Lobbying by Trade Associations on EU Climate Policy

Climate change has been recognised as one of the greatest challenges of the 21st Century. Its impacts, and they way that we choose to deal with them will profoundly affect how business and society operates. This report focuses on European Union (EU) climate policy – the governance structures, rules and regulations that have been put in place at the EU level to attempt to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Specifically, it focuses on how trade associations representing industrial sectors or broader business interest have lobbied on EU climate policy, and the impact that they have had on the policymaking process. The report then goes on to discuss whether the impacts of this lobbying align with the stated policies of the companies that are members of these trade associations

Lobbying by Trade Associations on EU Climate Policy

Climate change has been recognised as one of the greatest challenges of the 21st Century. Its impacts, and they way that we choose to deal with them will profoundly affect how business and society operates. This report focuses on European Union (EU) climate policy – the governance structures, rules and regulations that have been put in place at the EU level to attempt to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Specifically, it focuses on how trade associations representing industrial sectors or broader business interest have lobbied on EU climate policy, and the impact that they have had on the policymaking process. The report then goes on to discuss whether the impacts of this lobbying align with the stated policies of the companies that are members of these trade associations

What does community resilience look like in practice? How institutions see the role of communities in responding to heatwaves in the UK

The concept of resilience is well-established in policy, as well as popular and professional discourse. The notion of community resilience, though, is relatively new, and has only recently been taken up in policy (Cabinet Office 2011b; Defra 2012; 2013). Twigger-Ross et al (2011) define community resilience as an ongoing process of communities working with local resources – alongside local expertise – to help themselves and others to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies. However, when regional and national policy documents mention community and voluntary groups – and local residents – the roles of these actors in developing and implementing resilience are not clearly explained. The documents tend to focus on infrastructure development and institutional emergency responses (Greater London Authority 2011; Defra 2013; UK Government 2013; Public Health England 2014b). In this context, community resilience seems to be something that is bestowed on passive communities by active local institutions; all of the local agency of Twigger-Ross’s definition is lost or missing. The challenge that policymakers face in trying to define the roles of communities in resilience raises various problems. Research and practice in a range of domains (and over a long period) highlights the limits of institutional responses, and emphasises that community-led action and other forms of public participation and engagement can effectively complement institutional responses (Arnstein 1969; INVOLVE 2005; Twigger Ross et al 2011; Cinderby et al 2014; DECC 2014). An active community with local agency could play a key role in preparing for, responding to and recovering from emergencies

Children’s Independent Mobility: an international comparison and recommendations for action

This report is the latest in a series looking at the personal mobility and travel patterns of children. The first was published in 1971, looking at children’s mobility in England. A follow-up study, published in 1990, expanded the survey to look at children in what was then West Germany. A third study looking at childhood mobility was published in 2010, providing a unique set of longitudinal data, stretching over four decades. The changes in children’s independent mobility have been striking. For example, in 1971 in England, 55 per cent of children under 10 were allowed to travel alone to places other than school that were within walking distance; by 2010, almost no children under 10 were allowed to do so. This report expands the available data geographically, covering 16 countries: Australia, Brazil, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Sweden. The children involved were aged from seven to 15

Baker Street Wonderpass: evaluation of improvement works

Summary: Baker Street Quarter Partnership identified the pedestrian subway under the Marylebone Road as an area that many of its members would like to see improved. Researchers from the Policy Studies Institute were commissioned to provide an impartial evaluation of improvement works that were carried out to transform the subway into the ‘Baker Street Wonderpass’. The views of users were assessed through an online survey of Baker Street Quarter members (June 2015), pedestrian counting and face-to-face surveys both before the improvement works (July 2015) and after the Wonderpass had opened (February 2016). The pre-works surveys took place in July 2015, with 206 subway users’ answering a total of 12 questions. The post-works surveys took place in February 2016 with 163 subway users answering a total of 15 questions. The survey was supplemented by ‘vox-pop’ interviews. Pedestrian counts before and after the improvement works show a very large increase in pedestrian traffic after the improvement works were completed. After the improvement works, morning usage increased by 153.8%, afternoon usage increasing by 27.8%, and evening usage increasing by 70.8%. Survey results showed a substantial improvement in user’s satisfaction with the lighting, cleanliness, overall appearance, safety, signage and visibility of the subway. The redevelopment of the subway and the opening of the Wonderpass have been a clear success. 83.9% of users said that the subway was ‘much better’, and 98.4% of users said that they thought the subway was ‘better’ or ‘much better’ after the improvement works. Overall, the investment in the Marylebone Road underpass has greatly improved usage levels and user perceptions of the subway and some users stated that they used the subway solely to see the renovations and new displays. While users previously complained about the cleanliness, lighting and appearance of the subway, by February 2016 it has been successfully transformed into a much safer, cleaner, and more desirable ‘Wonderpass’ to cross Marylebon

An overview of top-down vs. bottom-up models for informal settlement upgrading in South Africa

The paper explores informal settlement upgrading approaches in South Africa and presents a review of top-down vs. bottom-up models, using experience and lessons learned from the Durban metropolitan area. Reflections on past upgrading efforts suggest that top-down policies in South Africa have not been successful to date. By contrast, participatory techniques, such as planning activism, can be used to enhance community empowerment and a sense of local ownership. This paper reveals that although the notion of ‘bottom-up’, participatory methods for community improvement is often discussed in international development discourses, the tools, processes and new knowledge needed to ensure a successful upgrade are under-utilised. Participation and collaboration can mean various things for informal housing upgrading and often the involvement of local communities is limited to providing feedback in already agreed development decisions from local authorities and construction companies. The paper concludes by suggesting directions for ‘co-producing’ knowledge with communities through participatory, action-research methods and integrating these insights into upgrading mechanisms and policies for housing and infrastructure provision. The cumulative impacts emerging from these approaches could aggregate into local, regional, and national environmental, social and economic benefits able to successfully transform urban areas and ensure self-reliance for local populations

Heatwave planning: the role of the community in co-producing resilience

Drawing on a thematic analysis of relevant policy documents, the aim of this paper is to comment on an apparent disconnect between two associated contemporary UK policy areas: planning for heatwaves and community resilience. Regional and national policy documents that plan for heatwaves in the UK tend to focus on institutional emergency responses and infrastructure development. In these documents, although communities are mentioned, they are understood as passive recipients of resilience that is provided by active institutions. Meanwhile, contemporary discussion about community resilience highlights the potential for involving communities in planning for and responding to emergencies (although the concept is also the subject of critique). Within this context, the paper proposes that – through engagement with the ‘community resilience’ policy agenda and its critique – effort should be made to articulate and realise greater participation by individuals, and voluntary and community sector groups in heatwave preparation, planning and response