Clifford Godwin Sundar Navamany, A. S. Narayan, L. Scholten
{"title":"There is no environmental health without public health: exploring the links between sanitation and waterbody health in Bengaluru, India","authors":"Clifford Godwin Sundar Navamany, A. S. Narayan, L. Scholten","doi":"10.1177/09562478221084243","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09562478221084243","url":null,"abstract":"Over 70 per cent of India’s surface water is polluted by human excreta and other waste and less than 35 per cent of urban wastewater is treated. This poses a severe risk to public and environmental health. Urban waterbody rejuvenation in India often focuses on aesthetic improvements rather than addressing its systemic interdependencies with sanitation. This paper establishes these systemic links through a mixed-methods study using water-quality testing and stakeholder interviews in the city of Bengaluru, India. A conceptual system dynamics model of technical, social, institutional and environmental factors is developed. Results show that sewage leaks into lakes via stormwater drains are a major pollution pathway, among others. Three system levers for positive change have been identified: coordination of government entities, adequate faecal sludge management and strong citizen involvement. Citywide inclusive sanitation (CWIS) is proposed as an approach to provide leverage and solve the intertwined issues of public and environmental health.","PeriodicalId":48038,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Urbanization","volume":"34 1","pages":"76 - 98"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47840851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial: Nature and equity in the city","authors":"Sarah Colenbrander","doi":"10.1177/09562478221084547","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09562478221084547","url":null,"abstract":"Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in January 2020, millions of people around the world have endured lockdowns. Traffic stilled, shops closed, and streets emptied in formerly bustling cities: Cape Town, Delhi, Jakarta, Melbourne, Mexico City, Milan, New York, Wuhan, and thousands more. During the long weeks and months, urban residents lucky enough to have access to green and blue space cherished it more than ever. Time spent in parks or along waterways became precious after hours spent indoors. Many found consolation from grief or loneliness in these environments, while others delighted in heretofore undiscovered pockets of nature in their neighbourhood. While lockdowns are gradually though unequally lifting around the world, the importance of our urban environments will not diminish. An ever-growing share of the world’s population now primarily encounters nature within the city, though it is now more evident than ever that access to green and blue space is not evenly distributed. Moreover, urban environments are often degraded and urban ecosystems profoundly changed through the concentration of human activity.1 The environmental problems associated with urbanization are most apparent in lower-income neighbourhoods and cities, which often lack the policies and infrastructure to mitigate local concerns such as air pollution, municipal solid waste, or water contamination.2 However, it is the environmental footprint of higher-income neighbourhoods and cities – which may seem pristine to the human eye – that is driving humanity past critical planetary boundaries such as climate change.3 This special issue was commissioned in the “super year for nature”, when the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) was scheduled to be held in Kunming, China, and the 26th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) was scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland.4 Submissions were invited to reflect on the contribution of cities to local and planetary health, with particular attention to equity and nature. Although we may see local green or blue spaces as discrete entities or human artefacts, they likely serve as breeding sites, food sources, water purifiers and more for a much larger hinterland. Ecological management within city boundaries can therefore reinforce or undermine global efforts to secure sustainable development.5 In turn, transgressing planetary boundaries will jeopardise the viability of urban environments and ecosystem services. The onset of the Anthropocene therefore demands that we consider the linkages between local and global environmental outcomes. We have been delighted to accept eight submissions that span a wide array of cities and biomes. Five of these papers were submitted as part of the special issue on the contribution of cities to local and planetary health. Three are part of Environment and Urbanization’s regular section on cities and climate cha","PeriodicalId":48038,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Urbanization","volume":"34 1","pages":"3 - 9"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47952558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An assessment of ecosystem degradation and poverty: a case study of Obafemi-Owode local government area, Ogun State, Nigeria","authors":"A. Ayeni, Adeshina Gbenga Aborisade","doi":"10.1177/09562478221080456","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09562478221080456","url":null,"abstract":"Ecosystem services have continued to dwindle due to human activities, with likely implications for the dependent populations. This paper assesses the relationship between poverty and ecosystem degradation within the peri-urban domain of Obafemi-Owode local government area (LGA) using a range of research methods including satellite imagery analysis to track land-use change, economic valuation of ecosystem services, and surveys to construct a multidimensional poverty index (MPI). The analysis shows that vegetation and wetlands have been replaced with built-up area and savannahs. This has resulted in a net loss in the value of