This report aimed to understand the reasoning that leads cities to undertake efforts to move towards sustainability. Interviews and surveys were undertaken with cities that are following the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development and other models in moving towards sustainability to understand the motivators and drivers, the barriers and challenges, and the benefits that these cities have encountered and realized through the move to sustainability. The motivators and drivers, barriers and challenges, and benefits were categorized within seven forms of community capital – natural, economic/financial, physical/built, social, cultural, human, and political. Returns on investment were categorized, and those that were pronounced were highlighted. A guidebook has been developed to assist sustainability practitioners and sustainability leaders in cities to engage senior-level decision-makers with language that would encourage them to move towards sustainability. / <p>If you would like to contact the authors, you can reach them at the email addresses below. Please replace (AT) with @ and (DOT) with . and remove all spaces. Adrian Mohareb - akmohareb (AT) gmail (DOT) com Kate Murray - katemariemurray (AT) gmail (DOT) com Chidi Ogbuagu - chidiogbuagu (AT) gmail (DOT) com</p>

Food production in urban areas has been conducted worldwide as a subsistence strategy and source of income. Recently, however, it is recognized that urban agriculture has the potential to contribute to the development of sustainable urban environments. This study examines the benefits of urban food production in North American cities, as well as focusing on some of the critical barriers to its widespread expansion and acceptance. It also explores the potential for contamination of produce from the ambient atmosphere in mid-sized urban centres. Through interviewing nine urban farmers and one urban planner, in the city of Victoria, British Columbia, I documented each producer’s knowledge of the benefits and limitations associated with urban food production. Each interviewee impressed upon me the numerous benefits that can be accrued through the practice of urban agriculture, but they also painted a picture of the struggles that urban farmers face. Issues identified included: a real and perceived risk of contamination, problems with land ownership and access, and lack of meaningful support for urban farmers. Although urban agriculture has been accepted in principle by the City of Victoria and other Canadian cities, there are many challenges that must be overcome for urban food production to truly produce a viable, sustained food system. A coordinated, comprehensive government policy for involvement in the urban food system is critical to effectively addressing urban food issues. Investigations of heavy metal levels in lettuce (Lactuca sativa) grown in sampling sites across an urban/rural gradient showed that atmospheric contamination by heavy metals is greatest at urban sites, but also affects residential and rural sites. Sampling site types included: a control area (rural farms and properties outside of Victoria); residential sites (yards in residential neighbourhoods in the City of Victoria); and, industrial/business sites (heavily trafficked and industrialized areas in downtown Victoria). Site types were intended to reflect areas perceived as safe, probably safe, and probably not safe, and were selected based on expert opinion and land use. Results indicate that caution should be exercised in growing leafy greens at downtown sites, and that growing food in most residential neighbourhoods and green spaces is typically no worse than growing greens in rural Victoria. In fact, due to the proximity of urban agriculture to the market, growing food locally eliminates the need for transportation and extra processing; reducing the extra exposure crops otherwise might face during these phases. Urban food production requires the support of communities and governments in order to contribute to both urban food security and urban sustainability. The City of Victoria has started on a path to ensuring that this food system receives the required support, but it requires concerted effort and action. Further research into urban food systems is necessary to ensure that urban food production is able to become a viable, sustained food system. / Graduate

This thesis examines the role of local government elected members to progress urban sustainability, and the views of Māori leaders’ on governance and sustainability. It is set within a wider context of local government reform and changing expectations of governance and captures a point in time in the evolution of Pākehā and Māori governance structures in Aotearoa New Zealand. The thesis contributes to the paucity of scholarship in these fields. Local government has evolved from the early provincial legislatures, to acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi and recognise the importance of sustainable development. The Local Government Act 2002 fundamentally changed the role and purpose of New Zealand local government. At the heart of both Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the LGA was the aspiration for community and Māori participation in local governance and progress towards sustainable development. The ‘three-house concept’ described in the Raukawa Trustees partnership-two cultures development model (Winiata 2005) and the Community Sector Taskforce (2006) model is reflected in the structure of this thesis. It provides for a Pākehā House, a Tikanga Māori House and a Treaty House – a conceptual space where Māori