Diversity and connections in community gardens: a contribution to local sustainability

Sustainability requires the integration of social, environmental and economic concerns in international, national and local policy-making. One of the most powerful forces for sustainable development in practice was the Earth Summit of 1992, with its Agenda 21 and Local Agenda 21 (LA21). This latter agenda—the set of policies that aims to create the means to facilitate local sustainability—is particularly important for communities. Community development programmes that also include aspects of sustainable development would seem to embody the spirit of LA21. There are many such diverse schemes and what has emerged is a range of local initiatives that demonstrate parts of the sustainability concept but not a clear picture of sustainable development which covers all of its aspects.

In order to examine this proposition further, an analysis of the community garden movement in the UK was carried out. Community gardens are open spaces managed and operated by members of the local community for a variety of purposes. In the UK many of these are to be found in inner city areas such as in Bradford, Leeds, Bristol and Sandwell. Their growth is marked by their own association—the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens. The gardens have a variety of purposes: in conjunction with vegetation growing (either as landscape or for consumption), some schemes are experimental permaculture plots, others use organic methods and yet others are concerned with health, education and training issues. All appear to be based in a sense of community, with participation and involvement being particularly strong features.

This sense of community participation and empowerment is what links examples of community gardening. The research reported here collates information gathered from the respondents of a questionnaire and from in-depth interviews, and draws out some of the similarities and themes that community gardens exhibit. From the results, it is suggested that the community garden movement could act as a model for the implementation of social, economic and environmental policies at the local level.     

Sustainable urban planning and the brownfield development process in the United Kingdom: Lessons from the Thames Gateway

Over recent decades urban and regional development agendas in the United Kingdom have become dominated by the discourses of sustainable development, holistic regeneration and community capacity-building. It is in this context that brownfield development has emerged as a core feature in strategies to regenerate urban areas. Bringing brownfields back into use tends to be, a priori, presented as a 'good thing' that will have broader economic, environmental and social benefits. This paper assesses the role that brownfield development plays in urban and regional policy agendas in the UK. It begins by identifying the rationales for, and concerns associated with, the brownfield development process in the UK, before discussing the trajectories of policy under the New Labour government since 1997. It argues that at present too much is expected from brownfield-led regeneration programmes and that wider benefits will only accrue if these programmes are embedded within a wider and more comprehensive set of development projects and policy agendas.     

From environment to sustainability: Surveys and analysis of local agenda 21 process development in UK local authorities

Agenda 21 has come to be the most significant outcome of the Rio Summit for local government in the UK and Local Agenda 21 is emerging as the main driver for the development of local policies and programmes for sustainable development. In general, the work is being undertaken by those charged with the development of environmental policy in local authorities. Sustainability is seen as a natural extension of environmental policy work, and survey results presented confirm a gradual emergence of LA21 work from an environmental focus to a strategic approach to issues of environment, economic development, social welfare and accessibility. The level of awareness of LA21 and commitment to it in general terms appear high, but survey results suggest that the full implications of the agenda, particularly those relating to new approaches to partnership, participation and democracy, have not yet been addressed by all authorities. The author suggests that problems of corporatisation of LA21 and its relationship with traditional democratic structures remain to be tackled. The potential for the consensual approach in tackling issues of 'hard sustainability' is also discussed.     

SME environmental attitudes and participation in local‐scale voluntary initiatives: some practical applications

This paper briefly assesses the economic efficiency case for voluntary initiatives (VIs), discusses some limitations of this type of policy instrument and goes on to consider the role that local‐scale voluntary initiatives might play in assisting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to embrace the issue of environmental performance improvement. The paper examines SME organizational management in relation to the likely effectiveness of their participation in voluntary environment programmes. An environmental attitudes survey carried out with 62 SMEs in East Anglia found that willingness to become involved in such initiatives does exist, but that a better presentation of opportunities for prospective small firms, together with a more tailored approach, will be necessary if VIs for SMEs are to become a more extensive feature of environmental policy making in the UK.     

Competition,Sustainability and Packaging Policy in the UK

This paper examines the use of economic instruments in the implementation of environmental policy, based upon a recent study into the European Union Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC). It explores the introduction of competitionbased models in the UK implementation of the Directive, and assesses their ability to achieve positive environmentaloutcomes in a cost-efficient manner. Several problems for the competition model are discussed, particularly the fear of profiteering within marketbased systems by some economic operators; the behaviour of economic operators towards non-profitable market segments; the ability of free-market models to engender public participation in recycling programmes; and the failure of private sector solutions to consider the full environmental costs of packaging. Neo-liberalist competitive models do not address such problems convincingly, and therefore continued government intervention is required if the UK is to meet its targets under the EU Directive. Whilst economic instruments and competition provide avenues for a more effective environmental policy, there is a continuing need for government regulation rather than unquestioning faith in the benefits of the free market.     

