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Editorial

Editorial International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development Vol. 1, Nos. 1–2, May–November 2009, 1–4 TJUE The International Journal of Urban Sustainability journal that will provide the space for relevant (IJUSD) aims to provide a forum for cutting edge policy discussion and comments of the readers. research and rigorous debate for understanding of We also aim to provide book reviews and com- the complex inter-related environmental, social, mentaries in different languages to enable wider economic, political, spatial, institutional and phys- access to the journal across geographical and lin- ical challenges facing towns and cities. Its premise guistic boundaries. Finally, the launch of the is that multi-disciplinary approaches provide the journal provides an additional opportunity for space for the range of perspectives related to the potential contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assess- full breadth of issues that affect urban sustainable ment Report. development. The journal also aims to enhance knowledge In this issue and understanding of the interactions between urbanisation processes and patterns and environ- In the introduction, I highlight the multi-discipli- mental changes at the local, regional, and global nary nature and complexity of challenges facing scales. It seeks to connect theory and practice in urban sustainability. This is important in the first ways that are useful to academics, policy makers, issue of IJUSD because there is a tendency for dif- community activists and professionals who are ferent disciplines to study and address different concerned with or engaged in building and gov- aspects of sustainability only from their own per- erning cities in ways that enhance environmental spectives without fully taking into account those viability and foster urban equity and well being of other disciplines or contextual conditions. and engender economic vibrancy and political The other contributions provide an excellent accountability. start to achieving our mission and establishing the There are many good journals that address journal as a forum for high quality debate and ana- urban or sustainability research. However, these lysis; creating the space for mutual learning from a tend to be either generic in nature or to focus on wide range of experiences and perspectives in specific disciplines or aspects of sustainability. both southern and northern cities. There is a lack of English language journals dedi- Justus Kithia explores how the notion of social cated to a truly multi-disciplinary and holistic capital can attain new relevance by motivating the approach to urban sustainability, encompassing initiation and accomplishment of measures to not only environmental but also social, economic, overcome the climate change risks faced by institutional and physical domains of urban devel- coastal East African cities. Focussing on Dar-es- opment as a process of building more inclusive Salaam and Mumbasa, Kithia shows that, while and resilient cities and transforming people’s lives both national and local government in these cities for the better. have an important role to play in the adaptation of To achieve these objectives the editorial team planning in response to climate change, they lack aims to develop the journal in partnership with its the necessary capacity to do so. As such the role of readers. To this end we shall be developing a dis- resource oriented local groups drawing on well cussion blog linked to the different issues of the established social networks becomes critical in ISSN 1946-3138 print/ISSN 1946-3146 online © 2009 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/19463131003743880 http://www.informaworld.com 2 Editorial developing effective adaptation capacity at the within a structured planning framework while local level. The key to successful implementation CLTS is primarily focussed on behavioural in East African cities therefore is seen in develop- change initiated and driven at community rather ing partnerships between state institutions and a than individual levels. The two approaches, network of local groups in a synergistic mutually therefore, are seen as being highly complemen- supportive state-community relationship. tary for facilitating multi-disciplinary stake- Franklin Odoom examines the political eco- holder participation throughout the planning, nomy of urban transport in Ghana. He argues that decision-making, and implementation phases the main reason for the rapid rise in the number of for tackling sanitation service delivery in a sus- cars in the country is due to dominant neo-liberal tainable manner in challenging urban and peri- political economy that relies increasingly on liber- urban contexts. alisation policies and road construction. The Efraim Ben-Zadok evaluates the formulation former, he notes, has facilitated the importation of and implementation of process tools for Sustaina- cars including a large number of old cars that are ble Community Planning (SCP) in Florida. He brought in for commercial use by investors and are argues that process lies at the heart of the sustaina- driven by overworked and over-stretched drivers. bility paradigm since it determines effective Road construction, on the other hand is seen as implementation of plans and shapes long term enticing people to buy and bring