and Pākehā values and practices can come together in mutual respect. The Pākehā House of the thesis establishes a broader role for New Zealand elected members to promote urban sustainability by focusing on cross-sector collaboration and multi-level governance. While multi-level governing was found to be widespread across urban territorial authorities, an elected member focus on collaboration was notably absent. Aotearoa New Zealand’s urban local authorities had begun mainstreaming sustainable development practices. Environmental management and restoration activity was widespread. Initiatives progressing social and cultural well-being were gaining prominence. The Tikanga Māori House recognises that the LGA 2002 had failed to bring about transformation of Māori participation in local government. Where the Māori voice struggled to be heard, the Act’s discretionary provisions had tended to preserve the status quo. Two paths to the future are offered: firstly, constitutional change - a new system of local government that recognises the validity of tino rangatiratanga as an equal authority, which could be modeled on the working examples of Treaty-based governance presented in this thesis. Secondly, improvements to the current system of local government are recommended. They are: - Hui and whanaungatanga, as a path to consensus decision-making. - Iwi authorities be recognised as local authorities, to provide opportunities for urban Māori to participate in local government. - The status of iwi management plans be lifted, and they be mandatory in the way that a district plan is mandatory. - The mana whenua relationship be strengthened to increase the capacity of mana whenua to consult with tauiwi in their rohe, and exercise kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga. These improvements need to be based on an effective parallel model of Māori representation, or Māori wards and seats. The Treaty House presents a case for strengthening a partnerships approach to governance. The effective inclusion of both Pākehā and Māori communities alike is identified as a prerequisite for further progress towards urban sustainability in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This thesis examines the role of local government elected members to progress urban sustainability, and the views of Māori leaders’ on governance and sustainability. It is set within a wider context of local government reform and changing expectations of governance and captures a point in time in the evolution of Pākehā and Māori governance structures in Aotearoa New Zealand. The thesis contributes to the paucity of scholarship in these fields. Local government has evolved from the early provincial legislatures, to acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi and recognise the importance of sustainable development. The Local Government Act 2002 fundamentally changed the role and purpose of New Zealand local government. At the heart of both Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the LGA was the aspiration for community and Māori participation in local governance and progress towards sustainable development. The ‘three-house concept’ described in the Raukawa Trustees partnership-two cultures development model (Winiata 2005) and the Community Sector Taskforce (2006) model is reflected in the structure of this thesis. It provides for a Pākehā House, a Tikanga Māori House and a Treaty House – a conceptual space where Māori and Pākehā values and practices can come together in mutual respect. The Pākehā House of the thesis establishes a broader role for New Zealand elected members to promote urban sustainability by focusing on cross-sector collaboration and multi-level governance. While multi-level governing was found to be widespread across urban territorial authorities, an elected member focus on collaboration was notably absent. Aotearoa New Zealand’s urban local authorities had begun mainstreaming sustainable development practices. Environmental management and restoration activity was widespread. Initiatives progressing social and cultural well-being were gaining prominence. The Tikanga Māori House recognises that the LGA 2002 had failed to bring about transformation of Māori participation in local government. Where the Māori voice struggled to be heard, the Act’s discretionary provisions had tended to preserve the status quo. Two paths to the future are offered: firstly, constitutional change - a new system of local government that recognises the validity of tino rangatiratanga as an equal authority, which could be modeled on the working examples of Treaty-based governance presented in this thesis. Secondly, improvements to the current system of local government are recommended. They are: - Hui and whanaungatanga, as a path to consensus decision-making. - Iwi authorities be recognised as local authorities, to provide opportunities for urban Māori to participate in local government. - The status of iwi management plans be lifted, and they be mandatory in the way that a district plan is mandatory. - The mana whenua relationship be strengthened to increase the capacity of mana whenua to consult with tauiwi in their rohe, and exercise kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga. These improvements need to be based on an effective parallel model of Māori representation, or Māori wards and seats. The Treaty House presents a case for strengthening a partnerships approach to governance. The effective inclusion of both Pākehā and Māori communities alike is identified as a prerequisite for further progress towards urban sustainability in Aotearoa New Zealand.

