3c.
Measuring and managing resource flows

 

Water footprint of products (click for a larger image).

 

There are several ways to measure resource use. The best known may be the ecological footprint (See Session 3b) estimated in global hectares. Footprints may also be divided to show partial footprints. Carbon footprints specifically show carbon dioxide (or greenhouse gas) emissions, while water footprints specifically show water use for the product. Normally these footprints use a life cycle accounting and may come up with surprising results. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) normally has resource depletion as one input parameter, so very many LCA reports include resource use.

Total Material Flow is the most exact measure of resource flow and reflects impact best. The Total Material Requirements (TMR) of nations consists of the Domestic Material Input (DMI), which is the resources used in the countries’ economies, and the export. Within the European Union 15 it is about 40 tonnes per capita and year, a fairly constant figure despite increased GDP. Some countries are higher, such as Germany with 70 tonnes per capita and year, while e.g. Poland is lower, ca 30 tonnes per capita and year (2002 statistics).

40 tonnes per capita and year corresponds to a person coming home from weekly shopping with about 300 bags full of material. You may ask,  “Where are these tonnes?”. They are imbedded in the products, as the so-called ecological rucksack of the products. A laptop typically weighs 1 tonne if its rucksack is included. The rucksack of a product can be calculated using the materials intensity factors for e.g. metals, agricultural products etc. These data are available at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, Germany, where also the rucksack (and MIPS) concept was developed.

The resource use may be calculated not only for products, but also for services. The measure used is called Material Intensity Per Service unit, MIPS. The MIPS depends on how a service is delivered. For example, if the service is transport from A to B, the MIPS will be very different for different modes of transport, such as car, bus, train, bike, or walking. The same is valid for the service of heating your flat or eating a lunch.

The Ecological rucksack and the MIPS include the life cycle of the product from resource extraction, energy use in the production etc. up to consumption. Further material consumption at the end of life of the product is not included, nor is the possible recycling. Still, the messages from the studies of material intensities are shocking. The leader of those studies, Friedrich Schmidt Bleek, therefore introduced the Factor 10 concept. It says that industrial nations need to reduce their material turnover by a factor of 10 (sometimes written Factor X) to reach sustainability. It accounts for that developing nations should be allowed to increase their resource use by a factor of 2 and the planet as a whole needed to reduce resource flow by a factor of 2.

The Factor 10 concept followed in the footsteps of the already established concept of Factor 4 – Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use. The Factor 4 concept was mostly asked for much improved resource efficiency in the word as a whole. The Factor 10 was more specific to the industrial societies and more difficult to accept. It is supported by UNEP, but not much used in the Baltic Sea region countries.

It is clear that we need to improve the resource flow on the Planet, in our societies and often in our personal lives. Resource flow management intends to limit and reduce the resource use for a product. The direct approach is to dematerialization a product, for example by making it smaller, or slowing down the flow by making it last longer, e.g. by making it easier to repair, by recycling the material and finally by substitution, using a different material which require less flow. There are a multitude of examples of how these principles have been applied.

 

Steel crushed and baled for recycling in a recycling plant belonging to Central European Waste Management (Wels, Austria). Photo: blahedo.

 

There are many approaches to the dematerialization of our societies. Most importantly, we need to remember recycling. With closed material flows instead of linear (from extraction to landfill) we may reduce the material flows very much. We should also consider owning and using the products together. When we use a common printer instead of our private, it reduces the resource flows. The same is valid for using public transport instead of a private car, or joining a carpool.

When a product, service or – more broadly an economy – is delivered with much less resource use than earlier, it is called decoupling. One example is that western economies have grown for at least some 20 years without the same increase in resource use. But it seems that the extra resources becoming available due to decoupling is used for a new activity, which increases resource use. This is called the rebound effect. Due to the rebound effect, we get relative decoupling but not absolute decoupling, which is what we need.

So far, we have not seen a society where resource use decreases significantly. The Limits to Growth research team admit that some decrease can be made by technical developments (e.g. introducing solar electricity), but it is not enough. Changes in lifestyle are needed. A number of policy instruments need to be used to develop the societies in that direction.

