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| Richard | Smith | Berkeley | USA | Solar and Density in Oakland's Urban Villages Can Save 160,000 Barrels of Oil a Year | The purpose is to support recommendations of the Land Use and Transportation Subcommittee of the Oakland Oil Independent by 2020 Task Force to reduce oil consumption by 1) introducing an Urban Villages approach to the City of Oakland General Plan, 2) Improve multifamily design guidelines to consider green building materials, renewables and car free by choice options. Oakland's Urban Villages have their origin in the historic trolley lines and have been institutionalized in zoning. Each village center is an existing commercial district. According to the 2000 Census, about 70% of the 52,000 households in these urban villages are multifamily and 30% are single family. First, the average Oakland single family household in 2000 consumed 25 barrels of oil per year (bbl/y) compared to only 16 bbl/y in average households in multifamily units. In 2000, Urban Village Homes consumed 880,000 bbl/year. In a business as usual scenario assuming exponential growth, this will go up to 1 million bbl/year. If each home derived 50% of its heating needs from solar thermal to substitute for natural gas, this would reduce consumption to 840,000 bbl/year. If every housing unit derived 80% of its electricity from solar PV, this could be reduced to 740,000 bbl/year. If we get only half the homes to add solar the savings would be 80,000 or 130,000 bbl/year respectively. In these households, 66% drive to work for an average of 30 minutes at 20 m.p.g. each way which consumed 990,000 bbl/year gasoline. By 2020 this consumption will decrease to 650,000 bbl/year if we assume car efficiency improves on average to 35 m.p.g. If we can increase the proportion multifamily by about 20% we can reduce consumption to 590,000 bbl/year. The additional savings over projected fuel efficiency changes would amount to 56,000 bbl/year. An average mix of solar homes plus 20% increased density would save 160,000 bbl/year. Although much more work would need to be done to become oil independent, land use and green building can yield substantial savings. Further research would be needed to balance that with the costs of these changes. |
| Jill | Zubarev | Washington DC | USA | The Global Threat Reduction Initiative: Enhancing Radiological and Nuclear Security in the Former Soviet Union | The National Nuclear Security Administration's (NANAS) Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GIRT) supports threat reduction by securing stockpiles of weapons usable nuclear and radiological materials located at civilian sites throughout the world. GIRT has provided security upgrades at more than 520 vulnerable radiological sites around the world containing over 7,000,000 curies - enough for approximately 7,000 dirty bombs. In the past three years, over 200 radiological dispersal devices worth of material has been recovered from 23 different sites in Russia. GIRT cooperated with the Government of the Russian Federation to remove more than 5,500 curies of radioactive cobalt-60 and cesium-137, enough material for at least five dirty bombs, from a highly vulnerable site in war-torn Chechnya. GIRT has made progress securing radiological sources stored at Russian Radon facilities. In partnership with Russia, Norway, France, and Canada, GIRT has either completed or is working on about 340 of 1,000 RAG deployed throughout all of Russia. Regarding nuclear material security, GIRT is cooperating with Kazakhstan to complete the safe and secure long-term storage of plutonium and highly enriched uranium (HUE) from the shutdown BN-350 reactor in Kazakhstan. GIRT also is working with Russia to repatriate Russian-origin research reactor HUE fresh and spent fuel. In order to accelerate these important efforts, GIRT is seeking international partners to support its activities. This paper summarizes the threat presented by these materials, Grins objective and strategy to reduce the threat, progress to date, and mechanisms for international support. |
| Prate Kumar | Data | Rishra | India | Agricultural Sustainability and Economic Development: A Cross -Country Analysis | Background Development of modern agricultural practices over last few decades has raised questions on long run viability of current production systems. The spurt in food production across the world in varying degrees relies heavily on intensive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and related agricultural technology. There is hardly any doubt that uncontrolled and unscientific use of all these agricultural inputs negatively affects the intrinsic value and life span of soil. These concerns have led to the development and proliferation of several alternative agricultural approaches like -organic farming-, -shifting cultivation-, etc. There is no doubt that uses of chemical fertilizers and pesticides increase agricultural yield in a short period, which helps the poor small and marginal farmers to struggle against abject poverty, but this very process nullifies their long run survival. Despite the globalization of agricultural practices across the continents much before the trade related globalization begun just a decade ago, there is no dearth of adequate evidence to the fact that the developed countries have taken conscious and deliberate policies to minimize the permanent damage to the intrinsic fertility of soil. There is a widespread belief that developing countries have resorted to new agricultural technology for faster growth of food production without much attention to the long run fertility of soil. Notwithstanding these aberrations, secondary data as available from UNDO, World Bank and others provide adequate support to the fact that rate of fertilizer use and pesticide application in the developing countries are nowhere near those in their developed counterparts, indiscriminate and unscientific use of these modern inputs in the developing world in the face of small farm and intense rural poverty has been increasingly reducing productivity and surplus which has released an uncontrolled flow of unskilled labour from the rural to the urban. This process has worsened the already overcrowded sustainability of urban system in the developing world. Aim of the Study In this paper, we assume that agricultural sustainability (AS) is an integral part of environmental sustainability, and geographical, cultural and social differences among countries are certainly important factors for development, but economic compulsion is an extremely important and decisive factor under the present "borderless world". This paper attempts to investigate the relationship between agricultural sustainability, economic development and openness in a broader perspective by constructing inter-country agricultural sustainability index, openness and economic development in a time series cross section pooled framework as well as some threshold level of development at the country level. In this connection, we also try to test the validity of the Environmental Kuznets' Curve (EKC) across the countries. Data and Methodology We intend to follow both UNDP method and principal component analysis for constructing the agricultural sustainability index and development index. Our choices of variables and also the choice of countries are limited by the availability of data. We shall try to classify selected countries into different income groups following World Bank Atlas Method in order to understand the relationship between economic development and agricultural sustainability of these countries. Our global findings are verified with the help of a small primary survey in selected developed and backward agricultural districts from Indian states. Expected Conclusion and Policy Relevance Unless urgent steps are taken by both government and non-government organizations to imbibe scientific farming among billions of poor farmers across the poorer continents, the Millennium Development Goals may take much more time to fulfill than are dreamed of. |
| Rabindranath | Pati | Raipur | India | Ecological Ethics And Cultural Dimensions Of Biodiversity Conservation: Case Study Of Tribal Villages In Bastar, India. | The globalization along with new industrial policy adopted by the government, the land and common productive resources within tribal territories have been increasingly transferred to control of multinational corporate houses. The biopiracy activities by corporate houses spreads like wild fire. The intellectual and cultural property rights of these tribal healers and innovators have been violated adversely. Hijacking the control of local communities over their resources, economies and cultural either by government or by middlemen or by multinational would create threats to development intervention in these forest territories of Chhatisgarh. These communities are not allowed to work internally to expand and change their knowledge system since decades together. Denial of ownership to community land, mines, common productive resources, self-reliant heritage and knowledge system have diluted the sustainability and self-reliance components of any development initiatives planned for these communities. The possible integration of traditional knowledge system, communities, institutions with mechanism of conservation of natural resources is overlooked. The biological resources in these indigenous territories of Chhattisgarh consists of natural sources of agricultural, medicinal, ecological, veterinary and cosmological utility which ensure equilibrium between local environment and social health of the tribal communities inhabiting in these forest villages. These biological resources influence the cultural practices, resources and local knowledge systems not only among Gond and Halba communities but also among other indigenous communities. The above cultural practices both customary and non-customary, prevalent among Gond and Halba tribes of Chhattisgarh are not only inherited territorially but also continue to evolve under influence of individual innovations and local environment. The deficiencies in careful customization of these cultural practices restrict opportunities for innovation and reproduction of these practices. The circulation and reproduction of natural and social environment and local system of production are followed by these cultural practices, which are potential substrates of local cultural resources. |