more cars on the community capacities for sustainable develop- road. Both are fuelled by the poor public trans- ment. Three sets of process tools are examined in portation system. The situation is further exacer- respect of regulation, evaluation and educational bated by a neo-liberal and market led planning aspects of sustainable community planning in the regime that permits investment and physical five communities that participated in the Florida developments according to market requirement Sustainable Communities Demonstration Project. rather than aiming to enhance urban sustainability. He concludes that these were successfully imple- The result is severe congestion, pollution to the mented but that discretionary implementation and urban environment and associated health problems regional planning were two major weaknesses. and a high rate of road accident fatalities and inju- The former leading to short term tradeoffs ries. He therefore advocates more progressive and between key stakeholders and the latter being seen broad ranging policies covering the harmonisation as crucial for reconciling differences between of jobs and residential location, greater use of pub- communities and for effective anti-sprawl and sus- lic and alternative transport modes (e.g. walking tainability policies. and bicycles) and ultimately working towards a Moving on to more technical tools for spatial new and more humane economic system. optimisation Yanguang Chen provides a new Christoph Lüthi, Jennifer McConville and model of urban population density indicating Elisabeth Kvarnström, examine community based latent fractal structure and highlighting its poten- approaches for addressing the urban sanitation tial for improving urban sustainability. He focusses challenge in developing countries. Drawing on on Hangzhou in China for his case study and con- successful case studies from Laos, Tanzania and cludes firstly that complex systems such as cities India they promote a new policy approach for urban can be modelled with multiple mathematical equa- areas combining urban-focussed Household-centred tions. As such there is not one best model for Environmental Sanitation (HCES) and the rural- urban density, but different models reflecting dif- focussed Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) ferent states of urban evolution. His suggested approaches. Both approaches have a technology neu- model he argues can be used to predict the spatial tral position to ensure a better match of adopted tech- complication of urban evolution from simple to nology with local social and economic conditions. complex and then to an even more complex struc- HCES emphasises multi-stakeholder involvement ture. Secondly he notes that the correct fractal International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development 3 dimension is one of the preconditions of spatial critical challenges for the future are “understand- dimensions of cities. Thirdly he argues fractals ing the ‘vision’ (or visions) and developing a and spatial complexity play a fundamental role in deeper understanding of the multi-faceted proc- the study of urban sustainability. Cities he notes esses of change required to achieve more sustaina- are complex spatial systems. Therefore, without ble cities.” the theory of spatial complexity, we cannot fully Adrian Atkinson also highlights the lack of comprehend urban systems, thereby seriously hin- communications between three different dis- dering our ability to comprehend or address the courses on urban sustainability that are in fact challenges of urban sustainability. closely related to each other. These are access to Fenmeng Xi, Hong S. He, Yuanman Hu, Ren- energy to increase economic growth, climate cang Bu, Yu Chang, Xiaoqing Wu, Miao Liu and change and the decline of petroleum or ‘peak oil’ Tiemao Shi apply a regional assessment and pre- syndrome. He goes on, however, to argue for a dictive model, SLEUTH, to explore the potential more radical paradigmatic shift. He challenges the influences of different ecological protection policy effectiveness of current efforts, which he describes scenarios in the Shenyang-Fushun metropolitan as ultimately being piecemeal approaches to region of China. They conclude that a managed achieving urban sustainability in the current neo- urban development scenario is the most appropri- liberal development paradigm of continuous ate policy approach for the study area but only if growth and consumption with ever increasing urban sprawl can be effectively controlled to bal- requirements for energy and car use. He therefore ance reindustrialisation, economic development, argues that inevitably we have to move towards a and ecological protection. Realising such a sce- new locally based development paradigm, be it as nario, however, requires that city governments at a result of peak oil conditions and/or effective glo- different levels adopt explicit eco-sensitive pol- bal binding agreements for reducing GHG emis- icies such as density planning, smart growth and sions and energy consumption, if we are to city boundary policies complemented with maintain the ceiling of 2 degree rise in climate detailed ecological protection policies to control temperature. The new development paradigm he urban growth and environmental pollution. argues will entail a radical shift in consumption In the expert view point commentaries, Katie and production towards more