KEDGE Business School Sociotechnical Transitions and Cities PDF

Session 1. Socio-technical transitions and cities Course: Business and Social Change Prof. Maria Teresa Uribe Jaramillo 1  About our course on Business and social change Social change is the significant and widespread tran...

Session 1. Socio-technical transitions and cities Course: Business and Social Change Prof. Maria Teresa Uribe Jaramillo 1  About our course on Business and social change Social change is the significant and widespread transformation of social and cultural institutions and human interactions over time with a profound effect on society. We will investigate the factors that contribute to social change such as activism, technology, urban population, economy, market, environment, and crisis. Our course will explore how social change may influence businesses and how businesses can contribute to social change. 16/10/2024 2  Prof. Maria Teresa Uribe Jaramillo Professor and PhD candidate at the Centre of Excellence for Sustainability at KEDGE Business School. Master in Southeast Asian Studies from El Colegio de México (Mexico), Political Scientist and International Negotiator from EAFIT (Colombia) and Strasbourg School of Management (France). Professional Experience: At KEDGE as a professor and master thesis supervisor in International Negotiation, IHRM and CSR related issues. At EAFIT University in Colombia as manager of internationalization strategy, professor and research assistant in international business. Advisor to the Colombian’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Consultant for organizations such as the International Development Bank, Korea Foundation and Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Academic interests in the fields of business and society, peacebuilding, CSR, ESG and sustainability. PhD thesis focuses on business for peace in Colombia. Email: [email protected] www.linkedin.com/in/maria-teresa-uribe-jaramillo Session outline Introduction to the course – Syllabus and Learn Assessment and Groups Socio-technical transitions Exercise about barriers to renewable energy transitions (e-mobility case) Cities, smart cities, 15 min cities Time for group work 1 References Course plan Session Topic Reading Student work 1 Socio-technical Geels, F.W. (2002). Technological transitions as Meeting groups transition evolutionary reconfiguration processes: a multi-level perspective and a case-study. 2 Social Anguelovski, I. and Martínez Alier, J. (2014). The Quiz about session 1 movements and ‘Environmentalism of the Poor’ revisited Group 1 - Blood diamonds business Group 2 - Single-use plastics 3 Informal Lazar, S., Sanchez, A. (2019). Understanding labour Quiz about session 2 economy and politics in an age of precarity Group 3 - Gig economy precarity Group 4 – Sharing economy 4 Inequality and McKinsey (2022) What is diversity, equity, and inclusion? Quiz about session 3 business https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey- Group 5 – Trans rights explainers/what-is-diversity-equity-and-inclusion Group 6 - Neurodiversity 5 Group videos Revision of topics, update on final assignment Quiz about session 4 and revision Second Group work presentations videos Course assessment Course assessment Type Weight Individual in-class participation: - 50% quiz Sessions 2,3,4,5 Individual 10% - 50% participation Sessions 1,2,3,4 Group work 1 in-class presentation Group 10% - Case presentations Sessions 2,3,4 Group work 2 Group 30% - Briefnote, sketchnote and video Session 5 Individual report: Individual 50% - Submission online after course until Dec 1st 6 Group work 1 – Case presentations – 10% of course mark 6 groups 6 topics Case presentations – 15 minutes and Q&A Groups are decided by the tutor. Information about the cases on Learn Group work 2 – Briefnote, sketchnote and video - 30% Group work on a selection of topics: Socio-technical transition, Social movements, Informal economy, or Inequality. Students are asked to conduct a small study on a selected topic and undertake primary data collection (in the form of interviews). Students will be asked to develop a benchmarking for select companies, identify best practices, and propose solutions. Students are asked to innovate and present their ideas in the form of a video, a sketchnote and a briefnote following the assesment guidelines, to be submitted on the last day of the course. 6 min Videos will be shown in Session 5. 8 Individual participation -10% Weekly quiz on topics of the previous session. Will be administered at the start of the class in Sessions 2,3,4,5 via Learn. 