Lessons learned from eco-district pilot projects : the importance of stakeholder relations

Le changement climatique devenant de plus en plus une réalité à laquelle les villes du monde entier sont confrontées, les menaces environnementales globales et locales à celles-ci soulignent la nécessité d'un nouveau paradigme dans les disciplines du cadre bâti, un nouveau paradigme autant en termes des processus de conception et de planification que des résultats construits. Afin de répondre à cet appel en faveur d'un développement urbain plus durable et plus résilient, au cours de la dernière décennie, un nombre croissant d’outils de quartiers durables ont vu le jour. Alors que plusieurs études ont cherché à comprendre le contenu, la forme et la structure des outils de quartiers durables, il existe encore des lacunes importantes concernant le « comment » de ces outils : Comment les outils de quartiers durables mènent-ils à de meilleures pratiques dans les domaines de l’architecture et de l’urbanisme? Comment ces outils sont-ils mis en oeuvre et quelles leçons peut-on en tirer ? Comment contribuent-ils à briser les silos professionnels pour favoriser une réflexion plus intégrée et collaborative ? Cette thèse vise à expliquer comment les outils de quartiers durables sont utilisés dans la pratique et dans quelle mesure ils contribuent à l'évolution vers un paradigme plus régénératif et résilient. Ce projet de recherche de nature qualitative repose sur trois études de cas approfondies de projets pilotes d'éco-quartiers qui ont expérimenté avec des outils de quartiers durables : d'abord, les projets pilotes « EcoDistricts » à Portland en Oregon ; deuxièmement, le projet pilote « BREEAM-Communities » à Malmö en Suède ; et troisièmement, le projet pilote « superîlot » et l’outil « Urbanisme Écologique » à Barcelone, en Espagne. Le projet de recherche utilise une stratégie exploratoire dans laquelle des entrevues semi-structurées avec les parties prenantes impliquées dans ces projets pilotes permettent de construire un cadre théorique fondé sur le processus. Les résultats démontrent les nombreuses façons dont les outils de quartiers durables ont un impact sur la pratique, en particulier à l'égard des quatre volets suivantes : la collaboration, la participation citoyenne, les relations entre les parties prenantes et la communication visuelle. Les résultats de l'étude de cas ont également mis en lumière les écarts entre les attentes des outils de quartiers durables et la réalité de leur mise en oeuvre. En effet, les études de cas identifient des obstacles externes et internes qui expliquent la raison pour laquelle le nouveau paradigme se manifeste de façon marginale, par l'entremise des outils. Les résultats servent à rappeler que les outils de quartiers durables ne peuvent être compris en vase clos. Au contraire, comment et quand ils sont utilisés et comment ils sont encadrés sont tout aussi importants. L’application réussie de ces outils dépend de diverses conditions qui peuvent conduire à une meilleure collaboration, participation citoyenne, relations entre les parties prenantes et communication visuelle. Celles-ci incluent, par exemple, l’alignement des atouts, des actions et des attentes des parties prenantes ; favoriser les attributs internes dans les équipes de planification, tels que la capacité renforcée, le leadership fort et la confiance dans le processus ; disposer de mécanismes de résolution des conflits ; et en veillant à ce que la participation de la communauté soit non seulement profonde mais suffisamment précoce pour avoir un impact sur la prise de décision. Sur la base de ces résultats, le projet propose un « cadre de soutien aux parties prenantes » pour les outils de quartiers durables de troisième génération. Au niveau macro, il propose trois principes directeurs pour les outils de quartiers durables. À une échelle plus fine, il fournit une série de concepts et de boîtes à outils pour aider les dirigeants d'éco-districts à développer des processus plus régénératifs, résilients et justes.As climate change becomes more and more a reality that cities around the world face, global and local environmental threats to cities highlight the need for a new paradigm in built environment disciplines, a new paradigm as much in terms of design and planning processes as built outcomes. In order to help answer this call for more sustainable and resilient urban development, over the past decade or so, a rapidly increasing number of neighbourhood sustainability frameworks have emerged. While several studies have aimed at understanding the content, form and structure of neighbourhood sustainability frameworks, important knowledge gaps exist concerning the ‘hows’ of these frameworks: How are neighbourhood sustainability frameworks leading to better practice? How are these frameworks being implemented, and what can be learned from this? How are they contributing to breaking down professional silos to foster integrated and collaborative thinking? This dissertation aims at explaining how neighbourhood sustainability frameworks are used in practice and to what extent they are contributing to the shift towards a more regenerative and resilient paradigm for the built environment. This qualitative research project is based on three in-depth case studies of ecodistrict pilot projects that have experimented with neighbourhood sustainability frameworks: first, the EcoDistricts pilot projects in Portland, Oregon; second, the BREEAM-Communities Masthusen pilot project in Malmö, Sweden; and third, the superblock pilot project and the Ecological Urbanism framework in the Sant Martí district of Barcelona, Spain. The research project uses a qualitative, exploratory approach in which semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders involved in the pilot projects helped to construct an analytical framework – the ‘process-based approach.’ The results show the number of ways in which the neighbourhood sustainability frameworks impact practice, specifically in terms of four dimensions: collaboration, community participation, stakeholder relations and visual communication. The case study results also shed light on the gaps between the expectations of the frameworks and the reality of how they are implemented. Indeed, external and internal barriers are identified in the case studies, which serve to explain why the frameworks are making only modest progress in the shift to a new paradigm. The results serve as a reminder that neighbourhood sustainability frameworks cannot be understood in a vacuum. On the contrary, how and when they are used, and how they are framed are equally important. The successful application of these frameworks depends on a variety of conditions that can lead to better collaboration, community participation, stakeholders relations and visual communication. These include for instance, the alignment of stakeholder assets, actions and expectations; fostering internal attributes in the planning teams; having conflict resolution mechanisms in place; and ensuring that community participation be not only deep but also early on enough to impact decisionmaking. Based on these results, the project proposes a “stakeholder support framework” for third generation neighbourhood sustainability frameworks. At a macrolevel, it proposes three guiding principles for neighbourhood sustainability frameworks. At a finer-grain scale, it provides a series of concepts and toolkits to help eco-district leaders develop more regenerative, resilient, and just processes

