scholarly journals Urban Vegetation Leveraging Actions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4843
Author(s):  
Francisco J. Tapiador ◽  
Andrés Navarro ◽  
Josu Mezo ◽  
Sergio de la Llave ◽  
Jesús Muñoz

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include a subset of targets that can be advanced through standard urban management activities. In particular, routine urban vegetation management comprises a number of activities with potential impact on Goal #4 (quality education), #11 (sustainable cities and communities), #13 (protect the planet), #15 (life on land), and, perhaps less obviously, but equally important, on Goal #8 (good jobs and economic growth). This paper discusses how urban vegetation management can help achieve the SDGs at a local level. Drawing on a case study (Talavera de la Reina, Spain), it is shown that an intelligent approach to urban vegetation management can leverage resources towards the SDGs at little or no cost to municipalities. Minor modifications and conceptual changes in how standard practices are carried out can make a difference. Including this dimension can even result in a positive balance for the municipal budget. Our analyses and proposals are of broad and direct applicability for urban areas worldwide and can help city authorities and officials to align their cities with the SDGs simply by making minor adjustments to how they currently deal with urban vegetation.

1996 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1575-1602 ◽  
Author(s):  
C M Guy

The development programmes of major grocery retailers in Britain have transformed the retail systems of many urban areas. Impacts upon patterns of consumer behaviour and shopping provision have been substantial. Although many writers have discussed retailers' changing corporate strategies and their implications for new store development, there is still a need for local case studies. In this paper, therefore, processes of change in grocery provision in Cardiff, a city of almost 300000 population, are examined, mainly over a recent twelve-year period. An initial burst of superstore development was accompanied by closures of many small grocery stores owned by multiple and cooperative organisations. Since about 1986, rates of new store development and of store closure have diminished. These changes were superimposed upon a longer term decline in independent food retailing. The question of trading impact is then investigated through associations over time and space of store openings and closures. Although some of the closures in this analysis appear to be explained, it is clear also that certain characteristics of the stores themselves (particularly size and location) were strongly related to the likelihood of closure. This in turn reflected corporate strategies for growth, repositioning, or retrenchment amongst the multiples concerned, mediated through the local property market and land-use planning policies. The conclusion is that the case study clearly exemplifies the impacts of recent events in British retailing, but that further studies are needed to build a comprehensive understanding of retail change at the local level.


Author(s):  
S. Horbliuk

Problem setting. Urban revitalization is a complex process of overcoming spatial, economic, social, cultural, ecological crisis phenomena of degraded urban territories functioning. Despite the growing attention in the development of urban policy on sustainable development, substantiation in this context of the goals and effective tools for revitalization of degraded urban areas remains an urgent task of theory and practice in public administration at the present stage. Recent research and publications analysis. Among native scientists engaged in research of various aspects in public management of sustainable territories development, it is necessary to point out: M. Averkin, V. Babayev, Z. Buryk, M. Voychuk, Z. Gerasimchuk, I. Degtyarev, V. Kuybid, O. Matveyev, O. Petroe, O. Sych, D. Tarasenko, V. Udovychenko, A. Chechel. In general, scientists have developed theoretical and methodological principles of the public policy impact on sustainable development in regions and cities. Highlighting previously unsettled parts of the general problem. However, the further development of the public administration science requires the disclosure of methodological tools for specific local policies to ensure sustainable development, particularly the revitalization of the city. This problem has not yet been covered in native science. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the goals and identify effective tools for sustainable development of the degraded territory, which should be used by urban governments in developing a policy of urban revitalization, based on the analysis of the evolution of the concept for world’s sustainable development. Paper main body. Since the end of the twentieth century the concept of sustainable development is reflected at the local level, emphasizing the responsibility of local authorities implementing its goals. In the adopted Agenda for the XXI century (2015) the territorial dimension of sustainable development was emphasized, particularly the importance of endogenous factors and mechanisms of development “from the bottom up”. At the same time, rapid urbanization in the world has highlighted the role of cities in which there is an urgent need to balance development. Thus, in economically developed countries, the revitalization of degraded urban areas is becoming widespread as an instrument of sustainable development policy at the local level. Given the inevitability of urbanization and the growing importance of cities in the global economy, for the first time a separate sustainable development goal – “11. Sustainable development of cities and communities” was identified. Therefore, the actions of public authorities should be aimed to ensure the openness, security and sustainability of cities. In turn, the revitalization of cities should contribute to the achievement of 11 global goals, as well as ensure the implementation of other goals of the Global Agenda. There are many tools to ensure the sustainable development of the degraded area in the process of the city revitalization. In countries, they differ according to their historical, legal, spatial and other conditions. Conclusions of the research and prospects for further studies. Local governments are key players in the implementation of the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development until 2030, including the Sustainable Development Goals. They must develop effective measures to address socially significant issues that hamper sustainable development, including overcoming the degradation of urban areas. The guidelines for the formation of the city’s revitalization policy should be 17 Sustainable Development Goals, as they contain the main tasks of economic, social and environmental nature for the territory development. All Sustainable Development Goals in the process of revitalization of degraded urban areas can be achieved using the following groups of tools: planning, support, market, financial, tax and other legal instruments. Further research should focus on the study of tools for public participation in the development of policies for the city revitalization, which in modern conditions belong to the basic methodological foundations of urban management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1585-1599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Nicholls ◽  
Adrian Ely ◽  
Linda Birkin ◽  
Parthiba Basu ◽  
Dave Goulson

