The Long-Standing Issue of Mobility at the Olympics: From Host Cities to Host Regions in the Ongoing Case Study of Milan–Cortina 2026

Due to public opposition against the unsustainability of hosting the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee adopted Olympic Agenda 2020 to adjust the event requirements to address modern society’s sustainability concerns. Since its implementation, the Agenda has driven important changes regarding the planning and organization of the Olympics, including the possibility of regions being hosts. This allows the sprawl of Olympic venues over larger territories, theoretically facilitating the alignment of event requirements with the needs of the intensively growing contemporary urban areas. However, the larger the host territory, the more complex becomes its mobility planning, as transport requirements for participants still have to be fulfilled, and the host populations still expect to inherit benefits from any investments made. The objective of this paper is to identify and discuss new challenges that such modifications bring for mega-event mobility planning. First, based on the academic literature of case studies of previous Olympic cities, a theoretical framework to systematize the mobility problem at the Olympic Games is proposed for further validation, identifying the dimensions of the related knowledge frames. Second, the mobility planning for the case study of the first ever Olympic region—the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Games—is described. Using this case study, the proposed framework is then extrapolated for cases of Olympic regions in order to identify any shifts in the paradigm of mobility planning when increasing the spatial scale of Olympic hosts. Conclusions indicate that, if properly addressed, unsustainability might be mitigated in Olympic regions, but mega-event planners will have to consider new issues affecting host communities and event stakeholders.

Wind Turbines, Public Acceptance, and Electoral Outcomes

Despite a widespread public support for wind energy in general, wind turbine proposals attract a considerable amount of public opposition. At a time of political commitments to building more wind turbines for climate risk mitigation, we study the potential causes of this opposition and their electoral effects. Our analysis draws on a survey experiment in Switzerland, where the number of wind turbines will grow from a couple of dozens to many hundreds in the next three decades. We find that exposure to wind turbines increases public acceptance, but this affect does not translate into electoral turnout or vote choice. Moreover, locality or politicisation does not seem to have an effect at all—neither on acceptance nor on electoral outcomes. Our results suggest that voters do not reward or punish political parties for their positions on wind energy, even when turbines might soon be rising in their local area.

Russia's leaders fear public wrath more than Omicron

Significance A parallel bill requiring people to show electronic QR codes for train and air travel has been withdrawn. Both bills were halted by public opposition and President Vladimir Putin's call for a rethink. Meanwhile, 35 of Russia's 85 regions have relaxed their own restrictions ahead of the New Year holiday. Impacts Regional governments will have to face the new burden created by the Omicron variant, adding to the strain on their budgets. Substantial federal support for businesses affected by the new virus wave is unlikely. The Sputnik V booster will be introduced, although a mass roll-out is unlikely to occur before Omicron takes hold.

Green on Green: Issues of Public Opposition to Proposed Renewable Energy Projects

Renewable energy is widely recognised as a significant tool to combat climate change, achieve carbon neutrality and realise sustainable development. However, even with widespread support, renewable projects may trigger conflicts and lead to green on green tension – a conflict between the environmental benefits of renewable energy projects (REP s) and public concerns over consequential environmental detriments. This article clarifies both the environmental impacts and the environmental-related impacts that can be caused by REP s and contribute to green on green tension; and examines how these can be weighed against the positives of such projects. The article argues that the stage of public participation in decision making on REP s provides the appropriate mechanism to identify and mitigate the impacts and weigh the competing interests; and that to guide this process national policies should establish a presumption in favour of REP s, rebuttable when significant harm is likely to result from the proposed project.

“Mothers Should Have Freedom of Movement”—Citizens’ Attitudes Regarding Farrowing Housing Systems for Sows and Their Piglets

Farrowing crates are the most common housing for lactating sows throughout the world, despite known public opposition to housing systems that deprive animals’ freedom to move. This study aimed to investigate Brazilian citizens’ attitudes towards three farrowing housing systems (crates, loose pens, and outdoors). Data were obtained via an online questionnaire containing open- and close-ended questions. Participants’ (n = 1171) attitudes were most negative towards the crates and most positive towards outdoor farrowing, and positively correlated with perceived sows’ quality of life. Participants overwhelmingly rejected the use of farrowing crates, and most supported a proposal to move from farrowing crates to loose pens, even when informed that this entailed an increased risk of piglets’ mortality. Participants’ views were underpinned by concerns about sows’ freedom of movement, behavioral freedom and naturalness, and the belief that it is possible to develop and manage housing that prevents piglet crushing that does not involve confining the sow. Furthermore, loose farrowing pens may not fully address all concerns expressed by participants regarding farrowing housing, which included the possibility of allowing sows to socialize and express maternal behaviors. We conclude that maintaining farrowing crates may erode the pig industry’s social license.

