scholarly journals Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-6
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Rey ◽  
Martine Laprise ◽  
Sophie Lufkin
Keyword(s):  
Urban Sprawl ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Urban Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Sustainability Transition ◽  
Present Book ◽  
Neighbourhood Scale ◽  
Urban Brownfields ◽  
Project Dynamics

AbstractThe regeneration of brownfields in European metropolitan areas represents an important potential to mitigate urban sprawl by increasing density within the existing built fabric and to revitalize portions of cities at the neighbourhood scale. Although research and projects on urban brownfields are active, several issues still need to be overcome, especially regarding the sustainability transition challenge. Based on this observation, we introduce the present book, which proposes an integrated and theoretically grounded approach to highlight how urban brownfield regeneration projects—and the neighbourhood scale that they entail—can effectively contribute to the urban sustainability transitions of metropolitan areas. It is structured in two parts that are both distinct and complementary: the first part aims to clarify the framework of the investigations with definition and analysis and the second part presents a deep analysis of processes, project dynamics, and sustainability assessment approaches of urban brownfield regeneration.

scholarly journals Sustainability Issues at the Neighbourhood Scale

2021 ◽  
pp. 77-93
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Rey ◽  
Martine Laprise ◽  
Sophie Lufkin
Keyword(s):  
Urban Sprawl ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Urban Sustainability ◽  
Mixed Use ◽  
Sustainability Concept ◽  
Neighbourhood Scale

AbstractWe previously identified that urban brownfield regeneration projects are relevant strategies to limit urban sprawl while revitalizing portions of cities, namely mixed-use neighbourhoods. Moreover, these neighbourhoods in transition are opportunities to foster the implementation of sustainability objectives within European metropolitan areas. This chapter explore this subject by deepening the sustainability issues at the neighbourhood scale. To provide the basis for discussion, we first attempt to frame the urban sustainability concept and to explain how the neighbourhood scale is a means of action for cities. Then, we analyse the different sustainability issues according to a wide variety of parameters that must especially be taken into account during sustainable neighbourhood projects, and more precisely urban brownfield regeneration projects. These parameters cover the four pillars of sustainability—the environment, society, economy, and governance—and the polycentric reorganization of European metropolitan areas.

scholarly journals Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 203-207
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Rey ◽  
Martine Laprise ◽  
Sophie Lufkin
Keyword(s):  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Absolute Necessity ◽  
Urban Territories ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
To Come ◽  
Neighbourhood Scale ◽  
Post Industrial ◽  
Urban Brownfields

AbstractThe inventory of urban brownfields in post-industrial European metropolitan areas and the study of regeneration projects highlight the absolute necessity of these resources for the sustainability transitions of urban territories and the undeniable complexity of this type of process. Given the complexity of the variables involved, there is no simple and unambiguous recipe to make urban territories evolve towards more sustainability. In a synthetic way, we recall how this book examines the strategies and methods of regenerating urban brownfields through the lens of sustainability at the neighbourhood scale. Then, we question how the urban brownfield phenomenon will evolve in the decades to come. Finally, we argue that it is through inter-disciplinarity of approaches that neighbourhoods in transition can contribute, on their scale, to the mutation and adaptability of urban territories.

scholarly journals Specific Skills and Adapted Support

2021 ◽  
pp. 111-119
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Rey ◽  
Martine Laprise ◽  
Sophie Lufkin
Keyword(s):  
Urban Sprawl ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Brownfield Sites ◽  
Complementary Approach ◽  
Sustainability Principles ◽  
Urban Brownfields ◽  
Sustainable Transition ◽  
Current Practices

AbstractAlthough urban brownfields hold significant inherent potential, especially in limiting urban sprawl, a large number of sites are still awaiting a regeneration project. Moreover, many of these projects only partially or superficially address sustainability principles. Hence, concrete courses of action are required to support the evolution of current practices towards increased sustainability. These courses of action, which rely on specific skills and adapted supports, require a complementary approach. In other words, strategies should be conducted consistently at the territorial, metropolitan, and project levels. In this regard, the present chapter provides a series of courses of action to be implemented at these levels. Our aim here is to foster the sustainable transition of metropolitan areas, and more precisely brownfield sites, into lively neighbourhoods.

