Flying green from a carbon neutral airport : the case of Brussels

The aviation sector is one of the fastest growing emitters of greenhouse gases worldwide. In addition, airports have important local environmental impacts, mainly in the form of noise pollution and deterioration in air quality. Although noise nuisance in the vicinity of airports is recognized as an important problem of the urban environment which is often addressed by regulation, other environmental problems associated with aviation are less widely acknowledged. In the climate debate, the importance of which is rising, aviation has remained under the radar for decades. In the present paper, we use the case of Brussels Airport (Belgium) to demonstrate that the local perception of air travel-related environmental problems may be heavily influenced by the communication strategy of the airport company in question. Basing our analysis on publicly available data, communication initiatives, media reports, and policy documents, we find that (1) the noise impact of aviation is recognized and mainly described in an institutionalized format, (2) the impact of aviation on local air quality is ignored, and (3) the communication on climate impact shows little correspondence or concern with the actual effects. These findings are relevant for other airports and sectors, since the type of environmental communication produced by airport companies can also be observed elsewhere

How Planning Works in an Age of Reform: Land, Sustainability, and Housing Development Traditions in Zanzibar

This is a geographical study of urban planning focusing on the on-going neoliberal land reform practices introduced in Zanzibar since the end of the 1980s as a major effort to improve the land sector. Throughout the application of these reforms, the land and environmental management projects were unable to sustain their adopted sustainability agenda that was based on democratic, collaborative, and participatory principles. The government finds it difficult to simultaneously cope with the reform results characterized by multiple overlapping policy changes in the urban land development sector. Based on fieldwork, interviews, and critical archival analysis of government papers, my narrative explores how planning works in this reform era. In line with Habermas's (1984) theory of communicative action and its subsequent influence on collaborative and sustainability planning theories in works by Healey (2006), Forester (2009), and Myers (2010), among others, this dissertation also conceptualizes what is happening in formal and informal housing contexts during the last two decades. I am answering the question of whether the sustainability strategy, which lacks excitement among the targeted local people, has been able to break through state controlled planning practices. The culturally-inspired traditional patterns of the people's land and housing development operations keep on normalizing informal processes which risk repeating the limitations of previous strategies during the years before the reforms. Finally, I examine practical reasons for these identified limitations via case study examples. The case study findings have helped to understand the disjointed element of the sustainability model, based on theoretical, empirical, and local analyses, which can itself be a step forward for further research

Environmental justice in the context of planning

In recent years, environmental justice has been central in many Social Sciences discourses; yet it has gained limited recognition in planning, particularly in spatial planning theories. The extent of environmental justice in planning theory remains unrecorded or subtle in planning research. This study evaluates planning theories against the criteria that constitute the dimensions of environmental justice. The results of the work reveal that planning theories generally incorporate environmental justice to a limited extent. The study recommends the introduction of a new environmental justice paradigm shift in planning to bridge the identified gap in planning theory and practice. Regarding planning practice, the study highlights the need for planners to apply the principles of environmental justice in planning to achieve fairness in distribution, recognition, participation, capability consideration, and effects in monitoring and evaluation

Exploring energy justice in rural Bolivia : a thesis prepared in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Management at Massey University, New Zealand

