world's energy-related greenhouse gases (GHG). Their locations, often in low-elevation coastal zones, and large populations make them particularly ...vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. But cities often take steps, even ahead of national governments, to reduce GHG emissions. So it is with China's cities, which are well placed to chart a low-carbon growth path to help reach China's national targets for reducing the energy and carbon intensity of its economy. China's cities will need to act on multiple fronts, in some cases scaling up elements of existing good practice, in others changing established ways of doing business. Actions affecting land-use and spatial development are among the most critical to achieving low-carbon growth as carbon emissions are closely connected to urban form. Spatial development also has very strong 'lock-in' effects: once cities grow and define their urban form, it is almost impossible to retrofit them because the built environment is largely irreversible and very costly to modify. Furthermore, cities need energy-efficient buildings and industries. They need a transport system that offers alternatives to automobiles. They need to shift to efficient management of water, wastewater, and solid waste. And they need to incorporate responses to climate change in their planning, investment decisions, and emergency-preparedness plans.
In the twenty-first century, cities worldwide must respond to a growing and diverse population, ever-shifting economic conditions, new technologies, and a changing climate. Short-term, ...community-based projects—from pop-up parks to open streets initiatives—have become a powerful and adaptable new tool of urban activists, planners, and policy-makers seeking to drive lasting improvements in their cities and beyond. These quick, often low-cost, and creative projects are the essence of the Tactical Urbanism movement. Whether creating vibrant plazas seemingly overnight or re-imagining parking spaces as neighborhood gathering places, they offer a way to gain public and government support for investing in permanent projects, inspiring residents and civic leaders to experience and shape urban spaces in a new way. Tactical Urbanism, written by Mike Lydon and Anthony Garcia, two founders of the movement, promises to be the foundational guide for urban transformation. The authors begin with an in-depth history of the Tactical Urbanism movement and its place among other social, political, and urban planning trends. A detailed set of case studies, from guerilla wayfinding signs in Raleigh, to pavement transformed into parks in San Francisco, to a street art campaign leading to a new streetcar line in El Paso, demonstrate the breadth and scalability of tactical urbanism interventions. Finally, the book provides a detailed toolkit for conceiving, planning, and carrying out projects, including how to adapt them based on local needs and challenges. Tactical Urbanism will inspire and empower a new generation of engaged citizens, urban designers, land use planners, architects, and policymakers to become key actors in the transformation of their communities.
How cities can build on the “sharing economy” and smart technology to deliver a “sharing paradigm” that supports justice, solidarity, and sustainability.
The future of humanity is urban, and the ...nature of urban space enables, and necessitates, sharing—of resources, goods and services, experiences. Yet traditional forms of sharing have been undermined in modern cities by social fragmentation and commercialization of the public realm. In Sharing Cities, Duncan McLaren and Julian Agyeman argue that the intersection of cities' highly networked physical space with new digital technologies and new mediated forms of sharing offers cities the opportunity to connect smart technology to justice, solidarity, and sustainability. McLaren and Agyeman explore the opportunities and risks for sustainability, solidarity, and justice in the changing nature of sharing.
McLaren and Agyeman propose a new “sharing paradigm,” which goes beyond the faddish “sharing economy”—seen in such ventures as Uber and TaskRabbit—to envision models of sharing that are not always commercial but also communal, encouraging trust and collaboration. Detailed case studies of San Francisco, Seoul, Copenhagen, Medellín, Amsterdam, and Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) contextualize the authors' discussions of collaborative consumption and production; the shared public realm, both physical and virtual; the design of sharing to enhance equity and justice; and the prospects for scaling up the sharing paradigm though city governance. They show how sharing could shift values and norms, enable civic engagement and political activism, and rebuild a shared urban commons. Their case for sharing and solidarity offers a powerful alternative for urban futures to conventional “race-to-the-bottom” narratives of competition, enclosure, and division.
An overview of the localist movement in the United States, from “buy local” campaigns to urban agriculture, and its potential for addressing global problems of sustainability and justice.
The ...internationalization of economies and other changes that accompany globalization have brought about a paradoxical reemergence of the local. A significant but largely unstudied aspect of new local-global relationships is the growth of “localist movements,” efforts to reclaim economic and political sovereignty for metropolitan and other subnational regions. In Localist Movements in a Global Economy, David Hess offers an overview of localism in the United States and assesses its potential to address pressing global problems of social justice and environmental sustainability. Since the 1990s, more than 100 local business organizations have formed in the United States, and there are growing efforts to build local ownership in the retail, food, energy, transportation, and media industries. In this first social science study of localism, Hess adopts an interdisciplinary approach that combines theoretical reflection, empirical research, and policy analysis. His perspective is not that of the uncritical localist advocate; he draws on his new empirical research to assess the extent to which localist policies can address sustainability and justice issues. After a theoretical discussion of sustainability, the global corporate economy, and economic development, Hess looks at four specific forms of localism: “buy local” campaigns; urban agriculture; local ownership of electricity and transportation; and alternative and community media. Hess examines “global localism”—transnational local-to-local supply chains—and other economic policies and financial instruments that would create an alternative economic structure. Localism is not a panacea for globalization, he concludes, but a crucial ingredient in projects to build more democratic, just, and sustainable politics.
