Collaboration on risk management: the governance of a non-potable water reuse scheme in London

Ageing water infrastructure and population growth, issues that are characteristic of megacities, are likely to exacerbate water supply deficits in London. To address this threat, wastewater reclamation and non-potable reuse can potentially close the supply-demand gap without impacting on environmental water bodies. There is a need to understand the types of challenges that diverse stakeholders face in relation to the governance of NPR schemes, and how those challenges might be addressed in a megacity context. A case study is used to explore these challenges for an operational sewer mining scheme in London, where reclaimed non-potable water is used for irrigation and toilet flushing at the site of the London 2012 Olympic Park. Through qualitative analysis of interview and document data, the results highlight that collaboration and learning opportunities are perceived as necessary to improve scheme governance. The findings indicate that formal and informal engagement activities centred on risk management can support the development of common understandings, build important inter-stakeholder relationships and help maintain trust. Non-potable reuse can contribute to the resilience of megacities through infrastructure diversification, but its feasibility will depend on the willingness of stakeholders to participate and continually negotiate new risk management practices

Urban world: Mapping the economic power of cities

Until now, a lack of global data at the city level has prevented companies and policymakers from tracking the evolving role of cities in the global economy and positioning their business and policy activities accordingly. To help close this "white space" in our understanding of the global economy, the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), McKinsey & Company's business and economics research arm, has built on its extensive body of research on the urbanization of China, India, and Latin America to develop the MGI Cityscope, a database of more than 2,000 metropolitan areas around the world that we believe is the largest of its kind. By analyzing demographic, income, and household trends in these cities, the database offers actionable insights on the choices facing companies looking for new markets and policy makers seeking to improve their urban management and the alignment of their diplomatic efforts with their countries' trade interests

Climate Action In Megacities 3.0

"Climate Action in Megacities 3.0" (CAM 3.0) presents major new insights into the current status, latest trends and future potential for climate action at the city level. Documenting the volume of action being taken by cities, CAM 3.0 marks a new chapter in the C40-Arup research partnership, supported by the City Leadership Initiative at University College London. It provides compelling evidence about cities' commitment to tackling climate change and their critical role in the fight to achieve global emissions reductions

Environmental Sustainability and Services in Developing Global City Regions

Globalization brings unparalleled challenges and opportunities for global city-regions, both in terms of wealth creation and environmental sustainability. The purpose of this paper is (1) to analyze the environmental challenges of global city-regions, especially in developing countries, where they are more severe; (2) to examine the implications of globalization for these challenges; and (3) to explore public policy options, private sector involvement and innovative, flexible instruments for addressing these challenges. Based on this analysis, the author proposes a new paradigm for the environmental management of global city-regions, driven by the private sector and civil society, with government playing a regulatory and facilitating role.Urban Planning, Environment, Sustainable Development

Combating the Challenges of Rise in Urban Slums in Cities in Developing World_A Case Study of Lagos State

Lagos State is an urban complex that embodies tremendous contrasts. As the former national capital and the major port of the largest country in Africa, it is a magnet for migrants from all over Nigeria and neighbouring countries alike. Hence, Lagos state attained the status of a megacity with a population estimate of over 15 million inhabitants with an attendant housing and infrastructural development problems. The objective of this paper is to address how to stem the tide of negative development experienced in Lagos in the planning of other developing cities in Nigeria, most especially in the new Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The paper is narrative and historical in methodology. Thus, the paper embarks on a comprehensive literature study of the historical development of Lagos State with a view to determining how it resulted into a megacity with an inadequate level of infrastructural development to match its status, which subsequently gave rise to development of urban slums and squatter settlements within the metropolis. The paper concludes by giving recommendations on how to improve infrastructural facilities, upgrade urban slums and squatter settlements without necessarily resulting into house demolitions or outright eviction of people from their abode

No. 01: Hungry Cities of the Global South

The recent inclusion of an urban Sustainable Development Goal in the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda represents an important acknowledgement of the reality of global urbanization and the many social, economic, infrastructural and political challenges posed by the human transition to a predominantly urban world. However, while the SDG provides goals for housing, transportation, land use, cultural heritage and disaster risk prevention, food is not mentioned at all. This discussion paper aims to correct this unfortunate omission by reviewing the current evidence on the challenges of feeding rapidly-growing cities in the Global South. The paper first documents the magnitude of the urban transition and the variety of indicators that have been deployed to measure the extent of food insecurity amongst urban populations. It then looks at the way in which urban food systems are being transformed by the advent of supermarkets (the so-called “supermarket revolution”) and the growth of the informal food economy. The final section of the paper examines the relationship between formal and informal food retail and asks whether the one is undermining the other or whether they co-exist in an uneasy, though symbiotic, relationship. Against this backdrop, the secondary purpose of the paper is to lay out a research agenda which will guide the Hungry Cities Partnership as it attempts to give greater global prominence to the critical but neglected issue of urban food systems and food insecurity

