Urban greening and mobility justice in Dhaka’s informal settlements

ABSTRACT

Urban greening in Dhaka, Bangladesh is fraught with injustice for slum dwellers. Access to the commons for the enactment of gardening, farming and foraging by the urban poor, many recent internal migrants from rural areas, is contested by wealthier citizens, developers and political elites. Through qualitative research with households within the informal settlement of Korail in Dhaka’s urban core, and a range of stakeholders in governmental and non-governmental organizations, this study critiques competing policy visions that involve urban greening and urban green infrastructure. Repurposing the conceptual lense of ‘mobility justice’ to analyse environmental and ecological issues in the global South, the findings highlight the importance of mobility concerns to just futures for urban planning.     

Engagement with sustainability at the International Labour Organization and wider implications for collective worker voice

Sustainability objectives have been recognized by the ILO primarily in terms of the impact of environmental protection in the form of “just transition” and “green job” initiatives. Arguably, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) now offer richer scope for ILO engagement with social sustainability. This can be attributed to the prominent recognition of “decent work” in SDG 8 and the need for “responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels” in SDG target 16.7. This article examines how the ILO could further promote collective worker voice in the context of debates over a sustainable “future of work”, particularly considering to whom voice is given and how it is exercised.     

页岩气开发环境风险的法律规制思考

目前，我国在页岩气开发的环境保护方面存在着大量的法律空白，往往只能参照环境保护法和矿产资源法中的相关规定进行规制，无法有效解决页岩气开发暴露出来的环境问题。页岩气开发环境风险的法律规制，核心目的就是解决当前页岩气开发中的环境风险，促进页岩气开发与环境保护相协调，实现能源开发的可持续发展。在页岩气开发环境风险的法律规制方面，英美两国已经探索出一些经验和制度。积极借鉴国外有益经验，努力改进和完善我国应对页岩气开发环境风险的法律规制，对实现我国页岩气开采的经济效益、社会效益和环境效益三者的统一具有重要的现实意义。     

Promoting sustainable development through civil society: A case study of the EU’s NSA/LA thematic programme in Kyrgyzstan

The article focuses on the contribution of the European Union (EU) in promoting sustainable development through the involvement of civil society in partner countries. More specifically, it analyses the main features and outcomes of the projects implemented by civil society organizations (CSOs) in Kyrgyzstan under the EU thematic programme Non‐State Actors and Local Authorities in Development (NSA/LA). Despite its importance—this is the only EU programme providing direct support to non‐state actors and local authorities engaged in poverty reduction—to date, there has been very little research on the functioning of this instrument on the ground. This article seeks to fill this gap in the literature by examining the EU’s contribution to sustainable development through a case study on Kyrgyzstan. The study is based on primary data: 10 semi‐structured interviews conducted with the EU‐funded organizations implementing the NSA/LA programme. The NSA/LA projects were analysed by considering two major fields of engagement of non‐state actors in the development process: as service providers and as advocates (Banks & Hulme, 2012). Overall, the organizations awarded EU support were not only focused on fulfilling short‐term needs but also sought to introduce new ways of dealing with poverty and inequality, positioning themselves between the “Big‐D” and the “little‐d” approaches to development (Bebbington, Hickey, & Mitlin, 2008). Nonetheless, the EU‐funded projects were too limited and fragmented to be able to sustain long‐term structural change. Therefore, the EU should place new emphasis on creating synergies between new and old structures at the grassroots level and establishing mechanisms and bodies that could merge and co‐ordinate their efforts. In addition, the calls for proposals could highlight the need to share the lessons learnt by “obliging” the beneficiaries to act as multipliers and to pass on their positive experience to neighbouring communities. Finally, the EU could stimulate the funded organizations to experiment with innovative mechanisms of involvement in the policy‐making process, by making this aspect a mandatory requirement of the projects implemented with its support.     

Data Science: A Powerful Catalyst for Cross-Sector Collaborations to Transform the Future of Global Health—Developing a New Interactive Relational Mapping Tool (Demo)

ABSTRACT

The increasingly complex and rapidly changing global health and socioeconomic landscape requires fundamentally new ways of thinking, acting, and collaborating to solve growing systems challenges. Cross-sectoral collaborations between governments, businesses, international organizations, private investors, academia, and nonprofits are essential for lasting success in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and securing a prosperous future for the health and well-being of all people (United Nations, n.d United Nations. (n.d.). SDGs: Sustainable development knowledge platform. Sustainable Development United Nations. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/ [Google Scholar].). Our aim is to use data science and innovative technologies to map diverse stakeholders and their initiatives around SDGs and specific health targets—with particular focus on SDG 3 (Good Health & Well Being) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)—to accelerate cross-sector and multidisciplinary collaborations. Initially, the mapping tool focuses on Geneva, Switzerland as the world center of global health diplomacy with over 80 key stakeholders and influencers present. As we develop the next level pilot, we aim to build on users’ interests, with a potential focus on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as one of the emerging and most pressing global health issues that requires new collaborative approaches. Building on this pilot, we can later expand beyond only SDG 3 to other SDGs.     

儒家文化与可持续发展

可持续发展已成为全球人类所面临的最为紧迫的问题。儒家文化中的可持续发展思想,即强调道德理性和理想人格的修炼、加强对可持续发展的主体--人的改造,以及其中庸之道与“天人合一”、普遍和谐的思想,对于建立人类的普遍伦理,改善人类生存环境,提高人们的人文道德素质,解决社会群体之间的矛盾,实现经济、社会和环境的可持续发展具有深远意义。     

基于出行者选择的城市公交和共享单车竞合关系影响因素研究

摘要:为了更好地便利交通并促进城市地面交通系统可持续发展,基于出行者行为选择,从竞合关系视角研究共享单车对公交的影响,以共享单车对公交影响的相关文献为案例进行研究,包括北美、欧洲、大洋洲和亚洲的城市,并总结归纳相关影响因素;对北京市出行者进行了SP问卷调查,利用MNL模型定量分析了各种因素对出行者公交、共享单车选择的影响,采用二元logit模型估计组合模式选择的影响机制。研究认为,共享单车作为独立个体或接驳公共交通的新模式,与地面公交交通模式间竞争与合作并存,可骑行距离、道路基础设施以及出行者的心理因素都会导致共享单车和公交之间的竞争;相反,公交换乘站之间的距离、出行端点与站点的间距均会影响二者的合作模式。城市交通管理者应合理配置公交和共享单车的数量,鼓励市区出行者根据自己的需求选择不同的出行模式以快速接驳轨道交通,提倡竞争性并行,促进公交和共享单车在综合交通系统中的合作与协调发展。     

乡村建设对精准脱贫户生计可持续的影响

基于可持续性和脆弱性双重视角,采用跨层线性模型从家庭层面和村级层面综合探讨影响精准脱贫户家庭生计可持续的关键因素,并明确了两个层级之间内在的效应联系。结果表明,贫困户脱贫退出后的生计平稳有赖于自身五类生计资本的优化及生计风险的降低,而当地公共服务、基础设施、产业发展水平和自然条件的提升皆有助于促进脱贫家庭生计资本增殖并降低风险脆弱性,从而保障脱贫效果的持久性,其中公共服务体系和基础设施建设对于精准脱贫户生计稳定作用尤为显著。因此,应将加快完善公共服务体系和基础设施建设作为未来乡村振兴和相对贫困治理的核心契合点。