scholarly journals Institutions in transitioning peri-urban communities: spatial differences in groundwater access

Author(s):  
Sharlene L. Gomes ◽  
Leon M. Hermans

Abstract. Urbanization creates challenges for water management in an evolving socio-economic context. This is particularly relevant in transitioning peri-urban areas like Khulna, Bangladesh where competing demands have put pressure on local groundwater resources. Users are unable to sufficiently meet their needs through existing institutions. These institutions provide the rules for service provision and act as guidelines for actors to resolve their water related issues. However, the evolving peri-urban context can produce fragmented institutional arrangements. For example in Khulna, water supply is based on urban and rural boundaries that has created water access issues for peri-urban communities. This has motivated local actors to manage their groundwater needs in various ways. General institutional theories are well developed in literature, yet little is known about institutions in transitioning peri-urban areas. Institutions that fail to adapt to changing dynamics run the risk of becoming obsolete or counter-productive, hence the need for investigating institutional change mechanisms in this context. This paper examines peri-urban case studies from Khulna using the Institutional Analysis and Development framework to demonstrate how institutions have contributed to spatial differences in groundwater access with local actors investing in formal and informal institutional change as a means of accessing groundwater.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharlene L. Gomes ◽  
Sarah Luft ◽  
Shreya Chakraborty ◽  
Leon M. Hermans ◽  
Carsten Butsch

<p>This research, conducted within the H2O-T2S project, is located in peri-urban areas of three cities in India: Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata. Peri-urban areas are where the rural to urban transition is most visible. A key challenge for peri-urban areas is sustainable management of water resources. Peri-urban water resources in India are under threat from growing water demand and ineffective institutions. Interdisciplinary research of existing water-based livelihoods, household water use, and peri-urban institutions in these three regions shows that current urban transformations are unsustainable. Given the dynamic nature of peri-urban contexts, short and long-term vulnerabilities must be considered. An adaptation policy pathways approach can help peri-urban actors develop longer-term transformative plans. This study describes the design and execution of a participatory process to design context-specific pathways with peri-urban communities and governments in India.</p><p>This presentation outlines the key steps in our customized pathways approach for the peri-urban context. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, initial plans to implement these steps through a series of stakeholder workshops were replaced by remote pathways design using the Delphi method. We present a step-by-step methodology to engage peri-urban actors in the design of longer-term adaptive plans for water resources in the future. Results are presented for Hadia village (Kolkata), one of the three peri-urban case studies. It reveals the range of future normative scenarios developed for this village and a pathways schematic towards these scenarios.</p><p>Our results demonstrate the value of engaging local actors in the design of adaptive plans for peri-urban water resources. This study offers insights for ways to conduct transdisciplinary research even when face to face interactions are not feasible.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna Prasad Timalsina

Increasing population and densification of the cities lead to increasing land value by the high demand of land for housing and other infrastructure developments are the reasons that tend to decreasing open spaces in Kathmandu Valley in general, and Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) in particular.  Urban open space has been considered as a place that is accessible to all residents and is important in the urban context as such space provides an opportunity as a place for social interaction, networking, recreation, and various physical health exercises. However, different social and economic contexts of the society reflect different patterns of its uses. Two different urban settings (core urban area having indigenous dominant population and fringe urban areas having migrants’ dominant population) have been taken as a basis for analysis in this paper to look at how different urban societies use open spaces differently. Open spaces are not only important for maintaining urban greenery and beauty but are valued for accumulating social capital and enhancing physical well-being to the urban communities. These issues are analyzed through the interpretative research methodology by collecting the data through in-depth interviews, key informants’ interviews, informal conversational interviews, and non-participatory observation from two different urban settings of KMC. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Rey ◽  
Loic Le De ◽  
Frederic Leone ◽  
David Gilbert

