Planning in a Changing Climate - Climate Justice and Climate Neutrality PDF

Planning in a changing climate – Climate justice and climate neutrality Claudia de Luca Contents Urban Planning context Climate justice and social inclusion Urban justice and climate neutral cities Exercise climate neutrality plans Origins of urban planning Urban planning raises for...

Planning in a changing climate – Climate justice and climate neutrality Claudia de Luca Contents Urban Planning context Climate justice and social inclusion Urban justice and climate neutral cities Exercise climate neutrality plans Origins of urban planning Urban planning raises for the encounter of many different disciplines: hygiene, geography, sociology, demography, urban engineering and urban art. Urban planning becomes a specific and autonomous discipline only at the end of 19° century. «Art of building cities», Camillo Sitte, 1889 Tomorrow, di Ebenezer Tony Garnier, 1917. Howard, 1898 Una città industriale A bit of history - Urban Planning Urban planning was born as an attempt to respond to the needs of physical and functional organization, as a result of the great transformations that took place following the industrial revolution. The cities should look at: Physical organization: structure of a given territorial element (roads, buildings, technological networks, cultivated areas,...), Functional organization: a role that territorial objects play in the context in which they are located, characterized by the uses, the relationships between the Friends of Europe parties, the services that are provided, the activities that are carried out there, the social groups that there live. Urban Planning Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, city planning can be described as the art and science of giving order to the use of the land and to its characteristics and the arrangement of buildings and communication routes. Urban planning had to do mainly with space, and did not coincide with economic, social or political planning, "Plan of the City of New although it was admitted that it could York“ 1801 be of great help in achieving the objectives of these other types of planning. (Keeble, 1952, Principles and Practice of Town and Country Planning) Planning according to citizens needs The rationalist model is descended from the theories born in the early 1900s by the Modern Movement to solve the problems of the city, chaotic due to traffic, polluted because of the mixing of dwellings and industries, with excessive building densities that have led to an absence of green. The MM starts from the analysis of human life in the city, identifying 4 essential needs: Habitation Work Leisure Traffic Climate justice – context and definition But first…. Justice? Diversity? Inclusion? Vulnerability? Equity and Equality? Diversity Diversity is any dimension that can be used to differentiate groups and people from one another. Diversity encompasses the range of similarities and differences each individual brings to the society, including but not limited to national origin, language, race, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and family structures. (US Department of housing) Cities are becoming more diverse. This increasing diversity, associated with migration, different lifestyles within and between groups, and spatial segregation in terms of ethnicity and socio-economic variables, leads to diverse and usually unequal opportunities for different groups of urban residents. Diversity Inclusion Inclusivity is commonly defined in terms of the UNDP Human Development Index, which is derived from a three factors: i) economic status, ii) access to and status of education, iii) and access to and status of health. Nevertheless, this doesn’t take into account the critical inequalities that still exist between genders, with women still bearing the brunt of unpaid social care, for example for children and the elderly, or between ethnicities and refugees for example. The factors that can be assessed and discussed in these processes can primarily be summarized in terms of access, but access to what? Access to what? Access to: i) urban services on a formal, stable basis for all citizens is a core tenet of sustainable urbanization ii) access to markets and capital, allowing all citizens of an urban area access to labour markets and income, as well as economic services such as commerce. iii) Access to spaces (public and private) is also important, affording residents of a city regardless of their status access to accommodation on a safe and formal basis. iv) Access to information and knowledge In order to address urban planning decisions to alleviate these inequalities, it is therefore necessary to take a cohesive, holistic approach, accounting for the inequalities within urban areas. These approaches need to take into account the varied circumstances that exist within an urban population, and ensure that planned interventions are suited to the circumstances of those who will be benefitting from them. Vulnerabilities Vulnerable groups and groups at risk of exclusion Vulnerable groups and people at risk of exclusion: European rural areas face different challenges concerning poverty and social inclusion Although most of the times, the two expressions are used as synonyms, in this course we will refer to: i) vulnerability as the impossibility – due to different kind of disadvantages and barriers – of some communities’ members to withstand and counteract specific adversities; ii) at risk of exclusion has to be understood as the phenomenon where certain groups of people within a community feel isolated and are underrepresented/understated. Who are the some vulnerable groups in cities ? 1) Young people suffer more than other age groups from unemployment, loiw participation in decision making processes, obstacles to set up new businesses, 2) Women have always played a key role into urban development. Yet, their role and contribution are still undervalued and understated; 3) Migrants are a particularly vulnerable group at risk of exclusion mostly left out from decision making processes and practices; 4) Elderly people often faces isolation, social exclusion and difficult access to basic services; 5) The lack of specialised support services for people with disabilities can be one of the major barriers to their living independently in urban areas. 