| OLANREWAJU | SOYEBI | LAGOS | Nigeria | Niger Delta - The land of environmental toxicity. | Gas flare are a distinctive features of Niger Delta area of Nigerian landscape. Most of these flares burn 24 hours a day and same have been doing so for over 40years. Communities near these flares are deprived of even the comfort of nights and natural darkness. Over the past decades, the Niger Delta terrain has overrun through deliberate over-exploitation carried out in total disregard of the basic principles of sustainable environmental management. Impact of gas flares on the local ecology and climate , as well as people's health and property is evident. It is no exaggeration to say that the Niger Delta people, more than any other group, have suffered undue political manipulation, intimidation, degredation, victimization, oppression, neglect and injustice without due regard to their loyalty, support and contribution to the Nigerian nation. The extremely high level of over 250 identified toxins released from flaring in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria include, carcinogen such as benzopyrene, benzene, carbon di-sulphide(Cs2), carbonyl sulphide(Cos) and toluene; metals such as mercury, arsenic and chromium, sour gas with sodium peroxide(H2S) and sodium oxide(SO2); nitrogen oxides(NO2); carbon dioxide(CO2) and methane(CH4) which contributes to the green house gases. Many of the chemicals gotten from the gas flares in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria arte capable of inducing cancer in humans or animals after prolonged or excessive exposure. Chemicals like benzo(a)pyrene and ethylene fibroid are known to cause adverse effects on the developing child; effects can include birth defects, low birth weight, biological dysfunctions, or psychological or behavioral deficits that become manifest as the child grows. The gas flares in the Niger Delta as also known to cause endocrine toxicity, gastrointestinal or liver toxicity, immune toxicity, respiratory toxicity and skin or sense organ toxicity. From our observation/ research, human exposure to gas flares in the Niger Delta causes the following increased rates of adverse, health effects; 8.86 premature deaths per year for each increase of 1ug/m3 for each 100.000 persons, 2,870 respiratory illnesses per year for each increase of 1ug/m3 for each 100.000 children; and 42,840 asthma sufferers. Assuming, conservatively, that 40% of the population of niger delta people are children and that 9% of the population are asthma sufferers, particulate matter emissions from gas flaring at the about 50 on-shore flow stations in the niger delta area of Nigeria would likely cause, each year, at least: 92 premature deaths, 9,720 respiratory illnesses among children and 162,000 asthma attacks; on the same conservative assumptions, benzene emissions from gas flaring at the about 50 on-shore flow stations in niger delta would likel;y cause; 11 additional causes of cancer. These estimates are the minimum extent of the cause in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. National gas is a by-product of oil extraction; it is removed from the earths crust along with the crude oil. Natural gas does not have to be flared off, and in many countries there is little flaring. Options suggested for managing of natural gas include reinvention into the subsoil, storage for use as a source of energy by local communities, and transportation for use in other projects elsewhere. Gas flaring continuation is not only humanly and environmentally harmful, but also constitutes a huge source of revenue loss to people and government of Nigeria. Exploration and new oil field development must end until facilities and new oil field development must end until facilities are in place for the utilization of all associated gas. Legal obligations must be imposed to require associated gas to be used as source of energy , cooking gas and total storage for company usage. I indulge everyone and particularly all stakeholders to visit and stand next to a flare for as long as they can endure it. As sentient creatures, they can only have one reaction. |
| Terri | Faith | Toronto | Canada | Eco-Awareness: An Essential Component of Holistic Intelligence A Holistic Theory of Intelligence "The Gentle Mind' | As we all know, human beings possess intelligence but there seems to be a lack of consciousness that prevents association with the interconnectedness or "web of life". This consciousness may be a kind of intelligence. I feel that there is a more effective way of reaching the general public and our children. Action on the various environmental issues facing our world involves harnessing the findings of science to the task, not just the science of global warming, but every scientific discipline that has something to contribute. One such discipline is that of the psychological study of intelligence. Current theories of intelligence, including the IQ test are limited and out-dated. They do not help promote psychosocial and spiritual development. Intelligence should possess a holistic combination of the affective factors of human life as well as cognitive/abilities skill sets. In this case, the affective factors can include eco-awareness and its resultant components to form a super intelligence; eco-intelligence. The components are humility and compassion, combined with eco-awareness. After all, what is intelligence without these factors? The importance of this theory lies in the fact that if this intelligence could become accepted in the mainstream, the schools may readily pick it up as a "way to increase intelligence", thus making environmental awareness an important aspect of "being intelligent". This is a unique mode of making fundamental changes in how we view intelligence and consequently how we think and feel about the planet and all of its sentient beings. As an addition to the newest intelligence, "Emotional Intelligence", which has been a huge hit in scientific, academic and popular circles, eco-intelligence could become an important aspect of a more holistic view of intelligence. We need to instill in children a "sense of wonder" and a compassion for people, animals and the planet, starting with increasing their eco-intelligence. The result may be the creation of more "Gentle Minds' in our world. |
| Jeremy | Gibberd | Pretoria | USA | THE ROLE OF THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDING ASSESSMENT TOOL AND THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDING LIFECYCLE IN SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECOCITIES | Developing sustainable cities requires the evolution of our current built form. Buildings need to be developed and refurbished to become more energy and water efficient. They also need to be comfortable and contribute to the local economy and amenity. Their demands on the cities within which they are located will also change. While sustainable buildings may have lower requirements for water, energy and waste removal they will require better public transport, more pedestrian and cycle friendly streets, better recycling and stronger laws to ensure that valuable ambient resources such as sunlight, rain water, wind and daylight are managed efficiently and equitably. Using the case study of a large urban development project in Johannesburg this paper explores the relationship between the development of a sustainable building and existing city structures. It defines some of the emerging demands being made on cities by sustainable buildings and assesses the capacity of cities to meet these. The Sustainable Building Assessment Tool is used to define sustainable urban fabric in a developing country context and the paper argues that this can only be achieved through an interactive process involving a range of stakeholders. This process has been formalized in the Sustainable Building Lifecycle and the paper describes how this methodology is used to integrate sustainability principles into the urban development project. The paper reflects on the successes and failures of this process and provides recommendations for research in the future. |
| MAZLINA | MANSOR | KUALA LUMPUR | Malaysia | Affordances of Urban Green Space toward Users' Well-being: A Review | This paper reports a review of literature on the role of nature and urban green space to human health and well-being. It compares and analyzes the perspectives of six disciplines, environmental psychology, human behavior and environment, medical geography, landscape architecture, horticulture, and arboriculture on people perceptual responses toward the green spaces. Content analysis on 75 articles, published from 1989 to 2007, yielded two major domains on people interaction with the green spaces. Firstly, in cognitive terms, people attained psychological well-being by visual encounter with the environment dominated plants that reduces arousal and therefore, reduces stress. Thus people feel relax, calm and comfort and renew their cognitive capacities such attention and memory. Essentially, the well-being is grounded in psycho-physiological stress reduction framework which is linked to two theories, Attention Restorative Theory and Stress Coping Restorative Theory. The former focuses on recovery from mental fatigue after viewing green spaces. The latter emphasizes on stress is mitigated when a person perceives unthreatening natural environments such as urban parks. And, secondly, in social and physical terms, experiencing urban green spaces such as parks and gardens afford community harmony and socio-economic health. In other words, the urban community gains security and social well-being after physical and social activities in the green spaces. This study implicates that urban green spaces are essential amenity for towns and cities that afford an individual and a community three types of health, physical, psychological and socio-economic. |
| Tania | Urmee | Perth | Australia | A Survey Of Program Implementers On Their Views About Success Factors Of Solar Pv Program In Asia And The Pacific | Many renewable electrification programs have been implemented in developing countries of Asia and the Pacific. The ultimate aim of these programs is to improve the quality of life of those people living in these remote or rural areas. Successful programs demonstrate that a sustained renewable energy market can be developed quickly and efficiently given the right combination of institutional, financial and policies. The literature indicates, however, that a number of these programs have met with relatively limited success. Much effort has been invested to identify the important barriers to the widespread take-up of renewable energy systems and this information has been used in the development of best practice guidelines for the implementation of these programs. So, understanding the reasons behind the limited success of some programs, and for the relatively high success of others, is important as this information can inform program implementers and improve the success rates of future programs. As part of a study on PV rural electrification programs in Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific, an email survey of program implementers in various countries was undertaken. The aim was to obtain the views of program implementers on the essential factors that need to be considered while designing and implementing a program in order for a program to work well and sustain in future. There is also a need to find the indicators or measures of program success and the reasons for limited success where this occurred. This paper summarizes the results of the email survey in terms of the implementing mechanisms used, the program objectives, program impact, the views of the implementing organizations on the factors behind success and the barriers restricting the success of their solar PV programs. A list of the success factors and its measurable indicators were developed based on the survey result. |