 

Materials for session 3c

 

Basic level

1. Read pages 23-30: Towards Sustainable Materials Management in: A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 3.
   
   A Sustainable Baltic Region, Session 3: Man and Materials Flow
2. Calculate the MIPS for a Product The methods are illustrated by MIPS of a woman’s Polo-neck jumper in Product Design and Life Cycle Assessment, pages 235-241.
   Environmental Management, Book 3: Product Design and Life Cycle Assessment: Calculating MIPS for a Woman’s Polo-neck Jumper

Medium level (widening)

3. Read Towards Sustainable Resource Management in the European Union by Stefan Bringezu, Wuppertal Institute.
4. Read Factor 10: The Future of Stuff by Friedrich Schmidt Bleek.
5. Read Chapter 2 Accounting for Material Flows and Chapter 3 Results, Implication and Conclusions in the Resource flows: the Material basis of Industrial Economies by World Resources Institute (pp 5-18).
6. Get to know The Factor 10 Institute.

Advanced level (deepening)

7. Study the 2009 monitoring report of the EU sustainable development strategy from Eurostat, Chapter 4 Sustainable Consumption and Production, pages118-147, especially pages124-128 (Domestic material consumption & Resource productivity).
8. Read chapter 5, pages 49-59: The Myth of Decoupling in: Prosperity without Growth.

 

References

Adriaanse, A., Bringezu, S., Hammond, A., Moriguchi, Y., Rodenburg, E., Rogich, D. and H. Schütz 1997. Resource Flows: The Material Basis of Industrial Economies. World Resources Institute, Washington D.C.

Eurostat 2009. Sustainable Development in the European Union. Luxembourg.

Jackson, T. 2009. Prosperity without Growth – Economics for a Finite Planet. Earthscan Ltd, London, UK.

Karlsson, S. (ed.). 1997. Man and Materials Flows. A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 3. Baltic University Press. Uppsala, Sweden.

Zbicinski, I. Stavenuiter, J. Kozlowska, B and H. van de Coevering. 2006. Product Design and Life Cycle Assessment. Book 3 in a series on Environmental Management. Baltic University Press, Uppsala, Sweden.

 

BUP Sustainable Development Course

 

 

4a. Urbanization

 

The city of Uppsala from the air.

 

Most people live in cities and towns; the development of the local society is therefore a key issue in sustainability science and practice. In this session, we will address the issues of urban and sometimes rural life and ask how the two forms of habitation are approaching sustainable development.

In the Baltic Sea region the degree of urbanization is in the West typically 85% and in the Eastern part slightly less. The trend today is that smaller and more remote towns and villages get depopulated while the larger cities grow in size.

In the world as a whole, we presently see the largest wave of urban growth in history. Since 2008, more than half of the world’s population, 3.5 billion people, live in towns and cities. By 2030 this number is expected to swell to almost 5 billion. Urban growth is concentrated in Africa and Asia; in the Baltic Sea region, the picture is more mixed. Some large cities, e.g., Stockholm and Warsaw, grow steadily as more remote corners of the countries are depopulated. Other cities, e.g. Riga, decrease in size as many leave to find jobs elsewhere. Urbanization may end at about 80%. There is also a smaller opposite trend as families in cities move to the surrounding countryside, a re-ruralisation, for lifestyle and sometimes economic reasons.

There are good reasons for urbanization. The first cities were built as marketplaces where trade was made and money was generated. Also, today people and business move to cities to find jobs, education, and housing and at the same time reduce time and expenses for travel and transport. Urban living permit individuals and families to take advantage of the cities’ diversity, culture, and marketplace competition. With good governance, cities can deliver education, health care and other services more efficiently than less densely settled areas simply because of scale and proximity. Equally important is that people leave the countryside as agriculture modernizes, job opportunities get more scarce, and life becomes increasingly difficult. While rural life tends to be conservative, cities present opportunities for social mobilization and women’s empowerment. This phenomenon of rural flight is known since a hundred years.

