Co-design and urban resilience: visioning tools for commoning resilience practices

Abstract

In response to the environmental and social challenges of an uncertain future, practitioners and communities across Europe and beyond have started to engage with the concept of ‘resilience’ and experiment with forms of local resilience. However, many of these initiatives tend to remain localised, isolated projects, with little capacity to instigate broader change and at risk to disappear by not having the means to become sustainable in the longer term. We suggest that one way of sustaining and scaling local resilience practices is by developing digital tools that could enable connections and knowledge sharing across locations, through commoning in the digital realm. In this paper, we introduce the specific co-design process we devised with the aim to develop an initial ‘brief’ for potential tools. By creating a co-design process that is situated, mediated, networked and open-source, we argue that the commoning process initiated in this project has the potential to evolve and expand, beyond the project time and initial user base—an essential quality in the context of collectively enhancing urban resilience through knowledge sharing and mutual support.     

Sustainable development and urban stormwater practice

The traditional use of piped systems for stormwater management is increasingly criticized as being ‘unsustainable’. These systems are part of the water domain where much research has focused on sustainable development indicators to support decision-makers in selecting systems that are more sustainable. However, the interest in sustainable development indicators is low. This paper identifies conditions to engage the practitioners to inform their actions in regard to sustainable stormwater management. Empirical evidence has been obtained from interviews with water professionals from Swedish municipalities. The environmental-technical discourse of sustainable stormwater development is a strong barrier in the change process, to the neglect of the social aspects. In the interviews, reframing the discourse was possible in visions of future sustainable stormwater systems embracing green infrastructure. In action, primary conditions can support sustainable pathways in realizing this vision. The paper suggests further incentives for increased implementation of non-structural measures by developing the identified conditions.     

Reinforcing relationships for resilience – by embedding end-user ‘people’ in public–private partnerships

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) target overall benefits from mobilising private resources in delivering public infrastructure. Their longer time spans generate higher risks, hence the greater need for resilience in PPPs, compared to traditional procurement. PPP infrastructure outcomes should include both sustainable and resilient built infrastructure, as well as reliable and resilient service delivery. The public–private cross-sectoral relationships can be significant contributors to resilience. Previous research findings show that public–private relationships are still predominantly formal in PPPs. However, appropriate informal relationships can foster mutual trust and better teamworking that trigger self-adjustment mechanisms to overcome adversities and enhance resilience. Integrating relevant ‘people’ into PPPs to establish a public–private–people partnership (4P) is proposed to reinforce formal–informal relationships, while enhancing relevant ‘social infrastructure’, which could then lead to more resilient and better ‘value for money’ built infrastructure. Findings from another recent study demonstrate the value of 4P in pre-disaster planning. 4P also helps to develop resilient ‘social infrastructure’ for post-disaster reconstruction of sustainable built infrastructure. Conceptual diagrams are developed to summarise how the 4th P could reinforce public–private relationships and inject resilience into a potentially unstable PPP system.     

Assessing the environmental performance of buildings: trends,lessons and tensions

ABSTRACT

Since the 1970s, intense discussions have occurred within the research and practitioner communities on how to assess and influence the environmental performance of buildings. Many different methods, criteria and tools were developed to raise awareness, enable goal formulation, support design and decision-making processes, and evaluate a building’s environmental performance. This development can be retraced through the example of the works of Raymond J. Cole, who made an important contribution to this scientific debate. The integration of environmental performance into a sustainability assessment, the ongoing development of life cycle assessment (LCA) methods, and clients’, financiers’ and assessors’ different demands for environmental performance assessment, raise additional questions and highlight the conflicting goals. Six topics are examined in relation to current developments: the further development of the classic ‘three pillars’ sustainability model; the suitability of assessment criteria and indicators; the handling of technological progress; the discounting of environmental impacts; the environmental assessment of existing buildings; and the further development of legal requirements. ‘Time’ is a key factor relating to LCA, weighing current versus future emissions, ecological value and recycling potential of existing buildings or ‘options’ for different ways to use the building in future. Recommended actions are provided for key stakeholders.     

Continuous and multidimensional assessment of resilience based on functionality analysis for interconnected systems

The increasing number of disruptions to critical infrastructure, like natural disasters, terrorist attacks or internal failure is today a major problem of society. Concern is even greater when considering the interconnected nature of critical infrastructure, which might lead to failure propagation, causing domino and cascade effects. To mitigate such outcomes, critical infrastructure must recover its capacity to function with regard to several criteria. Stakeholders must therefore analyse and improve the resilience of critical infrastructure before any disruption occurs, and base this analysis on different models so as to guarantee society’s vital needs. Current resilience assessment methods are mainly oriented toward the context of a single system, thus narrowing their criteria metrics, limiting flexibility and adaptation to other contexts and overlooking the interconnected nature of systems. This article introduces a new tool-equipped approach that makes it possible to define a model to evaluate the functionalities of interconnected systems. The model is then used to assess the resilience of these systems based on simple and generic criteria that can be extended and adapted. Several assertions related to the concept of resilience and some resilience indicators are also introduced. A case study provides the validation performed by experts from several domains.     