For the first time in history, the global urban population now exceeds the global rural population, meaning that more than 50 % of the world’s population now live in cities. Much attention has been paid to the discourse of sustainable development during the last decades, however, many environmental and social scientists point to an increasing problematic realted to climate change. Greehouse gas emissions are rising, water levels are rising and drought periods are becoming longer, and urban areas are becoming more and more populated. Due to an increasing urbanisation, cities now have the highest demand, compared to rural areas, for food, water, energy and healthcare. At the same time, cities are the biggest threats when it comes to environmental impacts, being responsible for 75 % of all resource consumption and 70 % of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. Drawing from sustainability transition theory, new modes of political governance theory and finally, pragmatist educational theory, this paper attempts to analyze the type of learning taking place in political spaces that exist within an institutional void. Learning, as a concept, is in this paper relating both to the type or learning the participants in the case study are experiencing, as well as what society can learn concerning Urban Sustainability Transitions (USTs). The aim of this paper is to explore theoretically and empirically how political spaces of USTs may function as educative spaces. It poses as its research question: How can pragmatist educational theory be used to understand transition for sustainability in institutional voids? As a case study, Housing Roar Uppsala is investigated as a political space where learning occurs. Two meetings have been recorded and four semi- structured interviews have been made in order to analyze the conversations using Practical Epistemology Analysis. A dramaturgical analysis has also been made in order to understand the setting and staging in which the meetings took place. The paper identifies as its results that there is a lingering gap, a lack of knowledge, occurring throughout the meetings, which in turn leads to another gap: that nothing is happening within the network. Furthermore, the ultimate purpose of the network does not always correlate with the proximate purposes of the participants. This is a source for the lingering gap. Through these findings, this paper suggests that the structure of the meetings might not always be the most beneficial one when trying to transition into sustainability, however, it might be the only one participants have when faced with complex, wicked issues. Wicked issues are problems that do not have a simple, single solution. It also finds that the type of learning taking place within the network might be a negotiation of purposes between participants. Finally, the paper concludes that, in relation to USTs, the type of learning that is taking place is that perhaps a totally open, nonhierarchical, network-type organization in a completely open setting, that bans political figures and private companies from entering into the conversation is not the most successful way of reaching sustainability.

Certain public investments or changes in the urban norms contribute to private property appreciation, without the owners having to make any effort for it. This research studies intervention ways to capture part of this increased value for the public sector, called land value capture tools, through which it is possible to revert the process of public investments private possession. The first part of the analysis takes into account a large context, relating the subject to the search for a sustainable urban development, within the city right, its property social function and the current Brazilian laws. It presents examples of countries where these tools are being used and mentions the Brazilian reality concerning tax policies and urban policies which are able to capture land value. Next, a case study about Maceió, a city located in the northeast of Brazil. It investigates how its master plan and urban laws have foreseen the use of such tools, trying to identify if advances have occurred in the search for a bigger land market control and as an incentive so that the property can do its social function. The adopted methodology is one of analytical work with exploratory characteristics, where selected and revised readings have been vital, tracing the origin, the development and the influence of ideas and concepts, with the hypothesis being created within the investigation process. The study showed that the land value capture tools may help in the search for a sustainable urban development, being able to contribute to the property social function. It also showed that the elaboration of new urban laws by Brazilian cities does not mean that these instruments are being, or will be, implemented. / Determinados investimentos públicos ou alterações nas normas urbanísticas valorizam as propriedades privadas sem que seus donos tenham se esforçado. A pesquisa estuda mecanismos de intervenção sobre o solo, chamados de instrumentos de recuperação de mais-valias fundiárias, através dos quais se busca reverter tais processos de apropriação privada dos investimentos públicos. A análise parte de um contexto amplo, relacionando o tema com a busca pelo desenvolvimento urbano sustentável, com o direito à cidade, a função social da propriedade e com as atuais normas jurídicas brasileiras. Apresenta exemplos de países que vêm utilizando estas ferramentas e aborda a realidade brasileira referente aos instrumentos tributários, fiscais e da política urbana com capacidade de recuperar mais-valias. Na seqüência, foca na realidade específica do município de Maceió, investigando como o novo Plano Diretor e Código de Urbanismo e Edificações previram a utilização destes instrumentos, procurando identificar se aconteceram avanços na busca por um maior controle do mercado do solo e no incentivo para que a propriedade cumpra com a sua função social. A metodologia utilizada é a de um trabalho analítico de caráter exploratório, em que a literatura selecionada e revisada para os estudos exerceu um papel fundamental, traçando a origem, o desenvolvimento e a influência de idéias e conceitos, com as hipóteses sendo construídas no processo de investigação. Demonstrou-se que os instrumentos de recuperação de mais-valias fundiárias são aliados em prol de um desenvolvimento urbano sustentável, podendo cooperar para que a propriedade atinja a sua função social. Demonstrou-se também que a elaboração das novas legislações urbanísticas pelos municípios brasileiros não significa que estes instrumentos estejam sendo, ou serão, implementados.