But both rural and urban life are needed for a good future. The rural society will provide the cities with resources needed, such as food, energy etc. The footprint of a city is often more than a hundred times that of the city area itself. Both rural and urban areas have their specific challenges in improving sustainability. For rural life see Session 6 For city life we will here ask how to use the advantage of many people living close to each other. We need to find good answers to this question in all dimensions of sustainability – ecological, economic, and social.

Urban planning is a key skill in designing good cities, in which the inhabitants find wellbeing, security, and support. So-called “ideal cities” have been designed since antiquity. Today city planners looking for improved sustainability try to increase self-reliance – especially for energy, water and sometimes food. Very critical issues for an attractive and sustainable city are good public transport, attractive public spaces, greeneries, and waterfronts. These also enhance urban ecosystems services. The social aspects of a city are equally important, such as good schools and good green areas etc. That “the inhabitants like to live in their city” is the most important sustainability indicator. The downside of urban growth is often suburbanization. Suburbs are often less functional, and it can be a challenge to make them more multifunctional with working places, better conditions for a social life with cafés etc and cooperation between the inhabitants to improve sustainability.

Environmentally cities were during a very long part of their history, often up to the early 20^thcentury, disasters. Pollution was rampant, especially water was contaminated in cities, but also air was bad and foul. This situation culminated in the late part of industrialization, when life expectancy in cities was much lower than on the countryside. The introduction of improved water and waste management, hygiene and sanitation, and the construction of flat houses with less crowded living conditions improved this dramatically. Today resource management, the heating of buildings, distribution of water, and collection of wastewaters and the management of solid waste may be made very efficient in a city.

 

A market in Rinkeby, Sweden

 

Socially and economically, urban life has much to offer its inhabitants. This includes better basic as well as specialist services, a greater variety of job opportunities, better health services and hospitals. A greater variety of entertainment such as restaurants, film theatres, etc., and education, in particular universities, and more diverse social communities, are not always possible to find in rural areas. In spite of these possibilities, still urbanization is also accompanied by social degradation and loss of welfare. Many people coming to the cities hoping for a better life, ends up in poor housing, long distances to jobs if they find any and isolation as family and friends have been left behind. The large slum areas in the megacities in the developing world do not have exact counterparts in the Baltic Sea region. Still there are typical problems areas in the outskirts of big cities, where the less fortunate concentrate, as housing is cheaper or for rent, not for sale.

Finally, cities are often centres in regions consisting of a central larger city, smaller towns and countryside. The size of such regions typically allows inhabitants to look for work and social services. For hundreds of years they were not larger than it was possible to travel from one end to the other, often by foot, in one day. Today, travel by car or public transport has made these regions much larger and dependent on efficient train or bus traffic. Such regions are increasingly administrative units as well-meaning that they constitute counties within which the authorities are responsible for spatial planning, and coordinate infrastructure, schooling, health care and often also nature protection.

Sustainability may increase if cooperation within a region is promoted. Cities depend on the surrounding countryside for their supplies of food and other materials. The ecological footprint of cities may be hundreds of times larger than the cities themselves. Urban-rural cooperation relying on the immediate areas of cities is important for improving the sustainability of cities. Still, the use of food from the near countryside or the recycling of residues (e.g. sludge) to the near countryside is not common. Cooperation between the city and its surroundings is improved by a properly designed interface between the two.

 

Materials for session 4a

 

Basic level

1. Read chapter 7, pages 202-205: Society and Landscape – Space intrusion and habitat destruction in: Environmental Science.
   
   Environmental Science, Chapter 7: Society and Landscape – Space intrusion and habitat destruction
2. Read chapter 5, pages 32-35: Regionality and Settlements in: A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 7.
   
   A Sustainable Baltic Region, Session 7, Chapter 5: Regionality and Settlements
3. Read chapter 1, pages 5-10: Living patterns in the Baltic Region – moving to the cities in: A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 7.
   
