Assessment of urban development policies in the context of sustainability in Latvia (original) (raw)
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Proceedings of 5th International Scientific Conference Contemporary Issues in Business, Management and Education ‘2017, 2017
Studies being presented here have been done as initial part of wider research-and-developemnt (R&D) programme, aiming to investigate preconditions and all instruments set necessary for environmental governance adequate integration into legally required societal (sustainable) development governance/planning framework and municipal governance practice. This have been done studying governance by its triple complementary dimensions of governance content, governance process and governance stakeholders and approaching municipality as a complex and interactive socio-ecological system. Accordingly, pilot investigations have been done as various thematical case studies in preselected model municipalities-six studies/pilot studies, based on the integrated case study research methodology, including and complementary applying document studies, interviews, surveys, observations and focus groups. Existing development planning and other instruments combined with municipal planning capacities are neither sufficient nor effective, and, since step-wise developmental process for sustainability principle integration seems to be not perspective as quite similar also with integration principle as for complex planning process and also as for thematical meaning of integrations of environmental governance into develoment one. Since environmental sector planning documents are not mandatory anymore at local municipalities, environmental sector planning process and content in the development planning practice is often limited, but few ad hoc available and used formal environmental planning instruments are neither sufficient or used just temporaly. There is to be seen necessity to develop innovative methodologies and tools as done during this research-and-development project.
Economic Science for Rural Development
Saulkrasti municipality is the first in Latvia local authority where a sustainable development planning and its governance performance success measurements have been completed, based on sustainability indicators, realised in the frame of research-and-development project. The overall aim was to study municipal sustainable development governance process cycle performance qualities and quantities, including socialecological system studies, planning process, produced documents and their implementation studies as well as studies of construction and testing of necessary IS. The following research methods were complementary used: case study research; approbation research; expert interviews. The data and information basis of measurements were collected using official statistics; information of municipal institutions and enterprises; also private business; inhabitants survey and public monitoring. Monitoring and measurements were based on application of the set of 64 indicators, a comprehensive indicator system (IS), that has been approved and included as an integral part of a mandatory municipal long-term planning document-Sustainable Development Strategy (2013). Weaknesses identified during the first cycle of the full approbation of this existing IS, are revised in the new post-monitoring version of it. Results of the measurements are reflected in the new type of municipal governance document named as municipal Sustainability Outlook-Municipal Sustainable Development Governance Survey. This document is meant to support strategic decision-making and provide municipal collaborative communication with all stakeholders' groups, and, particularly, general society, including also public participation. Sustainability Outlook report is a generalized overview of indicators measurements and their interpretations, which reflects sustainable development governance success by: thematic groups of indicators, sustainability dimensions, mandatory including also governance, in the territory in general. The IS functionally is an essential instrument, being a part of the necessary eventual municipal monitoring program, which are to be developed in the both, general and also in thematic/sectoral development areas (like coastal governance or tourism etc.) of municipality. There would be necessary to comprehend all new and existing IS in planning regions of the country and at the national governance level, in order to form harmonious vertically and horizontally integrated common National indicator system's network, also aiming to involve the public more widely in the local sustainable development aiming process and its governance measurements and evaluation. Importantly, in this way to make the introduction and use of such IS at municipal level in the future simpler and cheaper. Respectively, developed with certain regularity municipal sustainability report, may become an effective municipal governance instrument for the assessment of implementation of different planning documents and general performance of development governance in each local territory, within context of wider public needs and public participation.
The term "sustainability" has been used in various forms and definitions. The earliest use of "sustainability" or "sustainable development" can be traced back to 1972. In order to cope with four decades of global economic, social, and environmental challenges, sustainable development was adopted as a mantra by international agencies, national and local governments, especially after Habitat II in the local level. On the other hand, new approaches in urban planning were employed in order to achieve a sustainable development. To this extent, City Development Strategies, conceived as strategic planning approaches, were established in 200 cities worldwide. However, City Development Strategies and sustainable urban development are defined in many different ways; furthermore, City Development Strategies enjoy different levels of success in the area of sustainability. This paper compares two specific definitions of City Development Strategies brought forward by cities Alliance and the World Bank in order to achieve sustainable development.
The Sustainable Development Idea in the Management of European Metropolitan Areas
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The rapid urbanisation of the world leads, i.a., to dynamic development of metropolitan areas. The functional relationships between territorial units which make up a metropolitan area mean that in order to prevent negative effects of metropolisation and to ensure sustainable development of such an area, the preparation of economically, spatially and environmentally coherent strategies needs to be coordinated on the metropolitan level. This in turn requires that the approach towards managing development shifts in favour of governance. Using London and Copenhagen as case studies, this paper explores whether the concept of governance is used in managing metropolitan areas and weather metropolitan authorities integrate sustainable development principles in their policy documents. Research is based on the analyses of form of governance and strategic programmes adopted in metropolitan areas..
Journal of Sustainable Development, 2011
The term "sustainability" has been used in various forms and definitions. The earliest use of "sustainability" or "sustainable development" can be traced back to 1972. In order to cope with four decades of global economic, social, and environmental challenges, sustainable development was adopted as a mantra by international agencies, national and local governments, especially after Habitat II in the local level. On the other hand, new approaches in urban planning were employed in order to achieve a sustainable development. To this extent, City Development Strategies, conceived as strategic planning approaches, were established in 200 cities worldwide. However, City Development Strategies and sustainable urban development are defined in many different ways; furthermore, City Development Strategies enjoy different levels of success in the area of sustainability. This paper compares two specific definitions of City Development Strategies brought forward by cities Alliance and the World Bank in order to achieve sustainable development.