Exploring the ELSI universe: critical issues in the evolution of human genomic research

A report on the National Human Genome Research Institute's Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Research Program 2011 Congress, 'Exploring the ELSI Universe', Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, 12-14 April 2011

Post-main sequence thermal evolution of planetesimals

White dwarfs that have accreted planetary materials provide a powerful tool to probe the interiors and formation of exoplanets. In particular, the high Fe/Si ratio of some white dwarf pollutants suggests that they are fragments of bodies that were heated enough to undergo large-scale melting and iron core formation. In the solar system, this phenomenon is associated with bodies that formed early and so had short-lived radionuclides to power their melting, and/or grew large. However, if the planetary bodies accreted by white dwarfs formed during the (pre)-main sequence lifetime of the host star, they will have potentially been exposed to a second era of heating during the star's giant branches. This work aims to quantify the effect of stellar irradiation during the giant branches on planetary bodies by coupling stellar evolution to thermal and orbital evolution of planetesimals. We find that large-scale melting, sufficient to form an iron core, can be induced by stellar irradiation, but only in close-in small bodies: planetesimals with radii $\lesssim$ 30 km originally within $\sim$ 2 AU orbiting a 1$-$3$\,M_{\odot}$ host star with solar metallicity. Most of the observed white dwarf pollutants are too massive to be explained by the accretion of these small planetesimals that are melted during the giant branches. Therefore, we conclude that those white dwarfs that have accreted large masses of materials with enhanced or reduced Fe/Si remain an indicator of planetesimal's differentiation shortly after formation, potentially linked to radiogenic heating.Comment: 19 pages, 18 figure

Resilient and regenerative design in New Orleans: the case of the Make It Right project

According to Swiss Re, there are currently approximately 180 urban disasters globally per year. Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the vulnerability of cities and the ability of humans to exacerbate the magnitude and intensity of man-made and/or natural hazards. The changes produced after a disaster can imply multiple adverse impacts including health risks, disruption to energy and water supply, and ecological imbalances. Post-disaster reconstruction, in this context, provides not only the necessity for a community to return to its pre-disaster state, but as Burby states, a “window of opportunity” to enhance resilience, and, in essence, to ‘regenerate’. These ‘windows of opportunity’ allow exploration to plan more globally, assess community social viability, foster adaptation and examine the technical issues of flooding, retrofits, location, and building energy efficiency. The multiple dimensions of resilience in urban settings are paramount to preserving community stability, as well as long-term sustainability. The concept of resilient design and planning uses both technical and social strategies to increase a community’s resilience. Post-disaster environments must address structural-technical issues (such as sea levels, proximity to major infrastructure, and quality of infrastructure) and social issues (such as community participation, policy and integrated design processes) that are vital for a community’s long-term survival. In this instance, community participation is vital both during the planning process and at the level of the individual project. Drawing from post-disaster reconstruction New Orleans, and in particular the Make It Right project, this paper evaluates the ways in which resilient design and planning are put into action. This article will consider the links between regenerative design and resilience at the three scales of building, neighborhood, and city, focusing on the process of the design approach, and impacts on resilience, “regeneration,” and on collective action. In addition, it examines how design for a built environment that has ecological, social and infrastructural resiliencies contributes positively to human and natural systems, and reduces vulnerability. This paper concludes with a comprehensive set of criteria that can be used to evaluate whether a built environment supports resilience and “regeneration” in both the short- and long-term. As the issues of short and long-term resilience will expand, so will the need to revise the criteria from which sustainability will continue to emerge