   A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 7, Chapter 1: Living patterns in the Baltic Region – moving to the cities
4. Read chapter 7, pages 41-43: Approaches to sustainable habitation II – Sustainable Neighbourhoods in: A Sustainable Baltic Sea Region. Session 7.
   
   A Sustainable Baltic Sea Region. Session 7, Chapter 7: Approaches to sustainable habitation II – Sustainable Neighbourhoods

Medium level (widening)

5. Study the resource base of sustainability in cities in the city as a sustainable living system. Chapter 4 in Basic Patterns of Sustainability Superbs Case Studies Vol. 1.
   
   Basic Patterns of Sustainability Superbs Case Studies, Volume 1. Chapter 4: The city as a sustainable living system
6. Study Chapter 10 Urbanism in Challenges of Sustainable Development in Poland Edited by Jakub Kronenberg and Tomasz Bergier.

Advanced level (deepening)

7. Study the situation in a chosen city by collecting data on energy, water, waste, traffic, and greenery. Data on several cities are found in the BUUF project city reports.
   
   BUUF City Status Report 1: Water Management
   
   
   BUUF City Status Report 2: Energy Management
   
   
   BUUF City Status Report 3: Waste Management
   
   
   BUUF City Status Report 4: Traffic and Transport
   
   
   BUUF City Status Report 5: Urban Green Structures

 

References

 

Andersson, H., Berg, P. G. and L. Rydén, L. (eds.). 1997. Community Development – Approaches to Sustainable Habitation. A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 7. Baltic University Press, Uppsala, Sweden.

Kronenberg, J. and T. Bergier (eds.). 2010. Challenges of Sustainable Development in Poland. Centre for Systems Solutions, Wrocław, Poland.

Rydén. L. (ed.). 2002. Basic Patterns of Sustainability. Superbs Case Studies, Volume I. Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

Rydén, L., Migula, P. and M. Andersson (eds). 2003. Environmental Science – understanding, protecting and managing the environment in the Baltic Sea region. Baltic University Press. Uppsala, Sweden.

 

BUP Sustainable Development Course

 

 

4b.
The sustainable city

 

Biking in the city of Västerås, Sweden

 

A city may be regarded as an ecosystem. Just as any ecosystem the city needs energy, there is a flow of resources into the system, such as food and other resources, and there is waste to be taken care of. All these aspects need to be made in a sustainable way, that is, to use the physical and biological conditions for sustainability. (See also Chapter 1c). This approach asks for recycling of all or most resource flows, and the use of renewable energy and other resources.

It is possible to make resource management more efficient in a densely populated environment. The heating of buildings, distribution of water, and collection of wastewaters and the management of solid waste is made more efficient in a city. Thus, district heating, wastewater purification, and solid waste recycling and management are essential skills in a future sustainable city. The most advanced cities may even be or work to become energy self-sufficient.

The energy provided to the city is of three kinds: Heat to keep buildings warm and nice during cold days; electricity to run all kinds of machinery, to provide lighting etc; and finally fuel, e.g. for transport. In district heating, where a single power plant is providing hot water to the entire city though a system of pipelines, is by far the most efficient way to heat most cities. It is also a better system for cleaning flue gases, obviously better than a multitude of single-house boilers. It also offers co-generation: that is, the plants may produce both heat and electricity with an efficiency of fuel use up to some 85%. Its sustainability then depends on the fuel used. Waste incineration may account for a considerable part in most cities. Other fuels include peat and biofuels such as wood chips. The buildings are also important as they may be more or less energy efficient as well as providing their own heat (see below). Other sources of electricity may be either local (e.g. solar cells) or distant (e.g. large hydropower plants).

BedZed is UK's largest eco-village. CC Photo: Tom Chance.

 

The urban water is extracted from ground or surface water. It needs to be used efficiently (less than 100-200 lit/day/capita) as it takes some energy and sometimes chemicals to produce it. Wastewater contains effluents from toilets and kitchen, and wastewater treatment is therefore an important part of the nutrient flows. The wastewater treatment produces an organic residual, the sludge. It should ideally go back to agricultural fields as an important source of phosphorus, but may also be used for biogas production.