Sustainability in different urban development contexts: The Southeastern European experience
Sustainable development has become a key term in urban planning on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. There are several well-accepted definitions of the term, such as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987). Yet, such definitions often provide little guidance—for example, what the needs of the present or these of the future are may be taken to mean almost anything. Thus, as many other terms which are in vogue, from democracy to freedom, sustainable development remains a fuzzy concept that yields to dramatically different interpretations, depending on the local context. This paper aims to juxtapose the Southeast European sustainable development experience with that of North America (more particularly, the U.S.). It uses particularly the experience of Bulgarian planners. The main argument of the paper is that the North American perspective on s...
Ecosystems and Sustainable Development XI, 2017
The theoretical basis of indicator system (IS) elaboration for sustainable development governance (SDG) has been step-wise developing, but is still insufficiently linked with both the theory and especially the practice of municipal governance system and process. The research has been completed about SDG IS elaboration, design and construction for the governance process of municipal territorial development. The set of complementary prerequisites for building IS has been established, including further development of the key concepts for the integrativity of SDG indicators, relationships between sustainability dimensions (particularly including governance and communication dimension), and horizontal and vertical integration approaches. Concepts have been tested and applied, including a full-scale application of SDG IS at the Saulkrasti local municipality in Latvia, while a Sustainable Development Strategy, as the mandatory long-term planning document, was elaborated within related municipal participatory process. Theoretical and practical recommendations have been produced and disseminated. Demo examples of testing various thematic IS and legal full-scale implementation of the first municipal practice case of SDG IS in Latvia has attracted interest, even though such IS implementation requires complex and sizeable resources.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2019
In the past decades several attempts were made for the ad-hoc application of systems of indicators as decision-support tools towards sustainable urban development. The selected systems' results are often questioned, either for the suitability of the selected system per se, or for its ability to characterize effectively urban sustainability. In the attempt to satisfy the demanding needs of indicators' systems, the primar reason for which such tools were introduced is often neglected and we enter into an endless, time consuming process of arithmetic calculations, forgetting about the need to link results to strategies and applicable measures. Citizens' perception and social maturity to accept decisions, as well as the multiplying effect of decisions to the environment, applicability and funding availability, are criteria that need to be considered, before the uptake of decisions. The current study introduces an ''Indicator System for Characterization of Urban Sustainability'' (ICARUS). ICARUS is a system for the elaboration of sustainability profile of a city. It addresses the Euro-Mediterranean urban contexts that from an eco-systemic approach point of view interact in a unique way with sustainability pillars. It is designed for aiding the delivery of the sustainability agenda as well. The methodological framework leads to a prioritized list of sustainability measures that takes into consideration not only stand-alone data but also citizens' perception and assessment against other important criteria. The methodology is applied for the case of Municipality of Thessaloniki, in Greece. Proximity to basic services, green element and space for pedestrians are the most highly hierarchized measures.
Sustainable development has become a key term in urban planning on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. There are several well-accepted definitions of the term, such as " development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs " (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987). Yet, such definitions often provide little guidance—for example, what the needs of the present or these of the future are may be taken to mean almost anything. Thus, as many other terms which are in vogue, from democracy to freedom, sustainable development remains a fuzzy concept that yields to dramatically different interpretations, depending on the local context. This paper aims to juxtapose the Southeast European sustainable development experience with that of North America (more particularly, the U.S.). It uses particularly the experience of Bulgarian planners. The main argument of the paper is that the North American perspective on sustainability is one-sided and has little meaning in the context of the urban conditions that characterize most Southeast European cities, as it may be true vice versa. Thus, while planners (as well as other policy-makers) in Southeast Europe commonly look up today to their colleagues in the Northwest for best practices, they are often puzzled by how irrelevant the American “advice” seems to be. The North American perspective on sustainable development represents a direct response to the particular set of problems that came to dominate the post-war American metropolitan landscape. These problems are commonly put under the umbrella term “urban sprawl” (Galster, Hanson, Ratcliffe, Wolman, Coleman and Freihage 2001) – a pattern of extremely land consumptive, low-density, land-use-segregated and auto-dependent development. Clearly, such pattern of development leaves little room for the needs of future generations and therefore is not sustainable, as valuable natural resources, from land to energy, are being rampantly consumed. American planners typically target the problems arising from this type of development with recommendations for increasing development densities, reducing street and parking requirements, and encouraging mixed land uses (American Planning Association 1998). Post-war Southeast European metropolitan development, however, did not follow the American pattern. The large cities of Southeastern Europe, from Sofia to Thessalonica, from Istanbul to Naples, are already high-density, mixed-use, have narrow streets and barely any parking. From an American point of view, they may qualify as sustainable. Yet, what local planners in Southeast Europe see is the scarcity of urban green space and the domination of traffic over pedestrians to the point that the lack of parking lots is compensated by the total occupation of sidewalks for parking. To them, all these characteristics of the Southeast European city barely satisfy the needs of the present, not to mention future generations. Sustainable development, thus, in the Southeast European context, has an entirely different meaning. This, we argue, is due to the fact that the specific model of urban development characterizing Southeast Europe is quite (if not entirely) different than the American model. By juxtaposing these two seemingly irreconcilable sustainability perspectives, the North American and the Southeast European, the paper strives to promote a more balanced approach to sustainable development.