关键基础设施体系灾害毁伤恢复力研究综述

关键基础设施体系是现代社会赖以生存和发展的基石,对于保障社会运转和居民生活起着至关重要的作用。为提升基础设施体系在灾害中迅速恢复和维持预定功能的能力,关键基础设施体系恢复力逐渐成为近年来国内外的研究热点。文章首先总结不同研究领域下体系恢复力的不同定义,对关键基础设施体系灾害恢复力的概念及相关定性研究进行综述,并对恢复力概念与以往“易损性”、“风险”等概念的区别和联系进行分析。随后对关键基础设施体灾害恢复力的各类定量评估和优化方法进行综述研究,并对现有研究存在的问题进行了总结。最后对关键基础设施体系灾害恢复力未来可能的研究方向进行展望,指出基于体系依存性和级联效应的多层关键基础设施体系恢复力联合研究是未来重要的探索方向。     

Probabilistic analysis of interdependent infrastructures subjected to weather-related hazards

Simulation of the infrastructure performance using numerical models may significantly assist in developing strategies for improving its resilience to harmful effects of climate change. This paper presents a model for simulating the performance of interdependent infrastructure systems based on an extended network flow approach, i.e. infrastructure systems are considered as a network of nodes connected by directed edges. The model has been specifically developed to simulate the infrastructure performance at a community scale and has higher node resolution compared to typical models of infrastructure systems at the national level. The model is time-dependent so that the infrastructure performance can be assessed at discrete points over a period of time. Parameters describing the performance of infrastructure assets (e.g. production and flow capacities, demands) can be treated as random variables or probabilities can be assigned to failures of the assets. The application of the model is illustrated by the probabilistic assessment of the performance of two interdependent infrastructure systems – electrical power and water, damaged by flooding.     

A national assessment of green infrastructure and change for the conterminous United States using morphological image processing

Green infrastructure is a popular framework for conservation planning. The main elements of green infrastructure are hubs and links. Hubs tend to be large areas of ‘natural’ vegetation and links tend to be linear features (e.g., streams) that connect hubs. Within the United States, green infrastructure projects can be characterized as: (1) reliant on classical geographic information system (GIS) techniques (e.g., overlay, buffering) for mapping; (2), mainly implemented by states and local jurisdictions; and (3) static assessments that do not routinely incorporate information on land-cover change. We introduce morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) as a complementary way to map green infrastructure, extend the geographic scope to the conterminous United States, and incorporate land-cover change information. MSPA applies a series of image processing routines to a raster land-cover map to identify hubs, links, and related structural classes of land cover. We identified approximately 4000 large networks (>100 hubs) within the conterminous United States, of which approximately 10% crossed state boundaries. We also identified a net loss of up to 3.59 million ha of links and 1.72 million ha of hubs between 1992 and 2001. Our national assessment provides a backbone that states could use to coordinate their green infrastructure projects, and our incorporation of change illustrates the importance of land-cover dynamics for green infrastructure planning and assessment.     

Putting Spatial Resilience into Practice

There is a growing awareness of the need to develop the resilience of settlements to potential risks and hazards. There are numerous definitions of resilience reflecting diverse applications of the concept in different disciplines. These conceptualisations include the ability to ‘spring back’ after being stressed and the ability of a social-ecological system to maintain its functions by absorbing or adapting to change despite stresses and pressures placed on it. Although initially research was focussed on ecosystems, the resilience of socio-ecological systems is now receiving attention. The South African Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act includes ‘spatial resilience’ among the five principles intended to promote more just, sustainable and efficient settlements. According to this Act, the principle of spatial resilience refers to ‘flexibility in spatial plans, policies and land use management systems are accommodated to ensure sustainable livelihoods in communities most likely to suffer the impacts of economic and environmental shocks?. While the concept of resilience is widely understood, does the same apply to that of spatial resilience as defined by SPLUMA? This paper describes a study conducted to determine how practicing and development professionals in the Western Cape Province (South Africa) interpret the concept of spatial resilience. The results indicate that while the concept of resilience was generally understood, there were diverse interpretations of the development principle contained in the Act. Among the implications hereof are contradictory or counterproductive policy or plans. Thus, a more uniform understanding of the concept is required.     