The most important to say on waste is that it should be avoided. The waste hierarchy says, “reduce, reuse, recycle”. In households, source separation of waste is essential to make recycling possible. Organic waste may go to composting, biogas production or waste incineration. (See further Chapter 5c).

A central issue in habitation and cities are the buildings. These are not only the homes of the inhabitants and therefore a key issue for social sustainability, but they are also key components in the resource flow of a city. They go from simple shelters to large and well functioning houses. In the global south, access to a decent home is often the most critical concern. In the Baltic Sea region, almost everyone has a decent home, but there is still much to be done to improve the performance of buildings. Energy performance goes from passive and low energy houses to badly functioning buildings. Especially in countries where fossil fuels dominate energy supply, it is important that the energy performance of buildings is improved. Houses may become very old, and the reuse and retrofitting of them are important skills for sustainability. In the best case, buildings may contribute significantly to create its own physical resources. Solar panels on roofs may produce much of the hot water needed, and solar cells some of the electricity.

 

The Warsaw Metro

 

For cities, a well functioning traffic and transport system, consisting of a clever mix of modes, is a key to improved sustainability. The private car now dominating and congesting the traffic scapes of many cities could only have a limited role in this mix. Public alternatives, such as metro, buses, trams and sometimes boats, are essential. Walking and cycling should be promoted, since they are good for health, economy, and environment. The electric car, now developed, is expected to dominate car traffic in the future. The electric motor is some 4 times more efficient than combustion and much less polluting. In addition, the need for transport, both of persons and goods, should be reduced, for example by using more information technologies, and increasing the local share of the economy.

There is in most cities a debate on green contra dense. Greenery in cities plays an important role as they provide a number of ecosystem services. Most significant is that they allow the inhabitants to enjoy the green areas for their wellbeing – proven in much research – and social services, such as recreation, play, culture, beauty, sports, etc. They also contribute to better air (ventilation) and temperature regulation. Finally, biological diversity, especially trees, for the young generation to get to know biology while in the city. Greenery includes not only parks but also trees, bushes and small lawns along streets, roads, and parking areas etc. Green areas may also in addition be created on roofs, both for covering the house and for cultivation of food. Surface water – ponds, rivers, lakes, and coasts – is often included in greenery and is an important element in many cities, especially in the Baltic Sea region, and living along water is attractive.

 

Materials for session 4b

Basic level

1. Read chapter 3: City Metabolism – Resource flow management in: A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 7.
   
   A Sustainable Baltic Region, Session 7, Chapter 3: City Metabolism – Resource flow management
2. Read Energy efficient houses chapter 3 in BUUF guide book on Energy
   
   BUUF Guidebook 2: Energy Management
3. Read Urban Green Structure – A hidden resource, chapter 2 in BUUF guidebook on Green Structures.
   
   BUUF Guidebook 5: Urban Green Structures
4. Read Policy Measures for Sustainable Urban Transport chapter 6 in BUUF guidebook on Traffic and Transport.
   
   BUUF Guidebook 4: Traffic and Transport
5. Read chapter 8: Approaches to sustainable habitation in: A Sustainable Baltic Sea Region. Session 7.
   
   A Sustainable Baltic Sea Region, Session 7, Chapter 8: Approaches to sustainable habitation
6. Get to know Güssing in Austria as a brilliant success story.
7. The Model Region of Güssing – an Example of the Austrian Grassroots Strategy for Energy Independence.
8. Güssing (YouTube film) as a Model for regional Economic Improvement.

Medium level (widening)

9. Study the resource base of sustainability in cities in the city as a sustainable living system, Chapter 4 in Basic Patterns of Sustainability.
   
   Basic Patterns of Sustainability, Superbs Case Studies, Volume 1. Chapter 4: The city as a sustainable living system
10. Study Urbanism, Chapter 10 in Challenges of Sustainable Development in Poland, edited by Jakub Kronenberg and Tomasz Bergier.

