10 minute read
Municipal, and Regional Figure 1.6 Aalborg Charter
Figure 1.6. Aalborg Charter
Source: Author compilation based on EU (1994).
Advertisement
Over time, the collaboration around goals and strategies may begin to coalesce around a common frame of reference throughout a city. This framework is a triggering factor leading to innovation and compliance across all sectors. Such positive spillover eff ects are the ideal result, creating a powerful local culture of sustainability. In Curitiba, for instance, the overarching vision of sustainability inspired citizens voluntarily to plant 1.5 million trees along the streets (ICLEI 2002).
A shared long-term planning framework is most eff ectively focused at the urban region as a whole, even if this area exceeds the jurisdictional boundaries of the city. In this context, urban region refers not only to the city or group of towns and cities that make up the existing urban area, but also to the combination of rural and natural areas immediately surrounding the city. A lot of city planning is city centric and treats areas outside the city limits as simply the responsibility of another jurisdiction. However, without regional planning, it is impossible to address longterm goals and to benefi t from an ecological and economic perspective, the Eco2 approach. Part of the reason a regional context is important is the unregulated and unplanned urban expansion that is occurring worldwide, in some cases even where populations are shrinking. This threatens the long-term health and prosperity of cities and countries. Increasingly, cities depend on the rural and natural areas in which they are immersed. These areas provide ecological functions, capturing and cleaning water; cooling, slowing, and fi ltering air; growing fresh produce for food security and public health; and providing energy resources that are renewable and secure. A shared regional strategy becomes an umbrella plan that defi nes how to direct city growth in ways that protect and enhance many ecological functions. This type of umbrella plan is sometimes called a regional growth strategy.
The urban region is also a vital scale for economic planning. Almost all economic patterns are formed at the regional scale, and eff orts to intervene and control economic development must also be executed at this critical scale.
Defi ning the boundaries of an urban region may be diffi cult. In fact, the actual dimensions
“ In many cases, the decline—and possible renewal—of cities cannot be divorced from their wider regional contexts. Declining cities are almost always concentrated in declining regions.”
Source: UN-Habitat (2008: 44).
of a region may be kept deliberately fl exible so that borders may adapt to refl ect the concerns of stakeholders. For example, the regional boundaries used for growth strategies might need to include watershed planning, commuter sheds, air sheds, utility service territories, market gardens, local energy generation, ecological systems, and economic development planning, each of which requires a diff erent delineation. Regardless of the label and scope, a regional strategic plan must help everyone to understand how the city will fi t into its ecological surroundings and how the pace and direction of growth will be consistent with near-term targets and long-term goals. The city-based decision support system in part 2 includes information on long-term planning frameworks and the creation of a regional growth strategy.
Stepping Stones for an Expanded Platform for Collaboration
Initiate a process for collaborative decision making
The process of creating collaborative committees begins with an invitation to key stakeholders to discuss the collaborative process and to consider the benefi ts of participating in an Eco2 pathway. It is usually necessary for the Eco2 champion to meet individually with key stakeholders and establish a common basis of good will and interest prior to a group meeting. Each stakeholder needs to see the benefi ts of participation from the stakeholder’s own position. For example, land developers have a chance to aff ect the regulations under which they must work and, ultimately, to improve business by infl uencing policy. Utilities and landowners can become more well informed about the opportunities for new business and improved customer relations. For second- and third-tier committees, it is especially important to clarify the role of the city as initiator and secretariat, but not as a group in control of decisions. Sometimes, it is necessary for the city to explain to everyone that the integrated approach means it must temporarily remove its regulator hat and join with others in the search for integrated solutions.
Prepare a mandate, and budget for a secretariat
A secretariat needs to support the collaborative committee, which means that it needs to be distinct from other city departments, even if it shares city offi ces to reduce costs. The size of the secretariat may be adjusted to fi t the pace and scope of collaborative processes. If only one person is involved, this person must have skills in communications (facilitation, writing), research, and data collection. Finding a budget for a secretariat may be challenging because collaborative committees are not normally budget items. One option is to include collaboration under the costs of strategic planning. Regardless of the funding source, the secretariat needs at least three years of secure budget to prove its worth.
Prepare a long-term planning framework for sustainability and resiliency
Part 2 provides the detailed methods and tools that may assist in preparing a framework. If time or money is limited, a rapid process is possible, using predefi ned goals and strategies from appropriate best practice cities. In this context, the case study reports are helpful in providing examples of goals and strategies. Software tools are available on the Web that may help in developing a framework that connects visions and goals to specifi c strategies and projects; the tools also allow the public and other stakeholders to explore the content of the framework. The framework requires a locally specifi c set of external forces (for example, climate change in the surrounding location or the demographics of each city). An extensive collaborative eff ort may be required to complete the framework, supported by tools such as visioning workshops and foresight workshops (part 2).
Select a catalyst project
A catalyst project is a key part of managing change. Catalyst projects should be projects that off er substantial benefi ts to the most infl uential stakeholders and that may be completed relatively quickly at low risk to the city. With luck, the catalyst project will contribute to a rising spiral of goodwill and acceptability for the Eco2 pathway. Choose carefully; fi rst impressions count for a lot. The creation of positive expectations among participating stakeholders and the public is crucial in successful change management.
References
Calthorpe, Peter, and William B. Fulton. 2001.
The Regional City: Planning for the End of Sprawl.
