{"title":"Contributions of the voluntary local review process to policy integration: evidence from frontrunner cities","authors":"Fernando Ortiz-Moya, Marco Reggiani","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00101-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00101-4","url":null,"abstract":"The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relies on effective policy integration at all levels of government. However, integration across policy domains remains challenging for local authorities, particularly when it comes to articulating policies that recognise trade-offs and interactions between different SDGs. This study explores how the Voluntary Local Review (VLR) process—a tool to localise the 2030 Agenda—contributes to policy integration by thematically analysing interviews with city officials in 12 frontrunner cities that conducted a VLR between 2019 and 2020. Our results suggest three main ways in which the VLR process affects policy integration: (1) by facilitating cooperation and interdependencies between different policy sectors; (2) by creating new instruments to mainstream SDGs; and (3) by enhancing sustainability competencies. Hence, our study suggests that conducting a VLR has the transformative potential to achieve greater policy integration and further the 2030 Agenda.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10078030/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9282907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christopher T. Clavin, Jennifer Helgeson, Matthew Malecha, Shubha Shrivastava
{"title":"A Call for a National Community Resilience Extension Partnership to Bridge Resilience Research to Communities","authors":"Christopher T. Clavin, Jennifer Helgeson, Matthew Malecha, Shubha Shrivastava","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00102-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00102-3","url":null,"abstract":"Resilience planning and action is limited to communities with significant technical and administrative capabilities. Engaging communities to co-produce research enables a more equitable distribution of needed tools. A national Community Resilience Extension Partnership linking scientists with place-based planners and emergency managers provides the research-to-practice infrastructure for equitable development of community resilience science and technology.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-023-00102-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135821938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enabling connections between a multi-country urban research programme and the practices of an African urban research centre","authors":"Andrew Tucker","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00099-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00099-9","url":null,"abstract":"Significant interest exists within urban scholarship regarding both the need to explore diverse urban situated knowledge while enabling effective forms of global comparison, and the place and utility of new urban science approaches. This article considers such interests in relation to the implementation of a multi-country urban research programme and its interface with the pre-existing interests and methodological practices of an African urban research centre. It suggests, when partners engage dialectically, large-scale research programmes may speak to and help offer new perspectives on local realities as much as local realities may help enrich the frameworks of international large-scale research programmes.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-5"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-023-00099-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42339980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Japanese urban household carbon footprints during early-stage COVID-19 pandemic were consistent with those over the past decade","authors":"Yin Long, Yoshikuni Yoshida, Yida Jiang, Liqiao Huang, Wentao Wang, Zhifu Mi, Yosuke Shigetomi, Keiichiro Kanemoto","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00095-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00095-z","url":null,"abstract":"As urbanization accelerates worldwide, substantial energy and services are required to meet the demand from cities, making cities major contributors to adverse environmental consequences. To bridge the knowledge gap in the absence of fine-grained city-level climate protection measures due to data availability and accuracy, this study provides a detailed carbon emission inventory for analyzing the monthly fluctuations based on citizens’ daily consumption behaviors. Here, carbon emissions embodied in approximately 500 household consumption items were calculated in 47 prefectural-level cities in Japan from 2011 to June 2021. We analyzed the results considering the regional, seasonal, demand, and emission way-specific aspects, and compared the emission before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, the carbon footprints during the pandemic were consistent with the previous level despite downtrends in specific categories. This study provides an example of utilizing city-level emission data to improve household green consumption behavior as references for enriching city-level decarbonization paths.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10052282/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9243278","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cities can benefit from complex supply chains","authors":"Nazlı B. Doğan, Alfonso Mejia, Michael Gomez","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00100-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00100-5","url":null,"abstract":"Supply chain complexity is perceived to exacerbate the supply disruptions or shocks experienced by a city. Here, we calculate two network measures of supply chain complexity based on the relative number—horizontal complexity—and relative strength—vertical complexity—of a city’s suppliers. Using a large dataset of more than 1 million annual supply flows to 69 major cities in the United States for 2012–2015, we show that a trade-off pattern between horizontal and vertical complexity tends to characterize the architecture of urban supply networks. This architecture shapes the resistance of cities to supply chain shocks. We find that a city experiences less intense shocks, on average, as supplier relative diversity (horizontal complexity) increases for more technologically sophisticated products, which may serve as a mechanism for buffering cities against supply chain shocks. These results could help cities anticipate and manage their supply chain risks.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10052311/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9243276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Angela Beckmann-Wübbelt, Lynn Türk, Iulia Almeida, Annika Fricke, Metodi Sotirov, Somidh Saha
