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Displaying One Session

Session Type
Academic Sessions
Date
02/23/2022
Session Time
09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Room

Hall C

INTEGRATING DRR FOR CITY RESILIENCE: LESSONS LEARNED FROM COASTAL KHULNA CITY IN BANGLADESH

Session Type
Academic Sessions
Date
02/23/2022
Session Time
09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Room

Hall C

Lecture Time
09:30 AM - 09:40 AM

Abstract

Abstract Body

Numerous studies have made a strong assertion that Khulna city in Bangladesh- a member of the global 100 Resilient Cities initiatives would be at greater risk due to climate change. To make Khulna city resilient, the initiatives that are implemented and underway are aligned with the Dutch Government-assisted Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100. Common apprehension is Khulna city Master Plans and other water-infrastructure projects have done little to make the city resilient, yet there exists little empirical basis; no study is found to systematically examine the connection among integration of DRR in city planning, designing of water-infrastructure projects and city resilience. This research would fill this gap in knowledge in three ways. First, it would document, classify, and identify a general framework of the use of DRR components in the Khulna city Master Plans and water infrastructure projects; second, it would examine the connections among levels of integration of DRR components and city’s vulnerability (measured through exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity). Finally, it would identify the challenges of integration of DRR in City Master Plans and water infrastructure projects. This research heavily draws on the review of the first and second master plan and about half a dozen of water infrastructure projects in Khulna city. The annotated version of the stakeholder consultations that this authors’ team did for the Resilient and inclusive urban development (RIUD) project, Water as Leverage Project, Urban Management of Internal Migration due to Climate Change project and Climate Change Adapted Urban Development Programme (CCAUD) in Khulna city are also analyzed. The finding of the research would be very fascinating at least for three reasons. First, it would provide a comprehensive collection and synthesis of patterns of the use of DRR components in Khulna city; second, it would offer new insight into our current understanding about the nexus between the integration of DRR and the city resilience; and third, it would provide an empirical basis for informed policy choice regarding the prioritization of DRR components for making city safe, resilient and sustainable.

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INTEGRATING GREEN URBANISM INTO THE TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT IN AUSTRALIA

Session Type
Academic Sessions
Date
02/23/2022
Session Time
09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Room

Hall C

Lecture Time
09:40 AM - 09:50 AM

Abstract

Abstract Body

Can the combination of green urbanism and transit-orient developments (TODs) shrink the environmental footprint associated with vehicular oriented transport? This is just one of the several questions that may be asked when thinking of measures to provide a carbon neutral future. Not only is transport Australia’s primary source of greenhouse gas emissions, but cars are accountable for almost half of those emissions alone. In recent years, the Australian government has made significant investments in the transit systems in place and the policy agenda has embraced TOD initiatives driven by green concerns. Yet there are some unique challenges in the Australian context. TODs have occurred occasionally in Australian urban development and have not been strategically or statutorily planned. Factors such as rapid transit, density, and mixed use necessary to guarantee the provision of TODs have not yet been put in place in any Australian city. Moreover, the execution of urban green spaces within and around the TODs is absent with the development areas missing on potential environmental benefits within the same framework. There should be an increased focus on ecological and environmental dimensions of urbanism so that the combined effect of pursuing TODs and green urbanism could become a reality in the future.

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NOVEL SMART GREEN SYSTEM FOR FARM TO FORK PRODUCTION ON BALCONIES AND TERRACES

Session Type
Academic Sessions
Date
02/23/2022
Session Time
09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Room

Hall C

Lecture Time
09:50 AM - 10:00 AM

Abstract

Abstract Body

The global urban population is increasing (up to 9.8 billion people by 2050) and is more than half of the total world’s population (55% according to United Nations data). This has contributed to accelerated land use for cities even to the detriment of agricultural and forest land.
The urbanization process has removed most people from food production and made them dependent on food imported from increasingly far territories.
This has potential consequences for food security, greenhouse gas emissions, environmental sustainability. Moreover, the recent pandemic has highlighted the need to make cities more and more self-sufficient and transform balconies and terraces into gardens useful also for horticulture. Indeed, urban food production could reduce net greenhouse gas emissions because of its potential to produce food with lower intensity of transportation energy use and packaging, and greater carbon sequestration.
Therefore, urban food production can be an important component of urban ecosystems and can contribute to improve urban climate and environment but at the same time human physical, psychological and social health.
The research is based on a global vision of farm to fork productive urban green through a multidisciplinary approach in order to improve the energy performance of buildings and the resilience of cities to disruptive events such as heatwaves and pandemics. To encourage the widespread diffusion of greenery at home, smart, green and low-cost systems and components have been defined for the sustainable production (without pesticides) of horticultural products with innovative systems to be inserted on balconies and terraces. These components and systems are equipped with appropriate sensors and actuators that automatically ensure actions to create and maintain the well-being of the plants as well as the building's shading conditions and contribution to the production of clean air. The experimental design and implementation of these smart and green prototypes involve the use of a low-cost control unit that simplifies the prototyping of WiFi-based IoT applications as well as the use of recycled materials and water.
Finally, the applications of these systems to transform buildings into outdoor vertical farms are evaluated.