6) others? Urban Justice Justice is fundamentally about how societies mend (or exacerbate) social inequities and inequalities that stop some people from flourishing, and the fundamental threads of justice are formed by the different types of inclusions and equalities, or exclusions and inequalities, that might affect the capacity to ensure equity Susan Fainstein (2014) in her search for urban justice investigates the academic work of various theoreticians to identify values for a Just City. She concludes that the three governing principles for urban justice is equity, democracy and diversity. Urban Justice In a sustainable and just city, the economic, political and social choices which created unsustainable and unjust structures are put under the microscope. Sustainable and just city-makers examine the roots of injustice and ecological unsustainability. They actively and openly address the tensions between justice and sustainability. They don’t focus on fixing symptoms. They look at marginalisation and inequality, overconsumption and pollution. They address these challenges through honest and, at times, uncomfortable conversations. They shape their behaviours through the lens of justice and take concrete action, for example on climate adaptation and mitigation. URBANA: https://sustainablejustcities.eu/keys Urban Justice - URBANA From just sites to just system In a nutshell Climate change, climate emergency, and climate justice Climate emergency A climate emergency declaration or climate emergency plan, declaring a state of climate emergency, has been issued since 2016 by certain countries and other jurisdictions to set priorities to mitigate climate change. In declaring a climate emergency, a government admits that global warming exists and that the measures taken up to this point are not enough to limit the changes brought by it. The decision mandates the government and administration to devise measures that try and stop human-caused global warming Climate justice The impacts of climate change will not be borne equally or fairly, between rich and poor, women and men, and older and younger generations. Consequently, there has been a growing focus on climate justice, which looks at the climate crisis through a human rights lens and on the belief that by working together we can create a better future for present and future generations. (UN) Also, climate justice integrates the concept that climate change has been induced by some countries more than others, thus international agreement should be seeking in ensuring a fair treatment of diverse countries in terms of climate mitigation actions, mostly looking at ensuring a fair treatment of developing countries that less contributed to climate change and may be the most impacted Diverse levels of climate justice International level (among countries) Urban level (within the same city) Climate justice The international context International level – who is to blame? International level - Climate change and climate justice International level - Global CO2 emissions by income Climate justice The urban context Urban climate justice Urban climate justice: connecting social justice, climate mitigation and climate adaptation Within the current climate of change (environmental, economic and social) what constitutes ‘justice’ is continually shifting in relation to vulnerable people, places and species. This is most acute in cities, where the majority of people now live. To achieve sustainable urbanisation, cities must build inclusive systems that reduce inequality while enabling pathways to net zero. Urban climate justice Climate change is likely to exacerbate existing social vulnerabilities, and that these effects maybe greatest in marginal areas of cities, where, unless supported to do so by third parties, impoverished people have limited means and capacity to respond to climatic events and adapt to anthropogenic environmental change However, as ‘urban climate justice’ is rising on the agenda of researchers and decision-makers, its interpretation as both distributive (i.e. the allocation of benefits and burdens) and procedural (i.e. how https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZjOtHAWL4Y procedures and practices recognize interests) is still under development Climate neutrality and climate neutral cities What does climate neutral mean? Carbon neutrality means having a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks. Carbon sink is any system that absorbs more carbon than it emits. The main natural carbon sinks are soil, forests and oceans. According to estimates, natural sinks remove between 9.5 and 11 Gt of CO2 per year. Annual global CO2 emissions reached 38.0 Gt in 2019. To date, no artificial carbon sinks are able to remove carbon from the atmosphere on the necessary scale to fight global warming. How to achieve climate neutrality? Climate neutrality pillars Reduce emissions Increase Renewable energy production Increase energy efficiency Afforestation Carbon offset Another way to reduce emissions and to pursue carbon neutrality is to offset emissions made in one sector by reducing them somewhere else. This can be done through investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency or other clean, low-carbon technologies. The EU’s emissions trading system (ETS) is an example of a carbon offsetting system. Another example of an initiative to reduce emissions is the carbon border adjustment mechanism, which would apply carbon prices on imported goods from less climate ambitious countries. This should help discourage companies moving production from the EU to somewhere with less stringent greenhouse gas emissions rules. The Commission should propose this carbon levy in 2021. Carbon-climate neutral cities Being carbon-neutral or achieving net zero emissions means that the net greenhouse gas emissions associated with city systems are zero. Carbon-climate neutral cities 100 climate neutral cities Look for a city that applied for becoming one of the 100 neutral cities Look for its plan to achieve climate neutrality Go trough this publication around definition + IPCC glossary 3  Claudia de Luca Department of Architecture [email protected] www.unibo.it