Figures are re-used under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution licenses, except for Figure 3.10 (=Panwar et al., 202 Fig 3), which was removed for copyright reasons.Great progress has been made in improving energy access in Bolivia during the last four decades. However, rural areas, where grid solutions are not tenable, still pose challenges for the goal of achieving universal energy access. Although decentralized renewable energy solutions (DRES) are being deployed in rural areas, not all the benefits expected from energy access are materializing. In many instances the benefits of DRES are inequitable relative to grid solutions, and in some cases, they bring unwanted social impacts. Research shows that socio-cultural, economic and political issues, as well as the individual values and beliefs of users regarding energy services, nuance and mediate development benefits. Therefore, policies focused on targeting off-grid rural energy access need to reflect on and engage with the specific context and needs of rural communities. Energy justice offers a valuable conceptual framework to explore energy systems from the perspective of social justice. It encompasses three key tenets: distributive justice, procedural justice and recognition justice. Drawing upon a bespoke conceptual framework based on the two mainstream approaches to studying energy justice, this thesis uses argumentative discourse analysis to explore the discourse underpinning Bolivia’s rural energy policy. Five key public policy documents relating to rural energy access in Bolivia were identified and analyzed and eleven in-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with key stakeholders within the Bolivian energy sector including representatives from the government, academia, private energy suppliers, non-government organizations and international cooperation entities. Findings show that while Bolivia’s national policy framework for off-grid energy access echoes global narratives relating to energy justice, it is underpinned by its own unique discourse framing Bolivia’s efforts to achieve universal energy access. This discourse is characterized by three key elements. First, a distributive a principle of universalization to deploy modern energy services across rural areas supported by a meaningful framing strategy. Second, two parallel coalitions built around electricity and clean cooking fuels and technology (CCFT) and other energy requirements position the government at the forefront of the energy access challenge and introduce the environment as a non-human actor within the energy sector. Thirdly, an epistemological approach of development based on the indigenous philosophy Vivir Bien that calls for an ecosystemic perspective to conceptualize the instrumental value of modern energy services. However, several inconsistencies constrain Bolivia’s capacity to achieve its goal of universal energy access by 2025. These issues include (1) policy vagueness and an undefined distributive rationale to deploy energy as a basic service and reallocate socio-economic and environmental benefits from energy access; (2) constraints on meaningful participation and power imbalances within the procedural arrangements of Bolivia’s energy policy framework; and (3) lack of recognition of energy requirements across different cultural and socio-economic identities within rural populations related to political strategies stemming from the ideology of the incumbent political regime. Three groups of possible measures to address these issues are proposed. First, it is argued that the distributive rationale could be strengthened by using qualitative and quantitative benchmarks; standardizing strategies to better engage with the potential reallocation of socio-economic and environmental benefits; and developing broader policy instruments to achieve universal energy access in rural areas. Second, procedural arrangements should focus on sectorial capacity building to establish new sites of argumentation and explore alternatives to broaden the current governance structure. Finally, the rationale of recognition justice within the policy framework could be strengthened by exploring typologies of individual users of energy to design more targeted policies, considering the potential of traditional forms of economic organization and exploring cultural figures related to Community Justice to lead the local governance arrangements around energy access

Measuring regional creative capacity: A literature review for rural-specific approaches

Recent theories on regional creative capacity often focus on urban regions without taking into account rural regions. In addition, the application of such analyses to rural regions may lead to misrepresentation or misunderstanding of rural creative capacity. Against this background, the aim of the present study is to integrate the existing literature on different components of creative capacity, namely, knowledge, innovation, entrepreneurship and networks, in order to build a more comprehensive framework for rural creative capacity and its evaluation. In the light of the perspective from the empirical literature review on the evaluation of creative capacity in rural regions, various empirical measurements seem to misrepresent or underestimate the creative capacity of rural regions. Therefore, there is a clear need to use the locality in relation to its dynamics, i.e. tacit knowledge, cultural heritage and social and physical environment as the main and basic measurement unit for creative capacity analysis. 2010 Taylor & Francis