| Mariana | Mohamed Osman | kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | LOCAL AGENDA 21 IN MALAYSIA: ISSUES AND PROBLEM FACED BY THE STAKEHOLDER IN THE PARTICIPATION PROCESS | The introduction of Local Agenda 21 within the local council agendas in Malaysia has become increasingly important due to unsustainable activities and development priorities at local level. The rapid economic development in Malaysia has also contributed to environmental degradation and uncontrolled physical development especially in the urban areas (J.J. Pereira and I. Komoo, 1999:137). The government of Malaysia believed that LA21 is a local authority programmed to build partnership with the community and private sector at the local level to promote sustainable development (MHLG, 2002: 5). As urban areas and its authorities can offer great pools of talents and expertise within their many sectors to work together to formulate local strategies for local actions, the Federal Government encouraged these local authorities to implement LA21. However, in practice, the stakeholders involved in the Local agenda 21 process are facing difficulties and problems in their quest for equal participation. Issues and problems faced by the stakeholder need to be uncovered, so that the whole country can move progressively toward achieving balanced and sustainable development. The local agenda 21 processes offers new opportunities to Malaysian local authorities to experiment with consultative process and participation. It challenges the administrators, bureaucrats and politician in Malaysia to find ways of involving the community into the development process more effectively. It also renews the pivotal role played by local authority in achieving the objectives of Agenda 21. |
| Akhilesh Kumar | Surjan | Kyoto | Japan | Eco-cities to Disaster Resilient Eco-Communities: a concerted approach in the coastal city of Puri (India) | Puri, an important pilgrimage city in India has very high daily floating population, which exceeds six times the base population during festivals. Religious tourism has become a way of earning for most of the populace. The Savannah Temple dominates this millennium old town in every sphere-physically, socially, culturally and economically and hence an intricate web of relationship exists between the temple and inhabitants. The city is bounded by Bay of Bengal at the south and vulnerable to cyclones, tsunami, floods and earthquake. Additionally, risk towards stampede, fire hazards, severe heat wave, epidemic and related environmental hazards also exist. Accommodating floating population lead to deterioration of the city environment, filling up of low-lying areas, wetlands thus became environmental concern. Government of India has undertaken the Ecocity Programmed in Puri to decrease environmental stress, improve living conditions and help in achieving sustainable development including area-wide improvements and provision of infrastructure and services. This paper argues that the vision of ecocity, by its very nature, seems deficient in addressing holistic urban development leaving crucial elements of community participation and disaster risk aside. There are number of ongoing programmers in Puri addressing social, economical and environmental concerns of the society. Hence realigning the objectives from ecocity to disaster resilient eco-community with people-centric, multi-stakeholder involvement coupled with concerted efforts in ongoing programmers will yield far-reaching results. The all-embracing approach is currently being tested in the field. In the backdrop of Puri's peculiar religious-tourism based socio-economic setting, disaster resilient eco-community approach is expected to append to the goal of sustainable urban development. |
| Saleh | Ahmed | Dhaka | Bangladesh | Environmental Governance in a South Asian Megacity: Discussion regarding the Recent Interactions between Environmental Activists and Government's Policy Makers in Dhaka, Bangladesh | Abstract: In some way, it has been evident to us, that the economic growth has a positive co-relationship with population growth. China and India are now World Wide example for recent economic boom. Though started later, Bangladesh has also stepped towards the economic growth at the recent time. Environmental resources have an important role to make this acceleration higher. Unfortunately, this country has sad familiarity with Political Corruption and Governments unwillingness for Environmental Sustainability. Under such circumstances, Dhaka, which is the Capital of Bangladesh, is now poured with huge populations. In most of the cases, the citizens of Dhaka almost have no access to basic urban services as well as least livable conditions. Within this dynamics of urbanization, Government is also taking several so called development projects by demolishing small urban open spaces. The logic from the Government is to make the land economically profitable; may be by constructing Shopping Malls or Big Housing Complex. Government sometimes try to put the argument as the Brownfield Regeneration Process like other countries. But in most of the cases for Dhaka City, the scenario is different. Urban Open Spaces could not be a Brownfield, and for this type of urban development, Heritage and Liveability of the adjacent areas are treated with least priorities. Politics plays a lead role for every development efforts in South Asia. By considering everything, Civil Societies in Bangladesh are now trying to understand and make people clear about the dynamism of environmental governance; though the scenario is sometimes positive, and sometimes negative. Press Media is playing a big role to disseminate the information and debates among the common people. In this analytic qualitative research, there would be an effort to explore how the Practiced Politics in Bangladesh could have impacts on urban sustainability and the recent and expected roles of Environmental Activists within the South Asian dynamism of environmental governance. Keywords: Practiced Politics, Civil Societies, Urban Sustainability, Brownfield Regeneration, Dhaka. |
| Zhenghong | Tang | College Station | USA | Stakeholder Assessment for Resource-Based Industries in Environmental Conflicts | Stakeholder assessment helps to identify the issues in controversy in a given situation, the affected interests, and the appropriate forms of handling the conflicts. The purpose of this paper is to assess the major stakeholders roles in potential environmental conflicts about the ruling to cut coal mining pits jobs against mountains in West Virginia. The assessment process involves potentially interested stakeholders in order to: assess the causes of the conflict; identify the entities and stakeholders who would be substantively affected by the conflict's outcome; assess those stakeholders' interests and identify a preliminary set of relevant issues; evaluate the feasibility of using a consensus-building or other collaborative process to address these issues; educate interested persons on consensus and collaborative processes; and design the structure and membership of a negotiating committee or other collaborative process to address the conflict. Stakeholder assessment results has been proven valuable as a first step in consensus-building processes and in finding constructive approaches to resolving West Virginia's mining and environmental conflicts. |
| headiest | omidvar | Tehran | Iran | Natural Gas Industry in Iran | Natural Gas Industry in Iran By: HEDAYAT OMIDVAR Member of IGU Marketing Committee Responsible for Strategic Studies, Research & Technology Dept. National Iranian Gas Company No.77-Southern Aban St. - Karimkhan Ave.-Tehran-1598753113-Iran Tel:+98-21-81315646 Fax:+98-21-813156 Email: omidvar@nigc.ir Gas industry in Iran now contributing in supplying energy by 60 percent share in fossil fuel basket has entered the developing stage after 40 years of Natural Gas emerging in energy sector. The growing demand for Natural Gas in residential and industry section and supply pushing for covering this demand, are the reasons for such statement. For responding to this phase of Natural Gas life, Iran needs investment especially in upstream development, technology transfer and facilitating in exports and imports. According to the annual report in long term Middle East will be the second exporter region and Iran which is the first holder of reserves and first producer and consumer in this area is a potential exporter for next decades. The Islamic Republic of Iran is able to produce more than 400 millions cubic meters per day of Natural Gas from giant Pars field. Regarding internal demand a half of this production can be assigned to exports, inter regionally or worldwide. Iran was the first country in the area to export Natural Gas to the ex. USSR through a 42 inches pipeline with a length of 1100 Km. The flow was 10 BCM/Y. Pipeline to Turkey has completed and gas flow to this country has started from 3 BCM/Y. Also Armenia will have soon been able to receive Natural Gas from Iran. Importing gas from Turkmenistan implies that Iran is an interregional gas dealer. The strategic role of Persian Gulf and the huge amount of gas reserves in this area has provided a very good opportunity for Iran to export gas to demanding countries through pipeline or in the form of LNG. In energy sector the policy is substitution of oil products by Natural Gas .That is why gas consumption shows such as a high growth over the last decade. Transmission pipelines with a length of 20000 Km takes gas from various sources to destinations in the whole country. Lines with diameter of 56, 48 and 42 inches have been employed to carry more than 500 millions cubic meters per day of Natural Gas. In 21st century gas industry liberalization has been main program for government. Treatment units, distribution and service facilities are more introduced to private investors. For overcoming the high seasonal difference of consumption installation of underground Natural Gas storage have been recognized as the best choice. Three underground storage are understudy with some degree of progress to ensure Natural Gas supply to internal users and export destinations. |
