Governance and the City: An Empirical Exploration into Global Determinants of Urban Performance

We contribute to the field of urban governance and globalization through an empirically-based exploration of determinants of performance of cities. We construct a preliminary worldwide database for cities, containing variables and indicators of globalization (at the country and city level), city governance, city performance (access and quality of infrastructure service delivery), as well as other relevant city characteristics. This city database, encompassing hundreds of cities worldwide, integrates existing data with new data gathered for this research project. We present a very simple conceptual framework and a set of hypotheses, and then test them econometrically. The findings suggest that good governance and globalization (at both the country as well as at the city level) do matter for city-level performance in terms of access and quality of delivery of infrastructure services. We also find that globalization and good city governance are significantly related with each other. There appear to be dynamic pressures from globalization and accountability that result in better performance at the city level. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that there are particular and complex interactions between technology choices, governance and city performance, as well as evidence of a non-linear (u- shaped) relationship between city size and performance, challenging the view that very large cities necessarily exhibit lower performance and pointing to potential agglomeration economies. Our framework also suggests a way of bridging two seemingly competing strands of the literature, namely viewing the city as a place or as an outcome. We conclude pointing to the need for expanding the database and the econometric framework, as well as to more general future research directions and policy implications emerging from this initial empirical investigation in the field of governance and the city.Governance, city governance, expirical exploration, global determinants, urban, performance

Viajemos Seguras and Mejoramiento Barrial: Institutionalizing the fight against gender-based violence in Mexico City’s public realm

Gender- based violence in the public realm is an issue found in multiple nations which threatens societal development. With growing pressures to create more inclusive and equitable communities, countries and cities have begun to take concrete steps towards fighting violence against women. This master thesis analyzes the programmatic approach taken by the Mexico City government to fight gender based violence in the public realm. Particularly, it looked at how through the use of two programs, Viajemos Seguras and Programa Comunitario de Mejoramiento Barrial, the local officials have attempted to create safe experiences for female users. These programs relied on physical interventions such as women only subway cars and buses, reporting modules, installation of lighting and clearing obstacles and vegetation to create safer environments. Using user-based interviews and surveys, this thesis identified measures in which these two programs have been successful at increasing perceived safety. While the respondents recognized the temporality of these solutions, and the need to attack the societal roles and tendencies such as the Mexican machismo, the female users did feel more comfortable using the services provided through the programs. In the end, despite the long road ahead the Mexico City government’s intentions and interventions are headed in the right direction

Reconfiguring the city in the global South: rationalities, techniques and subjectivities in the local governance of energy

Debates around climate change and resource security are reshaping the way cities conceive and develop their infrastructures. Electricity systems play a key role in this transformation, as cities across the world set out to implement local energy strategies via decentralised and low carbon energy systems. Such transformation is of particular relevance for cities in the global South, where rapid economic growth and an increase in energy consumption coexist with acute social needs and unmet infrastructure provision. Through a comparative study of two cities (Thane, in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, India, and São Paulo, in Brazil) this thesis evaluates the way in which public and private stakeholders are implementing a new form of local energy generation through the use of domestic solar hot water (SHW) systems as a mechanism for reducing electricity consumption. By focusing on the governing mechanisms involved in scaling-up solar technologies and the ways by which these are mobilised to serve contrasting interests in the city, the thesis examines the emerging local governance of energy in the global South. The thesis uses Foucault’s analytics of governmentality as a conceptual tool aimed at unpacking the different ways by which energy in the city, in its material and socio-political formations, is thought of, mobilised, and transformed. Through a combination of interviews, site visits, and ethnographic techniques, it examines how this transformation in urban infrastructures is changing the manner in which energy is governed, the spatial and socio-political implications of this transformation, and the way in which the material dimensions of SHW systems influence the transformation process. The thesis discusses the governmental rationales involved in the making of a local governance of energy, the key governmental techniques involved in operationalizing a solar energy regime, and the multiple ways in which energy subjects are imagined within this process

The linguistic construction of business reasoning: Towards a language-based model of decision-making in undergraduate business

