Method and Practice for Integrated Water Landscapes Management: River Contracts for Resilient Territories and Communities Facing Climate Change

settingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Method and Practice for Integrated Water Landscapes Management: River Contracts for Resilient Territories and Communities Facing Climate Change by Francesca RossiORCID Department of Planning, Design, Technology of Architecture, Sapienza University of Rome, 00196 Rome, Italy Urban Sci. 2022, 6(4), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci6040083 Received: 14 August 2022 / Revised: 6 November 2022 / Accepted: 11 November 2022 / Published: 16 November 2022 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Proof Territories. An Interdisciplinary Approach to Urban Resilience) Download Browse Figure Review Reports Versions Notes Abstract The negative impacts of climate change on natural and anthropic ecosystems have led to the increasingly urgent search for policies, strategies and tools able to counteract degradation and risk factors on vulnerable landscapes. Among these, the research activity refers to water landscapes as a specific field of study that represents a fundamental resource for human well-being. In consistency with the international policy framework on integrated water management, this contribution develops a case study analysis focused on River Contracts as innovative, voluntary and negotiated planning practices aimed at the reconstruction of territorial, social and ecological values, which broaden the boundaries of safeguarding by integrating protection actions with sustainable management and environmental regeneration and to restore the identity of places and local communities. The description and evaluation of an ongoing experience of River, Coast and Landscape Contracts, developed along the coast of the Lazio region, allows one to point out that the process method is successful in solving complex issues related to the management of the river basin while involving social actors in order to improve people’s knowledge of the territory, increase social awareness of risk conditions, and allow local communities to propose and implement shared solutions. The results of this territorial and multi-level governance method are therefore measured on their capacity to produce territorial, social and environmental resilience

De Smart à Responsive, les enjeux de la planification urbaine à l'ère du numérique: Les expériences de Genève et Singapour

Rapid urbanization, climate change, sustainable development, resource depletion, the widespread use of the Internet and mobile phones, and the big data phenomenon all pose great challenges to urban planning. By facilitating data exchange, collection, and analysis, technological innovation has already improved the planning process. However, planning methods, tools, and administrative organizations still lag behind in implementing change. Technological progress has certainly altered urban management by making it more efficient, producing smart cities where system-automation optimizes and regulates flows, as well as balances the use of resources. But what about city planning ? The citizens and infrastructures of smart cities produce a massive amount of data, which in turn calls for smart planning ; a more responsive kind of urban planning capable of integrating this valuable data from the field. Moreover, urban dwellers are often excluded from the planning process, even though they are the ones generating and experiencing the city. Understanding urban practices and dynamics is a necessary condition for sustainable urban planning. The data produced, both actively and passively, by citizens can help understand their habits and needs. The smart city model has already reached its limits. The complexity of issues, social and urban dynamics, multiple involved actors, and technological innovation are all elements which demand reexamination of data sharing, production, and analysis to better determine the roles of urban data and urban dwellers. A new city model is emerging : the responsive city, which places urbanites at the center of reactive urban development. This research aims to consider the system formed by these citizens, their city (urban planners), and the digital world. First, it intends to identify the role of citizens in urban planning processes through a detailed study of existing digital participation tools. Second, the two case study cities of Geneva and Singapore are used to understand the implications of technological development in urban planning practices. Particular attention is given to changes taking place under the impulse of digital technology. The overall issues, generated data, its uses and limitations, as well as the promises of digital participation tools are all put into perspective through an integrated study of the cityâs development process. The study of digital participation tools, and the analysis and comparison of urban planning processes in Geneva and Singapore highlight changes in citiesâ production process which are necessary to meet contemporary urban challenges. The results show that planning tools are no longer valid, that the role of both urban planners and urban dwellers is changing rapidly, and finally, that, urban governance is moving towards more collaborative and reactive forms to maintain control over territorial development. This thesis explores the limits of current systems, examines the opportunities emerging with technological development, identifies the barriers and catalysts preventing or encouraging change, and makes recommendations for moving from the smart to the responsive city

A State of the Art of Governance Literature on adaptation to climate change. Towards a research agenda

This report provides a state-of-the-art overview of governance literature on adaptation strategies. What has recent research taught us on adaptation from the perspective of governance and to what research agenda does this lead? This report is structured as followed. Firstly, it will be argued why adaptation is a matter of governance. Secondly, the research methods for the literature study will be outlined. Thirdly, the results of the literature study will portray the findings in terms of the themes and foci with, respectively, environmental studies, spatial planning and development studies, and public administration studies. Finally, a comparative analysis of these findings will lead to a research agenda for future research on governance of adaptatio