| Michelle | Garvey | San Diego | USA | THE INVENTION AND REINVENTION OF NATURE: NATURECULTURES OF THE THIRD MILLENNIUM | Situated within feminism, feminist science studies and our current age of technoscience, this essay will discuss the nature of nature in the Third Millennium from a gendered perspective. The root word of nature/natura is nat-, which is Latin for born. I would like to uncover what it means for women, plants and animals to be born in the Third Millennium, and how feminist interpretations, critiques, and celebrations of technoscience can shed light on how we can approach this concept for the betterment of life on Earth. To be born is to be brought into existence. This notion brings to mind themes such as time and place of birth, essential or innate qualities, inherent features, hereditary characteristics, indigenous origin or growth, localities, instinctual behavior, blood ties and relations, and innateness. How one understands nat-, to be born, determines cultural behaviors, attitudes, lineage and heritage, rights and ownership, affinities and affiliations, cultural and familial roles and expectations, and particular places and times. These themes will be elaborated on in this essay. But in the Third Millennium, with the advances of technoscience, how living entities are brought into existence confuses the commonly agreed upon boundaries and restraints upon these concepts. Nature, has and does mean something very specific in our culture; deviance from this specificity can have dire consequences for certain groups. Furthermore, what is deemed nature or natural can serve to both privilege and oppress. But this paradox is still firmly grounded in ideas that rest upon strict binaries and cultural dichotomies. What happens to these concepts when they are confused or conflated with their conceptual opposites, and how might the effects of that confusion be liberating for certain oppressed groups? It is my hope that this confusion of boundaries will bring me closer to an understanding of how feminist technoscience can help break down oppressive barriers for women, animals and plants. Perhaps then, the concept of nature can be born again from a feminist-technoscientific point of view. |
| Amira | Mohyuddin | Johor Bahru | Malaysia | Mosque as a Contemporary Cultural, Social and Religious Identity to Singapore Muslim Community | Despite a considerable amount of research into the pivotal role of mosques in urban place as an image and identity of a community, there remains a divergence between the available space/place and users needs. The predominant architectural and planning perspective is more focused on the architectural design and planning of mosques rather than the users. In order to deliver better community places appropriate to the needs of contemporary users it is imperative to gain the perspective of users. The purpose of this research was to explore and understand the phenomenon: physical and psychological values that users associate with mosque as a community place in giving character/identity to the community place, which gives identity to the urban place. An exploratory qualitative case study design was used and data were collected by semi-structured interviews and behavioural observations and mapping. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed according to contextual analysis. It was found that the Singapore Muslim community is proud of the new image of their new mosque to the effect that it projects or manifest a contemporary cultural, social and religious identity in the context of a contemporary urban setting. A number of themes of physical and psychological values were generated from the analysis to explain users' views about their mosque as a community place. The new image of mosque disseminates better Muslim community identity to the urban place which reflects the contemporary urban character of the community. Keywords: mosque, community place, community identity, perceptions, meaning |
| Mike | Vandeman | San Ramon | USA | Wildlife Need Habitat Off-Limits to Humans! | In 6 million years of human evolution, there has never been an area off limits to humans -- an area which we deliberately choose not to enter so that the species that live there can flourish unmolested by humans. Yet, our observations and intuition about wildlife suggest that most want and need such seclusion in order to survive. Recent research confirms this: even recreation traditionally considered harmless is actually detrimental to wildlife. Restoring true wilderness will require rethinking and redesigning all land uses and wildlife management regimes, as well as changing how we relate to wildlife. |
| Atul | Bora | Guwahati | India | THE CITY CRISIS: BREAKING THE VICIOUS CIRCLE | In many ways, a city reflects the values and culture of a community. Already being surcharged with all-round crises, the cities also then substantiate how a community ultimately promotes its vulnerability to multifarious risks, knowingly or unknowingly and over time! Cumulative effects of daily decisions and actions have pushed our community life in a mesh. Daily tensions arising out of safe drinking water to basic civic amenities such as a clean, safe and habitable infrastructure are being increasingly manifested in almost every city of India and also of the world! Vulnerable people are increasingly increasing encompassing all segments and class of society. In the net analysis, all these basic societal problems are left chronically unresolved even with the scientific capability of many showcasing miracles. There is something seriously wrong and the trend needs to be reversed. The paper first attempts to categorize the all-round crises of our cities in a sustainability perspective. It then argues that the vicious circle of crises will never be broken, unless making sustainability a public value is targeted by all possible means. The paper then advocates for integration of all-round risk management under a framework of sustainability. Finally the paper concludes by identifying and discussing some operational strategies that can be undertaken as a whole of society approach for reversing the current trend and paving the ways for transforming today's cities to a livable place for us as well as for our childrens children. |
| Mohammadreza | Parvizi | Delft | Netherlands | Research on Planning for Ecotourism Potentials in the North Region of Tehran Metropolitan | One of the income resources, Nowadays, for countries is tourism industry that its result will lead to growth and development in every tourism region. During the recent decades, International societies have emphasized that environment and sustainable development should be done on the basis of agenda 21 and MDGs. This process has resulted essential changes in the tourism industry and has been created a new branch so called ecotourism. In fact, It is the use of natural resources for the tourists in the frameworks of maintaining of environment and sustainable. On the basis of WTO reports, the eco-tourists have formed 60% of the total tourists in the all of the world and it will improve in every year. Nonetheless, this industry needs to natural potentials in each of countries like Iran where have four natural seasons in a year and there are also climates, plants, and existent varieties. On the other hands, There are many national parks, natural monuments, strict nature reserves, managed nature reserves, managed resource protected areas and etc in iran. But, It is necessary that all of natural potentials reform and reorganize by way of projects planning and designing in these regions. This research shows ecotourism potentials in the north of Tehran Metropolitan for exploitation and it also presents the circumstances of carrying out the planning in different zonings for use of ecotourism. This region of mountainous contains watery rivers and grasslands and bush lands and some of wild animals. Also, It is in vicinity of the city and one site for summer and winter resorts. Therefore, It has so important for inhabitants and eco tourists. The main object of this paper is creating integration for ecotourism planning with conservation of the environment and natural resources in the north region that it will be useful and helpful to environmental sustainable development in Tehran city and its around. In fact, It shows ecotourism potentials in the north region of Tehran Metropolitan. |
| Geoffrey | Nwaka | Uturu | Nigeria | THE URBAN POOR, THE INFORMAL SECTOR AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH POLICY IN NIGERIA | Health is a major urban policy issue in Nigeria because poverty and slum conditions pose a serious public health threat to the country's rapidly expanding urban population. The assumption that city dwellers are better off than their rural counterparts often obscures the wide and growing gap in health status between the wealthy few and the urban poor majority whose presumed 'illegal status' in the city precludes from due recognition and unimpeded access to health, educational and other social services. To achieve the Millennium Development Goals the WHO has emphasized that it is the home, not the clinic that holds the key to an effective health delivery system. Unfortunately, in the poor areas of most Nigerian and other African cities, inadequate sanitation and waste management, and the poor state of public health infrastructure have led to the spread of a wide variety of water-borne and other communicable disease. The paper considers ways to forestall the growth and spread of slums in the future, and ensure that the existing ones are upgraded and progressively integrated into the urban mainstream; how poverty which leads to slum conditions can be alleviated in order to reduce the worsening disparities in access to health care. The central argument is that human development ought to be at the centre of the concern for sustainable urbanization in Africa. To achieve this, the paper considers how best to promote the growth of more inclusive and humane cities by reviewing discriminatory laws and codes which tend to inhibit the access of the poor to affordable land and housing security. The concluding section cautions that the mere presence of health facilities in the cities should not be confused with these facilities being accessible to and affordable by the poor. It stresses the need for appropriate and well targeted urban health and other related interventions by state and local authorities, the international development community, private and civil society organizations, and the urban poor themselves in a collaborative effort to build safer, healthier and more equitable cities. In this regard the paper draws insights from the Habitat Agenda, WHO's Healthy Cities Programme, and other recent global initiatives which provide guidance on ways to improve health and environmental conditions in the cities of the developing world. |