Evaluation of Investments in Wind Energy Projects, under Uncertainty. State of the Art Review

The use of renewable energy sources, especially wind energy, has been widely developed, mostly during the last decade. The main objective of the present study is to conduct a literature review focused on the evaluation under uncertainty of wind energy investment using the real options approach to find out whether public opposition (NIMBY projects) has been contemplated, and if so, what have been the flexible strategies applied for its intervention. Overall, 97 publications were analyzed, identifying 20 different models or approaches, which were grouped into eight categories: 1. Real options, 2. Optimization, 3. Stochastics, 4. Financial evaluation, 5. Probabilistic, 6. Estimation, 7. Numerical prediction, and 8. Others. The real options approach, present in 32% of the studies, was the most popular. Twenty-eight types of uncertainties were identified, which were grouped, for better analysis, into nine categories. In total, 62.5% of the studies included the price of electricity as a source of uncertainty; 18.8%, the velocity of wind; and 15.6%, the feed-in rates-subsidy. Both random and non-random techniques were applied to assess the real options and to model the uncertainties. When evaluating real options, the Monte Carlo simulation technique was the most preferred, with 16 (51.6%) applications, followed by non-randomized techniques, decision tree, and dynamic programming, with eight (25.8%) applications each. There is a marked tendency to use stochastic processes to model uncertainty, particularly geometric Brownian motion, which was used in 61.3% (19) of the studies in the sample. When searching for “real options AND (nimby OR public opposition)”, no study was found, which shows the possibility of developing research on this aspect to determine its impact on investments in wind energy projects.

Minimising Community Opposition to Wind Farm Developments in New Zealand: Opportunities in Renewable Energy Planning

<p>The erection of wind turbines, depending on their location, could significantly interfere with appreciated landscape values of a community, and consequently lead to its objection to a proposed wind energy project. This study explores possible options, which can be applied within the community consultation process to reduce the likelihood of substantial public opposition to wind farm developments in New Zealand. The research topic was chosen to support wind farm planners and decision makers in the consultation process for wind farm developments in order to increase public acceptance of a proposed project, to evaluate possibilities of benefit sharing and public involvement, to select the most appropriate level of community participation in the planning process and consequently to enhance the ability in gaining resource consent under the Resource Management Act 1991. The investigation covers the sequential development of public attitudes towards wind farms, the wider spectrum of public opposition, including vocalised reasons and hidden arguments, community consultation approaches and the different levels of public involvement. The applied methodology for this research comprises a case study approach concerning a New Zealand wind farm including an analysis of submissions made into the resource consent process, follow-up interviews with affected stakeholders, an interview with a wind farm developer, and a comprehensive text analysis. There are various opportunities to increase acceptance of wind farms including aesthetical design, sensitive siting, a pro-active approach, stakeholder analysis, participation and community ownership schemes. The results also demonstrate that increased community involvement may potentially satisfy consulted stakeholders, but could jeopardise obtaining resource consent under the current planning regime.</p>

Minimising Community Opposition to Wind Farm Developments in New Zealand: Opportunities in Renewable Energy Planning

<p>The erection of wind turbines, depending on their location, could significantly interfere with appreciated landscape values of a community, and consequently lead to its objection to a proposed wind energy project. This study explores possible options, which can be applied within the community consultation process to reduce the likelihood of substantial public opposition to wind farm developments in New Zealand. The research topic was chosen to support wind farm planners and decision makers in the consultation process for wind farm developments in order to increase public acceptance of a proposed project, to evaluate possibilities of benefit sharing and public involvement, to select the most appropriate level of community participation in the planning process and consequently to enhance the ability in gaining resource consent under the Resource Management Act 1991. The investigation covers the sequential development of public attitudes towards wind farms, the wider spectrum of public opposition, including vocalised reasons and hidden arguments, community consultation approaches and the different levels of public involvement. The applied methodology for this research comprises a case study approach concerning a New Zealand wind farm including an analysis of submissions made into the resource consent process, follow-up interviews with affected stakeholders, an interview with a wind farm developer, and a comprehensive text analysis. There are various opportunities to increase acceptance of wind farms including aesthetical design, sensitive siting, a pro-active approach, stakeholder analysis, participation and community ownership schemes. The results also demonstrate that increased community involvement may potentially satisfy consulted stakeholders, but could jeopardise obtaining resource consent under the current planning regime.</p>

Minimising Community Opposition to Wind Farm Developments in New Zealand: Opportunities in Renewable Energy Planning

<p>The erection of wind turbines, depending on their location, could significantly interfere with appreciated landscape values of a community, and consequently lead to its objection to a proposed wind energy project. This study explores possible options, which can be applied within the community consultation process to reduce the likelihood of substantial public opposition to wind farm developments in New Zealand. The research topic was chosen to support wind farm planners and decision makers in the consultation process for wind farm developments in order to increase public acceptance of a proposed project, to evaluate possibilities of benefit sharing and public involvement, to select the most appropriate level of community participation in the planning process and consequently to enhance the ability in gaining resource consent under the Resource Management Act 1991. The investigation covers the sequential development of public attitudes towards wind farms, the wider spectrum of public opposition, including vocalised reasons and hidden arguments, community consultation approaches and the different levels of public involvement. The applied methodology for this research comprises a case study approach concerning a New Zealand wind farm including an analysis of submissions made into the resource consent process, follow-up interviews with affected stakeholders, an interview with a wind farm developer, and a comprehensive text analysis. There are various opportunities to increase acceptance of wind farms including aesthetical design, sensitive siting, a pro-active approach, stakeholder analysis, participation and community ownership schemes. The results also demonstrate that increased community involvement may potentially satisfy consulted stakeholders, but could jeopardise obtaining resource consent under the current planning regime.</p>