Washington, DC: Island Press. EU (European Union). 1994. “Charter of European
Cities & Towns Towards Sustainability.” http://ec.europa.eu/environment/urban/ pdf/aalborg_charter.pdf. ICLEI (ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability). 2002. “Curitiba: Orienting Urban Planning to
Sustainability.” Case Study 77. ICLEI, Toronto,
Canada. Jacobs, Jane. 1961. The Death and Life of Great
American Cities. New York: Random House. Kenworthy, Jeff rey R. 2006. “The Eco-City: Ten Key
Transport and Planning Dimensions for Sustainable City Development.” Environment and
Urbanization 18 (1): 67–85. Lahti, Pekka, ed. 2006. Towards Sustainable
Urban Infrastructure: Assessment, Tools and Good
Practice. Helsinki: European Science Foundation. Prasad, Neeraj, Federica Ranghieri, Fatima Shah,
Zoe Trohanis, Earl Kessler, and Ravi Sinha. 2009.
Climate Resilient Cities: A Primer on Reducing
Vulnerabilities to Disasters. Washington, DC:
World Bank. UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements
Programme). 2008. The State of the World’s
Cities 2008/2009: Harmonious Cities. London:
Earthscan Publications.
CHAPTER 5
A One-System Approach
A one-system approach enables cities to plan, design, and manage the entire urban system by integrating or optimizing key subsystems. In doing this, it provides opportunities for cities to realize many benefi ts through synergy.
As we explore the possibilities for a one-system approach, we fi rst address the enhancement of the effi ciency of resource fl ows in an urban area through integrated infrastructure system design and management. The approaches apply to most urban infrastructure sectors, such as transportation, energy, water, and waste management, and may be applicable within each sector and across sectors.
Next, we look at the possibilities for applying a one-system approach to integrate urban form and urban fl ows. We consider spatial planning, land use, density, connectivity, proximity, and other attributes of urban form, and we examine the large extent to which overall system effi ciency depends on the integration and coordination of these attributes with infrastructure systems. There is a fundamental relationship between a city’s infrastructure systems and its urban form. Urban form and spatial development establish the location, concentration, distribution, and nature of the demand nodes for the design of infrastructure system networks. Urban form establishes the physical and economic constraints and parameters for infrastructure system designs, their capacity thresholds, and technology choices, and the economic viabilities of the various options. These have tremendous implications for resource use effi ciency. At the same time, infrastructure system investments (transportation, water, energy, and so on) typically enable and induce particular spatial patterns on the basis of the market response to the investments.
The fi nal section of the chapter explores ways to implement projects using a more well integrated approach to implementation. This means that investments are sequenced so that the city sets the correct foundation by addressing long-lasting, cross-cutting issues fi rst. This also means creating a policy environment that enables an integrated approach, coordinating a full range of policy tools, collaborating with stakeholders to align key policies, and targeting new policies to refl ect the diff erent circumstances involved in urbanization in new areas and the improvement of existing urban areas.
It is critical for cities as they strive for greater ecological and economic sustainability to develop a systems perspective and apply the one-system approach. A review of this chapter reveals a more complete picture of the opportunities and the possibilities for new development paths. In addition, methods and tools introduced in part 2 may help planners, engineers, and designers visualize system dynamics; model the systemwide impacts of diff erent design and policy options at varying scales; and, generally, think outside of the silos created by professional training, institutional structures, and historical practice. As outlined in box 1.3, this will include the use of material fl ow analysis and the layering of information on maps to create a transdisciplinary platform for integrated design.
The Core Elements of a One-System Approach
We fi rst address the issue of enhancing the effi ciency of resource fl ows in an urban area through integrated infrastructure system design and management. These approaches apply to most urban infrastructure sectors, such as transportation, energy, water, and waste management, and may be applicable within each sector and across sectors.
Integration of demand and supply: Addressing effi ciency and conservation before supply-side investments An integration of supply and demand must always begin by asking why one should bother about new infrastructure if investments in demand reduction and the more effi cient use of existing infrastructure are more economical and benefi cial. The integration of supply and demand is a strategic approach that needs to be supported by careful investment planning. For any given investment in services, an optimum balance exists between investments in systemwide and end use effi ciency and investments in new supply systems. In an ideal scenario, supply- and demand-side investments are considered on a level playing fi eld, and money is placed where the returns to society, the economy, and the environment are greatest. In most utilities, proper tariff structures based on full cost recovery principles, together with progressive block tariff s with precisely targeted subsidies (where needed for social considerations), are an eff ective mechanism to reduce demand. This is because tariff s that do not refl ect the true economic cost may send the wrong signal to consumers and lead to waste or the overuse of resources. It is widely recognized that, historically, too much has been invested too quickly in supply solutions as opposed to reducing demand through resource effi ciency standards; building retrofi ts; and the replacement of lighting, fi xtures, vehicles, and appliances. In every sector, signifi cant gains have been realized by demand-side management (DSM); examples are the cases of Yokohama, Japan, in the waste sector (a capital expenditure of US$1.1 billion was avoided) and Emfuleni, in the energy and water sector (where singular investments of US$1.8 million led to annual savings of US$4.0 million). Not only do the net economic returns tend to be higher for DSM, but so, too, do the many indirect benefi ts for a city, including improved living environments and reduced vulnerability to future price fl uctuations or interruptions in resource supply. While DSM may be easy to implement and may quickly pay dividends in some instances, in other instances, it is diffi cult to implement because of the incentives of various stakeholders. Consider the case of housing and commercial buildings. On the one hand, they represent a tremendous potential for DSM because most buildings have not been constructed to energy or water effi ciency standards and may quickly generate high returns on relatively small
