The literature on equity and justice in climate change mitigation has largely focused on North–So... more The literature on equity and justice in climate change mitigation has largely focused on North–South relations and equity between states. However, some initiatives (e.g. the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation programme (REDD), and voluntary carbon markets (VCMs)) are already establishing multi-level governance structures that involve communities from developing countries in global mitigation efforts. This poses new equity and justice dilemmas: how the burdens and benefits of mitigation are shared across various levels and how host communities are positioned in multi-level governance structures. A review of the existing literature is used to distill a framework for distinguishing between four axes of climate justice from the perspective of communities. Empirical evidence from African and Asian carbon market projects is used to assess the distributive and procedural justice implications for host communities. The evidence suggests that host communities often benefit little from carbon market projects and find it difficult to protect their interests. Capacity building, attention to local power relations, supervision of business practices, promotion of projects with primarily development aims and an active involvement of non-state actors as bridges between local communities and the national/international levels could potentially contribute towards addressing some of the key justice concerns.Policy relevanceInternational negotiations on the institutional frameworks that are envisaged to govern carbon markets are proceeding at a rather slow pace. As a consequence, host countries and private-sector actors are making their own arrangements to safeguard the interests of local communities. While several standards have emerged to guide carbon market activity on the ground, distributive as well as procedural justice concerns nevertheless remain salient. Four empirical case studies across Asia and Africa show that within the multi-scale and multi-actor carbon market governance, local-level actors often lack sufficient agency to advance their claims and protect their interests. This evidence suggests that ameliorating policy reforms are needed to enhance the positioning of local communities. Doing so is important to ensure future acceptability of carbon market activity in potential host communities as well as for ensuring their broader legitimacy.
This paper presents two solar lantern projects in rural Rajasthan, India, and examines success an... more This paper presents two solar lantern projects in rural Rajasthan, India, and examines success and limitations of entrepreneurialising development model in providing energy services in rural communities. Training local villagers to become entrepreneurs could provide job opportunities, improve livelihoods by clean energy and create a sense of project ownership. Without adequate support from donors and NGOs, any serious technical break-down of solar lanterns would undermine the incomes of entrepreneurs, and that would affect continuity of services. This paper promotes a genuine bottom-up approach in energy service provision, by getting entrepreneurs and villagers involved at the beginning of projects.
Stakeholder engagement in construction projects can be conceptualized in different ways. It can b... more Stakeholder engagement in construction projects can be conceptualized in different ways. It can be seen from a strategic management perspective aimed at capturing knowledge, increasing ownership of the project by users, reducing conflict, encouraging innovation and facilitating spin‐off partnerships. From an ethical perspective, meaningful stakeholder engagement can be seen to enhance inclusive decision making, promote equity, enhance local decision making and build social capital. The benefits from both of these perspectives are vital for sustainability; however, stakeholder engagement can also be seen from the perspective of an opportunity for social learning—a social process where diverse stakeholders share a common forum, learn about each other's values, reflect upon their own values and create a shared vision and shared objectives. Dialogue is also useful in increasing awareness, changing attitudes and affecting behaviours. Existing practices view stakeholder engagement: mostly from a management perspective; sometimes from an ethical perspective; less often as a combination of the two; and rarely have any element of the social learning perspective. There is a need for an approach that combines all the three perspectives if sustainability is to be pursued. A dialogue‐oriented approach to integrated sustainability assessment could provide an ideal means to do so.
The increased importance of the concept of sustainable development combined with the need for an ... more The increased importance of the concept of sustainable development combined with the need for an evidence-based approach to policy development, has created the need for reliable models and tools to guide decision-makers by robust measures of system performance that can assess the impact of policy and practice upon urban sustainability. In recognition of this need, a consortium comprising three UK academic institutions and three lead industrial partners, under the auspices of the Sustainable Urban Environments -Metrics, Models and Toolkits (sue-MoT) project, undertook an extensive scoping study, that assessed the current state of the art in urban sustainability assessment, with a view to: identifying gaps and needs in currently available assessment tools; and identifying consequent priorities for tool development. This paper reports on the methodology used in the study and the gaps, needs and priorities subsequently identified in current work and knowledge specifically within the specific area of urban social sustainability.
