Planning for urban life: A new approach of sustainable land use plan based on transit-oriented development

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is an integration of transportation systems with land use and has been given priority in sustainability strategies. However, most of the existing studies on TOD emphasize the economic and environmental perspectives of sustainability, paying little attention to social equity. Moreover, despite governments worldwide are gradually trying to address unsustainable issues associated with dramatic urbanization through a framework of TOD development, the improvement of land use planning necessary to achieve variegated sustainability within a safe trajectory is not being targeted or achieved. This paper aims to establish a framework of TOD planning in China's context that could be applied beyond the concept to planning experts and policymakers on how to integrate land use planning with TOD to achieve sustainability. We further applied an empirical study of Jiaomei, China to demonstrate the application of the designed framework. The study provided a new framework for understanding sustainable transportation development with land use management as applied to the urban planning process and for exploring new paths in practice toward sustainability.     

Zanzibari Social Entrepreneurs and Poverty Alleviation Strategies: Understanding Efforts to Build Local Community Sustainability

ABSTRACT

Poverty throughout Zanzibar, Tanzania encourages social entrepreneurs to think strategically about methods of human capital development, promoting economic sustainability and asset building. Local women social entrepreneurs are successfully active in (a) building the educational opportunities for girls and low income women, (b) evolving in business to meet change and economic growth, and (c) empowering vulnerable populations and people living with disabilities. This qualitative study interviews 15 women social entrepreneurs in the rural area of Jambiani and the urban area of Stone Town. Their ventures are alleviating poverty and social workers can support these local creative initiatives in diverse ways.     

Sustainable urban development? Low-cost housing challenges in South Africa

Low-cost housing provision has been a major focus of government in post-apartheid urban South Africa. While successes can be noted, there is growing concern regarding the social and environmental sustainability of housing programs and the impacts upon both the surrounding environment and human health. Utilizing key informant interviews, survey research, Census data and documentary review, this essay identifies the major impediments to a sustainable low-cost housing provision in urban South Africa. The essay also points to hopeful signs in new policy directions, particularly attention to health issues and informal settlement upgrade programs. However, the major obstacles to a sustainable low-cost housing process, including macro-economic conditions, enduring historical legacies of race and class, the scale and rapidity of urban growth and institutional challenges show little indication of abating.     

A general equilibrium approach to tourism and welfare: The case of Macao

Macao has been witnessing spectacular economic growth in recent years. The ongoing boom is mainly driven by rapid tourism growth reflected in massive tourist arrivals and foreign capital inflow. Although Macao is praised as an ‘economic wonder’, serious externalities have emerged, raising concerns about the sustainability of the city's long-term development. Using a modified simple general equilibrium model, this paper shows how economic, social, environmental and political externalities accompanying rapid tourism growth may possibly reduce the net welfare of host communities. The paper concludes that comprehensive tourism policies leading to a sustainable development should be developed in a broader social framework.     

Asian urban sustainability in the era of globalization

The process of achieving urban sustainable development is uncharted. We only know that plans should address the economic, environmental and social health of the city and this task can only be accomplished by approaching each of these issues at different scales. For rapidly developing world cities, “sustainability” is becoming an increasingly elusive objective, in part, because of impacts by forces beyond their borders. Using the Asia-Pacific region as a case study, a framework relates regional transnational flows to the state of the urban environment and the social conditions of linked rapidly developing cities. The “functional city system” within the Asia-Pacific increasingly is both the engine of urban growth and the force behind differentiating urban environmental and social issues. At the same time, while globalization forces have been particularly strong within cities in the Asia-Pacific, local factors also play a crucial role in urban development. Globalization driven growth has not translated into a single path of development, rather localities have demonstrated contextually specific paths.     

