Sustainable construction and construction of the sustainability: an experience in rural communities of El Salvador

La experiencia que se analiza en este trabajo representa un acercamiento al concepto de sostenibilidad en los países en vías de desarrollo. Se trata de un proceso de autoconstrucción comunitaria de viviendas bioclimáticas en tres asentamientos rurales de El Salvador, donde la noción de sostenibilidad contempla dos aspectos distintos pero interdependientes. Por un lado, la satisfacción de la necesidad de vivienda se lleva a cabo con un modelo de construcción sostenible que utiliza los elementos naturales al alcance las poblaciones más desfavorecidas del ámbito rural salvadoreño. Por otro lado, en torno a los procesos constructivos se articulan acciones transversales que desarrollan los principales aspectos de la sostenibilidad en la comunidad, fortaleciéndola, tanto en sus dimensiones sociales, económicas, institucionales como medioambientales.The experience analyzed in this work represents an approach to the concept of Sustainability in developing countries. It is a process of communal construction of bioclimatic housing in three Salvadorian rural settlings, where the Sustainability notion is centered on two different and interrelated aspects. On the one hand, satisfying the housing needs by means of a sustainable building process, which employs the natural resources available to the poorest rural Salvadorian people. On the other hand, the building process articulates the main sustainability aspects within the community. These social, economic, institutional and environmental dimensions reinforce a sustainable community

Educación para el desarrollo y para la sostenibilidad. Acercando propuestas en el marco del EEES

L a s i nt e rre l a c i one s e nt re l a E duc a c i ón pa ra e l D e s a rrol l o, l a E duc a c i ón pa ra l a S os t e ni bi l i da d y pa ra e l D e s a rrol l o S os t e ni bl e ha n c ons t i t ui do un punt o c l a ve pa ra l a de fi ni c i ón de l os c urs os de pos t gra do de l a U ni ve rs i da d P ol i t e c ni c a de Ca t a l uña (U P C) a da pt a dos a l nue vo E s pa c i o E urope o de E duc a c i ón S upe ri or. L os e nfoque s m á s c e rc a nos a l a c oope ra c i ón pa ra e l de s a rrol l o y l os m á s propi os de l a s os t e ni bi l i da d c ont ri buye n de m a ne ra c om pl e m e nt a ri a y de c i s i va e n l a form a c i ón de l os profe s i ona l e s l l a m a dos a t ra ba j a r e n t a re a s de de s a rrol l o, ya s e a e n pa í s e s de l S ur o de l N ort e , y a a c t ua r re s pons a bl e m e nt e de s de l a s pos i c i one s t é c ni c a s que de ba n a s um i r. E n l a U P C e l i m pa c t o de l os di s t i nt os e nfoque s e n l a c onfi gura c i ón de l os c urs os de pos t gra do e s e l re s ul t a do de un proc e s o pa rt i c i pa t i vo que ha i nvol uc ra do t a nt o l a ofe rt a form a t i va de gra do e xi s t e nt e (funda m e nt a l m e nt e a t ra vé s de a s i gna t ura s de l i bre e l e c c i ón) c om o l a ofe rt a form a t i va de pos t gra do y de i ni c i a c i ón a l a i nve s t i ga c i ón (a t ra vé s de l os progra m a s de doc t ora do e xi s t e nt e s ). E l a ná l i s i s que a quí s e pre s e nt a i nt e nt a , por un l a do, pone r de m a ni fi e s t o l a s ra í c e s e duc a t i va s e n l a s que s e ba s a e l proc e s o, que s e e nc ue nt ra n e n l a s di fe re nt e s pe rs pe c t i va s de l a s “ e duc a c i ón pa ra ” , y, por ot ro l a do, pre s e nt a r bre ve m e nt e c om o e s t os funda m e nt os s e a rt i c ul a n e n l a c onfi gura c i ón de l os c urs os de pos t gra do ofi c i a l e s de fi ni dos por l a U P C ha s t a l a fe c ha (di c i e m bre 2006)Postprint (published version

Educación para el desarrollo sostenible entre educación para el desarrollo y educación ambiental: apuntes para un debate