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a multidimensional approach for effectively managing natural disasters; this paper has three research objectives. First, it provides an analysis on the hydro-geomorphological effects of the cyclone in the urban context. Second, it proposes an analysis for the vulnerability and resilience recovery of the populations living in urban areas. Third, it specifies the implications for sustainable recovery and longer-term disaster risk reduction. Design/methodology/approach A detailed case study of the tropical cyclone Pam was carried out to identify hydro-geomorphologic effects and damages in an urban area and specific problems associated with managing natural disaster in Vanuatu. Findings The investigations reveal that living in an urban area increases a population’s exposure to hydrological, weather and sea-related risks. Whereas advice on cyclones seems to work very well, the coastal risks and floods seem to be underestimated with a very high exposure and vulnerability to risk. Pre-existing vulnerabilities were exacerbated after cyclone Pam. However, other communities have been able to reinforce their resilience through local initiatives. The government and outside aid were very quick to react, despite problems of coordination, exchange of information, communication and long-term strategy. Practical implications The bottom-up, top-down, local and global approaches, applied on the time scales, should lead to actions that will reinforce the ability of the people of Vanuatu to adapt to high-energy events and to the effects of climate change. Originality/value This paper highlights the importance of understanding how the urban communities are vulnerable to natural hazards and of strategies for increasing their resilience.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Stefano Tondini ◽  
Farshad Hasanabadi ◽  
Roberto Monsorno ◽  
Antonio Novelli

In the scenario of massive urbanization and global climate change, the acquisition of microclimatic data in urban areas plays a key role in responsive adaptation and mitigation strategies. The enrichment of kinematic sensor data with precise, high-frequency and robust positioning directly relates to the possibility of creating added-value services devoted to improving the life-quality of urban communities. This work presents a low-cost cloud-connected mobile monitoring platform for multiple environmental parameters and their spatial variation in the urban context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-50
Author(s):  
Maria Luiza Souca

Abstract Creative tourism is a current topic, yet most of the research is focused on the urban context, with few articles focusing on how creativity can be used and developed in the setting of rural tourism. Furthermore, the theoretical elements identified in this article can become checkpoints through which better strategies for sustainable rural tourism can be developed in the future. Although rich in culture, Romanian villages have not developed their rural tourism offer to its full potential, partly because of the lack of involvement of the local community in long-term tourism planning and development, but also due to the changes in what tourists want from their tourism experience. In response to shifting patterns in consumer behavior, creative tourism has emerged as a better form of cultural tourism, but mostly in urban areas, which has led to a proliferation of creative industries and people within that specific context. The study proposes that most Romanian rural communities in areas pertaining to tourism already have local individuals with some of the characteristics of the creative people necessary for the development of creative tourism. By involving the entire local community in tourism planning, and not just the local actors with direct ties to it, Romanian rural tourism can be revitalized.


2017 ◽  
Vol 168 (6) ◽  
pp. 321-328
Author(s):  
Jerylee Wilkes-Allemann ◽  
Marco Pütz

Governance of forest recreation: analysing the case of mountain bike trails In the last years, leisure and recreation activities in forests have become more important. Sustainable forest management not only fulfils the functions of protection and use, but also promotes the welfare and recreation function of forests. For this, it is not only necessary to be aware of societal demands, but also to understand how forest planning and management decisions are taken. Such questions are analysed in governance research. In this article, we use the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework to analyse the governance structures and processes in the planning of four mountain bike trails in Swiss forests. The cases show that the following governance characteristics have been decisive for the realization of the mountain bike trails: 1) the inclusion of the local actors (e.g. forest owners, hunters, nature conservation organisations), 2) the clear lead of a specific institution in the planning process and 3) the funding of the trail.


Author(s):  
Nora Augustien ◽  
Pawana Nur Indah ◽  
Purnawati Arika ◽  
Irsyad Irsyad ◽  
Hadi Suhardjono