Rising waters : integrating national datasets for the visualisation of diminishing spatial entities

Preparing for the potential changes wrought by climate change can be grounded in commonly integrated real data. Efforts by various countries to prepare for such potentialities have resulted in a stepped- approach to data management and integration. Small island states experience an added burden through data limitations, disparate datasets and data hoarding. This paper reviews the processes employed in Malta that target a spatio-temporal analysis of current and future climate change scenarios aimed at integrating environmental, spatial planning and social data in line with the transposition of the Aarhus Convention, the INSPIRE Directive (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community) and the SEIS (Shared Environmental Information System) initiative. The study analyses potential physical and social aspects that will be impacted by sea-level rise in the Maltese islands. Scenarios include the analysis of areas that will be inundated, the methodology employed to carry out the analysis, and the relative impacts on land use and environmental, infrastructural and population loss. Spatial information systems and 3D outputs illustrate outcome scenarios.peer-reviewe

Preparing for Climate Impacts: Lessons from the Front Lines

In a synthesis report to The Kresge Foundation, the Georgetown Climate Center shares lessons learned from its adaptation work in recent years. The report includes short case studies highlighting successful efforts as well as barriers to change

Harmonizing Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Transportation and Land-Use Planning in California Cities

Abstract: Recent extreme weather events in California—wildfires, drought, and flooding—make abundantly clear the need to plan effective responses to both the causes and the consequences of climate change. A central challenge for climate planning efforts has been identifying transportation and land-use (TLU) strategies that simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions (“mitigation”) and adapt communities so that they will be less affected by the adverse impacts of climate change (“adaptation”). Sets of policies that collectively address both mitigation and adaptation are known as “integrated actions.” This study explores municipal climate planning in California to determine whether cities incorporate integrated actions into their plans, assess the potential drivers of conflict between mitigation and adaptation in municipal plans, and identify ways the State of California can help cities more effectively incorporate integrated actions. The study methods consisted of a detailed analysis of climate planning documents from 23 California cities with particularly long histories of climate planning, plus interviews with 25 local, regional, and state officials who work on municipal climate planning. The authors found that some cities did adopt packages of integrated actions, and, promisingly, two cities with recently updated climate plans explicitly focused on the need for integrated actions. However, most cities addressed climate mitigation and adaptation in separate efforts, potentially reducing synergies between the two types of action and even creating conflicts. Since the first generation of climate action plans focused primarily on mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHGs), adaptation strategies have not yet been effectively or fully combined into mitigation plans in many cities. Also, a cross-comparison of plan content and interview data suggests that cities often had sets of policies that could potentially create conflicts—mitigation policies that would undermine adaptation capacity, and vice versa. In addition, where a city did adopt integrated actions, these efforts are typically not labeled as such, nor do the policies appear within the same policy document. The study findings suggest promising steps that both municipal and state governments can take to support integrated TLU actions at the local level. For example, cities can proactively link the content in climate mitigation and adaptation plans—a process that will require building the capacity for cross-collaboration between the various departments in charge of developing, implementing, and monitoring climate-related plans. As for the state government, it can provide funding specifically for planning and implementing integrated actions, offer technical support to help municipalities adopt programs and projects that produce integrated mitigation and adaptation benefits, and fund research in the area of integrated actions

Optimizing the Structure and Scale of Urban Water Infrastructure: Integrating Distributed Systems

Large-scale, centralized water infrastructure has provided clean drinking water, wastewater treatment, stormwater management and flood protection for U.S. cities and towns for many decades, protecting public health, safety and environmental quality. To accommodate increasing demands driven by population growth and industrial needs, municipalities and utilities have typically expanded centralized water systems with longer distribution and collection networks. This approach achieves financial and institutional economies of scale and allows for centralized management. It comes with tradeoffs, however, including higher energy demands for longdistance transport; extensive maintenance needs; and disruption of the hydrologic cycle, including the large-scale transfer of freshwater resources to estuarine and saline environments.While smaller-scale distributed water infrastructure has been available for quite some time, it has yet to be widely adopted in urban areas of the United States. However, interest in rethinking how to best meet our water and sanitation needs has been building. Recent technological developments and concerns about sustainability and community resilience have prompted experts to view distributed systems as complementary to centralized infrastructure, and in some situations the preferred alternative.In March 2014, the Johnson Foundation at Wingspread partnered with the Water Environment Federation and the Patel College of Global Sustainability at the University of South Florida to convene a diverse group of experts to examine the potential for distributed water infrastructure systems to be integrated with or substituted for more traditional water infrastructure, with a focus on right-sizing the structure and scale of systems and services to optimize water, energy and sanitation management while achieving long-term sustainability and resilience