This thesis reports on research whose aim is to arrive at a linguistically theorised understanding of the process of decision-making in undergraduate business studies. The use of ‘real-life’ tasks such as country reports – the major assessment task of the interdisciplinary unit Business in the Global Environment at a metropolitan Australian university – is intended to prepare students for the skills of ‘problem-solving’, ‘decision-making’ and professional report writing in international business environments. However, as indicated by the large number of students failing this task, few students possess the sophisticated linguistic resources necessary to build the generic complexity and persuasive rhetoric this high-stakes task demands. This study is concerned with identifying the linguistic demands of demonstrating decision-making in country reports. Current modelling of ‘big texts’ in SFL (Martin, 1994, 1995) is insufficient for understanding longer texts stretching across the many pages tertiary students are generally required to write. This thesis will show through fine-grained linguistic analyses of High Distinction student assignments that not all ‘big texts’ are macrogenres made up of elemental genre complexes and illustrate that embedded genres play a fundamental role in enabling texts of the length of business country reports to grow bigger than a page. Drawing on discourse semantics (Martin, 1992; Martin & Rose, 2007; Martin & White, 2005), this thesis also will also show how business reasoning is construed in undergraduate business reports through different types of grammatical structures and how successful student writers construct cause-effect relations and three major types of rhetorical moves in these texts. By making visible the academically valued meanings by which skillful writers demonstrate the process of decision-making in undergraduate business country reports, this research has pedagogical implications for academic literacy interventions aimed at making explicit the basis of achievement in business studies. It is hoped that this study will open up future research directions for the continued study of knowledge-building in undergraduate business studies

Public Art: Context & Process in San Luis Obispo, CA

Public spaces are noted by historians, philosophers, planners, etc as being the lifeblood of civic centers, spaces that bring people in community together for a myriad of reasons. Recalling the ancient Agricola’s of ancient Greece to the modern version of malls and pedestrian plazas, these spaces are where social interactions occur, ideas are spread, and are open for all people to enjoy. Beautifying these spaces with public art and well-thought out design encourage the use of these spaces and work to empower those who use them. While the mode in which public art populates public spaces has changed, the notion that they exist to benefit a public good, act as a civilizer, create character and a distinct environment endures. The idea of public art is unique and is noted for doing something that neither a public space without art nor a museum with art can do: it can capture the eye and mind of individuals passing through public spaces. Making people pay attention to the civic environment around them, creating a sense of “civic vitality” in cities, towns and communities. Public art prompts vital questions about our environment and ourselves, encouraging a broad range of learning opportunities. Public installations of art celebrate culture and the environment, providing connections to history and the natural world. It makes space interesting and different from another. Public artwork is celebrated and condemned for its ability to challenge, delight, educate, and illuminate. Establishing written policies and programs for the arts solidify their place in communities, enacting a set of codes and a process for which artistic endeavors are woven into the complex urban landscape. The role public art plays in communities is unique in the marrying of two very different sectors of civic life: art and aesthetics with the political planning process. This study examines how political decisions impact the installation process for public artwork in cities. How do written policies and programs support opportunities for installations, ways to empower the community and brighten the streetscape, and where are there gaps in knowledge and information that make the process more convoluted and difficult to navigate? Through studying the public art installation process in the City of San Luis Obispo from the perspective of the administrators working with the public art programs and policies and comparing the process with the ways in which the community is empowered by public art a number of recommendations are made to increase transparency and encourage artistic opportunities in the town with an already robust Public Art Program

Mustang Daily , May 20, 1994

Student newspaper of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/studentnewspaper/5724/thumbnail.jp

Decolonising the Waters: Interspecies Encounters Between Sharks and Humans

Often portrayed as ‘man–eaters’, sharks are one of the most maligned apex species on earth. Media representation has fuelled public imagination, perpetuating fear and negative stereotypes of sharks and hysteria around human-shark interactions; whilst government initiatives such as beach netting and drum-lines target sharks for elimination. This interdisciplinary article, written from the points of view of environmental science and cultural studies, proposes humans as simply another species when entering the ocean, presenting a decolonising shift in paradigm that supports an interspecies ethics of engagement in understanding shark-human interactions. The shifting environmental, political, social and cultural realities of shark-human interactions are examined from the point of view of an endangered species that is hunted by humans in the pursuit of making beaches ‘safe’ for human leisure activities. The human ‘right to leisure’ enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) raises philosophical and ethical implications in respect of human rights taking precedence over a species’ right to live in its environment. The article builds upon philosophical debates in environmental ethics, offering a point of cultural recognition of the profound imbalance that is being imposed upon Nature. The article proposes a shift in approaches to human attitudes and uses of the ocean, decentralizing the anthropocentric, reinstating the ecological kinship of species