| Whitney | Bauman | Berkeley | USA | Religion, Environmental Justice, and City Ecology | Discourse surrounding the environment and nature in the United States has historically been focused on understandings of these terms as wilderness, pure/non-human, and as in opposition to culture and urban. As a result of this categorization, urban environments have not been thought of as part of nature or the environmental movement in the US, nor have peoples and cultures been considered as part of the restof the natural world. Another implicatipn of this distinction between nature as non-human/pure/wilderness and city as non-nature/culture is that it has led to a division between social justice and ecological well-being. One of the primary reasons that world religions and religious peoples have been slow to awaken to the environmental crisis (only in the past 30 years or so) is that religions and religious peoples see the environment as an issue that competes with social justice, which has been the primary concern of religious institutions. Finally, the split between city and widderness belies a Euro-centric understanding of the environment and nature. This is one of the primary reasons that peoples of color have not been a huge part of the American Environmental Movement until recently. Wild nature has been a concern of those in higher classes which has traditionally been associated with whites in this country while inner-urban areas have become associated with the poorer classes, usually peoples of color in this country. Thus, for peoples of color, saving the whales is not as important as getting toxic chemicals out of the local drinking water. It is with the emergence of environmental justice and religious reflection upon the connections between social and ecological justice, that a genuine city-based environmentalism emerges. This paper will analyze the emergence of city environmentalism from the joint perspectives of religion and ecology and environmental justice. These two movements have opened up the categories of social and ecological justice, culture and nature, and civilized and wild. Specific case studies include: The Forum on Religion and Ecology, California Interfaith Power and Light, and the GreenAction Network in the San Francisco neighborhood Bayview/Hunter's Point. |
| MANOJ | KUMAR | KURUKSHETRA | India | LOW EMF RADIATION POLLUTION OF MOBILE TELEPHONE AND INCREASED MICRONUCLEATED FREQUENCY ASSOCIATED WITH IT AMONG HUMANS. | The health concerns have been raised following the enormous increase in the use of wireless mobile telephones and electropollution caused by it through out the world. This investigation had been taken, with the motive to find out whether mobile phone radiations cause any in vivo effects on the frequency of micronucleated exfoliated cells in the exposed subjects. A total of 109 subjects including 85 regular mobile phone users (exposed) and 24 non-users (controls) had participated in this study. Exfoliated cells were obtained by swabbing the buccal-mucosa from exposed as well as sex-age-matched controls. One thousand exfoliated cells were screened from each individual for nuclear anomalies including micronuclei (MN), karyolysis (KL), karyorrhexis (KH), broken egg (BE) and bi-nucleated (BN) cells. The average daily duration of exposure to mobile phone radiations is 61.26 minutes with an overall average duration of exposure in term of years is 2.35 years in exposed subjects along with the 9.840.745 MNC (micronucleated cells) and 10.720.889 TMN (total micronuclei) as compared to zero duration of exposure along with average 3.750.774 MNC and 4.000.808 TMN in controls. The means are significantly different in case MNC and TMN at 0.01% level of significance. For all other nuclear anomalies (KL, KH, BE and BN cells) the means are found statistically non-significant. A positive correlation was found in the frequency of MNC and TMN with respect to duration of exposure time. |
| Philip | Donaldson | Adelaide | Australia | Lochiel Park - A Nation Leading Green Village | Environmental cities of the future will be those that have recognized the impact of their actions on the environment at a local and global scale and are able to maintain healthy lifestyles while living within the carrying capacity of the planet. Some would say this is the utopian ecological viewpoint but with global recognition from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that climate change is real and that this effect can be attributed to human impacts, then as a society, our built form should address the uncertainty of the impacts of climate change and be designed to minimise our own impacts. The Premier of South Australia, Hon Mike Rann has taken a long term view in creating the right conditions to ensure South Australia (SA) developed a reputation as a clean green state. In announcing the vision that Lochiel Park would become a nation leading Green Village, Premier Rann showed the leadership necessary to move green living into the mainstream and the Land Management Corporation (LMC) was tasked to deliver that vision. The project, nestled on the banks of the Torrens River, with a world class Bahn rapid transport system right next door, offered a fantastic opportunity to link nature and lifestyle to reduce resident's carbon footprint with an increasingly computer connected global world. With internet broadband Fibre To The Home, Ecological Sustainable Development (ESD) initiatives such as rainwater tanks, recycled water, wetlands, community gardens, Photo Voltaic (PV) cells on every roof and gas boosted hot water systems, Green living in Lochiel Park will meet mainstream suburbia. Being green will no longer rest in the niche environmental residential markets that have seen the development of Aldinga Arts Eco Village and Christies Walk - Eco Polis in SA, as the Lochiel Park Green Village project is fundamentally about moving this type of concept into contemporary residential development. The project has been master planned and has challenged the traditionalist's view of the industry in that green is not fashionable or marketable. The journey so far has definitely opened the development industry to a future where green urban development will encourage the development of environmental suburbia in cities and Lochiel Park will be the norm not the exception. |
| kayoko | YAMAMOTO | Chofu-shi | Japan | Genealogy of Urban Planning for Green Space Development | Most large cities in Asia have an extraordinarily high development density compared with their counterparts in Europe and North America. An acute lack of green space in the metropolitan areas in Japan in particular has given rise not only to problems in land use but also to deterioration of the quality of the urban environment. Quite apart from the problem of environmental conservation, green spaces fulfill a number of diverse functions, and thus constitute one of the most important elements in urban areas. The potential danger of high-density cities was made very real in people's minds in Japan in the Great Hanshin Earthquake (1995), and several proposals have since been made strongly arguing for the necessity of city planning for disaster-planning based on the provision of green spaces. Based on the results of literature research and field surveys (2001-2005) as well as interviews (2001-2005), this study reviews representative cases of green space development in Europe, North America and Asia, with the aim of creating a genealogy of urban planning for green space development in order to gain an idea of the main directions in which it is headed. The basic import of this report can be summarized as follows. (1) In the nineteenth century, Europeans began to construct modern urban parks. These modern urban parks can be classified into two groups: British-style modern urban parks, and German-style modern urban parks. In the U.S., the park system was adopted as a method of developing parks as a part of urban planning. (2) In Asia, there have been attempts at realization of a green belt concept in Japan and South Korea; however, they have not lead to the securing of sufficient green space in urban areas and their environs. Singapore, on the other hand, saw the launch of the Garden City movement, whose purpose was to promote green space development as a means to cope with the rapid urbanization and development after independence. (3) This study and other precedence studies show that there are two major directions in which green-oriented urban planning is heading. One direction is multi-regional development, while the other is the concept of the environmentally symbiotic city, which itself developed out of the Garden City concept. |
| Hari | Kudal | Dist. Ahmednagar | India | Performance Study of a PV Operated Forced Convection System Used for Solar Tunnel Bagasse Dryer. | H. N. Kudal1 Dr. D. R. Pangavane2 Dr. G. V. Pareshwad3 C. L. Prabhune1 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, SRES College of Engineering Kopargaon-423 603, India. Phone: 91-02423-221772, 223362, Fax: 91-02423-222882, e-mail: hnkudal@yahoo.co.in 2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, NDMPS College of Engineering Nasik-422 013,India. 