Problems encountered when linking environmental management to development aid

Summary Environmental management is defined as a mechanism for alleviating the worst of environmental damage and reducing the most unacceptable aspects of social inequalities but without really altering the patterns of political and economic power. It is now increasingly regarded as accepted practice in development partly because it is economically and socially counterproductive to ignore it. The purpose of the paper is to illustrate the difficulties involved in incorporating environmental management into economic growth with special reference to development assistance. Much environmental damage in the Third World is a product of the forces of development rather than the fault of the people, and in the past development assistance projects have often inadvertently led to environmental destruction and social distress. Case examples are given. The paper argues that among the many impediments to the full incorporation of environmental management into development are the following: the administrative structure of the agencies involved, suspicions in the past of receiving nation governments and the risky nature, and expensive labour intensity of programmes aimed at integrated rural development and appropriate technology. Some recommendations are advanced involving administrative reorganisation, new training skills and diplomacy, although no major breakthroughs are expected to come quickly.Geography graduate from the University of Edinburgh, Harkness Fellowship and Carnegie Scholarship to study at Cambridge (UK) and Cornell (USA). University appointments in Canada and UK. Authority in the field of Resource Management. Author of Progress in Resource Management and Environmental Planning.     

The Employment and Productivity Effects of Environmental Taxation: Additional Dividends or Added Distractions?

Claims of employment and productivity gains from environmental taxation are examined in the context of recent policy developments which have extended the traditional role of economic instruments in environmental regulation. Although the general existence of such spin-offs cannot be established, the debate has clarified guidelines for designing and implementing specific environmentally based taxes to help deliver sustainable development. Recent UK tax proposals have started to draw on the flexibility of fiscal instruments to tackle environmental problems. Innovations include earmarking taxes to fund allied spatial and sectoral programmes, recycling revenues to provide fiscally neutral improvements in tax efficiency and using taxation to help promote eco-efficiency.     

Changing governance structures and the environment: economy–environment relations at the local and regional scales

Two substantive bodies of research have developed in recent years, both of which have a focus upon local and regional scales. First, there has been the development of work on changing forms of local and regional governance. This has drawn on a range of theoretical perspectives, including notions of institutional capacity, urban regime theory and neo-regulationalist accounts. Second, a body of research has developed into environmental policy and sustainable development, but this has largely been normative and undertheorized. While these two bodies of literature have developed separately, we believe there is merit in bringing the insights from each together. A focus on local environmental policy helps to broaden our understanding of local governance and problems of after-Fordist regulation. Such a project also helps to illuminate problems in implementing policy on the environment and sustainability. The examination of changing local and regional forms of governance allows us to identify new state spaces, which may provide opportunities for the strategic insertion of environmental objectives into economic development policies. This paper seeks to theorize such environment–economy relations and emerging multi-scalar forms of environmental governance, drawing upon case study research work in six UK local authority areas. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Local authorities and climate protection in the European union: Putting subsidiarity into practice?

Although intrinsically a global environmental concern, the climate change issue has a number of implications for local authorities. Within the European Union (EU), the remit of local authorities in—-for abatement policies—the crucial areas of energy and transport policy varies considerably, as does their commitment to environmental action more generally. This paper examines the role of local authorities in climate protection within a framework of global, EU and national action, through examples of local strategies from Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The paper finds positive instances of action in all countries, but points to unsympathetic policy frameworks both at national and EU level, such as budget constraints imposed on local authorities, the pursuit of low energy prices combined with a resistance to impose carbon taxes, a lack of energy efficiency standards and insufficient support for public transport.     

Social sustainability and the art of engagement—the small towns: big picture experience

Governments everywhere are recognising environmental sustainability as a major driver of technological and economic development—with innovative direction being found at the interface of our efforts to become more socially and environmentally sustainable. Rural communities, faced with the pressures of unprecedented change, have an opportunity to embrace the principles of sustainable development, to create a new future at the leading edge of global change—but they need help. They need both knowledge and skills to enable them to self-evaluate and strategically plan, and they need a highly motivated, creative, and coherent community to carry it through. Small Towns: Big Picture is a community development process designed to foster creative, energetic, and collaborative action by five small rural communities in central Victoria—focusing on the development of social, environmental, and economic sustainability indicators. The project bought together artists, researchers and local communities to produce a coherent and shared understanding of the sustainability issues and opportunities. This paper presents Small Towns: Big Picture, focusing specifically on the social dimension and the development of a Community Cohesion indicator through an arts-led community engagement process.     