Assessing the extent of informal markets integration into spatial planning frameworks: a case study of KwaMashu, eThekwini Municipality.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Spatial inequality is the net result of urban imbalances in relation to the equal and sufficient distribution of resources. The urban environment is a mechanism in its own right and its functionality is determined by various forces of concentration, integration, scattering, poverty and segregation. The distribution of space is affected by various elements such as health, politics, education, economic significance and income levels. The latter being one of every community’s essential needs. Systematic evidence of the extent of economic difficulties in developing countries shows that this issue affects Black communities the most. This has an impact on the creation of job opportunities, which in turn leads to an increase in unemployment rates thus the increase of informality within urban areas. Therefore, people in need of income enter the informal economy as means of survival. Understanding the developmental role of spatial planning frameworks towards urban construction is vital due to the level of influential affect it has on urban spatial distribution. The functionality of the urban space is guided by the urban planning informed by spatial planning frameworks. The level of equality and inclusiveness distribution of urban socioeconomic spaces is determined by the levels of productivity in every sector. Identifying the levels of productivity in the informal economy reveals the extent to which the informal economy is integrated into spatial planning frameworks thus influencing urban spatial distribution and sector productivity. The urban space is not only constructed by policy and systems but the most significant constituent of the city is the role played by major role players (state/government), stakeholders and beneficiaries. There is a growing body of documented work that reveals the existence of informal markets in many forms in various areas. It supports the view that the urban form does not appreciate informality thus it aims to reduce if not eradicate it. A sufficient strategic way to reduce informality is to spatially limit it. With the rapid recognition of the informal market in recent years, there has been a certain degree of informality acceptance within urban spaces, but there are still important unresolved barriers issues. Authorities mention various challenges informal trader and government have in practice linked to the productivity rate of existing spatial planning Frameworks and the urban spatial structure. There are also challenges faced by the society and its powers when attempting to integrate informal markets into spatial planning frameworks. The study incorporates the use of a Mixed methods due to that the approach entail systematic processes of data collection that influenced the nature of result obtained, it also consist of strategies that analysis and constructs the presentation the data. The approach extracts information on the topic where interrelated ideas and realities are identified using numbers and documented data. The approach formulates a clear view on how spatial planning frameworks have affected the informal economy. The approach allowed for the use of secondary data method and primary data method. Secondary Data that has been processed and analysed informed the study by constructing a basic theoretical framework and the ability of the government to facilitate a sustainable urban planning policy that is inclusive, promotes equality and spatial justice. Primary data consist of raw information obtained through mapping, survey questions and observation which derived the study to critically analyse existing environments spatial advantage’s, disadvantages, potential, operational model and level of functionality. Findings obtained through the critical purpose, sampling on successive occasions approach and thematic data analysis informed study findings. The approaches appropriate the study by allowing ground work observation, validating the research’s topic, objectives and questions. the conclude that claim to informality acceptance is suspected to be greater on paper than what is on the ground, even though there are few spatial frameworks formulated by the government/municipality that have been implemented. These frameworks address the socio- economic factors for the poor through the implementation of programmes and projects that attempt to increase job opportunities for the poor. Nevertheless, despite these concerns, there seems to be little consensus on the cause of spatial inequality as the factor influenced by policy weakness and failure. The paper recommendations explain the possibility of sustainable spatial transformation through a series of process, strategies and models that can be implemented to improve policy efficiency in increasing informal market business accessibility into Industrial Development Corporation, Access to assets for financial assistance and placing emphasis on Investment as a key factor for economic sustainability In Conclusion the elements of attempt to understand how policy makers should respond to growing community values, needs and issues is directed should be directed by the society itself whether the government addresses spatial inequalities via spatial planning frameworks and strategies or in other ways, the community must be involved in all processes of urban planning

The implementation and sustainability of pro-poor local economic development initiatives in the King Cetshwayo district municipality.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The main aim of the study was to critically explore the implementation and sustainability of pro-poor Local Economic Development in the KCD municipality. The secondary objective of the study was to determine how the implementation and sustainability of LED initiatives are organised, assessed, strategized and reviewed in the KCD. The implementation of economic development policies seemed to be a persistent problem hindering Local Economic Development (LED) in South Africa. Local government is a sphere of government that is closest to local communities and is so placed to identify, drive and implement programmes aimed at addressing unemployment, poverty alleviation and developmental challenges facing local communities in South Africa. The King Cetshwayo District (KCD) is not excluded from these challenges, which include the challenges of stimulating pro-poor LED by creating jobs and promoting the growth of small and medium business enterprises (SMMEs). The need to address poverty and unemployment is one of the most critical issues in this municipality. This research study was founded on the theoretical framework of the World Bank Local Economic Development model that involves several stages of LED strategic planning. A qualitative approach was adopted whereby eight in-depth interviews were conducted to interview municipal officials which included the mayor, the municipal manager and LED officials in two local municipalities in the KCD. The study further conducted 14 focus group discussions with community members which included co-operatives. Thematic analysis through an interpretive approach was used to analyse and present data for this study. The findings have shown that LED in the KCD is conceptualised generally as a form of partnership or coalition undertaken between the key players in a local municipality and involves the development of partnerships between the private sector, government and civil society. Moreover, the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ) together with other stakeholders, including the municipality, have put measures in place to assist SMMEs to benefit from the RBIDZ activities. LED initiatives in the uMhlathuze local municipality are intended to stimulate both the enhanced growth of the local economy (pro-growth) and to address concerns of persistent poverty (pro-poor). The study also noted that both local municipalities have adopted the LED strategy but they are not sufficiently guided by the strategy to respond to the people’s needs. Pro-poor LED initiatives allow community members to showcase their skills and their desires and at the same time they can earn a living. Both municipalities are, however, not adequately monitoring and reviewing the LED strategies and initiatives, hence most of the pro-poor LED initiatives in the KCD are not sustainable. From the discussion of the findings the study concluded that LED initiatives that are established in different communities, particularly the KCDM, lack uniqueness and face stiff competition. There is also a lack of skills to manage LED initiatives, a lack of knowledge about the processes and the procedures of implementing and sustaining pro-poor LED initiatives. Moreover, there is inadequate funding to facilitate and implement LED and there is a need to involve the people from the planning stage and a request for more community participation