scholarly journals Overcoming Systemic Barriers Preventing Healthy Urban Development in the UK: Main Findings from Interviewing Senior Decision-Makers During a 3-Year Planetary Health Pilot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Black ◽  
Paul Pilkington ◽  
Ben Williams ◽  
Janet Ige ◽  
Emily Prestwood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
National Level ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Planetary Health ◽  
The Uk

AbstractThis paper sets out the main findings from two rounds of interviews with senior representatives from the UK’s urban development industry: the third and final phase of a 3-year pilot, Moving Health Upstream in Urban Development’ (UPSTREAM). The project had two primary aims: firstly, to attempt to value economically the health cost-benefits associated with the quality of urban environments and, secondly, to interview those in control of urban development in the UK in order to reveal the potential barriers to, and opportunities for, the creation of healthy urban environments, including their views on the use of economic valuation of (planetary) health outcomes. Much is known about the ‘downstream’ impact of urban environments on human and planetary health and about how to design and plan healthy towns and cities (‘midstream’), but we understand relatively little about how health can be factored in at key governance tipping points further ‘upstream’, particularly within dominant private sector areas of control (e.g. land, finance, delivery) at sub-national level. Our findings suggest that both public and private sector appeared well aware of the major health challenges posed by poor-quality urban environments. Yet they also recognized that health is not factored adequately into the urban planning process, and there was considerable support for greater use of non-market economic valuation to help improve decision-making. There was no silver bullet however: 110 barriers and 76 opportunities were identified across a highly complex range of systems, actors and processes, including many possible points of targeted intervention for economic valuation. Eight main themes were identified as key areas for discussion and future focus. This findings paper is the second of two on this phase of the project: the first sets out the rationale, approach and methodological lessons learned.

scholarly journals The Application of ‘Elite Interviewing’ Methodology in Transdisciplinary Research: a Record of Process and Lessons Learned during a 3-Year Pilot in Urban Planetary Health Research

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Scally ◽  
Daniel Black ◽  
Paul Pilkington ◽  
Ben Williams ◽  
Janet Ige-Elegbede ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health And Environmental Sciences ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk

AbstractThis paper sets out the rationale and process for the interviewing methodology utilized during a 3-year research pilot, ‘Moving Health Upstream in Urban Development’ (UPSTREAM). The project had two primary aims: firstly, to attempt to value economically the health cost benefits associated with the quality of urban environments and secondly, to engage with those in control of urban development in the UK in order to determine what are the barriers to and opportunities for creating healthy urban environments, including those identified through the utilisation of economic valuation. Engagement at senior level with those who have most control over key facets of planning and development implementation—such as land disposal, investment, development delivery and planning permission—was central to the approach, which encompassed the adoption of ‘elite interviewing’, a method developed in the USA in the 1950s and used in the political sciences but relatively unutilized in the health and environmental sciences [1]. Two rounds of semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 15 senior decision-makers from the UK’s main urban development delivery agencies, both public and private. The ‘elite interviewing’ approach successfully enabled the UPSTREAM project to capture and analyse the information received from the interviewees, all of whom held influential or leadership posts in organisations that are important actors in the process of planning, developing and constructing the built environment in the UK. Having academic and practitioner research leads on an equal footing created some minor tensions, but it also appeared to strengthen the rigor of the approach through a broad knowledge of context ‘in-house’. This form of co-production at times challenged academic traditions in qualitative analysis, but it also appeared to build trust with interviewees and provided greater clarity of the real-world context under investigation. Findings from this study are written up in a separate paper.

scholarly journals Tackling Root Causes Upstream of Unhealthy Urban Development (TRUUD): Protocol of a five-year prevention research consortium

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Daniel Black ◽  
Sarah Ayres ◽  
Krista Bondy ◽  
Rachel Brierley ◽  
Rona Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Policy And Practice

Poor quality urban environments substantially increase non-communicable disease. Responsibility for associated decision-making is dispersed across multiple agents and systems: fast growing urban authorities are the primary gatekeepers of new development and change in the UK, yet the driving forces are remote private sector interests supported by a political economy focused on short-termism and consumption-based growth. Economic valuation of externalities is widely thought to be fundamental, yet evidence on how to value and integrate it into urban development decision-making is limited, and it forms only a part of the decision-making landscape. Researchers must find new ways of integrating socio-environmental costs at numerous key leverage points across multiple complex systems. This mixed-methods study comprises of six highly integrated work packages. It aimsto develop and test a multi-action intervention in two urban areas: one on large-scale mixed-use development, the other on major transport. The core intervention is the co-production with key stakeholders through interviews, workshops, and participatory action research, of three areas of evidence: economic valuations of changed health outcomes; community-led media on health inequalities; and routes to potential impact mapped through co-production with key decision-makers, advisors and the lay public. This will be achieved by: mapping system of actors and processes involved in each case study; developing, testing and refining the combined intervention; evaluating the extent to which policy and practice changes amongst our target users, and the likelihood of impact on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) downstream. The integration of such diverse disciplines and sectors presents multiple practical/operational issues. The programme is testing new approaches to research, notably with regards practitioner-researcher integration and transdisciplinary research co-leadership. Other critical risks relate to urban development timescales, uncertainties in upstream-downstream causality, and the demonstration of impact.