10 questions per quiz. Overall, 40 questions (5%) Individual participation in class discussions (5%) 9 Individual report – 50% Individual report on a Business-NGO partnership to solve social problems related to: Socio-technical transition, Social movements, Informal economy, or Inequality. The report (10 pages excl. references) should be formally written, formatted according to the recommended guidelines, with in-text citations and a detailed list of academic and other references using Harvard reference style. Deadline for December 1st. 10 Group work Section 1 16/10/2024 11 Group work Section 2 16/10/2024 12 Group work Section 3 16/10/2024 13 Socio-technical transitions System innovations (Geels, 2002) System innovations are large-scale transformation in a way societal functions such as transportation, communication, housing, food are fulfilled. It involves not only technological changes, but also changes in user practices, regulation, industrial networks, infrastructure, and symbolic meaning. System innovation can be understood as a change of one socio-technical system to another. It involves technological substitutions with the emergence of new technology, diffusion of new technology and replacement of old technology by new one. Socio-technical transitions occurs on three interconnected levels Slow-changing developments (e.g. demographics, cultural repertoires, societal concerns, geopolitics, macro-economic trends) External shocks (e.g. wars, financial crises, accidents, oil price shocks) Pioneering activities of entrepreneurs, start-ups, activists, as incubators.  Examples of radical niche-innovations (Geels, 2019) Radically new technologies have a hard time to break through because of: Regulations, Infrastructure, User practices, Maintenance networks are aligned to the existing technology 16/10/2024 17 New socio-technical system If we want to envisage a new socio-technical system, we need to change in all elements of the system: 1) Industrial networks 2) Infrastructure 3) Technology 4) Techno-scientific knowledge 5) Sector policy 6) Markets, user practices, preferences 7) Culture and symbolic meaning Transition to low carbon (Geels, 2017) Effective mitigation of climate change require transitions toward low-carbon electricity, heat, agricultural, transport, and other systems. Involves firms, consumers, and wider range of actors such as civil society groups, the media, local residents, city authorities, political parties, advisory bodies, and government ministries. Not only guided just by cost-benefit calculations, but also by beliefs, conflicting values, competing interests, unequal resources, and complex social relations. Disruptive - threaten economic positions and business models of large powerful industries (oil, cars, electric utilities, agro-food), which are likely to protect their vested interests. Low-carbon food (Geels, 2017) Low-carbon transitions in agriculture and food are also progressing slowly. Agriculture is a very dispersed regime with supermarkets and food processing occupying powerful positions between consumers and farmers. Low-carbon niche innovations exist (e.g., artificial meat, organic food, farmers’ markets) But have limited momentum because of high costs, cultural attachments to existing diets, weak and fragmented policies, and industry reluctance Low carbon transport The petroleum-fueled auto-mobility regime is still deeply entrenched in most Western countries. Some niche innovations are moving from phase 1 (niche) to phase 2 (competing with the dominant regime), particularly hybrid-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and battery-electric vehicles. Europe is the global frontrunner in adopting electric vehicles: The growth trend in the share of electric car registrations continued in 2023, reaching 23%. This includes 15% full electric cars. Only 10 years ago it was at 1%.  Road infrastructures and car regulations are built and maintained by transport authorities. Cultural and symbolic meaning of cars are produced between users, media and societal groups. Industry structure are outcomes of car manufacturers and their suppliers. In groups – analyse whether we have enough elements for the transition towards e-mobility If we want to envisage a new socio-technical system for cars with renewable energy we need to change in all elements of the system: 1) Industrial networks 2) Infrastructure 3) Technology 4) Techno-scientific knowledge 5) Sector policy 6) Markets, user practices, preferences 7) Culture and symbolic meaning What elements are not well-developed for e-mobility? How to promote e-mobility? Group discussion outcomes If we want to envisage a new socio-technical system for cars with renewable energy we need to change in all elements of the system: 1) Industrial networks: Supply chain, supplier development 2) Infrastructure: Charging stations, road – inclinations 3) Technology: Battery life, size and weight of battery, fast charging, sources of energy 4) Techno-scientific knowledge: Investment in developing e-cars science and innovation, end of life of batteries, socio-environmental impacts associated with the production of batteries 5) Sector policy: low emission zones (in cities), getting rid of petroleum cars, obsolescence of e-cars – prolong their life 6) Markets, user practices, preferences: End of life of cars, recycling, long-term rental 7) Culture and symbolic meaning: In Europe is getting more accepted, in urban areas, consumer identity and diesel trucks. What elements are not well-developed for e-mobility? Charging in rural areas, tech issues – end of life, batteries. What should be improved to promote e-mobility? Better policies, cultural change, affordable prices. Cities 25 Why should we pay attention to urbanization? Urbanization is inevitable, planning for urban growth is critical. The future of cities is not uniform across regions and can lead to a range of scenarios. Most expansion of city land area will occur in low- income countries—need for effective planning. Tackling urban poverty and inequality are urgent global priorities. People in urban areas In developing regions, 52 per cent of the population currently reside in urban areas. This figure is expected to grow to 57 per cent in 2030 and to 66 per cent in 2050. Developing countries have the fastest rate of urbanization. In Latin America and Caribbean, megacities alone account for 17 per cent of the region’s urban population and attract most of the foreign investment. Africa is the least urbanized, but most rapidly urbanizing, where 44 per cent of the population resides in urban areas. Asia Pacific has 51 per cent of its population living in urban areas and accounts for 54 per cent of the world’s urban population. The process of urbanization in Asia is driven mainly by rural-urban migration. People in cities Source: UNPFA (2011) State of World Population 2011, p. 83. Available from: http://foweb.unfpa.org/SWP2011/reports/EN-SWOP2011-FINAL.pdf [accessed 10/10/2012]. Environmental problems in cities of Global South Environmental health risks biological pathogens in food, water and soil Shortage of natural resources lack fresh water and safe land for housing Environmental pollution and stress on local and regional environment air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution and waste disposal Exposure to climate change risks natural hazards such as flooding, land slides, rising sea levels Challenges of Climate change in the Global South Impacts of climate change: Problems of cities in Global South: Water shortages Water and sanitation Flooding Waste disposal Extreme weather events Industrial and air pollution Land subsidence Land and housing Declining crop yields Food security Rising sea levels Inadequate infrastructure Loss of marine and other ecological resources Dependence on marine resources Need for changes in the climate change agenda Mitigation: reduce emissions, low carbon development Adaptation: Agriculture, forestry and fisheries, water supply, human health, coastal zones, infrastructure, ecosystems Adaptation policies Water Water shortage and conservation techniques; incentives for water conservation; water supply/water reuse; water recycling; desalination; increase water use efficiency; public education; hazard flood risk map; public participation flood adaptation and mitigation programmes; greater investment in water supply systems. Infrastructure Cleaning drainage system; re-designing structures; relocation; land acquisition and creation of wetlands and buffer zones against sea level rise and flooding; protection of existing natural barriers; maintaining defensible space around each building/neighbourhood. Human health Access to public ‘cooling centres’, improved climate sensitive disease surveillance and control; access to safe water and improved sanitation; greater in governmental coordination and cross-boundary coordination. Urban Environmentally friendly transport system; energy efficient cars; car pooling; efficient transport public transportation system; new design standards and planning for urban roads, rail, etc; to cope with warming and drainage; emphasis on renewable energy. Energy Increasing energy efficiency; emphasis on renewable resources. Source: UN Habitat (2008) State of the World's Cities 2008/9: Harmonious Cities Integration of sustainability objectives Social Economic Environmental Objectives objectives objectives objectives Policies Development and Planning Policy Geographical scale Cities in Global South Land/ Transport Waste Water and Energy Sectors Housing disposal sanitation Projects Recycling and waste Sustainable housing Energy efficient disposal public transport Adapted from Adams, William, 2009, Green development (variation of approach of International Union on Conservation of Nature, 1980).  