Local Environmental Investments and Sustainable Development: The evaluation of environmental projects in Scotland supported by the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund

In the UK for the period 1994-99, a broad range of environmental projects were given financial support through the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund under the Objective 1 and Objective 5b programmes. This paper is concerned with the ex-post evaluation of these projects set within a Sustainable Development framework. The aim was to identify project types or characteristics that offered the greatest return on investment. A classification of six broad project types was adopted. The evaluation revealed that there were significant differences between individual projects with respect to the type and scale, and temporal and social distribution of the benefits they delivered. In particular, as well as delivering environmental and economic benefits, many projects made a significant contribution to the development of human and social capital. The paper concludes that it is possible to improve the basis for future project selection in order to maximise the returns on environmental investments in the context of sustainable development.     

Environmental Monitoring in Urban Areas: Political Contexts and Policy Problems

Environmental monitoring activities are examined from a perspective which focuses on the political, economic and social factors which shape what we know and do not know about local environments. A UK urban case study is used to examine the range of influences that can operate on local level monitoring and comparisons are then made with the situation in three other European cities. Conclusions are drawn which debate the appropriate balance between local discretion and national and international direction in the collection of environmental information. It is argued that scrutiny of and revisions to the quality of current environmental monitoring in the UK and wider debate over questions of purpose, scope and resource commitment are needed.     

Local Environmental Investments and Sustainable Development: the evaluation of environmental projects in Scotland supported by the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund

In the UK for the period 1994-99, a broad range of environmental projects were given financial support through the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund under the Objective 1 and Objective 5b programmes. This paper is concerned with the ex-post evaluation of these projects set within a Sustainable Development framework. The aim was to identify project types or characteristics that offered the greatest return on investment. A classification of six broad project types was adopted. The evaluation revealed that there were significant differences between individual projects with respect to the type and scale, and temporal and social distribution of the benefits they delivered. In particular, as well as delivering environmental and economic benefits, many projects made a significant contribution to the development of human and social capital. The paper concludes that it is possible to improve the basis for future project selection in order to maximise the returns on environmental investments in the context of sustainable development.     

Local authorities and sustainable development: Turning policies into practical action through performance review—a case study of the London borough of hackney

Local authorities are increasingly undertaking policy initiatives which aim to achieve local sustainability. Indeed, the rapid development in this area since its first tentative steps in the late 1980s is very impressive. However, it is legitimate to question whether any real progress has been made in improving local environmental conditions. This is almost impossible to determine as very few have translated policy rhetoric into measurable environmental achievement. Although the development of sustainability indicators will, in the long term, provide some means of measuring success, few authorities have the necessary precursor for its achievement in place: performance-based environmental programmes. This important stage of development has been all but missed in the rush for national and international credibility, often at the expense of local communities and their environment rather than for their benefit. This paper examines the activities of one local authority, the London Borough of Hackney, and its efforts to translate policy principals into practical Action for the Environment through the mechanism of performance review. It is concluded that performance review has a valuable role to play in achieving environmental improvements to help move society towards sustainability but, like any mechanism, there are limitations in its use which need to be acknowledged if it is to be used effectively. These are explored in detail in the paper in the hope that they assist others when developing similar performance-based environmental programmes.     

Industrial pollution and social deprivation: Evidence and complexity in evaluating and responding to environmental inequality

The local impacts of industrial pollution can take many forms and—whilst uncertain in their scale, severity and distribution—are widely recognised. The question of who in society potentially experiences these impacts through living near to emission sources has been little explored, at least in the UK. This paper reports on a study carried out for the Environment Agency, which examined the distribution of sites coming within the Industrial Pollution Control (IPC) regime against patterns of deprivation. Our analysis provides evidence of a socially unequal distribution of IPC sites in England, with sites disproportionately located and clustered together in deprived areas and near to deprived populations. In discussing these results we emphasise the methodological limitations of this form of environmental justice analysis and the crucial differences between proximity, risk and impact. We also consider the distinction between inequality and injustice and the difficult policy questions which arise when evaluating evidence of environmental inequality, including potential grounds for policy intervention.     