Advanced level (deepening)

11. Study the situation in a chosen city by collecting data on energy, water, waste, traffic, and greenery. Data on several cities are found in the BUUF project city reports.
    
    BUUF City Status Report 1: Water Management
    
    
    BUUF City Status Report 2: Energy Management
    
    
    BUUF City Status Report 3: Waste Management
    
    
    BUUF City Status Report 4: Traffic and Transport
    
    
    BUUF City Status Report 5: Urban Green Structures

 

Additional Material

The US based company Intelligent Power Partners, which works with how municipalities and micro-grids acquire, distribute, and use electricity, has produced several films on sustainable urban development. Some of the BUP teachers like to use them for their classes on urban development. They show efficiently the problems of conversion of cities to sustainability, however they rely very much on high-tech solution. Please see this link to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jkellyx6.

 

References

Andersson, H. (ed.).1997. Cities and Communities. A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 7. Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

Engström, C. J. (ed.). 2001. The City and City Life. Superbs Book 1. Baltic University Press., Uppsala.

Jakobsson, C. and J. Lemming (eds.). 2007. Energy Management. Baltic University Urban Forum. Urban Management Guidebook II. Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

Kronenberg, J. and T. Bergier (eds.). 2010. Challenges of Sustainable Development in Poland. Sendzimir Foundation, Centre for Systems Solution, Wrocław, Poland.

Rydén, L. (ed.). 2002. Basic Patterns of Sustainability. Superbs Case Studies, Volume 1. Baltic University Press. Uppsala.

Rydén, L. (ed.). 2007. Traffic and Transport. Baltic University Urban Forum. Urban Management Guidebook IV. Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

Wlodarczyk. D. (ed.). 2007. Green Structure in Development of the Sustainable City. Baltic University Urban Forum. Urban Management Guidebook V. Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

 

BUP Sustainable Development Course

 

 

4c.
Urban sustainability policies, strategies and management systems

 

In the Agenda 21 document from the Rio UNCED 1992 Conference the local perspective is considered essential to achieve sustainability. On this basis local authorities all over the world were encouraged to set up long-term action plans for sustainable development, the so-called Local Agenda 21 (LA21). Such action plans were adopted by thousands of local authorities around the world in the following years. Today 6400 municipalities in 113 countries have done so.

A number of organisations were created to support the local sustainability work. ICLEI, Local Governments for Sustainability, was formed in 1990 as the 'International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives', presently with 1220 local government members. Within the European Union The Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaignwas founded in 1994 as an umbrella organisation of associations of local authorities working with sustainability issues. It is supported bythe European Commission and has an office in Brussels. Through its member organisations, such as ICLEI, more than 2500 local and region governments with more than 500 million inhabitants are included in the Campaign. In the Baltic Sea region the Union of Baltic Cities, UBC, with 106 member cities is a key actor.

Among the policy documents for local sustainability work Chapter 28 in Agenda 21 forms the base. Soon after the Rio conference the Aalborg charter was written as a founding statement for the European Sustainable Cities and Towns campaign. It includes commitments in 10 areas to be signed by members. On the global scale the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT, was established in 1978 by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. At the Habitat II conference in Istanbul, Turkey, 1996 171 countries adopted the Habitat Agenda with over 100 commitments and 600 recommendations.

Within the European Union a main actor is CEMR, the Council of European Municipalities & Regions. CEMR has within EU the same legal status as the European Parliament and thus may influence all decision in the Union. The European Union adopted in 2006 a thematic strategy on the urban environment to contribute to a better implementation of existing EU environment policies and legislation. The strategy encourages local authorities to adopt a more integrated approach to urban management.

Each local authority, large or small, has an administration to execute its duty as authority but also to plan and often carry out the development of the city. Local sustainability work requires a considerable independence. The economic and legal competence of the local authorities varies enormously. Nordic municipalities have much independence, as they collect local taxes as well as charges (for water, waste etc) and have many duties, such as education, healthcare and local services. In other countries many of these duties belong to the state level. All municipalities typically have a planning monopoly. Thus urban planning is always made locally.