3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government College of Engineering, Pune-411 005, India. Extended Abstract: This paper presents the design and performance study of a PV operated dc-axial flow fan system used for forced convection solar tunnel bagasse dryer. Based on experiences, gained from the research and field experiments of using the solar tunnel dryer, this type of dryer needs forced convection ventilation to make it function efficiently. For the design of the solar tunnel bagasse dryer, a PV-ventilated system was used. The system consists of a solar cell module and a dc-axial flow fan. The advantage of this system is that it can be used in remote areas without any electricity supplies. In addition, the PV-ventilated system helps regulate the drying air temperature. The natural convection solar bagasse dryer functions properly with the sufficient air flow rate. As the drying area of our dryer is approximately same as the original area of the solar tunnel bagasse dryer, the maximum air flow rate was selected for our dryer. To achieve the maximum required flow rate, an axial flow fan and a dc motor which is available in local markets was chosen for the ventilation system. Before using the dc-axial flow fan, its characteristics were investigated as follows. First the fan was fixed at end of a cylindrical tube and a wire anemometer was used to measure the air speed at the other end of the tube. The distance between the fan and the anemometer is about 10 times of the diameter of the tube in order to obtain a stable air flow in the passage. Then, the flow rate of the air was varied by changing the voltage of the power supply. The current, voltage and air speed were measured. With the air speed and the cross-section area of the, the air flow rate was calculated. The corresponding curves relating the air flow rate and the electrical power used by the fan was plotted. Finally, by using the curve, we obtained the values of the electrical power to achieve the required maximum flow rate. In this work, a 15 W solar cell module was chosen to power the fan. This is because of the fact that it is the only solar cell module available in local markets, which can supply the power nearest to the required power of the fan. To ensure the proper functioning of the solar cell module, an experiment was carried out to determine its characteristics. It was exposed to solar radiation at noon time on a cloudless day. An electrical circuit was made in such a manner that the current (I) and voltage (V) from the solar cell module can be measured for varied values of the external resistant (R). The solar radiation on the plan of the solar cell module was measured. Then the I-V curves obtained from this experiment and that of the fan were plotted in the same graph. From the graph it is shown that this solar cell module can supply the electrical power for the range of the solar radiation of which corresponds to the flow rate. This range of flow rate covers the value of the flow rate required by the dryer. For the construction of the PV operated dc axial flow fan system used for forced convection solar tunnel bagasse dryer, most parts of dryer were constructed at the workshop of the Mechanical Engineering Department, SRES College of Engineering , Kopargaon. The system was installed in the east-west direction at the experimental site of the Mechanical Engineering Department, SRES College of Engineering, Kopargaon. |
| SAJID | BIN DOZA | DHAKA | Bangladesh | Do Mahela, An Enlighten of Two Storied Mud Architecture. Location: Tanore, Rajshahi, Bangladesh | Do Mahela An Enlighten of Two Storied Mud Architecture. Location: Tanore, Rajshahi, Bangladesh Architect Sajid-Bin-Doza. Lecturer Department of Architecture State University of Bangladesh. 77, Sat Masjid Road, Dhanmondi R/A. Dhaka -1205. Bangladesh Phone: +8802 8151784, +8802 8151785. Email: sajid_bin_doza@yahoo.com. sajid@subd.net Key ward: Climate, Vernacular Organization and Indigenous architecture, Livability and Sustainability, Modernity and Urbanization. Abstract Bangladesh is a large Deltaic region and riverian, in other idiom geographically its location is so exceptional, where people of the region faces struggle in every monsoon rainy season for the overflowing of river water create devastating flood mostly all over the country. The process of eradication and rejuvenation is a part of life for our country people. They are hard labored, avid, creative, modest and calm. We have the Grace from the God, gifted land that our lands are fertile, agriculturally we are rich, our people find sprite from it, even if the massive calamities occurs. Despite the fact that the vernacular organization as well as the indigenous architecture is so prolific and spellbound. Land, water and people are tuneful in creating the indigenous form of architecture. In the paper I tied to intricate immunity mud architecture in north region of Bangladesh, the peculiarity of the architecture having two storied building named Do Mahela a complete two storied mud structure, its materials inherency, the constructional course of action and schemes, the planning organizational features, climatic control, spatial environment for both the outdoor and indoor spaces and above all livability and sustainability of the architecture as well as for the house form. Documentation and illustrations is another significant element of the paper. Some how we are getting away from our traditional and socio-cultural legitimacy. Modernity and Urbanization is polishing, but our rich vigor of vernacular architecture is declining towards faded and rusted, people of rural area are engrossed to become Urbane, some times they are not recalling the value of their rich fiesta, lifestyle and self entity, the regionalism and the innate indigenous architecture of our country is becoming a rare treasury for us, we are loosing our treasury and strength of indigenous vocabulary, for which we are not yet responsive. We have to awake! To revive and reinforce our rich indigenous rural architecture. These are all about telling of my paper. |
| Arjan | van Timmeren | Delft (Z.H.) | Netherlands | HETERONOMY: A CHANGING RELATION BETWEEN DESIGN, PLANNING AND USE(RS) | There is a changing relation beween design and planning and in the end use(rs), resulting in a scattered and often insufficiently directed spatial planning. This is particularly to be seen in vulnerable areas such as green areas in or near towns, and, to a smaller extent, along frayed edges of towns and in areas dominated by industry and, for example, greenhouse farming. This is also to be seen in the urbanized areas in emerging countries. In addition to the globalization, it is also caused by the more or less perceivable social processes before, during and particularly also after physical interventions or changes. The global interconnection increases enormously in various domains. At the same time, the process of globalization implies a further-reaching specialization, and accompanying increasing risks resulting from larger national and international dependence and heteronomy. Spatial planning must be able to conduct the spatial consequences of these developments. Therefore, it is necessary to look beyond boundaries: not only physical boundaries (between areas or countries), but also boundaries of the various scale levels of solutions, of the interrelated networks, of the public space and, particularly, of their mutuality. It induces the explicitation of the underlying social needs and the finding of instruments that allow the spatial planning and renewed infrastructure to fit the changing social objectives and another way of dealing with public affairs better. In the last few years, the old sectorial compartmentalization appears to disappear, with a new sectorial compartmentalization arising with themes becoming more independent in separate circuits and institutions, each with its own network of experts and facilities, which leads to a certain degree of toughening and fragmentation in the public domain. The option of interconnection of the most important so called essential flows, especially waste related flows, at scales closer to users is argued to be necessary. Besides of that further reaching sustainable solutions concerning flows (waste, water, energy, nutrient recycling) based on quality cascading, or exergy, and combined urban red/ green development will be taken as the guideline for spatial planning based on the urban metabolism. |
| Fatima | Abbas zadeh | mashhad | Iran | Identify the Physical Characteristics of a Cultural Street: A Direction for the Future | This paper examines physical attributes of historical and cultural street using a case study of Shirazi Street, Mashad City. It is one of the most popular streets in the city, due to its religious significance, historical background, building styles, and the Imam Reza Shrine. Physical characteristics influence the street culture. The paper highlights the street features as perceived by the people/s views. The physical characteristics associated with the historical street will be appraised. It also seeks to identify social, psychological and behavioral factors associated with the street characters. A mixed method was adopted in data collection and analysis. The study shows that the physical elements and activities determine the street's uniqueness. They cumulatively highlight the varying activities that were noticed by all groups of people; although the specific physical characteristics of the street are currently weaker than in the past. The paper therefore concludes that the physical characteristics of a street influence other aspects of the environment. |
| Sankha Priya | Guha | Kolkata | India | ECOCITIES FORMATION THROUGH CULTURAL PRACTICES: FOCUS ON MATERIAL, SOCIAL AND SUPERNATURAL ASPECTS. SANKHA PRIYA GUHA Lecturer, Dept of Anthropology Haldia Government College sankhapriyaguha@yahoo.co.in | Abstract Cities are centers of cultural innovation and change the characters of which are manifested through cultural practices of the people. The cultural practices are manifested in three different levels: material, social and supernatural. The material facet incorporate multiple structure from city infrastructure to inside home everyday requirements. The social aspect talks of relationship pattern existing among the residents whereas the supernatural aspect talks of a greater unknown world. Life in all the three aforesaid levels in the city life is a recreated identity of tradition masked by a new life in the name of urbanism. The present paper ventures in the life of Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta) in India where tradition is recreated in terms of rural-agrarian characters. Modernity, in terms of Urbanism is an import of cultural characters from the west. A balance of the two controls the cultural life of the city and in turn helps to restore the ecological model of balance and sustainability. Formation of ecocities therefore require a policy of balance between tradition and modernity in cultural life of the people. |
| Manohar | Mariapan | Serdang | Malaysia | Tourists' Perceptions on Highland Management: Cameron Highlands Experience | The research evaluated differences in tourists perceptions on the scenic beauty of Cameron Highlands. Since landscape management practices can alter highland scenes, it has the potential to affect tourists perceptions on its scenic beauty. Scenic beauty is an important component of the tourism industry in the Cameron Highlands. The goal of this research is to investigate the effects of landscape management on tourists perception on the scenic beauty of Cameron Highlands. An exploratory field observation was carried out at the study area to determine the types of landscape management practices carried out at the study location. A photo questionnaire survey was used to assess tourists perceptions of scenic beauty of Cameron Highlands. A random photographic inventory was taken in three towns (Ringlet, Tanah Rata, and Brinchang) of Cameron Highlands. The photographs taken and questions posed were based on scenic variable groups as identified during the personal field observation; land use, management activities, and natural beauty. Photographs were used to evaluate tourists preferences for highland scenes, whereas survey questions evaluated tourists perceptions on the scenic beauty. Results indicate that foreign tourists had higher agreement on effects of natural beauty, and management practices on the scenic beauty compared to local tourist. Foreign and local tourists did not differ on their perception towards land use scenic beauty. The major implication of this study is that appropriate landscape management practices are needed to maintain and improve the highland scenic beauty for visitors. Keywords: Scenic beauty; landscape management; Highland assessment; Perception |