{"title":"Climate change adaptation measures conflicted with the recreational demands on city forests during COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Angela Beckmann-Wübbelt, Lynn Türk, Iulia Almeida, Annika Fricke, Metodi Sotirov, Somidh Saha","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00096-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00096-y","url":null,"abstract":"Recurrent droughts in southwest Germany threaten the city and community-owned forests (CCF). At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for recreation in CCF of southwest Germany. We interviewed stakeholders from different interest groups to critically analyze their opinion on how the high recreation demand on CCF due to the pandemic can be ensured along with implementing climate change adaptation measures in CCF in Karlsruhe, Germany. We found that stakeholders particularly highlighted the importance of the recreational function of the CCF during the pandemic. However, the behavior of visitors was criticized by the stakeholders. We showed that demand for the recreational use of CCF conflicted with climate change adaptation measures such as sanitary and forest restoration actions, creating a dilemma among stakeholders. Therefore, enhancing citizens’ knowledge of forests’ recreation functions and the need for climate change adaptation through communication and education should be prioritized.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10016162/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9146379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nicholas P. Simpson, Kayleen Jeanne Simpson, Albert T. Ferreira, Andrew Constable, Bruce Glavovic, Siri Ellen Hallstrøm Eriksen, Debora Ley, William Solecki, Roberto Sanchez Rodríguez, Lindsay C. Stringer
{"title":"Author Correction: Climate-resilient development planning for cities: progress from Cape Town","authors":"Nicholas P. Simpson, Kayleen Jeanne Simpson, Albert T. Ferreira, Andrew Constable, Bruce Glavovic, Siri Ellen Hallstrøm Eriksen, Debora Ley, William Solecki, Roberto Sanchez Rodríguez, Lindsay C. Stringer","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00097-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00097-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-023-00097-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42086088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The transformative potential of a Global Urban Agenda and its lessons in a time of crisis","authors":"Jessica Espey, Susan Parnell, Aromar Revi","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00087-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00087-z","url":null,"abstract":"2015 was a seismic moment for urban stakeholders around the world. A coalition of policymakers, academics and practitioners came together to successfully advocate for an urban goal to be included in the UN Sustainable Development Goal framework. Although the value of a place-based approach to development has been demonstrated by a number of cities and countries worldwide, it was 2020–2022 (three years of cataclysmic global events) that highlighted the necessity for a universal place-based approach to planning in order to foster resilience and sustainability. In this article, three academic-practitioners reflect upon the transformative potential of the 2015–16 urban agendas.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10006553/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9152437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brenda B. Lin, Chia-chen Chang, Thomas Astell-Burt, Xiaoqi Feng, John Gardner, Erik Andersson
{"title":"Nature experience from yards provide an important space for mental health during Covid-19","authors":"Brenda B. Lin, Chia-chen Chang, Thomas Astell-Burt, Xiaoqi Feng, John Gardner, Erik Andersson","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00094-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00094-0","url":null,"abstract":"Urban dwellers’ use of public and private green spaces may have changed during the early years of the Covid-19 pandemic due to movement restriction. A survey was deployed in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia 1 year after the start of Covid-19 restrictions (April 2021) to explore relationships of mental health and wellbeing to different patterns of private yard versus public green space visitation. More frequent yard use during the initial year of Covid-19 was correlated with lower stress, depression, and anxiety and higher wellbeing. However, greater duration of yard visits (week prior to survey) was associated with higher stress, anxiety, and depression scores, potentially because individuals may seek to use nature spaces immediately available for emotional regulation during difficult times. The results highlight the importance of yards for mental health and wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic and that relationships between nature interaction and mental health may be context and timeframe dependent.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9999340/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9490957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Diana Reckien, Attila Buzasi, Marta Olazabal, Niki-Artemis Spyridaki, Peter Eckersley, Sofia G. Simoes, Monica Salvia, Filomena Pietrapertosa, Paris Fokaides, Sascha M. Goonesekera, Léa Tardieu, Mario V. Balzan, Cheryl L. de Boer, Sonia De Gregorio Hurtado, Efrén Feliu, Alexandros Flamos, Aoife Foley, Davide Geneletti, Stelios Grafakos, Oliver Heidrich, Byron Ioannou, Anna Krook-Riekkola, Marko Matosovic, Hans Orru, Kati Orru, Ivan Paspaldzhiev, Klavdija Rižnar, Magdalena Smigaj, Maria Szalmáné Csete, Vincent Viguié, Anja Wejs
{"title":"Quality of urban climate adaptation plans over time","authors":"Diana Reckien, Attila Buzasi, Marta Olazabal, Niki-Artemis Spyridaki, Peter Eckersley, Sofia G. Simoes, Monica Salvia, Filomena Pietrapertosa, Paris Fokaides, Sascha M. Goonesekera, Léa Tardieu, Mario V. Balzan, Cheryl L. de Boer, Sonia De Gregorio Hurtado, Efrén Feliu, Alexandros Flamos, Aoife Foley, Davide Geneletti, Stelios Grafakos, Oliver Heidrich, Byron Ioannou, Anna Krook-Riekkola, Marko Matosovic, Hans Orru, Kati Orru, Ivan Paspaldzhiev, Klavdija Rižnar, Magdalena Smigaj, Maria Szalmáné Csete, Vincent Viguié, Anja Wejs","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00085-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00085-1","url":null,"abstract":"Defining and measuring progress in adaptation are important questions for climate adaptation science, policy, and practice. Here, we assess the progress of urban adaptation planning in 327 European cities between 2005 and 2020 using three ‘ADAptation plan Quality Assessment’ indices, called ADAQA-1/ 2/ 3, that combine six plan quality principles. Half of the cities have an adaptation plan and its quality significantly increased over time. However, generally, plan quality is still low in many cities. Participation and monitoring and evaluation are particularly weak aspects in urban adaptation policy, together with plan ‘consistency’. Consistency connects impacts and vulnerabilities with adaptation goals, planned measures, actions, monitoring and evaluation, and participation processes. Consistency is a key factor in the overall quality of plans. To help evaluate the quality of plans and policies and promote learning, we suggest incorporating our ADAptation plan Quality Assessment indices into the portfolio of adaptation progress assessments and tracking methodologies.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-023-00085-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43213502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}