scholarly journals Implications of the use of different payment models

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Villalba-Romero ◽  
Champika Liyanage
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Payment Models

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the payment models and financing structures used for road Infrastructure projects under public private partnerships (PPPs) in the UK. Comparison of funding and financial structures in the selected case studies exposes the risks and values of the models of payment utilised. This research also aims to identify relationships with payment certainty and financing debt restructuring. Design/methodology/approach – The paper compares several case studies representing the evolution of private finance initiative road infrastructure in the UK context. Templates were completed using semi- structured interviews during data collection; and a qualitative content analysis approach was employed for case study analysis. Findings – Lessons learned from using different payment methods show the benefit and limitations of adopting different forms of PPP in road development. Refinancing of projects presents substantial risks to the viability of a project, and benefits gained by the private sector. Further, refinancing brings no significant benefits to the public sector as well. Practical implications – Performance of selected case studies highlights emerging issues that need to be considered when adopting a PPP procurement route in roads projects. Financial markets have supported these projects under different risk profiles and payment models. They also have the potential to play a greater part in capitalising long-term investment in road projects and increase private sector participation in infrastructure development, generating more competition and innovation. Originality/value – This paper provides case study comparison and practical implications of recent PPP developments in road provision in the UK and the evolution of public policy in the subject.

scholarly journals First Post-Legislative Scrutiny in Georgia: Steps Towards Generating Result-oriented Laws

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kakhaber Kuchava
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
National Level ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
The Uk

The effective implementation of law is a complex process. This process depends on the availability of human resources, public engagement, funding (at least, on the stage of piloting), among others. Often, the focus is on getting legislation adopted, rather than on practical implementation and its impact. To fill in this gap, oversight over the Implementation of Normative Acts (i.e., Post-legislative scrutiny, hereinafter “PLS”) has been introduced in the Rules of Procedures of the Parliament of Georgia (hereinafter, the “Parliament”). This article scrutinises the procedures that are shaping the Parliament’s ability to conduct PLS as well as its interaction with the executive. The working theory for this paper is that insufficient attention has been paid to the review of legislation after its enactment in Georgia. The paper addresses the work that has been undertaken at the national level, particularly through monitoring the effects of adopted legislation in ensuring benefits for constituents in the ways initially intended. Furthermore, it will reflect on the challenges identified in the ongoing PLS process by the  Environments Protection and Natural Resources Committee (hereinafter “Environment Committee”) and the lessons learned based on the experience. The article uses a case study of Georgia to explore the context and challenges for effective PLS. For comparision, this research adopted  the UK approach, where it is common to review the laws  three to five years after enactment.

scholarly journals Reimaanlok: A National Framework for Conservation Area Planning in the Marshall Islands

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Baker ◽  
Maria Beger ◽  
Caleb McClennen ◽  
Albon Ishoda ◽  
Florence Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Planning Process ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Marshall Islands ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Conservation Areas ◽  
Community Based ◽  
National Framework

The development ofReimaanlok, a national framework for the planning and establishment of community-based conservation areas in the Marshall Islands, is outlined. A team composed of international experts and local resource management professionals selected and modified an ecoregional planning approach, defined key concepts, selected conservation features and targets, compiled biogeographical information from scientific and local knowledge and carried out a national-level ecological gap assessment. Past development of community-based fisheries and conservation plans was reviewed and the lessons learned informed the development of a robust community-based planning process for the design and establishment of conservation areas on individual atolls, integrating ecosystem based management (EBM) theory, traditional knowledge and management, and the particular socio-economic needs of island communities. While specific geographic, historical, cultural and economic characteristics of the Marshall Islands have created a framework that is unique, several aspects of this process offer ideas for national strategic conservation planning in other Small Island Developing States where there is a paucity of scientific data, significant and increasing threats, and where decision-making about the use of natural resources occurs primarily at the local level.

scholarly journals Captive in Cycles of Invisibility? Prisoners’ Work for the Private Sector

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 596-612
Author(s):  
Jenna Pandeli ◽  
Michael Marinetto ◽  
Jean Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Invisible Work ◽  
Real Work ◽  
The Uk

This article critiques a case of modern prison-labour by exploring prisoners’ attitudes towards the prison-work they undertake while incarcerated. The study is based at a privatised male prison in the UK, assigned the pseudonym ‘Bridgeville’. Bridgeville contracts with private-sector firms in providing market-focused prison-work – so-called real work – for inmates in some of its workshops. In exploring prisoners’ perceptions of this privatised prison-work, it is found that it mainly comprises mundane, low-skilled activities typical of informalised, poor-quality jobs that are socially, legally and economically devalued and categorised as forms of ‘invisible work’. At Bridgeville, such privatised prison-work largely fails in engaging or upskilling inmates, leaving them pessimistic about its value as preparation for employment post-release. Its rehabilitative credentials are therefore questioned. The article contributes to the debate around invisible work more generally by problematising this example of excluded work and the cycle of disadvantage that underpins it.

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