Addressing goal conflicts : new policy mixes for commercial land use management

Commercial land use management that focuses on a future-oriented urban and regional development must address multiple goals. Effective policy mixes need to simultaneously (1) improve city-regional and inter-municipal cooperation, (2) reduce land take, and (3) assure the long-term economic development of a region. Using the Northern Black Forest in Germany as a case study, we brought together planning and land use research with public policy analysis. We applied cross-impact balances (CIB) to build and analyze a participatory policy-interaction model. Together with a group of 12 experts, we selected effective individual measures to reach each of the three goals and analyzed their interactions. We then assessed the current policy mix and designed alternative policy mixes. The results demonstrate that current approaches to commercial land use management present internal contradictions and generate only little synergies. Implementing innovative measures on a stand-alone basis runs the risk of not being sufficiently effective. In particular, the current practice of competing for municipal marketing and planning of commercial sites has inhibiting effects. We identified alternative policy mixes that achieve all three goals, avoid trade-offs, and generate significant synergy effects. Our results point towards a more coherent and sustainable city-regional (commercial) land-use governance.BMBF German Federal Ministry of Education and Researc

An inquiry into the material and ideational dimensions of policymaking : A case study of fuel poverty in Germany

A tendency in current policy research is the focus on ideational features of policymaking, i.e. the way ideas, beliefs and language shape policy processes. The impact of the material situation as it exists irrespective of human interpretation, or in other words, the factual problem pressure, is hardly considered as an explanatory variable. In this dissertation, I propose to analyze both dimensions as a means to get a more thorough picture of the dynamics behind policymaking. For this purpose, I carry out a case study of fuel poverty in Germany. The topic emerged on the political agenda within the context of the energy transition. Notwithstanding the ample attention attributed to the topic within this larger debate, no considerable policy activity followed, i.e. that the topic was not considered on the decision agenda and remained a non-policy. In this case study, I seek to analyze the impact material and ideational factors had on agenda-setting and non-policymaking related to fuel poverty in Germany. This means that I want to find out whether the course of fuel poverty on the political and decision agenda can be explained by dynamics in problem pressure, or rather by the way relevant actors perceived of the problem and defined it in the political debate.The results indicate that the ideational dimension did exert influence both on agenda-setting and non-policymaking. However, in contrast to the assumptions of the non-policymaking literature, the lack of decision-making was not due to strategic intervention from issue opponents. Rather, the results hint to difficulties experienced by issue proponents to effectively link the topic to the core debate on the costs of the energy transition. When it comes to the material dimension, I find that a deterioration of the situation (as measured with both indicators) did indeed coincide with the emergence of the topic on the political agenda. However, more fine-grained analyses suggest that ideational elements intervened in this process. Concerning the decision agenda, no link can be established between the material dimension and non-decision-making. The dissertation has contributed to a better understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying policymaking. It has shown the merits of considering the ideational and the material dimension, and their impact on different agenda stages, conjointly.publishe

La compensation mutualisée en Allemagne : quelles implications écologiques et territoriales ?

La compensation mutualisée en Allemagne (Ökokonto) s’est développée dès les années 1990. Dans la perspective d’une mise en regard des systèmes de compensation mutualisée français et allemand, les auteures de l'article proposent une analyse « Atouts, Faiblesses, Opportunités et Menaces » pour souligner les caractéristiques de la compensation par Ökokonto. Les principales implications écologiques, territoriales mais aussi organisationnelles sont mises en avant pour ensuite en tirer de premiers enseignements vis-à-vis de la pratique française de la compensation mutualisée

Approches anticipées et planifiées de la compensation écologique en Allemagne : vers un retour d’expérience pour la France ?

International audienceLes organisations planifiées et mutualisées de la compensation apparaissent dès la fin des années 1990 en Allemagne, soit plus de dix ans avant que la France n’adopte elle-même de telles approches. Dans quelle mesure un retour d’expérience allemand apporterait-il un éclairage sur les récentes initiatives françaises et sur les enjeux qu’elles sous-tendent ? Des entretiens menés auprès d’acteurs de la compensation à l’échelle du Land du Bade-Wurtemberg ont permis aux auteurs de cet article d’identifier quelques pistes de comparaison qui mériteraient d’être approfondies

Approches anticipées et planifiées de la compensation écologique en Allemagne : vers un retour d’expérience pour la France ?

National audienc

SLE-DAS in the First Trimester of Gestation Predicts Maternal Lupus Flares Later in Pregnancy

none9Introduction: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) mainly occurs during childbearing age. Remission or low disease activity state (LDAS) before conception are recommended by experts to achieve a favourable lupus pregnancy outcome but little is known on the best way to evaluate remission or activity status during pregnancy. Objectives: We tested SLE-disease activity score (SLE-DAS) in the first trimester as predictor of maternal flares and obstetrical complications in 2nd and 3rd trimester in a cohort of SLE pregnant women. Patients and Methods: Inclusion criteria were: 1) women ≥ 18 years; 2) affected with SLE (SLICC 2012); 3) enrolled in two referral centers (Italy and France) 4) with an ongoing singleton pregnancy at 12 weeks (only one pregnancy per patient). Disease activity was assessed at first trimester of pregnancy, using SLE-pregnancy disease activity index (SLEPDAI) and retrospectively applying SLE-DAS. Maternal lupus flares at 2nd and 3rd trimester were defined by the SELENA-SLEDAI Flare Index (SFI). Adverse pregnancy outcome (APO) included: fetal and neonatal death, placental insufficiency with premature delivery <37 weeks, and small for gestational age (SGA) (≤3rd percentile). Results: We included 158 pregnant patients affected with SLE. At first trimester the median SLEPDAI (IQR) was 2 (0–4) and the median SLE-DAS (IQR) 1.32 (0.37–2.08). At least one flare occurred in 25 (15.8%) women during the 2nd and 3rd trimester. APO occurred in 19 (12.0%) patients. A significant correlation between SLE-DAS and SLEPDAI was found in this cohort (Spearman’s ρ = 0.97, Figure 1). At multivariate analysis, both SLE-DAS and SLEPDAI predicted maternal flares (adjOR = 1.2; 95% CI = 1.0–1.3, p = 0.02; adjOR 1.3, 95% CI = 1.1–1.6 per unit increase, p = 0.01, respectively). SLE-DAS and SLEPDAI were associated with APO at univariate analysis (p = 0.02). Conclusions: SLE-DAS was highly correlated with SLEPDAI and its use in the first trimester predicted maternal flares in the 2nd and 3rd trimester, making SLE-DAS a reliable instrument to measure SLE activity during pregnancy.noneLarosa M.; Costedoat-Chalumeau N.; Guettrot-Imbert G.; Le Guern V.; Morel N.; Jesus D.; Iaccarino L.; Ines L.; Doria A.Larosa, M.; Costedoat-Chalumeau, N.; Guettrot-Imbert, G.; Le Guern, V.; Morel, N.; Jesus, D.; Iaccarino, L.; Ines, L.; Doria, A

Addressing Goal Conflicts: New Policy Mixes for Commercial Land Use Management

Commercial land use management that focuses on a future-oriented urban and regional development must address multiple goals. Effective policy mixes need to simultaneously (1) improve city-regional and inter-municipal cooperation, (2) reduce land take, and (3) assure the long-term economic development of a region. Using the Northern Black Forest in Germany as a case study, we brought together planning and land use research with public policy analysis. We applied cross-impact balances (CIB) to build and analyze a participatory policy-interaction model. Together with a group of 12 experts, we selected effective individual measures to reach each of the three goals and analyzed their interactions. We then assessed the current policy mix and designed alternative policy mixes. The results demonstrate that current approaches to commercial land use management present internal contradictions and generate only little synergies. Implementing innovative measures on a stand-alone basis runs the risk of not being sufficiently effective. In particular, the current practice of competing for municipal marketing and planning of commercial sites has inhibiting effects. We identified alternative policy mixes that achieve all three goals, avoid trade-offs, and generate significant synergy effects. Our results point towards a more coherent and sustainable city-regional (commercial) land-use governance