ecosystem services worth US$ 11.3 million, most of which is attributable to the decline in waste-management services provided by peri-urban wetlands. The major activities cited as causing environmental degradation were lumbering and land clearing, which were perceived to be deepening poverty through water contamination, food shortages, loss of farmlands, unemployment, increased erosion, epidemics and dropping out of school.","PeriodicalId":48038,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Urbanization","volume":"34 1","pages":"52 - 75"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45979149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Climate change and health in informal settlements: a narrative review of the health impacts of extreme weather events","authors":"Emma Hambrecht, R. Tolhurst, L. Whittaker","doi":"10.1177/09562478221083896","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09562478221083896","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we present a narrative review of primary research on the health impacts of extreme weather events in urban informal settlements published between 1990 and June 2021. We include 54 studies and examine the health impacts of extreme weather events and how these were determined. We find that these events impact health directly by causing mortality, injury and disease and through indirect pathways by impacting livelihoods, access to healthcare, coping strategies and adaptive capacity. Drawing on the social determinants of health framework to frame our analysis, we find that health impacts are determined by multiple intersecting factors, relating to individual circumstances, material conditions, health status, and political and socio-economic context. Consequently, vulnerability varies between and within informal settlements. Overall, we show that responding to and minimising these health impacts requires an intersectional approach to understand and address these contextual root causes of vulnerability.","PeriodicalId":48038,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Urbanization","volume":"34 1","pages":"122 - 150"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44455183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Keen, D. Sanderson, Kira Osborne, Roshika Deo, J. Faith, A. Ride
{"title":"Area-based approaches and urban recovery in the Pacific: lessons from Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu","authors":"M. Keen, D. Sanderson, Kira Osborne, Roshika Deo, J. Faith, A. Ride","doi":"10.1177/09562478211072668","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09562478211072668","url":null,"abstract":"Flooding events are set to worsen in rapidly urbanising Pacific Islands.(1) Most Pacific Island cities and towns are in low-lying areas vulnerable to more severe tropical cyclones and rising sea levels. Approaches to disaster response and recovery need to improve. This article uses four principles drawn from area-based approaches (ABAs) – people-centred responses, adaptive processes, multi-sector collaboration and reflective practice – to review urban disaster recovery efforts in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Information was gathered through key informant interviews and a literature review. The research found positive examples of collaboration, locally tailored social protection mechanisms and community leadership. It also found challenges, including bypassed community structures and traditional adaptation techniques, duplication of efforts and weak coordination. The article concludes with a call to localise ABA approaches further, to strengthen people-centred disaster recovery and locally owned resilience.","PeriodicalId":48038,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Urbanization","volume":"34 1","pages":"151 - 169"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2022-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48829006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Citizen participation in multiscale planning: the case of “26 Local Strategies: A Metropolitan Plan” in the Rosario Metropolitan Area, Argentina (2016–2020)","authors":"Cecilia Galimberti","doi":"10.1177/09562478211069017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09562478211069017","url":null,"abstract":"One of the greatest challenges of contemporary planning lies in expanding the strategies and mechanisms of citizen participation in the different scales involved in urban-territorial transformation. In this context, this fieldnote explores the programme “26 Local Strategies: A Metropolitan Plan”, developed in the Rosario Metropolitan Area (AMR), Argentina, by the Rosario Metropolitan Coordination Entity (ECOMR), between 2016 and 2020. This case study is a significant contribution on the topic of participatory strategies in multilevel planning. During the formulation of 24 local urban plans and an interjurisdictional plan, which together constitute the metropolitan plan, it was possible to implement a multiscalar approach, with the wide participation of various social groups, entities, organisations and citizens involved, through which the urban and territorial policies of the AMR were co-designed for the following 10 years.","PeriodicalId":48038,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Urbanization","volume":"34 1","pages":"229 - 246"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42691054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael J. Cohen, Margarita Gutman, M. Díaz, María Belén Fodde, Cecilia Cabrera, Bárbara Mora Doldan, C. Díaz