Quality of life and sustainability issues as seen by the population of low-income housing in the region of Campinas, Brazil

This paper presents a study on quality of life and sustainability indicators relating to site-planning parameters for low-income public housing projects in the region of Campinas, Brazil. The study is based on a post-occupancy-evaluation (POE), conducted in five housing developments. Most of these housing projects are based on a repetitive model and are devoid of urban infrastructure. Users act on their own in providing for some elements considered necessary to create an identity and community spirit. Results show that the population relates quality of life to economic factors and sustainability is associated to reduce utility bills. Houses are preferred to apartments and satisfaction with the present housing conditions is high, despite low feelings of security in the neighbourhood. This work is part of a broader study, which aims to develop design evaluation tools. Most sensitive quality of life and sustainability indicators related to site-planning should permeate these tools and establish design guidelines. The inclusion of a large number of qualitative design issues into the decision-making process and the questioning of existing standardized solutions are seen as essential means to increase local housing quality.     

Social innovation as a collaborative concept

The rise of social innovation expresses a discontent with innovation as we know it, and its ability to deliver just and sustainable outcomes. Yet, social innovation is also notoriously vague as a concept, thereby putting into doubt whether the concept offers any real improvements or alternatives. This paper issues an invitation to think about social innovation as a collaborative concept. The conceptual framework shows collaboration, rather than contestation, to offer a space for the working together of different perspectives and actors. The collaborative concept frame welcomes and seeks to explain a diversity of uses. Singling out key features of social innovation as a collaborative concept, it seeks to contribute to an emerging practice that makes different contributions part of a progressive conversation about social innovation, the evaluative ideas associated with it and the evidence from policies and projects. Identifying transformative, taxonomical and transitional–sceptical uses of social innovation, the paper highlights the importance of analysing the evaluative aspects of the multisectoral reconfigurations associated with social innovation so as to keep track of its role for justice and sustainability.     

The role of urban indicators in city management: a proposal for Croatian cities

Cities are dynamic economic and social structures that play a dominant role in both national and international economies. They are centers of population, production, consumption, and development. Cities utilize all advantages of economy of scale, proximity, and concentration. On the other hand, they produce high environmental pressures and diminish thereby the quality of life for urban residents. Indicators (environmental, economic, and governance and management) are seen as a tool that would help policy-makers in formulating urban policy that would lead cities towards sustainability and provide assistance for monitoring their development and municipal performance. The aim of this paper is to consider the role that urban indicators can play in city management. We present basic features of urban indicators that will determine their usefulness in urban management. This paper provides the framework to include environmental and economic indicators, as well as governance and management indicators, in successful urban management.     

A Hypothetical Model of a New Business System Responsive to the Global Environment: A Connected Model

Within developing economies, in particular, but also in underdeveloped economies, current business priorities and practices have appeared to be incongruent with the general discourse of environmental sustainability. It is clear that the different players within the economic framework: government, education system, producers, and consumers—appear to hold differing interests, none of which places any meaningful emphasis on environmental sustainability. Following this observation, this paper seeks to argue for a change of tactics within which current players are treated as stakeholders and co-opted into a new business model that is fundamentally sensitive to the promotion and development of environmental sustainability. This approach is intended to interconnect the key market players’ interests and systematically weave them into a modern environmentally sustainable compliant business ethos.      

Sustainable development in historic areas: Adaptive re-use challenges in traditional houses in Sanliurfa,Turkey

The adaptive re-use of buildings is an approach for developing historical areas, and it extends the life of historical patterns. However, adaptive re-use is applied to development projects in different ways including compatible re-use and most appropriate re-use, both of which contribute to the sustainability of historic areas. The present study discusses the challenges associated with the compatible re-use and most appropriate re-use approaches for commercial and community development. In the case of commercial development, re-use is generally initiated by private entrepreneurship and is typically a new activity intended to generate income to sufficiently cover restoration and maintenance costs. Examples include the re-using as restaurants and hotels. Community re-use, which is mostly initiated by governmental involvement or development trusts, does not generate sufficient income to cover restoration and maintenance costs, but it does provide social benefits to the community. The present study demonstrates that design criteria can emphasise the significance of cultural heritage through adaptive-reuse. The research methodology used is tested through six selected case studies analysing sustainable development activities involving the traditional houses of Sanliurfa in Turkey. The aim of analysing the changes and their effects on the traditional houses of Sanliurfa and their historical environment is to highlight the challenges and approaches to re-use in terms of development involving historical patterns and conservation areas to provide guidelines for future projects.     