| James | Moir | Dundee | United Kingdom | Consuming Cities & Contradictory Discourses | This paper considers the ways in which people's sense of global environmental damage bound up with patterns of consumption in cities. This is located within a range of discourses that trade upon notions of personal responsibility and individual behaviour. In effect this turns such matters into lifestyle choices and preferences based upon appeals to people in terms of attitude change and normative social influence. The psychologising of environmentally damaging behaviour treats the city dweller as a lone agent in terms of a perceptual-cognitive system that is receptive to understanding and making sense of the seriousness of the issues and then changing behaviour accordingly. However, the paper argues that the more we turn these environmental concerns into matters of perceptions of environmental damage and lifestyle choices the more we detract from the problematic conceptualisation of how people relate to the environment as psychological agents. The assumption is made that there are two realms: an external environmental reality which acts as raw material, the input for a psychological system which operates upon this in some way to produce an output such as a perception or feeling which in turn affects behaviour with respect to the urban environment. This places the environment as an entity beyond the person, something that is external to them rather than a constructed category related to a range of discourses that are bound up with political, social and economic concerns of city life. By refraining from adopting a stance that presupposes psychological processes, it becomes possible to critique approaches that turn global environmentally damaging behaviours into mattes that require attitude change. It is argued that what is required is the problematisation of the constructed relationship between self and environment if such behaviours are to be tackled as ecologically sustainable city issues related to global political and economic matters rather than located in local psychological discourses. |
| C.Y. | Jim | Hong Kong | China | Green Roofs for Ecological and Economic Benefits in the Compact Urban Environment of Hong Kong | Green roofs have rarely been established in Hong Kong despite the presence of thousands of barren flat roofs in the humid subtropical city with seven million population. An experimental green roof was established at the University of Hong Kong in 2006, denoting the first green roof devoted to research purpose in Hong Kong. It covers about 200 m2 of flat roof space, divided into four square plots planted respectively with turfgrass (Zoysia tenuifolia, Korean Velvet Grass), groundcover vine (Arachis pintoi, Perennial Peanut) and shrub (Duranta repens, Golden Dewdrops), plus a control plot of barren roof. The study assessed compared the three vegetation types for: (1) evaporative cooling of air temperature; (2) surface temperature reduction; (3) thermal insulation effect; (4) radiation energy budget; (5) heat flux to the indoor space below the roof slab; and (6) air-conditioning energy conservation. The research gained experience to establish and maintain extensive green roofs using different vegetation types, as the basis to initiate a green roof movement in Hong Kong. The results indicated effective temperature reduction by the extensive green roof, with variations between vegetation types. On a typical hot summer day without rainfall, the shrub green roof reduced the surface temperature by 16.5oC, and the shielded tile surface by 26.2oC. Groundcover herb provided significant temperature reduction of 11.2oC at the surface and 18.5oC on the shielded tile surface. The effect of turf was similar to groundcover herb. The diurnal temperature range on the bare roof (control) at 26.8oC was reduced drastically below the green roof, down to merely 1.7oC under shrub and 3.6oC under groundcover herb. Besides evapotranspiration cooling, the heat insulation effects of living biomass, soil, water storage and drainage layers retarded heat passage through the green roof. Heat flux through the roof concrete slab to the indoor space below was trimmed. The potential for greening the barren roofs in urban Hong Kong was evaluated. The city-wide ecological and economic benefits were assessed with reference to urban heat island effect, amenity green spaces, air conditioning electricity consumption, indoor human comfort, life span of the waterproofing layer, air quality, green house gas emission, and smog occurrence. |
| Erin | Leben | Portland | USA | Farming Out: A new model for sustainable small-scale agriculture on the urban edge. | The commercialized industrial system that dominates modern North American agriculture diminishes both the nutritional and cultural content of our food, and marginalizes agriculture in society. This system desensitizes us to the growing disconnect between our bodies and our environment. Though economies of scale suggest that family farms cannot compete with an industrial farming system, rethinking the social and cultural functions of the small, independent farm can create a new place for the farm in our culture. Land consolidation, chemical farming and genetic engineering have altered the agricultural landscape. The very icons of the modern farm reflect the failures of industrial agribusiness, sustainable farming demands a new form to accompany a new ethic. While food production is a land-use we cannot do without, agricultural land also presents the opportunity to steward open space, maintain ecological systems, strengthen communities, increase food security, and re-instill our connection to the land. A cultural reevaluation of the farmsteads design extends to look at opportunities for architecture to connect farm and city, producer and consumer. This project explores how active agricultural land can be integrated with public parkland on the historic Newman Farm, located just outside the provincial capital of Victoria, British Columbia. The Newman Farm design exemplifies how other farms at the metropolitan edge can work with public land, bring people on to active farmland, reconnect people with their agricultural heritage, strengthen communities, foster local support of agriculture, and revive peoples connection with the land. It is time farmers consider the possibility of a deeper relationship with architecture and design as an aid in both reviving the structure of the farm with a new sustainable framework, and to look for solutions that will form new connections between the farm and the rural centers it serves. Addressing the current dilemma of agriculture as a design problem can provide new models of a sustainable farm as well as reassess the cultural role of the farm within society. |
| Robert | Young | Eugene | USA | The greening of Chicago: environmental leaders and organizational learning in the transition toward a sustainable metropolitan region | Recent public sector policies promoting a green sustainability agenda in metropolitan regions call upon organizations to engage in a range of new social and ecological relationships. In this paper I explore the question: What can the perceptions of environmental managers teach us about organizational learning in response to mandates for an urban green agenda? In particular I examine the disposition of leaders in the Chicago metropolitan area regarding the development of boundary spanning capabilities within their organizations as a means to support innovations in urban resource management. Of specific focus is their interest in enhancing the internal capital (training, hiring, and creation of centers of expertise) and external networks (sharing information, resources, and power) of themselves and their staff in the context of Chicago's much proclaimed efforts to become a more sustainable urban region. Understanding the benefits and obstacles managers perceive to developing these capabilities can help those supporting innovations in urban greening to better frame the obligations and resources required by such initiatives. |
| Christopher | Lortie | Toronto | Canada | The importance of residential urban gardens for biodiversity maintenance within cities. | Toronto is the most urbanized city in Canada. Development within urban areas often comes at the cost of plant and animal diversity. Therefore, sustainable practices must include the assessment and management of biological diversity within the urban context. A simple positive remediation of negative development effects could be privately owned residential gardens that comprise a significant proportion of most cities in North America. Private urban gardens and public parkettes were sampled in Toronto to assess plant diversity, structure, and spatial pattern. Urban gardens significantly enhanced local and regional plant diversity patterns. Spatial contiguity was important and human demographic factors impacted diversity levels and management choices. This research supports a previous assessment of a city in the UK and suggests that analysis of patterns of diversity within private urban holdings can be a positive first step to improved ecological function within cities. |
| Kemba | Shakur | Oakland | USA | URBAN FORESTRY BENEFITS IN RELATIONSHIP TO WORKING IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND UNDER SERVED COMMUNITIES. | Urban trees reduces runoff and pollutants travel to their receiving water bodies, improves urban air quality, reduces urban energy demand, and demolishes urban head island. An urban trees and runoff study was conducted in West Oakland , CA . The project area was one of the communities of color and under served communities in California . Over 1,000 trees were planted in this area. The impacts of urban trees on runoff were studied from both rainfall interception and storm runoff measurement. At present time, these existing trees in the project area only reduce a small fraction of the surface runoff from the project area flow to the Bay, however, they can reduce storm water runoff by 2.9% once they reaches their mature size. Trees has been demonstrated can be used as a linkage between communities and environmental organizations, professionals, and local, state, and federal governments together working toward improving environment and restoring urban ecosystem of West Oakland. |