Which strategies have cities adopted to achieve sustainable development? This varies considerably. Typically we see the same as in production and consumption. Thus reduce resource use, replace non-sustainable resources such as oil, and re-scale e.g. up-scaling by introducing district heating or down-scaling by using local resources. However integrating and recycling, e.g. by using organic waste for biogas production and using biogas for buses in the public transport system, is a very efficient measure. More advanced cities create self-reliant neighbourhoods, develop public transport considerably, and improve the urban/rural interface.

Management refers to how a strategy is implemented, which steps are made to realize projects. Management systems are typically set up as a series of management cycles, often 3 years long, based on the Deming cycle, Plan-Do-Check-Act, which puts emphasis on continuous improvement. The many varieties of urban sustainability management include the Managing Urban Europe-25 initiative worked out by 25 European local and regional authorities during 2006-2008. It points out that political commitment is an essential, but too often weak component in the management cycles.

There are several management systems for local authorities. All systems ask for a series of indicators to be chosen, which should be continuously monitored over time and reported. Cities typically have tens to hundreds of indicators. They also ask for visions for the sustainability work. To establish what to achieve at the end of a specific management cycle, the target, one may do back-casting from the adopted vision to the present. It is possible for local authorities, just as it is for any organization, to use a standardized management system, such as EMAS or ISO 14001 to receive international certification according to the standard chosen.

In the management work the integrated approaches are essential. They are so far most common for the material turnover (water, energy and waste), although best would be if all aspects, including economic and social aspects, were included. A participatory system is asked for in the policy documents. This is partly required by law, but may be wider if cities encourage their inhabitants to take part in the sustainability work as widely as possible. In public-private partnerships also the business world contributes to city development.

 

Building blocks of community-based natural resource management. http://www.idrc.ca/

 

Materials for session 4c

Basic level

1. Read page 786 Sustainable urban development in chapter 25: The prospect of sustainable development in: Environmental Science.
   
   Environmental Science, Chapter 25: The Prospect of Sustainable Development
   Environmental Science, Chapter 25: The Prospect of Sustainable Development (in Russian)
2. Study Tools for integrated sustainability management in cities and towns by Lars Rydén.
   
   Tools for Integrated Sustainability Management in Cities and Towns
3. Read chapter 6, pages 37-40: Environmental auditing and management in: A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 7.
   
   A Sustainable Baltic Region, Session 7, Chapter 6: Environmental auditing and management
4. Read chapter 1, pages 4-14: Implementing local agenda 21 in the Baltic Sea region by Björn Grönholm in Public Participation and Democracy, Superbs Case Studies Volume III.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 3, Chapter 1: Implementing Local Agenda 21 in the Baltic Sea Region

Medium level (widening)

5. Read Chapter 1 in Superbs Volume 1: A strong municipality by Madeleine Granvik.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 1, Chapter 1: A Strong Municipality
6. Read Chapter 2 in Superbs Volume 1: Cultures of municipal administration by Madeleine Granvik and Inger Christoferson.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 1, Chapter 2: Cultures of Municipal Administration
7. Read Chapter 3 in Superbs Volume 1: Urban growth and long term planning by Madeleine Granvik and Mia Forsberg.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 1, Chapter 3: Urban Growth and Long Term Planning
8. Read the case story An ISO-certified system for quality and environmental management in the municipality of Nacka, Sweden on pages 241 - 250 in Environmental Management Systems and Certification. Environmental Management book 4.
   
   Case study 6: An ISO-Certified System for Quality and Environmental Management in the Municipality of Nacka, Sweden

Advanced level (deepening)

9. Read and compare: The Aalborg Charter and Aalborg committments.
10. Read and compare the EU Thematic strategy on urban environment.
11. Read and compare the UBC and the EUSBSR.

