Socio-environmental conflict in the construction of a power plant in Spain's Basque Country: strategies,expertise and certifications

Social and anthropological studies show a growing number of conflicts surrounding energy projects, as governments and companies insist on their implementation despite the concerns of local actors about their perceived socio-environmental risks. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the politicisation of expertise and certifications in a conflict over the construction of a combined cycle power plant by linking strategic assumptions from two particular sociological approaches. The first approach is based on the study of frame alignment in social movement organisations and the second on the translating interests in actor–network theory. These linked premises are examined in the conflict arising from the construction of a combined cycle natural gas plant in Boroa, in the Basque Country of Spain. This case study brings to light interesting findings on the strategies of the different agencies, certifications, politicisation of expertise and the increasing hostility in local conflicts.     

Urban sharing in smart cities: the cases of Berlin and London

ABSTRACT

Addressing urban sustainability challenges requires changes in the way systems of provision and services are designed, organised and delivered. In this context, two promising phenomena have gained interest from the academia, the public sector and the media: “smart cities” and “urban sharing”. Smart cities rely on the extensive use of information and communications technology (ICT) to increase efficiencies in urban areas, while urban sharing builds on the collaborative use of idling resources enabled by ICT in densely populated cities. The concepts have many similar features and share common goals, yet cities with smart city agendas often fail to take a stance on urban sharing. Thus, its potentials are going largely unnoticed by local governments. This article addresses this issue by exploring cases of London and Berlin – two ICT-dense cities with clearly articulated smart city agendas and an abundance of sharing platforms. Drawing on urban governance literature, we develop a conceptual framework that specifies the roles that cities assume when governing urban sharing: city as regulator, city as provider, city as enabler and city as consumer. We find that both cities indirectly support urban sharing through smart agenda programmes, which aim to facilitate ICT-enabled technical innovation and emergence of start-ups. However, programmes, strategies, support schemes and regulations aimed directly at urban sharing initiatives are few. We also find that Berlin is sceptical towards urban sharing organisations, while London took more of a collaborative approach. Implications for policy-makers are discussed in the end.     

A green garden on red clay: creating a new urban common as a form of political gardening in Cologne,Germany

In March 2012, a brownfield site in Cologne was transformed into “a green garden on red clay”, when a community garden called NeuLand (new land) was created. This paper investigates in how far NeuLand is typical for a new form of political engagement 2.0, focused on local problems at people's doorstep rather than global critiques of political systems, which finds its expression in direct actions typical for the networked society, e.g. “green flash mobs.” Its potential to provide a blueprint for imagining and enacting alternative futures and new ways for citizens to claim their “right to the city” is being assessed. NeuLand provides an experiment with new forms of (urban) commons and possibly a (re)turn to the “liveable city” to replace the current neoliberal ideal of the “entrepreneurial city” [Harvey, D., 1989. From manageralism to entrepreneuralism: the transformation of urban governance in late capitalism. Geografiska Annaler, Series B, Human Geography, 71 (1), 3–17], developing new solutions to problems of urban management and city development that extend beyond the voluntary engagement of citizens within the logic of the neoliberal “big society.” Extending the scope beyond the analysis of urban gardening projects as examples of sustainable food production, or as vehicles for fostering community cohesion, integration or social capital, the NeuLand experiment is linked to wider debates of alternative and more sustainable socio-ecological futures than those currently practised in the newly “neoliberalizing cities” of Germany.     

Greener growing: assessing the influence of gardening practices on the ecological viability of community gardens in South East Queensland,Australia

While claims about the environmental benefits of community gardens abound, few researchers have systematically assessed the ecological integrity of gardening practices. This study investigated gardening practices in 50 community gardens in Brisbane and Gold Coast cities, Australia. The study aimed to better understand how gardening practices might affect the ecological viability of community gardens. Factors investigated included: garden bio-physical characteristics, operators’ motivations, gardeners’ socio-demographic backgrounds, garden facilities and types of plants grown. Two broad types of gardens were identified: permaculture (21 gardens) and non-permaculture (29 gardens). Permaculture gardens used lower-impact gardening practices. Findings have policy implications for environmental planning and management.     

(Relative) autonomism,policy currents and the politics of mobilisation for food sovereignty in the United States: the case of Occupy the Farm*

Food sovereignty movements (FSMs) globally have sought to rearrange relations between land, power, state actions and societal forces outside the state, towards a new ideal of democratised, egalitarian and ecological food systems. The question of how best to reach this ideal has vexed movements and scholars alike, with many anti-capitalist theorists proposing that because of the historical dedication of states to maintaining unequal and unsustainable capitalist relations, change must be pursued outside and against the state rather than through it (i.e. through “autonomism”). Yet, analysis of FSMs globally shows that autonomism is relative, partial and best seen as an aspirational ideal rather than a fixed dogma. This paper deepens this insight by analysing a case within the United States where a local direct action group promoted food sovereignty by illegally occupying public land. The case shows how even apparently autonomist movements can through influence on state and societal actors contribute to state-based “policy currents” that flow in the direction of food sovereignty. This mutual codetermination by actors in and out of state institutions of the possibility and shape of “policy currents” renders state–society relations as important, even to those interested in (relative) autonomism. This paper thus leaves behind dichotomous interpretations of (and recommendations for) FSMs vis-à-vis autonomism, in order to unpack the influence (in thought) and impact (in action) of autonomist tendencies in food sovereignty construction.