| Edgard | Antunes Dias Batista | Stockholm | Sweden | BICIROTA NACIONAL 1: A PROPOSAL FOR THE FIRST BRAZILIAN NATIONAL CYCLE ROUTE | Developing countries face a huge challenge trying to combine growing and sustainability. In general with many economical and social problems, is extremely important to these countries to have alternatives in order to provide better conditions to their population while protecting its environment. Brazil is one of the biggest examples of a developing country that at the same time need to develop and to protect its ecosystems. One manner to avoid the destruction of the natural resources by economical activities like cattle and agriculture, is to provide another way of subsistence for the local population. Here the tourism industry can play a very important role, and this paper presents a proposal for the first national cycle route in Brazil, a project that have a holistic impact in the Brazilian development: In the global scale it helps to develop the tourism sector, which has a large non-used potential in this country. In regional and local scale it will helps the community to commute in a carbon-free basis. Also, it increases the awareness of the population about environmental friendly transportation, promoting the use of bicycles. The project has a big positive impact, both nationally and internationally, without demanding so much resources: the main idea of the national cycle route is to use as much as possible existent paths without demanding the construction of new cycle ways, using for instance beaches, dirty roads, streets, etc. The cycle path will be build only when there is a safety reason or a large local demand. In the majority of the way it is only necessary to do the signalization of the route, what reduces its final price. The project is based on the experience of the author, which traveled almost half of the Brazilian 9.000 Km of coastal line in his project Ciclovida (www.ciclovida.com.br/indexeng.html). The first Brazilian cycle route, called Bicirota Nacional 1 , could also be part of a future network to be implemented linking not only the entire country but also the whole continent, using this fantastic and sustainable mode of transportation. |
| Kamal Babu | Adhikary | Christchurch | New Zealand | DURABILITY OF WOOD FLOUR-RECYCLED THERMOPLASTICS COMPOSITES UNDER ACCELERATED ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS | This study examined the durability of wood-plastic composites (WPCs) made from recycled thermoplastics and wood-flour manufactured through hot press molding. Recycled high density polyethylene and polypropylene, and radiata pine sawdust were used in this study. WPCs formulation consisted of wood flour content vary from 0 and 50 % w/w with 5% maleated polypropylene (MAPP) as coupling agent in some formulations. Samples were weathered by exposing to 12 accelerated cycles of water submersion, freezing, and thawing; and accelerated ultraviolet light for 2000 h. Dimensional stability, mechanical, morphology and thermal properties of weathered samples were examined. It was found that exposed samples exhibited greater discoloration and fading and increased with exposure times, however MAPP lowered the discoloration. Water absorption and thickness swelling of the exposed samples were increased after 24 h water immersion. Flexural strength, stiffness, and yield stress of the exposed samples were decreased, but strain at break was increased. Scanning electron microscopy images of exposed samples showed a considerable numbers of voids and cavities resulting a poor interfacial bonding. Thermal properties such as melting temperature, crystallinity of exposed samples changes significantly as a result of crosslinking, chain scission of weathered thermoplastics and wood-flour plastic composites. |
| arezou | monshizade | grenoble | France | The desert city, as an ancient living example of eco-city Case study: Yazd | Abstract Studying the residential tissues in some desert areas shows that the architectural characteristics of the ancient and traditional parts of complex habitation - before been modernized- are according to the new paradigms of eco-architecture, sustainability and ecological city theories. One of the traditional cities, which will be studied in this paper, is the desert architecture of the city Yazd in the centre of Iran This ancient city is situated in an oasis in the middle of deserts where people were able to adapt to very hard climate condition through millenniums. Thus its traditional buildings were designed in local climate and the city was constructed with an optimal form that minimizes desert expansion and the effects of dust storms, it also maximizes the use of clean energy and local resources with least pollution. The Yazd city was formed by using some ways to improve the cruelly climate condition, such as optimal orientation, sitting according to sun, making the wind catchers, large underground spaces to dealing with the problem in extreme hot summer, local materials selected (adobe and brick). It shows that this harmonization is the result of a long process of repeated experiments in the history of buildings and urban tissue construction. Although after modernization and changing the style of life, these experiences have been ignoring in development of the city. On the other hand, it seems that the culture particularities according to people's view to the world and their environment characteristics, which help to adapt and respect the nature laws. So this paper will discuss some important aspects to apply into eco-city principles and the solutions for real buildings in these regions. |
| David | Dobereiner | Walnut Creek | USA | FROM METROPOLIS TO MATRIPOLIS - HEAT ISLAND TO CARBON SINK | Matripolis is a system for the layered expansion of the infrastructure of the worlds inner cities to accommodate their expected 50% population growth. The wasted space over streets is exploited to provide uninterrupted mixed use development, huge energy savings and much shorter lines of communication and transportation. Overall density is thus greatly increased while facilitating both the safe movement of pedestrians and that of the vehicles below. Sun-filled living amphitheaters (called Matripoles), provide urban sanctuary for many of the animals (including humans) and plants of the biosphere. In the interstices between the Matripoles, equally appropriate space occurs for the increasingly automated manufacturing and mechanized movement systems of the techno-sphere. Thus, back of house support is immediately provided for the theater of life. Conclusion The amphitheater form fosters a strong sense of community identity and provides ample space and time for social interactions of all kinds. By providing a superior environment for the enjoyment of life in all its phases the Matripole will attract suburban youth back into the city, allowing the suburbs to revert to agriculture and/or wilderness. |
| Zizi | Svanidze | Tbilisi | Georgia | DYNAMICS OF HEAVY METAL DISTRIBUTION IN SOILS AND NATURAL WATERS OF MINING AND METALLURGICAL REGIONS* | The work presents analysis of soil and water pollution in a unique region hosting a manganese deposit and metallurgical production of ferroalloys on a small territory. Possible pollution sources are traced throughout entire production cycle ore mining, transportation to dressing plants, dressing technologies, transfer of concentrates to ferroalloy plant and their metallurgical processing. The work comprised hydrogeochemical field studies measuring waterpoint regime parameters, selecting surface and underground water samples, as well as soil samples, from different rivers and streams of the main water basin, potable water wells in populated areas, sown areas, wine plantations and pastures. For defining the quantitative indices of heavy metal distribution in industrial ecosystems, a microcomponent analysis of water and soil (chemical, atomic-adsorption) with determination of composition of 8 microelements - Cu, Zn, Cd, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Pb was carried out, as well as a detailed picture of pollution degree of the manganese bearing region ecosystem depicted. The actual contents of heavy metals exceed corresponding average indices of the Planet rivers in hundreds and thousands times. It was determined that the content of metals in river waters steadily and gradually decreases with an increase of distance from the pollution source, depending on a migration ability of a specific element in the water environment. However, heavy metal transport by river water takes place throughout long distances. The background contents of metals in river waters, even beyond pollution source impact area, are quite high. A mathematical model of polluting dust lifting, transport through wind flows and exhaust into the atmosphere is elaborated. A method for cleaning the natural water polluted by heavy metals is proposed and tested in semi-industrial conditions, using two types of natural sorbents, the deposits of which are largely presented throughout Georgia. |
| Shiva | Pokhrel | Kathmandu | Nepal | RELATIVE ABUNDANCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF WILD UNGULATES IN SUKLAPHANTA WILDLIFE RESERVE, NEPAL | We determined distribution, abundance and habitat preferences of wild ungulates for hot season from early of March to mid of May in SWR 2005. A total of 7,342 pellet groups were recorded from 2500 plots of 25 different samples. Spotted deer, hog deer, swamp deer, barking deer, wild boar and blue bull were recorded as main ungulate species occupying the western part of SWR. Spotted deer was more abundantly distributed (2.28+_2.23) among all ungulate species where as blue bull was least abundant (0.002+_0.05). Ungulates were highly abundant (3.37+_2.58) in grassland habitat. In four different types of habitat, spotted deer was highly abundant (2.67+_2.08) in Sal forest, hog deer in grassland (0.53+_0.74), swamp deer in grassland (1.03+_1.52), barking deer in Sal forest (0.02+_0.14), blue bull in Sal forest (0.002+_0.06) and wild boar in grassland (0.13+_0.034). The distribution pattern of wild ungulates was clumped type among the studied samples. Habitat preference was found high in Sal forest for spotted deer (29.20%), barking deer (44.16%) and blue bull (64.51%), and grassland for hog deer (74.81%), swamp deer (92.18%), and wild boar (55.52%). Present study found relatively high distribution of ungulate species in core area suggests to ungulate monitoring in extension areas. Key words: Ungulate, Distribution, Abundance, Pelle |