Air and Water Quality under Pressure in Africa

The African continent has large untapped environmental resources: together with Latin America and the Caribbean, the continent has the largest reserve of agricultural land, accounting for 80 per cent of the global total.Africa is home to important biodiversity assets and ecosystems, including the Congo Basin rainforest – the second largest tropical rainforest in the world. However, the continent's natural capital is under pressure from urbanization and industrialization as well as from a growing population. This has resulted in the degradation of air, land and water quality.Poverty and lack of investment has accelerated this deterioration in many regions, preventing people from utilizing the continent's natural resources in a sustainable manner.Sustainable management of natural capital is key to ensuring continued economic development of the continent. The GEO-6 presents the state of play for air, water and land in Africa and looks at how these resources can be tackled

Booms, Busts, and Echoes: How the biggest demographic upheaval in history is affecting global development

For much (and perhaps most) of human history, demographic patterns were fairly stable: the human population grew slowly, and age structures, birth rates, and death rates changed very little. The slow long-run growth in population was interrupted periodically by epidemics and pandemics that could sharply reduce population numbers, but these events had little bearing on long-term trends.demography, growth, global development

Fish in the city

Aquaculture is the most recent addition to animal husbandry and it is the fastest growing food production industry. Its contribution to world food security in the 21st century is already significant and it is bound to continue to grow because demand for fish for human consumption is rapidly increasing whereas fish supplies from ocean fisheries are likely to decline. The rapid evolution of aquaculture involved a host of innovations of which many were based on R&D activities by public and private research organizations. Applied R&D tends to be the more effective the better focused it is on specific research problems or opportunities. Among the many possible aquaculture production systems on which aquaculture R&D might focus are recirculation aquaculture systems and in this paper we explore crucial aspects of the potential of urban recirculation aquaculture. Our exploration begins with a vision of recirculation aquaculture production plants located at the fringes of cities of converging economies. Such production systems are distinctly different from conventional urban aquaculture systems based on urban sewage. We scrutinize our vision from four perspectives: (i) the expected demand for aquaculture fish from urban consumers; (ii) cost competitiveness of fish produced at the fringes of cities as compared to fish produced in the rural hinterland; (iii) the potential for integration of urban recirculation aquaculture production into the modern food supply chains that are now emerging in converging economies, and (iv) the ecological footprint of aquaculture production compared to that of chicken production. Based on trends in the growth of urban populations world-wide and trends in demand for fish for food we estimate a total urban demand for aquaculture finfish between 11 and 51 million tons in 2025. We use von Thünen's location theory to provide support for the vision to locate recirculation aquaculture plants not within cities and not in their rural hinterland but on the fringes of cities. Moreover, we argue that tightly controlled recirculation aquaculture production would seem to be particularly well suited for being integrated into modern food supply chains. Finally, we compare the ecological footprint of recirculation aquaculture fish with that of industrially produced chicken and we find that the ecological balance depends on the source of energy used. We conclude our exploratory study with some thoughts on the implication for aquaculture R&D of the potential for recirculation aquaculture located on the fringes of cities in emerging economy countries. --

Urbanization, housing and environment: Megacities of Africa

This paper takes a look at urbanization, housing and environment in Africa megacities; it enumerates the problems caused by the continued influx of migrant into cities, and state the government, private and public organization effort in solving these challenges. It found out that with proper management, the chilling prospect of a serious deterioration in quality of life could be averted. The report noted that continuing migration from rural to urban areas will expand the number of megacities, and it concedes that megacities are often plagued by environmental deterioration, inadequate housing, traffic congestion, social alienation slums, crime and homelessness. Etc. The paper, observed that megacities are important to a country's economic development, and also provide residents with a satisfying quality of life, if properly managed. The report looked for ways of solving the problems to a significant degree and observed that nearly in all cases, the gaps between demand and supply are management related, and recommends ways of improving the quality of citizen life by provision of adequate and quality housing, reduction in land costs, healthy environment, clean water and sanitation services, security within the city, employment opportunity, bolstering urban farming, and improving public transportation and make sure that the megacities are beneficial to the environment as well as to the national economy. The paper admits that the solutions are far from easy. It is difficult to predict what will happen if there are shortfalls in the financing of megacity growth and management