locally based activi- Williams explores the underlying concepts and ties with major implications for the restructuring scope of urban sustainability and provides a of cities. He concedes, however, that this is cur- framework for future research. She poses two rently way beyond the social imagination and thus basic questions: Firstly “do we know what the sus- the greatest problem in the coming decades will be tainable city is?”, and finds that precise conceptu- the psychological adjustment needed to move out alisations are rare and contested. In reality, she of the liberal consumer mentality and approach to argues, most disciplines working in the field con- life, to one which accepts that one’s sphere of life is struct their own notion of what the concept means reduced down to the locality in which we find our- for them without much crossover between them. selves and that the re-invention of civilisation itself Secondly she asks “do we know how to bring will require intense cooperation between neighbours. about sustainable urban development?” In The papers presented in this inaugural issue of response she proposes that there are multiple path- IJUSD challenge and provoke us to think more ways to achieving urban sustainability emanating critically about the way we perceive and achieve from multiple visions of sustainability. Often she urban sustainability. They present us with alternat- notes there is a dualistic division between tech- ive perspectives on adaptation and transport policy nical and social approaches. The challenge for the in East Africa and service delivery across a range next decade, she argues, is to genuinely move past of cities in the South, highlight the importance of this dualistic thinking. Therefore, the two most process tools for long term development of 4 Editorial sustainable communities in Florida, discuss tech- globalisation on livelihoods and local economic nical modelling tools for optimising urban density development, sustainable place making, etc., that and ecological protection policies in China and have not been touched upon or only partially provide incisive commentaries on priority examined. I look forward to addressing these and research areas and development paradigms for the other areas of concern in forthcoming issues. future. There are other important areas relating for example to mitigation, environmental legislation, governance and the politics of sustainability, parti- Ramin Keivani cipation and community development, impact of Managing Editor http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development Taylor & Francis

Editorial

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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
Copyright Taylor & Francis
ISSN
1946-3146
eISSN
1946-3138
DOI
10.1080/19463131003743880
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Abstract

International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development Vol. 1, Nos. 1–2, May–November 2009, 1–4 TJUE The International Journal of Urban Sustainability journal that will provide the space for relevant (IJUSD) aims to provide a forum for cutting edge policy discussion and comments of the readers. research and rigorous debate for understanding of We also aim to provide book reviews and com- the complex inter-related environmental, social, mentaries in different languages to enable wider economic, political, spatial, institutional and phys- access to the journal across geographical and lin- ical challenges facing towns and cities. Its premise guistic boundaries. Finally, the launch of the is that multi-disciplinary approaches provide the journal provides an additional opportunity for space for the range of perspectives related to the potential contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assess- full breadth of issues that affect urban sustainable ment Report. development. The journal also aims to enhance knowledge In this issue and understanding of the interactions between urbanisation processes and patterns and environ- In the introduction, I highlight the multi-discipli- mental changes at the local, regional, and global nary nature and complexity of challenges facing scales. It seeks to connect theory and practice in urban sustainability. This is important in the first ways that are useful to academics, policy makers, issue of IJUSD because there is a tendency for dif- community activists and professionals who are ferent disciplines to study and address different concerned with or engaged in building and gov- aspects of sustainability only from their own per- erning cities in ways that enhance environmental spectives without fully taking into account those viability and foster urban equity and well being of other disciplines or contextual conditions. and engender economic vibrancy and political The other contributions provide an excellent accountability. start to achieving our mission and establishing the There are many good journals that address journal as a forum for high quality debate and ana- urban or sustainability research. However, these lysis; creating the space for mutual learning from a tend to be either generic in nature or to focus on wide range of experiences and perspectives in specific disciplines or aspects of sustainability. both southern and northern cities. There is a lack of English language journals dedi- Justus Kithia explores how the notion of social cated to a truly multi-disciplinary