Smart cities are increasingly advocated by governments and the private sector as the primary means to deliver urban sustainability. Particularly in Europe and North America, the smart city is ...envisioned as a place where digital technologies are deployed to ‘solve’ urban sustainability problems. Such visions have been broadly critiqued in the urban studies literature for reflecting techno-utopian, neoliberal approaches to urban development that exert corporate control over cities, but there has been little empirical verification of these critiques. More recently, a disparate and interdisciplinary body of literature has emerged documenting the impacts of smart city initiatives in practice. This paper provides a state-of-the-art, empirically informed analysis of smart-sustainability, which considers established critiques of smart city policy and visions alongside the increasing body of evidence concerning the actual experiences of smart city initiatives. Through a systematic review of the smart city literature pertaining to Europe and North America, we identify and test five tensions between the smart city and the goals of sustainable urban development. These tensions involve: (1) reinforcing neoliberal economic growth; (2) focusing on more affluent populations; (3) disempowering and marginalising citizens; (4) neglecting environmental protection; and, (5) failing to challenge prevailing consumerist cultures. On the basis of these findings we propose how digital technologists, urban developers, municipalities and citizens might address these tensions. A key finding is that the potential to empower and include citizens represents the key to unlocking forms of smart-sustainable urban development that emphasise environmental protection and social equity, rather than merely reinforcing neoliberal forms of urban development.
•We identify tensions between smart city visions & goals of sustainable development.•A systematic review of the empirical literature focused on smart cities is presented.•The extent to which smart-sustainability tensions play out in practice is assessed.•Critiques of the smart city vision appear largely applicable to smart city practice.
Urban regeneration is a key focus for public policy throughout Europe. This book examines social sustainability and analyses its meaning and significance – an area of research which has, until now, ...been comparatively neglected. The authors offer a comprehensive European perspective to identify best practice in sustainable urban regeneration in five major cities in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, and the UK.Urban Regeneration Social Sustainability: best practice from European citiesexamines the extent to which social sustainability is incorporated within urban regeneration projects in the EU, but also investigates how local authorities, developers, investors and other key stakeholders approach sustainability. The book covers the recent economic recession and the growth of responsible investment (RI) and corporate responsibility (CR) agendas of investors and developers. It also provides a thorough analysis of the current metrics and tools used by the public, private and NGO sectors to implement, measure and monitor social sustainability. A range of urban regeneration models and vehicles are reviewed, with a particular emphasis on public private partnerships (PPPs) and EU structural funds, and a new framework for assessing social sustainability is described.City-specific case studies examine regeneration projects in which institutional arrangements, financial products and tools, monitoring and measurement systems for social sustainability and stakeholders’ participation in PPPs have delivered successful urban regeneration.This comprehensive, systematic and authoritative overview of both the scholarly literature and current best practice across Europe makes the book essential reading for researchers and post-graduate students in sustainable development, real estate, geography, urban studies and urban planning, as well as consultants and policy advisors in urban regeneration and the built environment.Provides a comprehensive European perspective, comparing case studies across five cities and identifying best practice in sustainable urban regeneration by focusing on social sustainability Defines and shows how social sustainability (a key aspect in sustainable development) can be assessed, measured and monitored within urban regeneration projects Takes a real estate ‘institutional’ focus by examining the role of key stakeholders within the property development industry and the public sector Examines detailed studies of urban regeneration projects in Spain (Sant Adria de Besos), Italy (Turin), Netherlands (Rotterdam), Germany (Leipzig), and the UK (Cardiff) Sets the research in the context of the recent economic recession and the growth of responsible investment (RI) and corporate responsibility (CR) agendas of investors and developers Is based on a major three year independent, funded programme of research through the European Investment Bank’s EIBURS programme. 'Regeneration is a difficult task with multiple ambitions and multiple problems. This book manages successfully to draw lessons from a series of case studies to bring out lessons for the slippery concept of social sustainability which will help guide practitioners both in setting up programmes and in monitoring their success.' —Bridget Roswell, Chief Economic Adviser, Greater London Authority'The social sustainability agenda is complex and will be instrumental in shaping the future development of our cities and towns over the coming decades. This book, in drawing together the knowledge base on the subject through generic considerations and best practice examples is a major contribution in raising the level of debate on the understanding and interpretation of social sustainability.' —Stanley McGreal, Director of the Built Environment Research Institute, University of Ulster; Plus Bill Boler, Steve Rayner, Bridget Rosewell, Michael Parkinson and Pooran Desai.Urban regeneration is a key focus for public policy throughout Europe. This book examines social sustainability and analyses its meaning and significance – an area of research which has, until now, been comparatively neglected. The authors offer a comprehensive European perspective to identify best practice in sustainable urban regeneration in five major cities in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, and the UK.Urban Regeneration Social Sustainability: best practice from European citiesexamines the extent to which social sustainability is incorporated within urban regeneration projects in the EU, but also investigates how local authorities, developers, investors and other key stakeholders approach sustainability. The book covers the recent economic recession and the growth of responsible investment (RI) and corporate responsibility (CR) agendas of investors and developers. It also provides a thorough analysis of the current metrics and tools used by the public, private and NGO sectors to implement, measure and monitor social sustainability. A range of urban regeneration models and vehicles are reviewed, with a particular emphasis on public private partnerships (PPPs) and EU structural funds, and a new framework for assessing social sustainability is described.City-specific case studies examine regeneration projects in which institutional arrangements, financial products and tools, monitoring and measurement systems for social sustainability and stakeholders' participation in PPPs have delivered successful urban regeneration.This comprehensive, systematic and authoritative overview of both the scholarly literature and current best practice across Europe, makes the book essential reading for researchers and post-graduate students in sustainable development, real estate, geography, urban studies and urban planning, as well as consultants and policy advisors in urban regeneration and the built environment.
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