{"title":"COVID-19 in real time: comparing the struggle of three low-income neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires","authors":"Michael J. Cohen, Margarita Gutman, M. Díaz, María Belén Fodde, Cecilia Cabrera, Bárbara Mora Doldan, C. Díaz","doi":"10.1177/09562478211060687","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09562478211060687","url":null,"abstract":"This article seeks to explain why some popular neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires have responded more effectively than others to COVID-19. It compares actions that took place between March and October 2020 in the neighbourhoods of Villa 20, Villa 15 and Villa 1-11-14. We analyse public policies carried out by government agencies, especially the Instituto de Vivienda de la Ciudad (IVC) and the Ministerio de Desarrollo Humano y Hábitat (MDHyH), and the active collaboration of local organisations. While significant scholarship has focused on COVID-19 effects and coping strategies in Latin American neighbourhoods, there is limited analysis of how pre-existing relationships between local actors and government agencies have shaped neighbourhood responses. This comparative analysis shows that in fact the consolidation and depth of historical working relations between local government and local organisations determined the response capacity of each informal neighbourhood.","PeriodicalId":48038,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Urbanization","volume":"34 1","pages":"209 - 228"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49145599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The condition of urban agriculture in a Chinese global city: evidence from the field","authors":"G. Talamini, Qi Zhang, P. Viganó","doi":"10.1177/09562478211066422","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09562478211066422","url":null,"abstract":"Urban agriculture (UA) encompasses different practices and dissimilar agendas, not all environmentally and socially savoury, ranging from food security to leisure and recreation. Although there is a wealth of literature on UA, little research has investigated its presence and role in a Chinese global city against the backdrop of unbridled urbanisation. This article focuses on Nanshan District in Shenzhen, a vast, rapidly urbanising region in China. We analyse the social and spatial characteristics of UA and its regulation. Employing a mixed-method approach that combines spatial analysis and in-depth semi-structured interviews, the results demonstrate the coexistence and interaction of diverse types of UA. What emerges is a socio-biologically rich heterogeneity of precarious practices, overlooked by the local authorities, but contributing to stewardship, social development and community engagement, while preserving a precious agricultural heritage. This article presents policy insights and advocates for government involvement in recognising the social significance of UA.","PeriodicalId":48038,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Urbanization","volume":"34 1","pages":"99 - 121"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2022-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46035632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A threat to life and livelihoods: examining the effects of the first wave of COVID-19 on health and wellbeing in Bengaluru and Patna slums","authors":"Harlan Downs-Tepper, A. Krishna, E. Rains","doi":"10.1177/09562478211048778","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09562478211048778","url":null,"abstract":"Taking advantage of our existing dataset of 6,721 slum households in two Indian cities, we undertook six rounds of follow-up phone interviews on the impact of COVID-19 between July and November 2020 with three key informants in each of 40 diverse slums. These cities showed contrasting health effects resulting from the first major wave of the COVID-19 pandemic – no deaths and nearly no illnesses were reported in Patna, while there was widespread low-intensity sickness and a cluster of deaths in Bengaluru. We found no clear pattern in the links between outbreaks and city or neighbourhood characteristics. Livelihood effects, however, were devastating across both cities. All but a few slum dwellers lost their jobs for several months and survived by cutting back on essentials, incurring loans, liquidating assets, and seeking help from neighbours. Government assistance, generous in the early part of the lockdown, dwindled rapidly. Many will likely become chronically poor.","PeriodicalId":48038,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Urbanization","volume":"34 1","pages":"190 - 208"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2021-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47272316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Summaries of Articles","authors":"Vanesa Castán","doi":"10.1177/09562478211035246","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09562478211035246","url":null,"abstract":"Queering participatory planning by Vanesa Castán Broto. All over the world, people suffer violence and discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Queer theory has linked the politics of identity and sexuality with radical democracy experiments to decolonize development. Queering participatory planning can improve the wellbeing of vulnerable sectors of the population, while also enhancing their political representation and participation. However, to date, there has been limited engagement with the politics of sexuality and identity in participatory planning. This paper identifies three barriers that prevent the integration of queer concerns. First, queer issues are approached as isolated and distinct, separated from general matters for discussion in participatory processes. Second, heteronormative assumptions have shaped two fields that inform participatory planning practices: development studies and urban planning. Third, concrete, practical problems (from safety concerns to developing shared vocabularies) make it difficult to raise questions of identity and sexuality in public discussions. An engagement with queer thought has potential to renew participatory planning.","PeriodicalId":48038,"journal":{"name":"Environment and Urbanization","volume":"33 1","pages":"622 - 635"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45019182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}