scholarly journals Urban Brownfields: Origin, Definition, and Diversity

2021 ◽  
pp. 7-45
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Rey ◽  
Martine Laprise ◽  
Sophie Lufkin
Keyword(s):  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
European Level ◽  
Reference Framework ◽  
Potential Development ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Urban Character ◽  
Neighbourhood Scale ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
A Site ◽  
Urban Brownfields

AbstractBrownfield is a polysemic notion that encompasses a whole range of diverse spaces. Although there is no official definition at the European level, an emerging consensus has arisen around the urban character of brownfields and the need for intervention. Indeed, their location within metropolitan areas represents a strategic opportunity to densify and rejuvenate the urban fabric at the neighbourhood scale. Hence, we propose a definition of urban brownfields that is flexible enough to optimize the potential development of abandoned sites and precise enough to enable framing the discussion. Then, we take a look at the diversity of urban brownfields in European metropolitan areas by briefly explaining the factors that cause a site to become a brownfield and then attempting to classify different types of urban brownfields. The proposed classification aims to create a non-exhaustive reference framework by offering in-depth knowledge of the urban brownfield and regeneration projects phenomenon across Europe, without setting its meaning in stone.

scholarly journals Urban Sustainability at the Cost of Rural Unsustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5466
Author(s):  
Guangwei Huang
Keyword(s):  
Urban Sprawl ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Sustainability ◽  
Negative Externalities ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Rural Sustainability ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
The Cost ◽  
New Framework ◽  
Japan And China

Urban sustainability refers to building and maintaining cities that can continue to function without running out of resources. However, growing cities require more land and urban sprawl has transformed surrounding rural areas into urbanized settlements. Furthermore, the prosperity of large cities depends on the supply of both natural and human resources from rural areas, either nearby or remote. On the other hand, the use of resources of rural areas by cities may cause negative externalities to rural areas, affecting their sustainability. Therefore, a critical, but very much neglected issue, is how unban sustainability should be pursued without affecting rural sustainability. In this study, cases in Japan and China were analyzed from resources and population migration perspectives to provide evidence for the possibility that urban sustainability might have been pursued at the cost of rural unsustainability. It was intended to develop a better understanding of urban sustainability through the lens of externalities. Based on the analysis, a new framework for urban sustainability study was proposed, which consists of three new pillars. Namely, externality, vulnerability, and population instability.

The role of the local government in China's urban sustainability transition: A case study of Wuxi's solar development

Cities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 117 ◽  
pp. 103294
Author(s):  
Fangzhu Zhang ◽  
Calvin King Lam Chung ◽  
Tingting Lu ◽  
Fulong Wu
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Urban Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Transition

scholarly journals Lost in Transition? Directions for an Economic Geography of Urban Sustainability Transitions

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 2434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Fastenrath ◽  
Boris Braun
Keyword(s):  
Economic Geography ◽  
Urban Sustainability ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
The City

Socio-technical transitions towards more sustainable modes of production and consumption are receiving increasing attention in the academic world and also from political and economic decision-makers. There is increasing demand for resource-efficient technologies and institutional innovations, particularly at the city level. However, it is widely unclear how processes of change evolve and develop and how they are embedded in different socio-spatial contexts. While numerous scholars have contributed to the vibrant research field around sustainability transitions, the geographical expertise largely has been ignored. The lack of knowledge about the role of spatial contexts, learning processes, and the co-evolution of technological, economical, and socio-political processes has been prominently addressed. Bridging approaches from Transition Studies and perspectives of Economic Geography, the paper presents conceptual ideas for an evolutionary and relational understanding of urban sustainability transitions. The paper introduces new perspectives on sustainability transitions towards a better understanding of socio-spatial contexts.

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