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SUSTAINABLE SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT IN WATER INFRASTRUCTURES THROUGH THE INNOVATIVE "EJECTORS PLANT" TECHNOLOGY

Session Type
Academic Sessions
Date
02/23/2022
Session Time
09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Room

Hall C

Lecture Time
10:00 AM - 10:10 AM

Abstract

Abstract Body

Preservation of a good navigability in harbours, ports and waterways is a challenging issue. Traditionally, the sediment that causes the problem is excavated, removed and relocated through maintenance dredging. Nevertheless, dredging is not effective in keeping navigability over the time. This objective may be reached through a higher frequency of dredging operations, but would result in higher costs and complex authorization/permit procedures. Maintenance dredging also has considerable environmental impacts: dredging i) greatly modifies underwater habitats and resident flora and fauna, ii) resuspends sediments and contaminants already present in the seabed, iii) impacts locally on greenhouse gas (GHG), pollutants and noise emissions, iv) generates a waste to be disposed, i.e. the dredged material. The “ejectors plant” technology has been developed as a sustainable alternative to maintenance dredging and has been recently tested by Trevi SpA and University of Bologna in two different applications in Cervia and Cattolica (Italy). Both plants were monitored for more than one year to assess i) water depth, ii) energy consumption, iii) maintenance costs, iv) seabed features and species diversity, v) equivalent CO2 emissions through LCA, vi) underwater noise impact. The minimum water depth required was guaranteed at the end of the monitoring period. Monitoring actions revealed that seabed features and species diversity were improved and that the impact on underwater noise was absent. Based on energy consumption, it was also demonstrated that an optimized ejectors plant, if fed by renewable power, could cut more than 80% of GHG emissions and guarantee near-zero pollutants emissions in comparison with traditional dredging. The ejectors plant technology has the potential to be widely applied for the ordinary maintenance of water infrastructures to prevent sedimentation as well as erosion, and the related impacts, like navigability hampering, flood risk, rivers and waterways embankment erosion.

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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATIONS: A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD TO SLUM RESILIENCE IN LAGOS METROPOLIS

Session Type
Academic Sessions
Date
02/23/2022
Session Time
09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Room

Hall C

Lecture Time
10:10 AM - 10:20 AM

Abstract

Abstract Body

Some slums continue to resist the threat of eviction, even though many cities in the global South are tuned towards their clearances. Social capital is one of the major assets of slum communities, yet little is known about the role of this capital to slum resilience against threat of eviction. Similarly, Lagos, a megacity in Nigeria, engages in slum clearances to reduce slum growth, yet, many slums still exist in the city. This study, therefore, aims to investigate the factors that contribute to the resilience of slum communities through a social capital lens. The study first identifies the available social capital and then assesses how this capital influences resilience to the threat of eviction in slums. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The study showed that there is a form of structural social capital through the presence of government-registered community development associations in the slums. However, the presence of the associations in slums does not necessarily aid higher resilience in slums. This is because the community development association, through their appointed executives, have become a double-edged sword to slum resilience. They can either facilitate or impede the strengthening of community trust, social cohesion, bonding ties, and community assets, required to increase resilience to threat of eviction, through their decision-making process and community activities. This study therefore recommends restructuring the community development associations to achieve a sustainable solution to the threat of eviction in slums in Lagos.

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DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION AND COMMUNITY-BASED URBAN REGENERATION IN CALABRIA

Session Type
Academic Sessions
Date
02/23/2022
Session Time
09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Room

Hall C

Lecture Time
10:20 AM - 10:30 AM

Abstract

Abstract Body

Community-Based Urban Development is an inclusive approach for local service provision and management. Itfacilitates partnerships between urban communities and local governments. Many scholars have argued thatinstitutionalization does not succeed in matching the demand for services expressed by the local communities.Therefore, there has been an engagement among European and national policy to replace institutions with family-based and community-based alternatives. In Italy, the area plans (Piani di zona) are supposed to deliver servicesaccording to local needs, since 2000. However, Calabria still lacks initiatives to support policy actions, associatedwith deinstitutionalization, to dominate the development and “modernization” of services for citizens.
This paper is part of research activities conducting within the SOUND and TREnD projects, that interprets thecontemporary city as a complex system managed by the interchange of relationships between the physicalenvironment and the social environment, whose survival depends on the ability of individuals, communities,institutions, companies, and systems within it to adapt and grow, regardless of the type of chronological stress andacute shocks they undergo.
Our work aims at proposing a new paradigm of community-based urban regeneration, respecting the principles ofinclusiveness, equity, and urban accessibility. It also aims at overcoming the limitations of earlier urbandevelopment by emerging the partnership between the region and civil society through open innovation.
The proposed methodological approach is based on the combination of two strategies: the application of urbanresilience strategies, to analyze the sources of vulnerability at community-urban level and the application of theprinciples of transition towards sustainability to guide every action towards the offer of the services necessary toraise the quality of life of the urban community. Subsequentially, proposing a series of adaptive and concretestrategies and defining a series of indicators, as a tool to verify the impact of the intervention on the community.

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Q&A

Session Type
Academic Sessions
Date
02/23/2022
Session Time
09:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Room

Hall C

Lecture Time
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM