Planning in the face of immovable subjects: a dialogue about resistance to development forces

Urban development can often seem an irresistible force. The imperatives of development are deeply inscribed in the DNA of liberal capitalist societies. As well as realising profit-making opportunities for the private sector, urban change is a mechanism for (re)generating neighbourhoods, for providing public goods such as waste management, energy generation or public housing. The state may seek to mediate, ameliorate or shape development forces, thereby alleviating tensions and inequalities between divergent publics, and establishing claims to a greater public interest in certain forms of change. As it does so, state support may make development seem even more irresistible, especially if space for political challenge closes down. Yet, the seemingly irresistible force often summons seemingly immovable subjects of resistance: namely citizens and campaign groups who stand against planned changes and declare: ‘we shall not be moved’. Sometimes resistance dissolves with meaningful public input and project improvements; sometimes it remains steadfast in its opposition. The ‘immovable subjects’ who resist are mobilised by concerns to which we may be more or less sympathetic: perceived threats to valued place attachments and identities; outrage at environmental injustices; the desire to defend private property rights; racism and anti-immigrant sentiment. Whether singly or collectively, these claims and their nuanced interpretations can motivate intractable and sometimes violent opposition. The starting point for this Interface is a view that contemporary planning theory and practice continue to struggle with the complex and ambiguous political and ethical challenges posed by the forms of opposition that coalesce around state-mediated urban development. How can, and how should, the ‘essential injustices’ (Davy, 1997) that planning and development generate be managed and distributed? Can meaningful engagement with opposition address tensions and contribute to better outcomes? The implications for representative democracy and collaborative governance are no less profound: from the local to the global, resistance and opposition are central but also often disruptive to the democratic exercise of power.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

High emission rate of sulfuric acid from Bezymianny volcano, Kamchatka

High concentrations of primary sulfuric acid (H2SO4) in fumarolic gases and high emission rate of sulfuric acid aerosol in the plume were measured at Bezymianny volcano, an active dome-growing andesitic volcano in central Kamchatka. Using direct sampling, filter pack sampling, and differential optical absorption spectroscopy measurements, we estimated an average emission of H2SO4 at 243 ± 75 t/d in addition to an average SO2 emission of 212 ± 65 t/d. The fumarolic gases of Bezymianny correspond to arc gases released by several magma bodies at different stages of degassing and contain 25-92% of entrained air. H2SO4 accounts for 6-87 mol% of the total sulfur content, 42.8 mol% on average, and SO2 is the rest. The high H2SO4 in Bezymianny fumaroles can be explained by catalytic oxidation of SO2 inside the volcanic dome. Because sulfate aerosol is impossible to measure remotely, the total sulfur content in a plume containing significant H2SO4 may be seriously underestimated

Synthesis of current knowledge of the biophysical impacts of dredging and disposal on the Great Barrier Reef: report of an Independent Panel of Experts

[Extract] This report provides an independent synthesis of the current knowledge of the effects of dredging and sediment disposal on the physico-chemical environment and the biological values of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (World Heritage Area), as assessed by an Expert Panel. Dredging and sediment disposal can change the physical and chemical environment and affect the biological values of the World Heritage Area. Many of these effects will be context dependent and will differ between locations, types and extent of dredging and sediment disposal activities. The Expert Panel's evaluation identified the following key direct and indirect effects

Estimating the risk of mortality attributable to recent late HIV diagnosis following admission to the intensive care unit: A single-centre observational cohort study

OBJECTIVES: Despite improvements in survival of people with HIV admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), late diagnosis continues to contribute to in-ICU mortality. We quantify the population attributable fraction (PAF) of in-ICU mortality for recent late diagnosis among people with HIV admitted to a London ICU. METHODS: Index ICU admissions among people with HIV were considered from 2000 to 2019. Recent late diagnosis was a CD4 T-cell count < 350 cells/μL and/or AIDS-defining illness at/within 6 months prior to ICU admission. Univariate comparisons were conducted using Wilcoxon rank-sum/Cochran-Armitage/χ2 /Fisher's exact tests. We used Poisson regression (robust standard errors) to estimate unadjusted/adjusted (age, sex, calendar year of ICU admission) risk ratios (RRs) and regression standardization to estimate the PAF. RESULTS: In all, 207 index admissions were included [median (interquartile range) age: 46 (38-53) years; 72% male]; 58 (28%) had a recent late diagnosis, all of whom had a CD4 count < 350 cells/μL, and 95% had advanced HIV (CD4 count < 200 cells/μL and/or AIDS at admission) as compared with 57% of those who did not have a recent late diagnosis (p < 0.001). In-ICU mortality was 27% (55/207); 38% versus 22% in those who did and did not have a recent late diagnosis, respectively (p = 0.02). Recent late diagnosis was independently associated with increased in-ICU mortality risk (adjusted RR = 1.75) (95% confidence interval: 1.05-2.91), with 17.08% (16.04-18.12%) of deaths being attributable to this. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for improved public health efforts focused on HIV testing and reporting of late diagnosis to better understand potentially missed opportunities for earlier HIV diagnosis in healthcare services

Rip spacing and persistence on an embayed beach

Four years of daily time exposure images from an embayed beach were examined to study the spacing, persistence, and location preferences of rips in a natural rip channel system. A total of 5271 rip channels was observed on 782 days. Occurrence statistics showed no evidence of the preferred location pattern associated with standing edge waves trapped in an embayed beach. The histogram of rip spacing, the primary diagnostic observable for most models, was well modeled by a lognormal distribution (mean spacing of 178 m). However, spacings were highly longshore variable (time mean of the standard deviation/longshore mean of rip spacing was 39%), so they are of questionable merit as a diagnostic variable. Storm-driven resets to the longshore uniform condition required by most models occurred only four times per year on average, making rip generation models relevant to only a small fraction of the system behavior. Rip spacings after the 15 observed reset events were uncorrelated with bar crest distance. The lifetime of the 324 individual rip channel trajectories averaged 45.6 days. Rips were equally mobile in both longshore directions, but the coefficient of variation of rip migration rates was large, even for high migration rates. The mean migration rate was well correlated to a proxy for the longshore current (R² of 0.78). Thus there is no significant evidence that the formation, spacing, and migration of rip channels on this beach can be explained by currently existing simple models. Moreover, the alongshore uniform initial conditions assumed by these models are rare on Palm Beach, making the models generally inapplicable