A conceptual framework for the strategic urban project approach for the sustainable redevelopment of “villages in the city” in Guangzhou

China’s recent wave of rapid urbanization generated a specific form of urban development called the “village in the city” (ViC). It is characterized by the dual urban-rural structure and it accommodates, to begin with, the monumental housing needs of rural migrants. Although the issues of ViCs are very specific and enormous, they evidently have a lot in common with those of slum areas and dilapidated urban areas in developed and developing contexts, in which there already is a long experience with upgrading or urban renewal operations. Also in this specific context of upgrading and urban renewal, the strategic urban project approach is generally being advocated. It emphasizes vision development, the coproduction by stakeholders and the implementation of actions. Strategic urban projects are the cornerstone of this approach. This paper sketches a conceptual framework for the strategic urban project approach for the sustainable redevelopment of “villages in the city” (ViCs) in Guangzhou. It makes an attempt to translate the methodologies of the strategic urban project approach to the Chinese context. Adapting the method to deal with the multi-stakeholder environment and complex issues in ViCs is indeed necessary in order to obtain a sustainable redevelopment of ViCs. Consideration is given to the roles and partnerships of key stakeholders, visions at different levels, and specific actions that deal with opportunities and issues in strategic locations.     

Building the Sustainable Community: Is Social Capital the Answer?

Over the past decade, environmental sustainability has emerged as a prominent theme in the community development literature. In fact, the concept has become a standard feature of most economic and social development plans. Most models of sustainable community development stress the importance of widespread participation in the decision-making process. Unfortunately, community studies document numerous barriers to broad involvement and the high level of activeness envisioned by proponents of sustainable community development. In searching for ways to overcome these barriers, scholars and policymakers have embraced the idea that we can enhance efforts to create more sustainable communities by increasing the local stock of social capital. We examine this line of reasoning in light of what we view as the most important conceptual issues surrounding the relationship between social capital and sustainable community development. We conclude that before social capital is endorsed as a central component of public policy, much work remains to be done in terms of developing a more precise definition of the concept, situating it within extant theories of community, constructing better measures of social capital, documenting the activities and networks most important in building social capital, and gaining a better understanding of the forms of social capital that are most important in developing sustainable communities.     

Social Transformation in China and the Development of Social Assessment

Since the late 1990s, China has been pursuing a policy of economic expansion with extensive investment in large-scale infrastructure projects. The social side effects of these projects—such as involuntary resettlement—are but the tip of the iceberg of so-called externalities of economic transformation. This paper introduces the background and methodology of social assessment in China and argues that the assessment of social risks in development projects and programmes, undertaken as an integral part of a larger complex of future-oriented sustainability strategies in China, can be analysed as particular ‘governmental technologies’ in the sense of the Foucauldian school.     

The negative effects of construction boom on urban planning and environment in Turkey: Unraveling the role of the public sector

Construction sector is usually accepted as the engine that triggers economic growth due to its strong backward and forward linkages with other sectors. On the other hand, it is also argued that increased construction activity could end up with negative economic, social and environmental impacts. The literature emphasizes the role of public sector, especially the national governments in minimizing the negative impacts of construction activity. The related arguments mostly postulate that public sector is well aware of the environmental challenges caused by construction activity and devoted to the understanding of how to improve the sustainability performance of private developers. Yet the case of Turkey provides significant evidences to question these assumptions. In this respect, this paper elaborates on the negative impacts of increased construction activity in Turkey and argues the role of public sector in intensification of the negative environmental effects through deregulation on urban planning and housing production by public agencies. The findings of the research highlight the importance of sustainable construction and verify the need for mainstreaming of sustainable construction into public policy-making at national and local levels, especially in developing countries, where most, if not all, of the future urban population growth will take place.     

Vertical Farming: Social Work and Sustainable Urban Agriculture in an Age of Global Food Crises

Abstract

Environmental concerns, including issues of ecological justice, attention to sustainability, and focus on issues of food security have gathered increased momentum in social work. This article will trace the background of sustainable urban agriculture as a partial solution to the issue of global food insecurity and its impact on marginalised urban populations. It will review the development of a sustainable agricultural initiative called vertical farming and suggest that it holds promise for communities struggling with chronic food security problems. It will outline some tentative steps social work may consider in order to become more fully involved in support of vertical farming initiatives.     

