Local planning practice and flood risk management in England: is there a collective implementation deficit?

Although planning policy enables local planning authorities to influence development with regard to flood risk, in practice there appears to be a number of barriers inhibiting effective flood mitigation, particularly in areas with high development pressures. This research focuses on treatment of flood risk within the English local planning system and discovers that there is a seeming failure to capture strategic, collective flood management opportunities, resulting in an implementation deficit between the aims of planning policy and its practical application. Improvements to local planning policy frameworks are needed therefore, to enable the use of more strategic solutions without compromising local development needs.Bien que la politique d’aménagement permette aux autorités d’aménagement local d’influencer le développement en fonction des risques d’inondation, il apparaît qu’en pratique, il y a un certain nombre de barrières à la réduction efficace des inondations, en particulier dans les secteurs où les pressions pour le développement sont élevées. Cette recherche est axée sur le traitement des risques d’inondation dans le système d’aménagement local anglais et met en évidence que des occasions stratégiques de gestion collective des inondations ont clairement été manquées, avec pour résultat un écart entre les objectifs de la politique d’aménagement et son application pratique, de par sa mise en oeuvre. L’amélioration de la structure de la politique d’aménagement local est donc nécessaire pour permettre l'utilisation de solutions plus stratégiques sans compromettre les besoins de développement local

Gaudin Algebras, RSK and Calogero-Moser cells in type A

We study the spectrum of a family of algebras, the inhomogeneous Gaudin algebras, acting on the $n$-fold tensor representation $\mathbb{C}[x_1, \ldots, x_r]^{\otimes n}$ of the Lie algebra $\mathfrak{gl}_r$. We use the work of Halacheva-Kamnitzer-Rybnikov-Weekes to demonstrate that the Robinson-Schensted-Knuth correspondence describes the behaviour of the spectrum as we move along special paths in the family. We apply the work of Mukhin-Tarasov-Varchenko, which proves that the rational Calogero-Moser phase space can be realised as a part of this spectrum, to relate this to behaviour at $t=0$ of rational Cherednik algebras of $\mathfrak{S}_n$. As a result, we confirm for symmetric groups a conjecture of Bonnaf\'e-Rouquier which proposes an equality between the Calogero-Moser cells they defined and the well-known Kazhdan-Lusztig cells.Comment: 24 page

The uncertainty contagion: Revealing the interrelated, cascading uncertainties of managed retreat

Managed retreat presents a dilemma for at-risk communities, and the planning practitioners and decisionmakers working to address natural hazard and climate change risks. The dilemma boils down to the countervailing imperatives of moving out of harm’s way versus retaining ties to community and place. While there are growing calls for its use, managed retreat remains challenging in practice—across diverse settings. The approach has been tested with varied success in a number of countries, but significant uncertainties remain, such as regarding who ‘manages’ it, when and how it should occur, at whose cost, and to where? Drawing upon a case study of managed retreat in New Zealand, this research uncovers intersecting and compounding arenas of uncertainty regarding the approach, responsibilities, legality, funding, politics and logistics of managed retreat. Where uncertainty is present in one domain, it spreads into others creating a cascading series of political, personal and professional risks that impact trust in science and authority and affect people’s lives and risk exposure. In revealing these mutually dependent dimensions of uncertainty, we argue there is merit in refocusing attention away from policy deficits, barrier approaches or technical assessments as a means to provide ‘certainty’, to instead focus on the relations between forms of knowledge and coordinating interactions between the diverse arenas: scientific, governance, financial, political and socio-cultural; otherwise uncertainty can spread like a contagion, making inaction more likely

Delivering the 20 minute city in Hamilton, NZ

University of Waikato Professor Iain White led much of the think behind the $500m "20 Minute city" concept that headlines the proposal. The aim of it was to create a city where most facilities and activities, including employment, were available within 20 minute walking distance of one's home