Indian mustard plants are the main vegetable crops consumed by urban communities. The need for this vegetable increases along with the increase in culinary tourism in each region and the government's appeal on sustainable food home. One effort made to meet the needs of vegetable mustard in urban areas can be cultivated using polybags. The main problem of vegetable cultivation on polybags is the availability of soil media. To overcome the limitations of soil media it is attempted to substitute it with organic litter enriched with MOL (local microorganisms). The purpose of research is to find the right combination of planting media for mustard plants. The results showed that the composition of K7 = soil: compost: litter of hay: litter of maize (2: 1: 1: 1) best on plant length, number of leaves, length of root leaves and number of roots while the wet weight of mustard plant (g) K7 = soil: compost: litter of maize: litter of corn (2: 1: 1: 1) and K8 = soil: compost: litter of maize: litter of maize: cocopeat (2: 1: 1: 1: 1) or soil: compost + urea. Increased weights of wet mustard by 63% compared to soil media and 20% compared to soil composition: compost + urea. Organic straw in the form of straw: litter of corn stalk: cocopeat enriched with MOL are able to become ready-made planting media on the cultivation of indian mustard plants in polybags.


2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul H. Gobster

What does ecological restoration mean in an urban context? More than half of the world’s population now lives in cities, and in response to the dynamic patterns of urbanization, a growing number of ecologists, land managers, and volunteers are focusing their efforts in and around cities to restore remnants of natural diversity (Ingram 2008). Ecological restoration is still a quite youthful field, yet many scientists and practitioners hold a relatively fixed set of criteria for what defines a successful restoration project, irrespective of where sites are located. Among the criteria commonly stated, sites should be composed of indigenous species, have a structure and diversity characteristic of currently undisturbed or historically documented “reference” sites, and be maintained through ecological processes such as fire that ensure long-term sustainability with minimal human assistance (Ruiz-Jaén and Aide 2005; SER International 2004). Application of these criteria has led to many ecologically successful restorations, but some ecologists in the field have begun to question whether the same standards can be realistically applied to sites such as those within urban areas that have been radically altered by past human activity (e.g., Martínez and López-Barerra 2008) or are being influenced by novel conditions that result in unpredictable trajectories (Choi 2007). Perhaps more significantly, it is becoming increasingly recognized that the broader viability of restoration projects, especially those in urban areas, hinges on how socially successful they are in gaining public acceptance for restoration activities and practices, building constituencies to assist with implementation and maintenance, and addressing a broader set of sustainability goals that reach beyond the protection of native biodiversity (e.g., Choi et al. 2008; Hobbs 2007; Rosenzweig 2003).


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e049564
Author(s):  
Mary Abboah-Offei ◽  
Akosua Gyasi Darkwa ◽  
Andrews Ayim ◽  
Adelaide Maria Ansah-Ofei ◽  
Delanyo Dovlo ◽  
...  

IntroductionWith rapid urbanisation in low-income and middle-income countries, health systems are struggling to meet the needs of their growing populations. Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) in Ghana have been effective in improving maternal and child health in rural areas; however, implementation in urban areas has proven challenging. This study aims to engage key stakeholders in urban communities to understand how the CHPS model can be adapted to reach poor urban communities.Methods and analysisA Participatory Action Research (PAR) will be used to develop an urban CHPS model with stakeholders in three selected CHPS zones: (a) Old Fadama (Yam and Onion Market community), (b) Adedenkpo and (c) Adotrom 2, representing three categories of poor urban neighbourhoods in Accra, Ghana. Two phases will be implemented: phase 1 (‘reconnaissance phase) will engage and establish PAR research groups in the selected zones, conduct focus groups and individual interviews with urban residents, households vulnerable to ill-health and CHPS staff and key stakeholders. A desk review of preceding efforts to implement CHPS will be conducted to understand what worked (or not), how and why. Findings from phase 1 will be used to inform and co-create an urban CHPS model in phase 2, where PAR groups will be involved in multiple recurrent stages (cycles) of community-based planning, observation, action and reflection to develop and refine the urban CHPS model. Data will be managed using NVivo software and coded using the domains of community engagement as a framework to understand community assets and potential for engagement.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by the University of York’s Health Sciences Research Governance Committee and the Ghana Health Service Ethics Review Committee. The results of this study will guide the scale-up of CHPS across urban areas in Ghana, which will be disseminated through journal publications, community and government stakeholder workshops, policy briefs and social media content. This study is also funded by the Medical Research Council, UK.


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