Some Geographical Aspects of Rural Development with view of Montenegro: A Review

The paper discusses some geographical aspects of rural development with view of Montenegro. According to development of a heterogeneous, rural areas lag behind the urban and industrial, so the problem must be given more attention. In this regard, the European Union provides a powerful impetus to social and territorial cohesion of rural areas and attempt to provide a more efficient valorization of local development potential, in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. Privacy and promote rural development in Montenegro is in the interest of the whole society, and investing in the range of industries in rural areas increases their attractiveness, encourages sustainable growth and employment opportunities, especially for young employees willing and able to accept the new philosophy of development

Blue Economy and Resilient Development: Natural Resources, Shipping, People, and Environment

This book is a pivotal publication that seeks to address contemporary challenges to the blue economy in view of the growth in exploration and utilization of natural resources, transport connectivity, effects of climate change, sustainable fisheries management, food security, and social and economic issues of human well-being in coastal areas. Coastal territories and water areas are changing at an unprecedented pace in ways that fundamentally affect ecosystems, people, biodiversity, and sustainability. Such changes are driven primarily by rapid social and economic developments, economic disparities between countries, the internationalization of production and value chains, and industrialization. In this context, this publication supplements the existing literature by summoning political, economic, environmental, and social factors that influence various dimensions of the sustainable development of blue economy, as well as translating the findings into workable approaches and policies for the benefit of the economic actors, people, and the environment

Monitor Sustainable Municipalities Report 2019 Key topic Circular Economy. Bertelsmann Stiftung Study 4 November 2019

At first sight, the concept for a recycling economy appears to be just the latest trend in the field of urban development, but in fact conversion to circular value creation also contains numerous oppor-tunities for the creation of long-term sustainable economic, social and environmental benefits for local communities. We have therefore chosen to look at this topic in this, our fourth, Monitor Report. Recycling Economy, Circular Value Creation and Cradle To Cradle are three concepts which – alt-hough each has a different main focus – basically all describe the same paradigm shift: away from a classic linear economy (“Take, Make, Use, Dispose”) towards a model based on restoration and regeneration. The recycling economy principle is actually anchored in the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Devel-opment Goals, or SDGs. Goal 12 calls for sustainable consumption and sustainable production patterns. The recycling economy is also associated with a number of other sustainability goals, as it makes a significant contribution to their achievement. We are convinced that it is worth considering the applicability of the concept to local communities in Germany. What does transferring the recycling economy principle to local communities entail? How can towns be converted into “Recycling Cities”? Where are the obstacles and what potential is there? This Monitor Report is a first – it is the first bilingual version. With the kind permission of the Collab-orating Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) in Wuppertal, we have issued their “Circular Economy Guidebook for Cities” in the original English with a German translation. We hope that, by looking at the bigger picture, we will also generate the impulse to consider how the topic can be adopted in (European) towns and cities, and what the resulting benefits could be. We are fully aware that a one-to-one transfer will not work. “One size fits all” does not apply to local communities. Although something that makes sense in Amsterdam, Copenhagen or Oslo may not necessarily work in towns, districts and local communities in Germany, it is definitely worth looking at how things are done in other countries. I would sincerely like to thank everyone who contributed to the creation of this Report, and especially the CSCP for its trust and invaluable cooperation. We hope you enjoy reading the Report, and look forward as always to your feedback and suggestions

Regional Integration in the Black Sea Region: the Case of Two Sisters, Istanbul and Odessa

The political change in the 1980’es and 1990’es in the Black Sea Region has introduced many questions regarding its future as the region faces massive problems like conflicts on territory, drop of production levels in the 1990’es and related poverty, and last but not the least, environmental problems. The size of the region also blurs the picture. However, briefly there are three major influences that mark the future development of the region: globalization, regionalization and Euro-Asian integration. We propose that under these three influences, a new global integration zone, consisting of multiple networks between cities of the Black Sea Region is emerging. Our proposition that a new global integration zone is emerging within the Black Sea Region depends on three assumptions: Our first assumption is that neo-liberal globalization and regionalization (and particularly Euro-Asian integration) lead to development of similar political changes in the region. Our second assumption is that neo-liberal globalization and regionalization lead to development of similar spatial socio-economic developments within the Black Sea Region which brings some cities to the fore to gain power in the national and global organization of production. Our third assumption is that there is increasing trans-national integration between subject cities. Emergence of such a zone is perhaps most important for policy makers at the local level who have to face either positive or negative on-site effects of globalization and regionalization. Increasing socio-economic inequalities, excessive agglomeration of economic activities and population, diversification of population and increasing complexity of problems cripple traditional city management and planning practices in these countries which have a strong central planning and administration background. Due to practical reasons, we limit our study to integration of two sub-national regions, the province of Istanbul, and the province of Odessa which are also sister cities. Province of Istanbul may be recalled as Greater Istanbul, or Istanbul Metropolitan City since at 2004 due to change in the administrative legislation. Province of Odessa includes the city of Odessa as well as other cities within the province. We may conclude that there is progressive convergence in the political grounds between Turkey-Ukraine and Istanbul-Odessa, mainly in the framework of the global structures that are predominantly part of the Euro-Atlantic supra-structure. Though there is not much evidence of similarity in spatial development of Istanbul and Odessa, particularly due to political inclarity and problems of administrative decentralization in Ukraine, there is evidence of economic and social integration, between Turkey-Ukraine and Istanbul-Odessa, which experiences slow development, and negative side effects like informal activities. As a conclusion we may argue that integration of two regions might heavily depend on the Ukrainian foreign and domestic policies, and the decisions of supra-national structures like the World Trade Organization and EU. We may expect a progress in economic integration by the removal of trade barriers, where Istanbul and Odessa would be direct beneficiaries as both production and transfer centres. Further administrative decentralization in Ukraine might lead to a re-population in Odessa Region, as happened in Istanbul after the 1980 period.