An Investigation of Climate Change Governance Trends in the United States: Challenges and Effective Drivers

Climate change has become one of the most pressing environmental issues for our society. To effectively address climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted socioeconomic pathways, adaptation/mitigation actions, and governance as the three best ways to reduce emissions and halt the negative impacts from climate change. When studying governance structure, a clear and precise definition of ‘climate change governance’ is crucial. In this study, ‘governance’ refers to a range of initiatives, regulations, and government decisions aiming to establish cooperation between governmental and private sector stakeholders in dealing with a particular issue: climate change. Effective governance is achieved through a combination of strategic planning, integrating development decision-making, inter-department cooperation, adequate resources, and societal mobilization and education. This research project is organized into three phases that investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of the current climate change governance structure at different levels of government, identify effective drivers, and provide policy recommendations for improvement. In phase I, current climate change governance structures were identified using results from an online survey and in-depth interviews. Survey and interview respondents were made up of federal, state, city, and county level government officials leading climate change initiatives. Key trends we identified regarding current governance structures were: 1) very few officials are working on climate change full time; 2) cooperation between departments is key to success and is becoming more common; 3) states and cities have different emission reduction priorities; 4) main challenges include budgetary constraints and organizational structure. In phase II, utilizing information from the surveys, interviews and past literature research, we identified nine variables that we thought were the most important for effective climate change governance. By conducting factor analysis, these variables were split into three factors: Policy Support and Planning, Policy Development, and Utility Policy. Using the scores for each state and the calculated weights produced from factor analysis, we produced a climate governance effectiveness ranking for all 50 states. Not surprisingly, our results indicate more effective climate governance occurring in states along the West Coast and in the Northeast. Florida had the highest score for policy support and planning, confirming our previous findings that capacity building in the form of developing a well-informed and integrated strategic plan with sound research contributed most to effective climate change governance. Oregon had the highest score for policy development, which reinforces the importance of strong planning and cooperation for effective climate governance. In phase III, two case studies were conducted on Florida and Oregon to evaluate how they have excelled in each factor and how that has impacted climate change projects in these states. Each state took a different approach and has different concerns regarding climate mitigation vs. adaptation. Florida showed advantages in conducting multi-level strategic planning, incorporating climate adaption initiatives into the city planning and infrastructure improvement process, establishing multi-disciplinary research institutions for climate change impact and mitigation strategy research, and establishing education programs to promote climate change awareness and support. We specifically analyzed a climate adaptation project in the City of Miami that focused on storm water management due to rising sea levels. This project was based on a detailed impact analysis and had coordination among key departments, including the planning department, to take aggressive action against the expected risks of climate change. For this specific case, the benefits associated with the project relied on key economic factors such as tourism revenue and property values that would be impacted by rising sea levels and a cost-benefit analysis reflects this. Although the capital costs for the project are quite high, they are greatly outweighed by the consequences of inaction. The Oregon case study focused on a climate mitigation project to install a solar system along an interstate highway to offset CO2 emissions in the transportation system. In terms of policy development, Oregon utilized an innovative financing strategy to encourage private entities to financially support the project and utilized local companies for design and construction. As a result, the Baldock Solar Highway Project successfully utilized public and private resources and funding through cooperation with other entities, to incorporate CO2 emission reduction into the ODOT strategic plan. After conducting a cost-benefit analysis on the project, costs appeared to outweigh the benefits. However, this did not account for non-quantifiable benefits such as boosts to the local economy, or the achievement of state policy goals. Finally, this puts Oregon in a good position given the expected shift towards more aggressive renewable energy goals and carbon standards nationwide. Overall, this project makes several key points and recommendations: • Identifying the current trends in governance structure and combining this with the governance effectiveness index can help provide states that are not addressing climate change now with the best strategies for future structure and implementation. • The current major challenges associated with climate change governance in the U.S are inadequate budgetary and human resources, and a low priority placed on climate change • Organizations are recognizing the importance of inter-department cooperation, and are taking steps towards restructuring and integration. However, more efforts are needed for strategic planning and social mobilization. • The most effective drivers of climate change governance are policy support and planning and policy development. Therefore, it is most efficient to invest financial and human resources in developing these two areas. • It is beneficial to devote resources to incorporating climate adaptation initiatives into urban planning and infrastructure improvements, for states with high vulnerability to climate change impacts. Moreover, devoting resources into policy development can help states secure strategic positions when facing aggressive nationwide mitigation standards