La ponencia se coloca en el área de “Innovación de la docencia”, intentando de definir interrelaciones entre Educación para el Desarrollo (EpD), Educación Ambiental (EA) y para el Desarrollo Sostenible (EpDS). El rol de esta ultima está tomando una posición siempre central en los actuales procesos de cambio de los cursos de grado y postgrado hacia el cumplimento de las directrices del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES.Peer Reviewe

An institutional approach to urban fragmentation : power and sustainability in un-recognized settlements of Mumbai

Urban fragmentation is a phenomenon which characterizes the so-called "global city", both in the North and in the South of the world. Since the 1990s, several disciplines have approached fragmentation dynamics from different perspectives, mainly focusing on their consequences in the urban fabric. Urban fragmentation has risen to the attention of decision-makers as a "political issue" during the 2000s, particularly after the global crisis of 2008, with the increase of socio-economic inequalities in urban areas and the emerging of the question of rights as key issues for city development. In this period some authors started a debate on the causes and the roots of the phenomenon, influenced by their different ethical-political and ideological positions on society and on the city. Thus urban fragmentation has become one of the paradigmatic phenomena to rethink what sustainability actually is in its urban connotation and to question current policies addressing sustainable development at the city scale. The research explores urban fragmentation processes through a new institutional approach. Following the French-Syrian linguist Emil Benveniste, within a neo-institutionalist perspective, institutions are thought of here in a "radical" way, as entities structuring society (state, law, religion, technology, processes of thought and word, etc.), thus including both organizations and mental models and coming back to their etymological meaning in the Indo-European culture. This focus allows the research to go beyond the superficial facets of the phenomenon and understand the relations in place between the socio-spatial aspects, the institutional roots, the power balances and the planning solutions which involve fragmented territories. In this work the knowledge of the phenomenon is generated through an analysis grounded in the researcher's fieldwork experience in Mumbai. In the literature, Mumbai is commonly identified as a "fragmented city", and this statement is confirmed by a wide range of narratives on the theme. The research works at the community scale, focusing on three legally un-recognized settlements and using these case study areas for their richness in evidencing fragmentation dynamics characterizing the whole urban fabric. Key findings from the analysis of the fieldwork are that the "not notified" settlements are involved in power relations without any protection by the public authorities and, due to their condition of socio-economic and legal-political vulnerability (even in relation to other recognized slums in Mumbai), develop underlying practices of negotiation with the Municipality and criminal institutions, which control the territory, bypassing conventional urban policies and developing specific planning rationalities. At the empirical level, the research shows the importance of the recognition of "not notified" settlements, seeking basic rights to the city, promoting inclusive urban policies and mitigating fragmentation tendencies. On a methodological plane, the narrative of the research shows the key role played by institutions in shaping fragmentation processes and the relevance of the institutional dimension in understanding the complexities embedded in these urban dynamics. From a theoretical perspective, the research allows reconsidering the role of equity in planning practices: a more equal distribution of power, as emerged in some case study experiences, is a pre-condition in reducing urban fragmentation and in fostering a sustainable development of the city

Democratising the interface research-policymaking in landscape planning: experiences in Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy)

In the current, extended socio-environmental crisis, the interface research-policymaking in landscape planning has evolved, seeking responses to pressing global dynamics (e.g., climate change, international migration fluxes, etc.) and critical local demands (e.g., recognition of community-based initiatives, “public governance” of landscape interventions, etc.). Depending on contextual conditions, different political agendas and legal frameworks shape the interplay between knowledge production mechanisms and practices on landscape. The evolution of the interface research-policymaking involves the interactions between structured research policies and informal knowledge generation processes, the (ideological) use of participation in the actions on landscape and the redefinition of power equilibria in the planning arena. Exploring the experiences of landscape planning developed in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy (i.e., territorial plans involving landscape conservation norms, regional landscape plans, “integrated landscape projects”), the research shows the need to readdress landscape governance and policymaking towards inclusiveness, fostering knowledge co-production initiatives at all levels and (re-)thinking power as a complex factor of change in the relationships between planning authorities, academia, communities and citizens

Construcción sostenible y construcción de la sostenibilidad: una experiencia en comunidades rurales de El Salvador