Technologies for climate change adaptation: agricultural sector

This Guidebook presents a selection of technologies for climate change adaptation in the agricultural sector. A set of twenty two adaptation technologies are showcased that are primarily based on the principals of agroecology, but also include scientific technologies of climate and biological sciences complemented with important sociological and institutional capacity building processes that are required to make adaptation function. The technologies cover monitoring and forecasting the climate, sustainable water use and management, soil management, sustainable crop management, seed conservation, sustainable forest management and sustainable livestock management. Technologies that tend to homogenize the natural environment and agricultural production have low possibilities of success in conditions of environmental stress that are likely to result from climate change. On the other hand, technologies that allow for, and indeed promote, diversity are more likely to provide a strategy which strengthens agricultural production in the face of uncertain future climate change scenarios. In this sense, the twenty two technologies showcased in this Guidebook have been selected because they facilitate the conservation and restoration of diversity while at the same time providing opportunities for increasing agricultural productivity. Many of these technologies are not new to agricultural production practices, but they are implemented based on assessment of current and possible future impacts of climate change in a particular location. Agro-ecology is an approach that encompasses concepts of sustainable production and biodiversity promotion and therefore provides a useful framework for identifying and selecting appropriate adaptation technologies for the agricultural sector. The Guidebook provides a systematic analysis of the most relevant information available on climate change adaptation technologies in the agriculture sector. It has been compiled based on a literature review of key publications, journal articles, and e-platforms, and by drawing on documented experiences sourced from a range of organizations working on projects and programmes concerned with climate change adaptation technologies in the agricultural sector. Its geographic scope is focused on developing countries where high levels of poverty, agricultural production, climate variability and biological diversity currently intersect. Key concepts around climate change adaptation are not universally agreed. It is therefore important to understand local contexts – especially social and cultural norms - when working with national and sub-national stakeholders to make informed decisions about appropriate technology options. Thus, decision-making processes should be participative, facilitated, and consensus-building oriented and should be based on the following key guiding principles: increasing awareness and knowledge, strengthening institutions, protecting natural resources, providing financial assistance and developing context-specific strategies. For decision-making the Community–Based Adaptation framework is proposed for creating inclusive governance that engages a range of stakeholders directly with local or district government and national coordinating bodies, and facilitates participatory planning, monitoring and implementation of adaptation activities. Seven criteria are suggested for the prioritization of adaptation technologies: (i) The extent to which the technology maintains or strengthens biological diversity and is environmentally sustainable; (ii) The extent to which the technology facilitates access to information systems and awareness of climate change information; (iii) Whether the technology support water, carbon and nutrient cycles and enables stable and/or increased productivity; (iv) Income-generating potential, cost-benefit analysis and contribution to improved equity; (v) Respect for cultural diversity and facilitation of inter-cultural exchange; (vi) Potential for integration into regional and national policies and can be scaled-up; (vii) The extent to which the technology builds formal and information institutions and social networks. Finally, recommendations are set out for practitioners and policy makers: • There is an urgent need for improved climate modelling and forecasting which can provide a basis for informed decision-making and the implementation of adaptation strategies. This should include traditional knowledge. • Information is also required to better understand the behaviour of plants, animals, pests and diseases as they react to climate change. • Potential changes in economic and social systems in the future under different climate scenarios should also be investigated so that the implications of adaptation strategy and planning choices are better understood. • It is important to secure effective flows of information through appropriate dissemination channels. This is vital for building adaptive capacity and decision-making processes. • Improved analysis of adaptation technologies is required to show how they can contribute to building adaptive capacity and resilience in the agricultural sector. This information needs to be compiled and disseminated for a range of stakeholders from local to national level. • Relationships between policy makers, researchers and communities should be built so that technologies and planning processes are developed in partnership, responding to producers’ needs and integrating their knowledge