abstract: Public participation is considered an essential process for achieving sustainable urban development. Often, however, insufficient attention is paid to the design of public participation, and processes are formulaic. Then, participation may not match the local context of the communities within which a project is conducted. As a result, participation may become co-optative or coercive, stakeholders may lose trust, and outcomes may favor special interests or be unsustainable, among other shortcomings. In this research, urban public participation is a collaborative decision-making process between residents, businesses, experts, public officials, and other stakeholders. When processes are not attuned with the local context (participant lifestyles, needs, interests, and capacities) misalignments between process and context arise around living conditions and personal circumstances, stakeholder trust, civic engagement, collaborative capacity, and sustainability literacy, among others. This dissertation asks (1) what challenges arise when the public participation process does not match the local context, (2) what are key elements of public participation processes that are aligned with the local context, (3) what are ways to design public participation that align with specific local contexts, and (4) what societal qualities and conditions are necessary for meaningful participatory processes? These questions are answered through four interrelated studies. Study 1 analyzes the current state of the problem by reviewing public participation processes and categorizing common misalignments with the local context. Study 2 envisions a future in which the problem is solved by identifying the features of well-aligned processes. Studies 3 and 4 test interventions for achieving the vision. This dissertation presents a framework for analyzing the local context in urban development projects and designing public participation processes to meet this context. This work envisions public participation processes aligned with their local context, and it presents directives for designing deliberative decision-making processes for sustainable urban development. The dissertation applies a systems perspective to the social process of public participation, and it provides empirical support for theoretical debates on public participation while creating actionable knowledge for planners and practitioners. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2015

Submitted by Bruna Rodrigues (bruna92rodrigues@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-09-16T13:33:27Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissDTS.pdf: 1322255 bytes, checksum: 44546fda21145874c28aba1095bc16f4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-16T19:59:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissDTS.pdf: 1322255 bytes, checksum: 44546fda21145874c28aba1095bc16f4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-16T20:00:06Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissDTS.pdf: 1322255 bytes, checksum: 44546fda21145874c28aba1095bc16f4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-16T20:00:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissDTS.pdf: 1322255 bytes, checksum: 44546fda21145874c28aba1095bc16f4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-10-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / The emergence of the term "sustainability" practiced in the world from the 80 end has been replaced by an extensive design, based on the appropriation and politicization that academically involved in the maturation studies in order to provide a more defined space for discussion of theory and practice in public policies aimed at sustainability. The main objective of the research was to analyze the concepts of urban sustainability and identifying convergences and divergences found in the literature. The general strategy used research was the literature review for this study have probing nature on a theme still insufficient, especially with regard to different approaches to territorial urban sustainability. The general steps of the research are: 1 choice of authors who discuss the terms of sustainable development, sustainability, political ecology, rural urban sustainability, moderate environmentalism, until reaching the border of interest, territorial urban sustainability; 2- analysis of the terms and concepts discussed by each author; 3- analysis of the discussion advance in chronological order; 4 collation and analysis of convergence of discussions between authors; 5- analysis of the differences in terms and concepts. They were used as evidence sources to consult the books, electronic articles, academic papers, magazines and other materials of literary sources published in tangible media and intemet, able to bring relevant information to the realization of this study. The results refer to: 1- analysis of how each author appropriated the terms and concepts; 2- definition of each concept discussed; 3- discussions of convergence of identification; 4- advance the discussions in chronological order; 5- amflise divergences between authors, terms and concepts. The results indicate that the use of terms and concepts allows derivations as each form of ownership and still have the other dimensions of lifting sustainability can be discussed, but that are not easily identified in the literature. / O surgimento da expressão “sustentabilidade” praticado no mundo a partir do final da década de 80 foi substituído por uma concepção extensa, baseado na apropriação e na politização, que academicamente implicou no amadurecimento de estudos com o propósito de proporcionar espaços mais definidos para discussão da teoria e da prática dentro de políticas públicas voltadas a sustentabilidade. O objetivo principal da pesquisa foi analisar os conceitos sobre sustentabilidade urbana e identificar as convergências e divergências encontradas na literatura. A estratégia geral de pesquisa utilizada foi a revisão bibliográfica, por este estudo ter natureza de sondagem sobre um tema ainda insuficiente, especialmente ao que se refere às diferentes abordagens sobre sustentabilidade urbana territorial. As etapas gerais da pesquisa são: 1- escolha dos autores que discutem sobre os termos desenvolvimento sustentável, sustentabilidade, ecologia política, sustentabilidade urbana rural, ambientalismo moderado, até se chegar ao termo de interesse, sustentabilidade territorial urbana; 2- análise dos termos e conceitos discutidos por cada autor; 3- análise do avanço da discussão seguindo uma ordem cronológica; 4 agrupamento e análise das convergências das discussões entre autores; 5- análise das divergências entre termos e conceitos. Foram utilizados como fontes de evidências a consulta a livros, artigos eletrônicos, trabalhos acadêmicos, matérias de revistas e outras fontes literárias, publicadas em meios tangíveis e na intemet, capazes de trazer informações relevantes para a concretização deste estudo. Os resultados obtidos referem-se a: 1- análise de como cada autor se apropriou dos termos e conceitos; 2- definição de cada conceito discutido; 3- identificação de convergências de discussões; 4- avanço das discussões seguindo a ordem cronológica; 5- amflise das divergências entre autores, termos e conceitos. Os resultados indicam que a utilização de termos e conceitos possibilita derivações conforme cada forma de apropriação e ainda apresentam o levantamento de outras dimensões da sustentabilidade que podem ser discutidas, mas que não se identificam facilmente na literatura.