少数人的可持续发展：绿色城市发展与居民住房支付能力探析

不少旨在改善旧城空间的棕地开发项目和重建项目,都将可持续发展列为明确的目标。然而问题的关键是,这些重建项目的好处是否公平地分配到原有的社会成员或者街坊手中,或者,是否以牺牲现有居民和商贩的利益和现有社区的多样性为代价,使新搬来的高收入住户获得更多好处？加拿大维多利亚市棕地开发的案例分析,为本文所探讨的由棕地开发引发的收入差异问题提供了例证。第二个案例研究了多伦多的社区,指出在已有的社区内进行可持续发展项目,并不能确保维持和鼓励现有的社会多样性和公平性。英属哥伦比亚省温哥华市Downtown Eastside的一系列填空性建设项目也证实了类似的趋势,即它们对周边社区产生了很大影响,而且事实上给可持续发展带来了反作用。因此,可持续发展与社区中产化及高档化之间的关系比我们想象的更加复杂。     

Home gardening practice in Pune (India), the role of communities,urban environment and the contribution to urban sustainability

Urban Ecosystems - Urban agriculture (UA) is regarded as an emerging tool and strategy for sustainable urban development as it addresses a wide array of environmental, economic and social...     

Conventionalization, civic engagement, and the sustainability of organic agriculture

It is often assumed that organic farming is synonymous with sustainable agriculture. The broad goals of sustainable agriculture include economic profitability, environmental stewardship, and community vitality. However, the “question of sustainability” (Ikerd, 2008) can be asked of any type of farming, including organic production. One way to assess sustainability is to consider farmers’ perceptions of the sustainability of their operations. I draw on data from a survey of certified organic producers in Washington State to broaden our understanding of the sustainability of organic agriculture. Specifically, I consider certified organic producers’ perceptions of the degree to which their operations contribute to broad sustainable agriculture goals. Moreover, I use multiple regression to investigate how these perceived contributions are influenced by farm conventionalization variables (e.g., organic acreage, non-organic sales, and specialization) and civic engagement variables (e.g., direct marketing, community group membership, and participation in sustainable/organic agriculture organizations) while controlling for farmer demographics and farm location. Farm conventionalization appears to have a significant negative effect on perceived contributions to environmental and social sustainability, but a significant positive effect on perceived contribution to economic sustainability. Civic engagement appears to have a significant positive effect on perceived contributions to environmental and social sustainability, but no effect on perceived contribution to economic sustainability.     

Environmental Harm and “the Good Farmer”: Conceptualizing Discourses of Environmental Sustainability in the Beef Industry

Maintaining sustainability discourses in the face of evidence to the contrary is a topic of considerable interest in sociology. We approach this topic with a focus on the beef industry in Alberta, Canada. By studying the discourses of cow and calf producers this article addresses the following questions: (1) What are the discourses that producers draw on to support their self‐perceptions as stewards of the land, (2) how are these discourses used by producers to negotiate and reconcile their involvement in a system that contributes to environmental degradation, and (3) what are key elements to interpreting these discourses of sustainability? Methods include semistructured interviews with attention to the potential of genomics for enhanced cattle breeding to ameliorate harmful methane emissions. Our findings indicate that producers draw on narratives of balance between economic and environmental concerns, focus on epistemic nearness, and fragment their understanding of the beef industry to maintain discourses of sustainability. These findings offer insights into the impacts that embodied, material forms of knowledge have on farmers’ perceptions of the land, and demonstrate that these narratives and ways of knowing predicate farmers’ understandings of sustainable development.     

Sustainable development and the analysis of rural systems

The theme of sustainable development is proposed as an integrating framework for focusing theoretical and applied research in rural systems. It also serves as a base for public policy involving economic development and environ- mental maintenance. This paper presents a history of the theme of environmentally sustainable development and provides evidence of its continued theoretical and practical significance. The analysis of sustainability of rural systems is illustrated for agri-food systems from the perspectives of stewardship, food sufficiency and community. There is a need for development of analytical tools capable of considering these three components simultaneously.