Internet Usage and Its Effect on the Lifestyle of University Students

With the diversity of internet technology in the world today, usage has spread across every sector of the economy and business operations. Students are not left out from the use of the internet. Most people all over the world are using the internet for scholarly works. Researches on the use of the internet by students have been conducted by many scholars. This research is focused on the various uses of the internet by students in the universities in Ghana and the effects of the usage on their lifestyle. A cross-sectional survey research design was employed. Self-administered questionnaire was the primary data collection instrument. One hundred and fifty-four (154) students were selected randomly for the study. Most of them were undergraduate students and a few of them were graduate students. Students in the universities in Ghana accessed the internet for two main reasons – for academic activities and for making friends from other parts of the world. The results of the study reveal that most students access the internet daily. They spent several hours on the internet in a day and also for varying days in a week. It was found that students were addicted to the internet and they accessed social media purposely for making friends. They spent varying sums of money on buying internet bundles; even they use their last sum of money to browse the internet. However, with long hours spent on the internet some of them did not make enough time for their academic activities, including visiting the digital libraries. Keywords: Internet, Information Communication Technology (ICT), digital libraries, internet addiction, university students’ lifestyle, Ghana DOI: 10.7176/IKM/10-7-05 Publication date:October 31st 202

Resilient and Regenerative Design in New Orleans: The Case of the Make It Right Project

According to Swiss Re, there are currently approximately 180 urban disasters globally per year. Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the vulnerability of cities and the ability of humans to exacerbate the magnitude and intensity of man-made and/or natural hazards. The changes produced after a disaster can imply multiple adverse impacts including health risks, disruption to energy and water supply, and ecological imbalances. Post-disaster reconstruction, in this context, provides not only the necessity for a community to return to its pre-disaster state, but as Burby states, a “window of opportunity” to enhance resilience, and, in essence, to ‘regenerate’. These ‘windows of opportunity’ allow exploration to plan more globally, assess community social viability, foster adaptation and examine the technical issues of flooding, retrofits, location, and building energy efficiency. The multiple dimensions of resilience in urban settings are paramount to preserving community stability, as well as long-term sustainability. The concept of resilient design and planning uses both technical and social strategies to increase a community’s resilience. Post-disaster environments must address structural-technical issues (such as sea levels, proximity to major infrastructure, and quality of infrastructure) and social issues (such as community participation, policy and integrated design processes) that are vital for a community’s long-term survival. In this instance, community participation is vital both during the planning process and at the level of the individual project. Drawing from post-disaster reconstruction New Orleans, and in particular the Make It Right project, this paper evaluates the ways in which resilient design and planning are put into action. This article will consider the links between regenerative design and resilience at the three scales of building, neighborhood, and city, focusing on the process of the design approach, and impacts on resilience, “regeneration,” and on collective action. In addition, it examines how design for a built environment that has ecological, social and infrastructural resiliencies contributes positively to human and natural systems, and reduces vulnerability. This paper concludes with a comprehensive set of criteria that can be used to evaluate whether a built environment supports resilience and “regeneration” in both the short- and long-term. As the issues of short and long-term resilience will expand, so will the need to revise the criteria from which sustainability will continue to emerge

Colonisation of plastic pellets (nurdles) by E. coli at public bathing beaches

The hard surface of waterborne plastic provides an ideal environment for the formation of biofilm by opportunistic microbial colonisers, and could facilitate a novel means of dispersal for microorganisms across coastal and marine environments. Biofilms that colonise the so-called 'plastisphere' could also be a reservoir for faecal indicator organisms (FIOs), such as Escherichia coli, or pathogenic bacteria such as species of Vibrio. Therefore, the aim of this study was to map the spatial distribution of beach-cast plastic resin pellets (nurdles) at five public bathing beaches, and quantify their colonisation by E. coli and Vibrio spp. Nurdles were heterogeneously distributed along the high tide mark at all five beaches, and each beach contained nurdles that were colonised by E. coli and Vibrio spp. Knowledge of E. coli colonisation and persistence on nurdles should now be used to inform coastal managers about the additional risks associated with plastic debris