Sustainable Development in Sparsely Populated Territories : Case of the Russian Arctic and Far East

Extreme environmental conditions, sparsely distributed human populations, and diverse local economies characterize the Russian Arctic and Far East. There is an urgent need for multidisciplinary research into how the Arctic and Far East can be developed sustainably as global changes in the environment and the economic priorities of nations accelerate and globalized societies emerge. Yet, when it comes to sustainability indicators, little consideration has been given thus far to sparsely populated and remote territories. Rather, the majority of indicators have been developed and tested while using empirical research gathered from cities and densely populated rural localities. As a result, there is no scientific technique that can be used to monitor the development of sparsely populated territories and inform the decisions of policymakers who hope to account for local specificity. This article suggests a conceptual model for linking sustainability to the unique characteristics of the sparsely populated regions of the Arctic and Far East. We provide an empirical illustration that is based on regional-level data from the sparsely populated territories of the Russian Federation. We conclude by suggesting indicators that could be best suited to promoting balanced regional development that accounts for the environment, economy, and social needs of sparsely populated territories

Urban food strategies in Central and Eastern Europe: what's specific and what's at stake?

Integrating a larger set of instruments into Rural Development Programmes implied an increasing focus on monitoring and evaluation. Against the highly diversified experience with regard to implementation of policy instruments the Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework has been set up by the EU Commission as a strategic and streamlined method of evaluating programmes’ impacts. Its indicator-based approach mainly reflects the concept of a linear, measure-based intervention logic that falls short of the true nature of RDP operation and impact capacity on rural changes. Besides the different phases of the policy process, i.e. policy design, delivery and evaluation, the regional context with its specific set of challenges and opportunities seems critical to the understanding and improvement of programme performance. In particular the role of local actors can hardly be grasped by quantitative indicators alone, but has to be addressed by assessing processes of social innovation. This shift in the evaluation focus underpins the need to take account of regional implementation specificities and processes of social innovation as decisive elements for programme performance.

Urban Regimes in Russia’s Northern Cities: Testing a Concept in a New Environment

At a time when urbanization represents a major trend in human history and when the majority of the world’s population lives in an urban environment, the urban regime theory, developed by Clarence Stone in the 1980s, offers an insightful framework for discussing how urban stakeholders are compelled to work together to achieve their goals. While research on urban regimes has historically focused mainly on democratic contexts, this article argues that it is time to use urban regime theory in authoritarian or semi-authoritarian countries in order to better understand how urban politics develop. With growing urban activism and huge territorial contrasts, Russia offers a good case study for testing the notion of “urban regime.” This article focuses on three cities in Russia’s Far North—Murmansk, Norilsk, and Yakutsk—that face common sustainability challenges in Arctic or subarctic conditions; it delves into the mechanisms of their urban regimes and categorizes them by type: instrumental, organic, and symbolic.À une époque où l’urbanisation représente une tendance majeure de l’histoire humaine et où la majorité de la population mondiale vit en milieu urbain, la théorie du régime urbain élaborée par Clarence Stone dans les années 1980 présente un cadre de discussion intéressant sur la façon dont les intervenants urbains sont incités à travailler ensemble pour atteindre leurs objectifs. Depuis longtemps, bien que la recherche sur les régimes urbains se concentre principalement sur les contextes démocratiques, le présent article soutient que le moment est venu d’utiliser la théorie du régime urbain dans les pays autoritaires ou semi-autoritaires afin de mieux comprendre comment se développe la politique urbaine. En raison de l’activisme urbain croissant et des énormes contrastes territoriaux, la Russie constitue une bonne étude de cas pour mettre à l’épreuve la notion de « régime urbain ». Cet article porte sur trois villes du grand nord de la Russie, Murmansk, Norilsk et Yakutsk, aux prises avec des défis communs en matière de durabilité dans des conditions arctiques ou subarctiques. Il explore les mécanismes de leurs régimes urbains et les place dans des catégories selon les types suivants : instrumental, organique et symbolique

Antarctic Cities. Volume 4, Principles for Antarctic Connectivity

Principles for Antarctic Connectivity brings together the values associated with the Antarctic Treaty System in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It is an initiative to bring together cities together in ways that outline a common vision, narrative and priorities. Antarctica is one of four internationally recognized global commons along with the atmosphere, the high seas and outer space. These are all areas that have historically been guided by the principle of the common heritage of humankind. However, there is no comprehensive charter of principles for Antarctic engagement. The present charter ‘Principles for Antarctic Connectivity’ seeks to provide such a set of guidelines. The continent is governed by the Antarctic Treaty System, a complex set of arrangements developed to regulate relations between states with interests and territorial claims in the region. There are five main articles to the treaty that have a principle-like quality (see Appendix 1 for a summary of all the articles): 1. No military use shall be made of Antarctica, though military personnel and equipment may be used for peaceful purposes. 2. There will be complete freedom of scientific investigation. 3. Antarctic Treaty Nations will exchange plans for their scientific programmes. Scientific data will be freely available and scientists will be exchanged between expeditions where practical. 4. All territorial claims are put aside for the duration of the Treaty. No activities under the Treaty will affect claims to sovereignty of any part of Antarctica made by any nation. 5. Nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal are banned from Antarctica. As of today, 29 states are ‘consultative parties’ to the Treaty. They demonstrate their interest in Antarctica by carrying out substantial scientific activity there. The Treaty articles are geographically directed towards activities in Antarctica. This charter, by comparison, is not geographically contained but pertains to all activities that have a bearing on the Antarctic region