In contrast to well established techniques such as Environmental Impact Assessment and Whole Life... more In contrast to well established techniques such as Environmental Impact Assessment and Whole Life Costing which have limited focus, Sustainability Assessment has multiple dimensions and often requires the incorporation of several intangible concerns, for example environmental justice and social capital. The complex social and political dimensions of decision-making for sustainability imply that traditional methods of participation and expert-dominated decision-making may not be the most appropriate approach. It has become imperative, therefore, to shift from this mechanistic viewpoint towards more deliberative democratic and perhaps iterative processes. This paper argues that Sustainability Assessment may be considered as an opportunity to put discursive mechanisms into action, thus empowering the civil society and enhancing local decision-making. Sustainability Assessment would thus be seen less as an analytical technique and more as a forum for dialogue with the potential for serving as a basis for avoiding or handling potential conflicts. One measure of its effectiveness could be its successes in consensus building. Such interactive processes provide opportunities for the participants to share each other's values. Through their involvement in this interchange of ideas and negotiations, the participants will become aware of each other's values, which may not be so obvious at the beginning of the process, thus making it easier to align goals and objectives. This extends the purpose of the democratic process from reaching a consensus to mutual social learning. The paper argues that the innovative and context-specific solutions required for realising sustainable development can emerge from democratic deliberative processes that form part of Sustainability Assessment. These deliberative processes will evolve as the participants learn from new and innovative approaches to sustainability development and assessment.
T The assessment of sustainability requires that the diverse values of the stakeholders are repre... more T The assessment of sustainability requires that the diverse values of the stakeholders are represented in the context-specific interpretation of sustainability and in the choice of a desired course of action. Sustainability is a broad concept, and the stakeholders in sustainability are many. In order to have effective stakeholder engagement, it is crucial that all the relevant stakeholders are identified early in the process. In urban development projects, some stakeholders may be obvious, but there might be others who are excluded from the usual decision-making processes and may bear disproportionate environmental, social or economic costs leading to inequitable outcomes. This situation has created the need for a systematic approach to defining and identifying stakeholders for different contexts. This paper evaluates existing approaches for defining and identifying stakeholders in development projects and the requirements of a sustainability assessment process. From this analysis, an approach for defining and identifying stakeholders appropriate for sustainability assessment has been developed. The paper also argues that it is important to map out the levels of interest of different stakeholders in relation to the power that they hold. This is useful in determining the appropriate engagement techniques at each stage of a project and also in understanding any potential conflicts. It is thus important to understand the relationships between the different stakeholders because this can affect the success of the engagement process. Such a mapping of stakeholders can also be useful in anticipating their expectations.
The concept of social capital is gaining increasing recognition as a concomitant for social and e... more The concept of social capital is gaining increasing recognition as a concomitant for social and economic development. Robert exposition of the crucial correspondence between the decline of social capital on one hand and the economic lives of American people on the other received wide acclaim at home and abroad. Contemporary literature on development studies is equally replete with references to the World Bank's subscription to the value of social capital as an important factor in fostering sustainable development. The relationship between social capital and environmental action has equally been acknowledged. There is also an increasing realisation that the design and form of cities, neighbourhoods and individual buildings have significant implications on social capital as they can affect the way people interact and bond with each other and the sense of community among individuals Lindström et al, 2003). The fundamental premise is that some urban designs encourage social ties and informal contact among residents while others violate the evolutionary pattern of civicness within the urban setting. With all these acclaimed contributions of the design of the urban environment, it is imperative that its role in encouraging social and fostering sustainable development is given greater articulation and understanding. Currently, much of the work focuses on what individuals and groups can do, rather than what the physical environment should be, in order to encourage social ties and civicness. Thus, the aim of this paper is to identify and examine the key physical determinants of social capital within an urban development context. The methods used include critical analysis of scholarly work supplemented by results of a survey carried out by the authors in the United Kingdom. The paper argues that social capital is a subject of self-organisation, whose evolution to higher levels can be catalysed by the prevalence of a critical balance in the design of the physical urban environment.