Production,consumption, and protection: perspectives from North America on the multifunctional transition in rural planning

ABSTRACT

Rural areas encompass landscapes that range from peri-urban to very isolated ‘deep rural’ areas; from rapidly growing high amenity retirement and second home communities to dilapidated near-ghost towns; from those with strong economies in agriculture, natural resource extraction, tourism, and high tech to those with shrinking economies. In addition, such global issues as climate change, food security, and future energy supply have enormous implications for rural places. In these circumstances planning thought and action are confronted – often simultaneously – with physical development – planning for growth and change; production – of traditional agricultural and natural resource outputs but also new outputs such as renewable energy and ecosystem services; and protection – of the natural environment, cultural resources, and social systems. This article draws from the literature and interviews of rural specialists to explore the current tensions between production, consumption, and protection and emerging responses to them, through an exploration of North American rural planning.     

The Human Face of Remodelling: Postwar ‘Slum’ Clearance in Sydney

Abstract

Past government responses to poorer areas have been to label them ‘slums’ and remodel these areas through slum clearance programmes. This article attempts to reconstruct the built environment and human infrastructure of such communities and assess the social implications of rehousing ‘slum’ dwellers in Sydney from 1944 to 1961.     

Exploring the linkages between the building,home garden and human system resilience in Lefke Region of North Cyprus

Resilience has been a challenging approach to analyse the built environment–society linkages and to design more sustainable built environments for enhancing society’s quality of life. This paper explores the linkages between the building, home garden and human system resilience in the Lefke region of North Cyprus. To this end, 50 buildings with a vernacular value, their home gardens and householders were evaluated. The method consisted of developing a conceptual framework for better understanding the linkages among the three systems, exploring the appropriate resilience assessment indicators for the systems, data collection with a questionnaire and data evaluation (based on a 1–5 Likert scale). The results revealed that the average relative values of the building, home garden and human system resilience are, respectively, 2.22 (low), 2.49 (low), and 3.63 (medium). Diversity, traditional knowledge and connectivity were found to be the key indicators for evaluating the linkages amongst the systems.     

Guiding principles for infrastructure climate change risk and adaptation studies

As global climate mitigation actions increasingly appear to be unable to curb global emissions, there has been a corresponding increase in climate adaptation planning undertaken by governments and communities. Along with an increasing number of adaptation studies, there has been an increasing complexity of adaptation studies as practitioners attempt to plan the adaptation of whole communities, cities and in some cases nations. These studies are commonly underpinned by increasingly complex climate change vulnerability studies that also attempt to encompass concepts such as resilience and adaptive capacity. Owners and operators of infrastructure assets and networks also need to consider climate change. This need has been met by an increasing number of climate change risk and adaptation studies of major infrastructure. The approaches used for these assessments are commonly derived from assessments of whole communities and policy development studies, and apply terminology that is often inconsistent with established engineering asset management methods and approaches. As a result the uptake of these studies has been less than desirable in many cases. To this end, the work presented here proposes a set of principles for undertaking the assessment of climate changes impacts on assets and infrastructure.     

The Global Infrastructure Turn and Urban Practice

Abstract

This paper assesses the emergence of a global ‘infrastructure turn’ and its implications for urban scholarship. The global infrastructure turn involves the emergence of a coordinated effort to stimulated infrastructure development at the national and global level via an array of international frameworks. The key elements of this shift are described and explanations are presented, which are founded in the working out of contradictions within global capitalist urbanization. The need for urbanists to attend to the global infrastructure turn is emphasised, and a set of elements to which attention must be given – discourse, technical practices and politics – is described. The paper concludes by arguing for greater attention to the global infrastructure turn by urban scholars.     

Sanitizing Jakarta: decolonizing planning and kampung imaginary

ABSTRACT

This article offers a critical view of the water and sanitation sector within the broader trajectory of Jakarta’s spatial development and planning. Its territorial focus is on kampungs and it traces their historical journey from the periphery of the colonial city – Batavia and its modern planning domain – to the centre of the post-independence planning regime. ‘Kampung’ is an indigenous term for rural-agricultural settlements. In the colonial period, it was used to label non-European and non-Chinese settlements in and around the city. Colonial modernity created certain stigmatizations: kampungs came to be seen as undisciplined and insanitary communities, sources of insurgency and threats to public health. But the kampung realm was also (re)produced through practices of segregation within the colonial planning system. The imaginaries of colonial modernity linger on within today’s planning practices, resulting in a persistent failure to improve the environmental health of kampungs and the city as a whole. Postcolonial kampungs remain as a cosmopolitan enclave open to different cultures and socio-political contestations. The article argues that, given the kampung’s resilience in varying socio-ecological conditions, urban kampungs should be seen not as a problem, but as an opportunity for new planning approaches.     