 

Additional material

1. Read the book Urban Environmental Management Superbs Case Studies Volume 4, 2003.
   
   Chapter 1: Municipal environmental audit - The UBC manual as a tool to develop local environmental management applied in the Finnish cities of Turku and Pori by Mikko Jokinen and Matti Lankiniemi.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 4, Chapter 1: Municipal Environmental Audit - The UBC Manual as a Tool to Develop Local Environmental Management Applied in the Finnish Cities of Turku and Pori
   
   Chapter 2: Local sustainability indicators - The development and monitoring of six local indicators in Kaunas by Linas Kliucininkas.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 4, Chapter 2: Local Sustainability Indicators - The Development and Monitoring of Six Local Indicators in Kaunas
   
   Chapter 3: Waste management and nutrient flows in the city of Turku - A detailed N and P flow study to estimate the capacity of biowaste sorting to contribute to nutrient recycling by Toni Tikkanen.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 4, Chapter 3: Waste Management and Nutrient Flows in the City of Turku - A Detailed N and P Flow Study to Estimate the Capacity of Biowaste Sorting to Contribute to Nutrient Recycling
   
   Chapter 4: Air pollution and damages to the cultural heritage in cities - The decay of the cultural heritage of Kraków by Wanda Wilczynska-Michalik.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 4, Chapter 4: Air Pollution and Damages to the Cultural Heritage in Cities - The Decay of the Cultural Heritage of Kraków
   
   Chapter 5: Health concerns in environmental management - The city of Kaunas' health profile by Juozas Kameneckas.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 4, Chapter 5: Health Concerns in Environmental Management - The City of Kaunas' Health Profile
   
   Chapter 6: Living in the 21st century - The ecological community of Braamwisch by Silvia Schubert.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 4, Chapter 6: Living in the 21st Century - The Ecological Community of Braamwisch
   
   
   
2. Read the book Public Participation and Democracy. Superbs Case Studies Volume 3, 2003.
   
   Chapter 1: Implementing local Agenda 21 in the Baltic Sea region - The case of Turku and Southwest Finland by Björn Grönholm.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 3, Chapter 1: Implementing Local Agenda 21 in the Baltic Sea Region - The case of Turku and Southwest Finland
   
   Chapter 2: Livani - the inhabitants as a resource for development by Visvaldis Gercans and Arnold Ubelis.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 3, Chapter 2: Livani - The Inhabitants as a Resource for Development
   
   Chapter 3: Efforts to create a sustainable economic development in Livani by Visvaldis Gercans and Arnold Ubelis.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 3, Chapter 3: Efforts to Create a Sustainable Economic Development in Livani
   
   Chapter 4: Public awareness and public participation as elements in strategies for development by Arnold Ubelis.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 3, Chapter 4: Public Awareness and Public Participation as Elements in Strategies for Development
   
   Chapter 5: Urban planning and democracy in post-Soviet Jelgava by Mara Urtane.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 3, Chapter 5: Urban Planning and Democracy in Post-Soviet Jelgava
   
   Chapter 6: Promoting public participation in urban planning by Mara Urtane.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 3, Chapter 6: Promoting Public Participation in Urban Planning
   
   Chapter 7: Democratic development in Veliky Novgorod by Serguei Bessonov, Boris Shvedchikov and Denis Repkin.
   
   SUPERBS Case Studies, Volume 3, Chapter 7: Democratic Development in Veliky Novgorod

 

References

Andersson, H. (ed.).1997. Cities and Communities. A Sustainable Baltic Region. Session 7. Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

Rydén, L. 2008. Tools for Integrated Sustainability Management in cities and towns. Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

Rydén, L. (ed.). 2002. Basic Patterns of Sustainability. Superbs Case Studies Volume I. Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

Rydén, L. (ed.). 2003. Public Participation and Democracy. Superbs Case Studies III. Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

Rydén, L. (ed.). 2003. Urban Environmental Management. Superbs Case Studies IV. Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

Rydén, L., Migula, P. and M. Andersson (eds). 2003. Environmental Science - understanding, protecting and managing the environment in the Baltic Sea region. Baltic University Press. Uppsala, Sweden.

Weiß, P. and J. Bentlage. 2006. Environmental Management Systems and Certification. Book 4 in a series on Environmental Management. Baltic University Press, Uppsala.

 

BUP Sustainable Development Course