The literature on equity and justice in climate change mitigation has largely focused on North–So... more The literature on equity and justice in climate change mitigation has largely focused on North–South relations and equity between states. However, some initiatives (e.g. the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation programme (REDD), and voluntary carbon markets (VCMs)) are already establishing multi-level governance structures that involve communities from developing countries in global mitigation efforts. This poses new equity and justice dilemmas: how the burdens and benefits of mitigation are shared across various levels and how host communities are positioned in multi-level governance structures. A review of the existing literature is used to distill a framework for distinguishing between four axes of climate justice from the perspective of communities. Empirical evidence from African and Asian carbon market projects is used to assess the distributive and procedural justice implications for host communities. The evidence suggests that host communities often benefit little from carbon market projects and find it difficult to protect their interests. Capacity building, attention to local power relations, supervision of business practices, promotion of projects with primarily development aims and an active involvement of non-state actors as bridges between local communities and the national/international levels could potentially contribute towards addressing some of the key justice concerns.Policy relevanceInternational negotiations on the institutional frameworks that are envisaged to govern carbon markets are proceeding at a rather slow pace. As a consequence, host countries and private-sector actors are making their own arrangements to safeguard the interests of local communities. While several standards have emerged to guide carbon market activity on the ground, distributive as well as procedural justice concerns nevertheless remain salient. Four empirical case studies across Asia and Africa show that within the multi-scale and multi-actor carbon market governance, local-level actors often lack sufficient agency to advance their claims and protect their interests. This evidence suggests that ameliorating policy reforms are needed to enhance the positioning of local communities. Doing so is important to ensure future acceptability of carbon market activity in potential host communities as well as for ensuring their broader legitimacy.
This paper presents two solar lantern projects in rural Rajasthan, India, and examines success an... more This paper presents two solar lantern projects in rural Rajasthan, India, and examines success and limitations of entrepreneurialising development model in providing energy services in rural communities. Training local villagers to become entrepreneurs could provide job opportunities, improve livelihoods by clean energy and create a sense of project ownership. Without adequate support from donors and NGOs, any serious technical break-down of solar lanterns would undermine the incomes of entrepreneurs, and that would affect continuity of services. This paper promotes a genuine bottom-up approach in energy service provision, by getting entrepreneurs and villagers involved at the beginning of projects.
Stakeholder engagement in construction projects can be conceptualized in different ways. It can b... more Stakeholder engagement in construction projects can be conceptualized in different ways. It can be seen from a strategic management perspective aimed at capturing knowledge, increasing ownership of the project by users, reducing conflict, encouraging innovation and facilitating spin‐off partnerships. From an ethical perspective, meaningful stakeholder engagement can be seen to enhance inclusive decision making, promote equity, enhance local decision making and build social capital. The benefits from both of these perspectives are vital for sustainability; however, stakeholder engagement can also be seen from the perspective of an opportunity for social learning—a social process where diverse stakeholders share a common forum, learn about each other's values, reflect upon their own values and create a shared vision and shared objectives. Dialogue is also useful in increasing awareness, changing attitudes and affecting behaviours. Existing practices view stakeholder engagement: mostly from a management perspective; sometimes from an ethical perspective; less often as a combination of the two; and rarely have any element of the social learning perspective. There is a need for an approach that combines all the three perspectives if sustainability is to be pursued. A dialogue‐oriented approach to integrated sustainability assessment could provide an ideal means to do so.
The increased importance of the concept of sustainable development combined with the need for an ... more The increased importance of the concept of sustainable development combined with the need for an evidence-based approach to policy development, has created the need for reliable models and tools to guide decision-makers by robust measures of system performance that can assess the impact of policy and practice upon urban sustainability. In recognition of this need, a consortium comprising three UK academic institutions and three lead industrial partners, under the auspices of the Sustainable Urban Environments -Metrics, Models and Toolkits (sue-MoT) project, undertook an extensive scoping study, that assessed the current state of the art in urban sustainability assessment, with a view to: identifying gaps and needs in currently available assessment tools; and identifying consequent priorities for tool development. This paper reports on the methodology used in the study and the gaps, needs and priorities subsequently identified in current work and knowledge specifically within the specific area of urban social sustainability.
In contrast to well established techniques such as Environmental Impact Assessment and Whole Life... more In contrast to well established techniques such as Environmental Impact Assessment and Whole Life Costing which have limited focus, Sustainability Assessment has multiple dimensions and often requires the incorporation of several intangible concerns, for example environmental justice and social capital. The complex social and political dimensions of decision-making for sustainability imply that traditional methods of participation and expert-dominated decision-making may not be the most appropriate approach. It has become imperative, therefore, to shift from this mechanistic viewpoint towards more deliberative democratic and perhaps iterative processes. This paper argues that Sustainability Assessment may be considered as an opportunity to put discursive mechanisms into action, thus empowering the civil society and enhancing local decision-making. Sustainability Assessment would thus be seen less as an analytical technique and more as a forum for dialogue with the potential for serving as a basis for avoiding or handling potential conflicts. One measure of its effectiveness could be its successes in consensus building. Such interactive processes provide opportunities for the participants to share each other's values. Through their involvement in this interchange of ideas and negotiations, the participants will become aware of each other's values, which may not be so obvious at the beginning of the process, thus making it easier to align goals and objectives. This extends the purpose of the democratic process from reaching a consensus to mutual social learning. The paper argues that the innovative and context-specific solutions required for realising sustainable development can emerge from democratic deliberative processes that form part of Sustainability Assessment. These deliberative processes will evolve as the participants learn from new and innovative approaches to sustainability development and assessment.
T The assessment of sustainability requires that the diverse values of the stakeholders are repre... more T The assessment of sustainability requires that the diverse values of the stakeholders are represented in the context-specific interpretation of sustainability and in the choice of a desired course of action. Sustainability is a broad concept, and the stakeholders in sustainability are many. In order to have effective stakeholder engagement, it is crucial that all the relevant stakeholders are identified early in the process. In urban development projects, some stakeholders may be obvious, but there might be others who are excluded from the usual decision-making processes and may bear disproportionate environmental, social or economic costs leading to inequitable outcomes. This situation has created the need for a systematic approach to defining and identifying stakeholders for different contexts. This paper evaluates existing approaches for defining and identifying stakeholders in development projects and the requirements of a sustainability assessment process. From this analysis, an approach for defining and identifying stakeholders appropriate for sustainability assessment has been developed. The paper also argues that it is important to map out the levels of interest of different stakeholders in relation to the power that they hold. This is useful in determining the appropriate engagement techniques at each stage of a project and also in understanding any potential conflicts. It is thus important to understand the relationships between the different stakeholders because this can affect the success of the engagement process. Such a mapping of stakeholders can also be useful in anticipating their expectations.
The concept of social capital is gaining increasing recognition as a concomitant for social and e... more The concept of social capital is gaining increasing recognition as a concomitant for social and economic development. Robert exposition of the crucial correspondence between the decline of social capital on one hand and the economic lives of American people on the other received wide acclaim at home and abroad. Contemporary literature on development studies is equally replete with references to the World Bank's subscription to the value of social capital as an important factor in fostering sustainable development. The relationship between social capital and environmental action has equally been acknowledged. There is also an increasing realisation that the design and form of cities, neighbourhoods and individual buildings have significant implications on social capital as they can affect the way people interact and bond with each other and the sense of community among individuals Lindström et al, 2003). The fundamental premise is that some urban designs encourage social ties and informal contact among residents while others violate the evolutionary pattern of civicness within the urban setting. With all these acclaimed contributions of the design of the urban environment, it is imperative that its role in encouraging social and fostering sustainable development is given greater articulation and understanding. Currently, much of the work focuses on what individuals and groups can do, rather than what the physical environment should be, in order to encourage social ties and civicness. Thus, the aim of this paper is to identify and examine the key physical determinants of social capital within an urban development context. The methods used include critical analysis of scholarly work supplemented by results of a survey carried out by the authors in the United Kingdom. The paper argues that social capital is a subject of self-organisation, whose evolution to higher levels can be catalysed by the prevalence of a critical balance in the design of the physical urban environment.
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Papers by Vivek Mathur