The experience analyzed in this work represents an approach to the concept of Sustainability in developing countries. It is a process of communal construction of bioclimatic housing in three Salvadorian rural settlings, where the Sustainability notion is centered on two different and interrelated aspects. On the one hand, satisfying the housing needs by means of a sustainable building process, which employs the natural resources available to the poorest rural Salvadorian people. On the other hand, the building process articulates the main sustainability aspects within the community. These social, economic, institutional and environmental dimensions reinforce a sustainable community

KNOWLEDGE CO-PRODUCTION ON LANDSCAPE CHARACTERS, VISIONS AND PLANNING: THE CASE OF THE REGIONAL LANDSCAPE PLAN IN FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA (ITALY)

The recent debate on landscape planning in Europe has seen growing interest in knowledge co-production processes. The need to apply the European Landscape Convention and political pressures to pool the knowledge of citizens and non-experts has been at the fore in the last few regional landscape planning experiences in Italy. Using a qualitative approach and specific analysis criteria, the research examines the case of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Landscape Plan (PPR FVG), exploring the relational geographies and the power relations embedded in the knowledge co-production processes related to the Plan. This research provides a comprehensive map of the top-down and bottom-up relations linking the actors producing knowledge on the regional landscape and an in-depth analysis on power equilibria for the key nodes structuring the landscape Plan. The study questions the knowledge co-production mechanisms included in a regional planning experience and stresses the importance of the exercise of co-production experiences in fostering the diffusion of “landscape democracy” at the micro-scale. Eventually, this research shows the complexity of relational dynamics, with links which are often unequal, but generally aimed at joint production of knowledge in relation to regional landscapes

Educación para el desarrollo y para la sostenibilidad. Acercando propuestas en el marco del EEES

L a s i nt e rre l a c i one s e nt re l a E duc a c i ón pa ra e l D e s a rrol l o, l a E duc a c i ón pa ra l a S os t e ni bi l i da d y pa ra e l D e s a rrol l o S os t e ni bl e ha n c ons t i t ui do un punt o c l a ve pa ra l a de fi ni c i ón de l os c urs os de pos t gra do de l a U ni ve rs i da d P ol i t e c ni c a de Ca t a l uña (U P C) a da pt a dos a l nue vo E s pa c i o E urope o de E duc a c i ón S upe ri or. L os e nfoque s m á s c e rc a nos a l a c oope ra c i ón pa ra e l de s a rrol l o y l os m á s propi os de l a s os t e ni bi l i da d c ont ri buye n de m a ne ra c om pl e m e nt a ri a y de c i s i va e n l a form a c i ón de l os profe s i ona l e s l l a m a dos a t ra ba j a r e n t a re a s de de s a rrol l o, ya s e a e n pa í s e s de l S ur o de l N ort e , y a a c t ua r re s pons a bl e m e nt e de s de l a s pos i c i one s t é c ni c a s que de ba n a s um i r. E n l a U P C e l i m pa c t o de l os di s t i nt os e nfoque s e n l a c onfi gura c i ón de l os c urs os de pos t gra do e s e l re s ul t a do de un proc e s o pa rt i c i pa t i vo que ha i nvol uc ra do t a nt o l a ofe rt a form a t i va de gra do e xi s t e nt e (funda m e nt a l m e nt e a t ra vé s de a s i gna t ura s de l i bre e l e c c i ón) c om o l a ofe rt a form a t i va de pos t gra do y de i ni c i a c i ón a l a i nve s t i ga c i ón (a t ra vé s de l os progra m a s de doc t ora do e xi s t e nt e s ). E l a ná l i s i s que a quí s e pre s e nt a i nt e nt a , por un l a do, pone r de m a ni fi e s t o l a s ra í c e s e duc a t i va s e n l a s que s e ba s a e l proc e s o, que s e e nc ue nt ra n e n l a s di fe re nt e s pe rs pe c t i va s de l a s “ e duc a c i ón pa ra ” , y, por ot ro l a do, pre s e nt a r bre ve m e nt e c om o e s t os funda m e nt os s e a rt i c ul a n e n l a c onfi gura c i ón de l os c urs os de pos t gra do ofi c i a l e s de fi ni dos por l a U P C ha s t a l a fe c ha (di c i e m bre 2006