Smart green cities: from modernization to resilience?

It is possible to detect a shift in the way we think about environmental issues, in particular climate change, from what academics call ‘ecological modernization’ to what can be termed ‘resilient cities’. This is both a consequence and a cause of city regions emerging as the pragmatic scale of governance. This article will use a case study of Greater Manchester in the northwest of England to show how thinking on the environment was centred around ‘ecological modernization’ with an emphasis on business opportunities associated with a move to a low-carbon economy. It will argue that this approach has been enhanced by a new focus on resilience. The case study will use examples of the Ecocities project, green infrastructure and flood risk to show how a concern for resilience has emerged. It will then revisit the issue of energy to show how the new concerns have influenced the low-carbon strategy.     

Dynamics of integrating landscape values in landscape character assessment: the hidden dominance of the objective outsider

Abstract

While there has been extensive research undertaken on the values which insiders attribute to landscape there is a lack of literature which looks at how planning professionals handle landscape values. In this article, I develop a framework for questioning how landscape values are taken up in landscape planning, with the aim of conceptualising what landscape values mean in practice. This is undertaken through addressing landscape assessment, more specifically analysing how landscape character assessment (LCA) represents a critical point in the framing of landscape values. Through a synthesis of research on landscape values I examine the underlying logic of the LCA documents. I conclude that the values communicated in these assessments tend to be those of ‘objective’ outside experts, predominantly based on aesthetics and focusing on the physicality of landscape. This I argue leads to a questioning the legitimacy of the LCA approach.     

Resilient urban forms: A macro-scale analysis

Cities need to build on their resilience to cope with a broad range of natural and manmade hazards that threaten their competitiveness, livability, and functionality. Recognizing this need, the resilience concept is increasingly used as an organizing principle to guide research design and facilitate a more informed decision-making process. However, despite the abundance of studies on urban resilience, research on the link between urban form and resilience is limited and fragmented. This study sheds more light on this issue by reviewing and synthesizing theoretical and empirical evidence on how physical structure of cities can facilitate or hinder urban resilience. Acknowledging that each city is located within a nested hierarchy of scales that is characterized by cross-scale dynamics, only the macro-level aspects and elements of urban form are analyzed in this paper. These are namely ‘scale hierarchy’, ‘city size’, ‘development type’, ‘degree of clustering’, and ‘landscape/habitat connectivity’. Key criteria and indicators for analyzing resilience of each element/aspect are specified and used to discuss how macro-scale urban form is related to various resilience properties such as robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, modularity, flexibility, adaptability, and efficiency. Findings indicate that urban form has major implications for social, ecological, and economic functionality of cities and can play a key role in enhancing their resilience and sustainability.     

Community Power Debates: Themes,Issues and Remaining Dilemmas

Abstract

The study of the relative access to power within communities (known as ‘community power studies’ in political science) is largely undeveloped in Australia. This article, as part of an Australian-based community power study, examines the limitations and insights of the many available literatures relevant to the study of power and policy-making within a city community.

Overseas community power debates (especially the pluralist versus elite, behavioural versus structural, arguments) have had a marked influence on the way we conceptualise and measure power. But, in application to a local community, these theoretical debates reached an impasse while they continued to focus on the issue of ‘who rules’. Meanwhile in policy studies attention was increasingly turning to assessments of the impact of policy and the ways in which policy-makers and community needs were related. The very different concerns and insights of the power theorists and policy impact researchers can be combined in the analysis of the economic development of cities as local communities. The structural importance of ‘growth’ cultures (both among ‘elites’ and ‘non-elites’) underlines the significance of selective mechanisms that favour economic preferences or the interests of business leaders over other interests. This survey concludes by examining in what ways a more sophisticated theoretical and research framework is feasible. An extensive bibliography is included with the article as a reference point for future students of community power.     

A resilience assessment method for urban water systems

Infrastructure planning for Urban Water Systems (UWSs) is challenged by, inter alia, increasing uncertainty in both demand and availability of water and aging infrastructure, and this is already impacting the climate-proofing of cities. In this context, the idea of resilience has been gradually embraced by the water sector, but the term itself is not yet universally defined, nor operationalised. Here, we propose a methodology to assess the resilience of a UWS, defining it as the degree to which the UWS continues to perform under increasing stress. A resilience assessment method is then proposed as a ‘stress-test’ of UWS configurations, under increasingly more stressful scenarios. We then demonstrate a toolbox assembled for the proposed analysis using, as a proof of concept, a semi-synthetic case study. Results are promising, suggesting that the approach could assist in the uptake and evolution of resilience thinking in strategic water infrastructure decision making, leading to water-wiser cities.