The Use of Local Sustainability Indicators: case studies in two Swedish municipalities1

This article contributes to the debate on the role of local sustainability indicators in ongoing democratisation efforts. We examine the extent to which five different systems of local sustainability indicators within two Swedish municipalities—Stockholm and Sundsvall—are either expert or citizen oriented, and relate these findings to the indicator systems' profile, function and political/ administrative context. Even though three of the indicator systems can be classified as citizen oriented, there are few signs of true engagement and dialogue with the citizens over a longer period of time. The remaining two indicator systems are expert oriented with an environmental focus. Hence, we conclude that the systems in use are largely symbolic responses to the demands for democracy within the agenda for sustainable development albeit attempts to include environmental, economic, social and democratic perspectives of sustainability. Despite the fact that Stockholm and Sundsvall show differences in governing styles in their approaches to sustainability indicators it seems difficult for both municipalities to put sustainable development into practice in terms of citizen participation.     

Fair fracking? Ethics and environmental justice in United Kingdom shale gas policy and planning

The exploitation of shale gas resources is a significant issue of environmental justice. Uneven distributions of risks and social impacts to local site communities must be balanced against the economic benefits to gas users and developers; and unequal decision-making powers must be negotiated between local and central governments, communities and fracking site developers. These distributive and procedural elements are addressed in relation to UK policy, planning, regulatory and industry development. I adopt an explicitly normative framework of policy evaluation, addressing a research gap on the ethics of shale gas by operationalising Shrader-Frechette’s Principle of Prima Facie Political Equality. I conclude that UK fracking policy reveals inherent contradictions of environmental justice in relation to the Conservative Government’s localist and planning reform agendas. Early fracking policy protected communities from harm in the wake of seismic risk events, but these were quickly replaced with pro-industry economic stimulation and planning legislation that curtailed community empowerment in fracking decision-making, increased environmental risks to communities, transferred powers from local to central government and created the conditions of distributive injustices in the management of community benefit provisions. I argue that only by “re-localising” the scale of fracking governance can political equality be ensured and the distributive and procedural environmental injustices be ameliorated.     

Changing places,changing emissions: The cross‐scale reliability of greenhouse gas emission inventories in the US

Abstract

Local authorities are increasingly faced with demands and pressures to become much more responsive to environmental issues. International agreements and national legislation all put an emphasis on the local level as the most appropriate scale for action and on local authorities as the most appropriate bodies to take such action. One area of local authority competence where environmental issues have made a limited impact to date is in economic development. Yet the concept of sustainable development which forms the basis of national and European legislation and policy necessitates the integration of economic development with the environment. In this paper the main features of European policy with regard to the environment are outlined and the implications for European funding of local authority economic development strategies are examined.     

UK electricity requirements and the environmental and economic aspects of the development of the combined cycle power station

In the space of three to four years, gas has changed from being a premium fuel, not to be utilized in power stations, to virtually the only fuel being considered for future electricity generation in the UK. This paper reviews the growth in the use of gas for electricity generation within the UK, with particular regard to the adoption of the gas-fired combined cycle power station. The environmental, economic and strategic issues associated with the proposed development of approximately 27 GW of new gas-fired plant are analysed and the resulting effects on existing base load power plant within the UK are considered.Dr James W.S. Longhurst is Director of the Atmospheric Research and Information Centre, ARIC, at Manchester Metropolitan University He is an environmental scientist who has specialized in the air quality impacts of transport and energy. He holds a BSc, MSc and PhD in Environmental Science from, Plymouth Polytechnic, Aston University and Birmingham University, respectively. He has written numerous papers, consultancy reports, books and technical reports since 1986.Jane Bantock joined ARIC in 1992 with a degree in Environmental Studies from Manchester Polytechnic. She jointly manages ARIC's information and education programmes. Her research interests include the inter-relationship of UK energy policy and emission control in the electricity generating sector, the subject of her part time PhD, and urban air quality issues.     

Urban policy and environmental regeneration in two Scottish peripheral housing estates

Summary In the UK, particularly post-Second World War, urban renewal and decongestion programmes created peripheral housing estates. From the beginning these estates were not endowed with any sustaining social and economic life. Moreover, most of the residents were in the lower percentile of the urban poor, as well as being disadvantaged from a multiple perspective. Over the years, these estates have deteriorated socially, environmentally and economically. A number of limited efforts made in the past to improve the general well-being of the residents have not achieved appreciable success.In recent times, it has been recognised that only by a comprehensive approach can the peripheral estates be regenerated (or generated?). The New Life for Urban Scotland programme is aimed at doing this. This paper attempts to evaluate the impact of the programme of environmental improvement in Castlemilk and Ferguslie Park, both peripheral housing estates on the outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. The impact areas studied are: land-use pattern and environmental quality; retail and shopping facility development; leisure and recreation; roads, streetscape and local transport services; environmental improvement expenditure. Some possible improvements in the programme are proposed for the future.Dr Sam C. Ofori undertook this study as part of a Master's Thesis with the School of Planning at the University of Central England.