and holistic capital can attain new relevance by motivating the approach to urban sustainability, encompassing initiation and accomplishment of measures to not only environmental but also social, economic, overcome the climate change risks faced by institutional and physical domains of urban devel- coastal East African cities. Focussing on Dar-es- opment as a process of building more inclusive Salaam and Mumbasa, Kithia shows that, while and resilient cities and transforming people’s lives both national and local government in these cities for the better. have an important role to play in the adaptation of To achieve these objectives the editorial team planning in response to climate change, they lack aims to develop the journal in partnership with its the necessary capacity to do so. As such the role of readers. To this end we shall be developing a dis- resource oriented local groups drawing on well cussion blog linked to the different issues of the established social networks becomes critical in ISSN 1946-3138 print/ISSN 1946-3146 online © 2009 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/19463131003743880 http://www.informaworld.com 2 Editorial developing effective adaptation capacity at the within a structured planning framework while local level. The key to successful implementation CLTS is primarily focussed on behavioural in East African cities therefore is seen in develop- change initiated and driven at community rather ing partnerships between state institutions and a than individual levels. The two approaches, network of local groups in a synergistic mutually therefore, are seen as being highly complemen- supportive state-community relationship. tary for facilitating multi-disciplinary stake- Franklin Odoom examines the political eco- holder participation throughout the planning, nomy of urban transport in Ghana. He argues that decision-making, and implementation phases the main reason for the rapid rise in the number of for tackling sanitation service delivery in a sus- cars in the country is due to dominant neo-liberal tainable manner in challenging urban and peri- political economy that relies increasingly on liber- urban contexts. alisation policies and road construction. The Efraim Ben-Zadok evaluates the formulation former, he notes, has facilitated the importation of and implementation of process tools for Sustaina- cars including a large number of old cars that are ble Community Planning (SCP) in Florida. He brought in for commercial use by investors and are argues that process lies at the heart of the sustaina- driven by overworked and over-stretched drivers. bility paradigm since it determines effective Road construction, on the other hand is seen as implementation of plans and shapes long term enticing people to buy and bring more cars on the community capacities for sustainable develop- road. Both are fuelled by the poor public trans- ment. Three sets of process tools are examined in portation system. The situation is further exacer- respect of regulation, evaluation and educational bated by a neo-liberal and market led planning aspects of sustainable community planning in the regime that permits investment and physical five communities that participated in the Florida developments according to market requirement Sustainable Communities Demonstration Project. rather than aiming to enhance urban sustainability. He concludes that these were successfully imple- The result is severe congestion, pollution to the mented but that discretionary implementation and urban environment and associated health problems regional planning were two major weaknesses. and a high rate of road accident fatalities and inju- The former leading to short term tradeoffs ries. He therefore advocates more progressive and between key stakeholders and the latter being seen broad ranging policies covering the harmonisation as crucial for reconciling differences between of jobs and residential location, greater use of pub- communities and for effective anti-sprawl and sus- lic and alternative transport modes (e.g. walking tainability policies. and bicycles) and ultimately working towards a Moving on to more technical tools for spatial new and more humane economic system. optimisation Yanguang Chen provides a new Christoph Lüthi, Jennifer McConville and model of urban population density indicating Elisabeth Kvarnström, examine community based latent fractal structure and highlighting its poten- approaches for addressing the urban sanitation tial for improving urban sustainability. He focusses challenge in developing countries. Drawing on on Hangzhou in China for his case study and con- successful case studies from Laos, Tanzania and cludes firstly that complex systems such as cities India they promote a new policy approach for urban can be modelled with multiple mathematical equa- areas combining urban-focussed Household-centred tions. As such there is not one best model for Environmental Sanitation (HCES) and the rural- urban density, but different models reflecting dif- focussed Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) ferent states of urban evolution. His suggested approaches. Both approaches have a technology neu- model he argues can be used to predict the spatial tral position to ensure a better match of adopted tech- complication of urban evolution from simple to nology with local social and economic conditions. complex and then to an even more