Abstract Food production depends upon the adequate provision of underpinning ecosystem services, such as pollination. Paradoxically, conventional farming practices are undermining these services and resulting in degraded soils, polluted waters, greenhouse gas emissions and massive loss of biodiversity including declines in pollinators. In essence, farming is undermining the ecosystem services it relies upon. Finding alternative more sustainable ways to meet growing food demands which simultaneously support biodiversity is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity. Here, we review the potential of urban and peri-urban agriculture to contribute to sustainable food production, using the 17 sustainable development goals set by the United Nations General Assembly as a framework. We present new data from a case study of urban gardens and allotments in the city of Brighton and Hove, UK. Such urban and peri-urban landholdings tend to be small and labour-intensive, characterised by a high diversity of crops including perennials and annuals. Our data demonstrate that this type of agricultural system can be highly productive and that it has environmental and social advantages over industrial agriculture in that crops are usually produced using few synthetic inputs and are destined for local consumption. Overall, we conclude that food grown on small-scale areas in and near cities is making a significant contribution to feeding the world and that this type of agriculture is likely to be relatively favourable for some ecosystem services, such as supporting healthy soils. However, major knowledge gaps remain, for example with regard to productivity, economic and employment impacts, pesticide use and the implications for biodiversity.


The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are universally seen to be global in their nature and reach, but there is a growing acceptance that they have an important local dimension. At the same time, there is an increasing recognition of the need for appropriate Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to support and monitor the SDGs. This article adopts a qualitative inductive research approach in examining a range of public authority and academic source material, and framework analysis is used to record, categorise and critique this material. The findings provide an overview of the role of the SDGs at the local level and an assessment of how the localisation of the SDGs is being addressed in some urban areas within Western Europe. The findings also indicate how ICTs are being deployed to support the localisation process in Western Europe and the wider world. This is followed by a discussion of some emergent issues related to the localisation of the SDGs, including the increasingly important role of ICTs.


2022 ◽  
pp. 22-44
Author(s):  
İhsan İkizer

Sustainable development and smart city have been two key concepts that are mentioned and referred to in any discussion on our cities. Today, more than half of the people live in cities, and the problems that we face in urban areas ranging from climate change to transportation, from waste management to communicable diseases, threaten the future of our cities and next generations. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the world leaders at the UN Summit in 2015 in order to save our planet, our generation, and next generations. As the problem is global, the solution needs to be global; and as the problem is a result of multiple actors, the solution needs to be provided by the collaboration of multiple stakeholders. Smart city has emerged as a concept that offers several solutions to the urban problems, which also overlap with most of the targets listed in the SDGs. In this chapter, the contribution of smart city technologies to the achievement of the SDGs is analysed through the in-depth case study of Istanbul, a mega city with a population of around 16 million.


Author(s):  
Tue Nguyen Dang

This research examines the factors affecting the financial literacy of Vietnamese adults. Using a sample of 266 observations of adults in 2 big cities in Vietnam (Hanoi and Vinh in Nghe An Province), the author evaluates the literacy level of adults in these urban areas. The financial literacy of the interviewed people is low. The multiple regression results show that lower financial literacy levels associate with higher age and married status and higher financial literacy levels associate with higher education, more family members, the person making financial decisions and the person attending a useful financial course. This research also explores the association between financial literacy and financial behaviors of individuals employing logistic models. It is found that higher financial literacy associates with less probability of overspending and higher probability of saving money and careful spending. Higher financial literacy is also found to associate with higher probability of opening a savings account and making various investments. 


2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. v. Münch ◽  
G. Amy ◽  
J. F. Fesselet

This paper describes the potential of ecological sanitation (ecosan) to provide sustainable excreta disposal in emergency situations and in peri-urban areas or slums in developing countries. At the present time, pit latrines are the most common form of excreta disposal both for emergency situations and in low-income peri-urban areas or slums. Although not intended to be a long-term solution, pit latrines provided during emergencies are often used for a long time (more than six months to years). This practice is not sustainable if the area is prone to flooding or there are soil conditions that allow groundwater pollution in areas where groundwater is used for drinking water, to name but two of the main factors. We propose eight criteria for the applicability of ecosan based on analysis of three case studies representing different types of emergency situations. The two most important criteria are awareness and expertise in ecosan within the aid agencies, and availability of standardised, lightweight toilet units that are quick to assemble and easy to transport (e.g. container for faeces, and urine diversion squatting pan made of impact-resistant molded polypropylene). Such toilets could be moved to, or replicated in, other areas in need after the emergency (peri-urban areas or slums). This would provide benefits for Millennium Development Goals achievements (targets on hunger, child mortality, sanitation and slum dwellers) at lower cost than conventional sanitation systems. Costs for sanitation systems should be compared based on the entire system (toilet, transport, treatment, reuse in agriculture), using Net Present Value analysis for capital, and operating and maintenance costs.


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