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P48


The intrigue of sustainable cities 
Convenors:
Flavio Comim (IQS School of Management)
Des Gasper (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
PB Anand (University of Bradford)
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Location:
JSB (Richmond building)
Start time:
7 September, 2017 at
Time zone: Europe/London
Session slots:
1

Short Abstract:

The aim of this panel is to invite a dialogue between academics and practitioners. We welcome theoretical, conceptual ideas and discussions on city-wide strategies, policies and plans for sustainable cities, measuring and ranking cities using multi-dimensional indicators, and case studies.

Long Abstract:

The aim of this panel is to follow on from the highly successful panels on inclusive cities at the DSA Oxford conference and several workshops being organised by one of us as part of a British academy research project. The literature on sustainable cities is almost thirty years old with early ideas from the WCED (1987) report on interpreting the WCED definition of sustainable development at city scale. The subsequent decade saw various approaches and methods including the now famous idea of ecological footprint pioneered by Wackernagel and Rees (1996). Thinking about sustainable cities has seen a rise and a fall of sorts in popularity and usage until its re-emergence after the SDG 11 and taking of the centre-stage in the HABITAT 3 conference and the New Urban Agenda. However, many important conceptual, philosophical and practical problems remain far from fully examined or answered. The aim of this panel is to invite a dialogue between academics and practitioners. We welcome theoretical, conceptual ideas and models of sustainable cities, discussions on city-wide strategies, policies and plans for sustainable cities, measuring and ranking cities based on multi-dimensional sustainable city indicators, and also case studies of policies and projects of particular dimensions of economic, social and environmental sustainability that may have been either successes or failures. Since we have explored the issues related to smart cities in the Oxford DSA conference, we are keen to promote a discussion on other aspects of cities. Papers on smart cities projects are welcome if their main focus on how sustainability is either achieved or not achieved in smart city models. Economic sustainability issues can link the challenges of economic transformations and productivity in conditions of austerity or fall of commodity prices in particularly commodity-based economies and also on behavioural economic insights within and beyond 'nudges'. Social sustainability issues can focus on problems of super-diversity, ethnicities or other forms of identities, gender and group based collective action possibilities and obstacles; problems of ageing, caring and making cities compassionate. Environmental sustainability issues can relate to the challenges of resource burden, air and water pollution, littering and waste management, climate change and health impacts, etc. We also welcome papers from the angle of built environment, urban form and the role of spatial planning in engendering and facilitating a vibrant and co-operative community of citizens. What are the implications for public goods and public services? What kind of institutions can mediate between diverging interests and yet remain firmly pro-poor and sustainability focused? What is the role of information and creation of epistemic networks in influencing urban agendas in each city? Through this panel we hope to have a dialogue in relation to these questions. Selected papers will be considered for publication in a special issue of Elsevier journal.

Accepted papers:

Session 1