Environmental sustainability goals Priority areas Waste Energy Water Air Soil Sustainable innovation Sustainable Sustainable Sustainable communities consumption production Environmental management Sustainable Key areas of Key areas of behaviour consumption production CSR Home Resource use Sustainable Sustainable mobility Travel Pollution control supply chains Food and drink Accidents / risks Sustainable Cleaner food Consumer goods Health and safety production Leisure End of life Ecological Industrial footprint ecology Barriers and opportunities for sustainability in cities in Global South Barriers and opportunities for integration of environmental sustainability in policies of cities in Global South Barriers Physical and Vulnerability Institutional Social and Knowledge/ infrastructure and poverty and political cultural perception Opportunities Sector Community Leadership Improved partnerships participation governance Innovation Knowledge International transfer relations Strategies for environmental sustainability in global South State Civil society Business Improvement of Strengthening Accountability, environmental capacity and liability and policy participation transparency New groups randomly assigned Section 3 16/10/2024 35 Smart city What is a smart city? City that applies technology and connectivity to improve functions such as water supply, transportation, safety, power supply, e-government. Data and information shared for effective city functioning, using internet of things, data analytics, AI, robotics. Parking, lighting, smart meters – adapt to real life data about use and availability. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRRPy-yEKRM What are the dangers of smart cities? Extra surveillance State control Example of smart cities in China: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXO-D5sbRdA Smart city concept Silva et al (2018) describe four characteristics of the smart city. Institutional infrastructure, Physical infrastructure, Social infrastructure, Economic infrastructure are considered as the four pillars/themes of a smart city How can businesses contribute to smart cities? Discussion: How can businesses contribute to smart cities? Data analytics Green transport Renewable energy Sustainable products and services Wellbeing Health Safety Waste management Digitalisation Energy use Access to water Improve transport Self-driving cars – avoid traffic jams Housing materials – reduce energy consumption Urban gardens and greening Social link and accessibility – creating space where communities can gather, innovate, think together – collaborative spaces What is a 15-minute city? https://youtu.be/McGyONofhi4 Paris-based urban planner Carlos Moreno discussed it during the UN climate conference COP21 in 2015, following years of research on optimising city living. He received an Obel Award for this idea in 2021. https://youtu.be/XSnG7kvBwaU In the radius of a 15-minute walk or bike ride, the Panthéon-Sorbonne professor says, “people should be able to live the essence of what constitutes the urban experience: to access work, housing, food, health, education, culture and leisure.” “15-minute city” concept—which implies having all necessary amenities within a short walk, bike ride, or public transit trip from one’s home. As well as the convenience, safety and social arguments, there are clear environmental benefits to cutting down on car journeys including reducing air pollution and creating more room for nature. Advantages: a boost to the local economy, a more equitable, inclusive city and stronger sense of community, better health and wellbeing, lower transport emissions and better air quality.  Cases of 15-minute cities Houston, Texas Paris Shanghai, Guangzhou Chengdu Melbourne Ottawa https://www.c40knowledgehub.org/s/article/Why-every-city- can-benefit-from-a-15-minute-city-vision?language=en_US Source: Victoria State Government References Geels, F.W. (2002) Technological transitions as evolutionary reconfiguration processes: a multi-level perspective and a case-study, Research Policy, Vol. 31, pp.1257–1274. Geels et al., (2017) The Socio-Technical Dynamics of Low-Carbon Transitions, Joule Available online https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.joule.2017.09.018 Silva, B.N., Khan, M., Han, K. (2018). Towards sustainable smart cities: A review of trends, architectures, components, and open challenges in smart cities. Sustainable Cities and Society, 38, 697-713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.01.053 UN Habitat (2002). World Cities Report 2022 : Envisaging the Future of Cities. United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) : Nairobi, Kenya. https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022/06/wcr_2022.pdf UN-Habitat (2009) Global Report on Human Settlements 2009: Planning Sustainable Cities [Online]. Available from: http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=2831 [accessed 9/10/2012]. UN-Habitat (2010) Climate Change Strategy 201-2013 [Online]. Available from: http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=2861 [accessed 9/10/2012]. UN-Habitat (2011) Global Report on Human Settlements 2011: Climate Change and Cities [Online]. Available from: http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=3086 [accessed 9/10/2012].  Group work 1 Prepare your case presentations 10% of course mark 44 Next class Quiz on topic of Session 1 on Socio-technical transitions. Student presentations case 1 Blood diamonds and case 2 Plastic waste. Session 2 Topic – Social movements. Time for group work 2 Any Questions? 46