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2016-03-08T14:36:27Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 3160277 bytes, checksum: 9549d58a07164e6f27c72ece8b7ebd35 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-08T14:36:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 3160277 bytes, checksum: 9549d58a07164e6f27c72ece8b7ebd35 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-27 / The process of occupation and expansion in the city of João Pessoa, PB has accelerated considerably in recent years leaving in the wake of this growth a negative balance stop the environment. These problems spill over environmental issues interferes with quality of life. This research aims to diagnose the environmental situation of the Parahyba Municipal Park and suggest mitigation alternatives to the problems identified. This worked used an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), satellite images, aerial photographs of 1976, visit the field to collect data and images, was held the georrefereciamento using ArcGIS 10.1 software. This Geographic Information System allowed to form a bank of the main geographic information of the study place. Had with reference subjects such as Landscape Ecology and Restoration due to its integrated vision capacity of the environment. From the results of this research can be observed that although it is incorporated as a conservation area the Park Parahyba save different environmental problems in violation of current law that reduce the environmental quality of the place. The diagnosis allowed also present the role of the park as a producer of environmental services to this part of the city by improving the quality of life. / O processo de ocupação e expansão na cidade de João Pessoa-PB acelerou-se nos últimos anos deixando, na esteira desse crescimento, um saldo negativo para o meio ambiente. Dentre os problemas gerados por esse processo, estão os que interferem diretamente sobre a qualidade de vida da população. Esta pesquisa busca fazer uma avaliação da situação do uso e da ocupação do Parque Municipal Parahyba, tomando como base a situação anterior ao atual processo de expansão urbana. Desta forma, buscou-se mapear, quantificar e analisar a ocupação do parque, identificando os tipos de vegetação existentes e sugerindo alternativas para minimizar os problemas identificados. No trabalho, foram utilizadas imagens recentes geradas por um veículo aéreo não tripulado (Vant) e fotografias aéreas do ano de 1976, assim como visitas in loco para coleta de dados e imagens. O processamento dos dados foi feito através de um Sistema de informação Geográfica, que permitiu gerar um banco de dados com as principais informações geográficas da área estudada. Os resultados obtidos evidenciam que apesar de ser constituída como uma Unidade de Conservação, o Parque Parahyba permanece subutilizado, com aproximadamente 60% da área sem vegetação arbórea, e ainda conserva diferentes passivos ambientais em desacordo com a legislação vigente, que, consequentemente, reduz a qualidade ambiental do lugar.

abstract: Land transformation under conditions of rapid urbanization has significantly altered the structure and functioning of Earth's systems. Land fragmentation, a characteristic of land transformation, is recognized as a primary driving force in the loss of biological diversity worldwide. However, little is known about its implications in complex urban settings where interaction with social dynamics is intense. This research asks: How do patterns of land cover and land fragmentation vary over time and space, and what are the socio-ecological drivers and consequences of land transformation in a rapidly growing city? Using Metropolitan Phoenix as a case study, the research links pattern and process relationships between land cover, land fragmentation, and socio-ecological systems in the region. It examines population growth, water provision and institutions as major drivers of land transformation, and the changes in bird biodiversity that result from land transformation. How to manage socio-ecological systems is one of the biggest challenges of moving towards sustainability. This research project provides a deeper understanding of how land transformation affects socio-ecological dynamics in an urban setting. It uses a series of indices to evaluate land cover and fragmentation patterns over the past twenty years, including land patch numbers, contagion, shapes, and diversities. It then generates empirical evidence on the linkages between land cover patterns and ecosystem properties by exploring the drivers and impacts of land cover change. An interdisciplinary approach that integrates social, ecological, and spatial analysis is applied in this research. Findings of the research provide a documented dataset that can help researchers study the relationship between human activities and biotic processes in an urban setting, and contribute to sustainable urban development. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Sustainability 2013