Strategic Pathways
Energy Efficiency and Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Colombian Cities: Climate Change in Urban Areas
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Clara Pardo Martínez, William Alfonso
Nowadays, cities account for half the world’s population and two thirds of global energy demand. In the coming decades, it is estimated that energy use and associated levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will continue unabated in cities especially in developing countries. Therefore, the urban development agenda is fundamental to the improvement and mainstreaming of energy-efficient and low-carbon urban pathways that curtail climate and environmental impacts without hampering urban development and growth. Thus, a better evaluation of urban-energy use is necessary for decision makers at various levels to address energy security, climate change mitigation, and local pollution abatement. Therefore, this paper measures and evaluates energy efficiency and CO2 emissions in Colombian cities as a case study of a developing country with the aim to set appropriate policies and strategies without adverse effects and impacts on economic growth and development. This study applies Data Envelopment Analysis and traditional indicators to measure energy efficiency in Colombian cities. As a complementary step, data panel techniques have been used in order to determine variables that influence the trends of energy efficiency and CO2 emissions. Results from DEA suggest that Colombian cities have an excellent potential to improve energy use and reduce CO2 emissions, and several cities have experienced gains in productivity, growth in efficiency, and improvements in innovation through new technologies. Second stage panel data techniques show that energy prices, economic conditions and production structure have effects in the trends of energy use and CO2 emissions. These results indicate several policy implications with regard to energy conservation, efficient use of energy, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and the importance to increase research on energy patterns in the context of cities, especially those of developing countries.
Spatial and Transport Planning Integration towards Sustainable Development: Lesson-drawing from Germany
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Synthia Angelina, Dirk Vallée, Conny Louen
Accelerating economic growth in Indonesia has led to rapid growth in urbanization and motorization that empirically engenders an unsustainable development. It is believed that integrated spatial and transport planning process plays an important role to develop more sustainable transport development. Nevertheless, it is less considered in the planning practice in Indonesia. Therefore, knowledge transfer between Indonesia and the best practice in a developed country may facilitate to foster the understanding of how to achieve a more sustainable development. This paper investigates the possibility of knowledge transfer from Germany’s strategies in promoting sustainable spatial and transport planning to Indonesian strategic planning in the current situation. Germany has been chosen as the best practice of developed country because, despite its rapid growth of motorization, this country has been successful in creating a sustainability of the transportation system through its integrated planning system. The analysis examines the spatial and transport planning systems and identifies the strengths and weaknesses of those systems in both countries. This study highlights some lessons in particular, that seems likely to be necessary for the improvement of spatial and transport planning process in Indonesia: reciprocal planning and strategies coordination between all government levels and related institutions, formal appraisal method to determine the transport infrastructure development priorities; improvement of public participation in preparing the spatial and transport plans; and changing the urban development paradigm from car-oriented development to transit-oriented development. Eventually, this study promotes valuable measures based on insight from Germany’s experiences for a better planning practice not only for Indonesia but also for other developing, emerging, and perhaps developed countries.
Making the Mirage: California Land-use and Global Capitalism
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kyla Searle, Gemma Searle, Kyla Searle
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries California developed single-crop agricultural production which required the ability to control massive output and relied on cheap labor. The US Department of Agriculture agronomist, Wofford Camp, was tasked with manipulating cotton production as a model crop for California's growing corporate farming. Camp’s efforts, and position as a conservative businessman, helped initiate the first agribusiness association, named the Associated Farmers. Since the early thirties California has grown as an agricultural powerhouse while relying on cheap immigrant labor and water consolidation. Our work examines the efforts and impact of the first ever campaign management firm, Campaigns Inc. --founded in 1933 and hired by Associated Farmers-- on modernizing agribusiness through public relations and political campaigning. We make a contemporary connection through a study of the Resnick family, owners of the Wonderful Company, the second largest agribusiness in the United States and the largest user of water in California.
Political-Administrative Interactions in Urban Regions: The Case of Green Spaces in Rhein-Neckar
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nicole M. Schmidt, Anna Growe
The local level has gained increasing prominence in climate change discourse in recent years. Municipalities are organizing themselves in various networks, preparing for the challenge that climate change represents for urban regions, and implying that the assumption of the mantra “mitigation is global, adaptation is local” is losing ground. Scholars argue that cities need mayors who exhibit the necessary leadership qualities and the appropriate tools to address global problems such as climate change. While many local administrators are equipped with specific knowledge about residents, including vulnerable populations, and critical infrastructure, politicians may have different views on what constitutes the “appropriate” climate measures for a specific open or green space. This study explores the relationships between politicians and administrators. Specifically, we examine different conflict lines between these two groups of actors in the context of climate change measures on green and open spaces, and regional development more broadly. In addition, we focus on the questions of whether and to what extent the differences impact the planning process in urban regions in Germany. Building on works which examine the state of preparedness at the local level, this study also highlights the importance of coordination between different levels of government. The paper draws from original interview data (n=27) with local politicians and bureaucrats from the cities of Heidelberg, Mannheim and Weinheim; three different city types in the same metropolitan region in the state of Baden-Württemberg.