complex struc- HCES emphasises multi-stakeholder involvement ture. Secondly he notes that the correct fractal International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development 3 dimension is one of the preconditions of spatial critical challenges for the future are “understand- dimensions of cities. Thirdly he argues fractals ing the ‘vision’ (or visions) and developing a and spatial complexity play a fundamental role in deeper understanding of the multi-faceted proc- the study of urban sustainability. Cities he notes esses of change required to achieve more sustaina- are complex spatial systems. Therefore, without ble cities.” the theory of spatial complexity, we cannot fully Adrian Atkinson also highlights the lack of comprehend urban systems, thereby seriously hin- communications between three different dis- dering our ability to comprehend or address the courses on urban sustainability that are in fact challenges of urban sustainability. closely related to each other. These are access to Fenmeng Xi, Hong S. He, Yuanman Hu, Ren- energy to increase economic growth, climate cang Bu, Yu Chang, Xiaoqing Wu, Miao Liu and change and the decline of petroleum or ‘peak oil’ Tiemao Shi apply a regional assessment and pre- syndrome. He goes on, however, to argue for a dictive model, SLEUTH, to explore the potential more radical paradigmatic shift. He challenges the influences of different ecological protection policy effectiveness of current efforts, which he describes scenarios in the Shenyang-Fushun metropolitan as ultimately being piecemeal approaches to region of China. They conclude that a managed achieving urban sustainability in the current neo- urban development scenario is the most appropri- liberal development paradigm of continuous ate policy approach for the study area but only if growth and consumption with ever increasing urban sprawl can be effectively controlled to bal- requirements for energy and car use. He therefore ance reindustrialisation, economic development, argues that inevitably we have to move towards a and ecological protection. Realising such a sce- new locally based development paradigm, be it as nario, however, requires that city governments at a result of peak oil conditions and/or effective glo- different levels adopt explicit eco-sensitive pol- bal binding agreements for reducing GHG emis- icies such as density planning, smart growth and sions and energy consumption, if we are to city boundary policies complemented with maintain the ceiling of 2 degree rise in climate detailed ecological protection policies to control temperature. The new development paradigm he urban growth and environmental pollution. argues will entail a radical shift in consumption In the expert view point commentaries, Katie and production towards more locally based activi- Williams explores the underlying concepts and ties with major implications for the restructuring scope of urban sustainability and provides a of cities. He concedes, however, that this is cur- framework for future research. She poses two rently way beyond the social imagination and thus basic questions: Firstly “do we know what the sus- the greatest problem in the coming decades will be tainable city is?”, and finds that precise conceptu- the psychological adjustment needed to move out alisations are rare and contested. In reality, she of the liberal consumer mentality and approach to argues, most disciplines working in the field con- life, to one which accepts that one’s sphere of life is struct their own notion of what the concept means reduced down to the locality in which we find our- for them without much crossover between them. selves and that the re-invention of civilisation itself Secondly she asks “do we know how to bring will require intense cooperation between neighbours. about sustainable urban development?” In The papers presented in this inaugural issue of response she proposes that there are multiple path- IJUSD challenge and provoke us to think more ways to achieving urban sustainability emanating critically about the way we perceive and achieve from multiple visions of sustainability. Often she urban sustainability. They present us with alternat- notes there is a dualistic division between tech- ive perspectives on adaptation and transport policy nical and social approaches. The challenge for the in East Africa and service delivery across a range next decade, she argues, is to genuinely move past of cities in the South, highlight the importance of this dualistic thinking. Therefore, the two most process tools for long term development of 4 Editorial sustainable communities in Florida, discuss tech- globalisation on livelihoods and local economic nical modelling tools for optimising urban density development, sustainable place making, etc., that and ecological protection policies in China and have not been touched upon or only partially provide incisive commentaries on priority examined. I look forward to addressing these and research areas and development paradigms for the other areas of concern in forthcoming issues. future. There are other important areas relating for example to mitigation, environmental legislation, governance and the politics of sustainability, parti- Ramin Keivani cipation and community development, impact of Managing Editor

Journal

International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jan 1, 2009

There are no references for this article.