Also posted in urban design
A participatory approach linking academia and councils
Philippa Howden-Chapman, Jan Logie, Ralph Chapman, Michael Keal, Geoff Fougere, Wokje Abrahamse
Also posted in blog and climate change
| The OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050 asks “What will the next four decades bring?” Based on joint modelling by the OECD and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), it looks forward to the year 2050 to find out what demographic and economic trends might mean for the environment if the world does not adopt more ambitious green policies. It also looks at what policies could change that picture for the better. |
This Outlook focuses on four areas: climate change, biodiversity, freshwater and health impacts of pollution. These four key environmental challenges were identified by the previous Environmental Outlook to 2030 (OECD, 2008) as “Red Light” issues requiring urgent attention. Based on model projections, this edition of the Environmental Outlook paints a possible picture of what the environment might look like in 2050. It focuses on four areas which were identified by the previous edition of the Outlook as needing urgent attention: climate change, biodiversity, water, and health and environment.
PDF: OECD Environmental Outlook to 2010 The Consequences of Inaction
Also posted in news & events
New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities Working Paper 2012 / 1 February 2012
By Ralph Chapman, Philippa Howden-Chapman, Anthony Capon and Pengjun Zhao
Cities are complex ‘socio-technical’ systems, the sustainability of which is vital to citizens’ well-being. We focus on two connected systems, transport and energy, to draw out implications for health and sustainability and consider the challenges of the multi-level, coordinated governance needed to keep cities running and resilient. We draw three main conclusions. First, there is a need to build knowledge about urban transport, land use and energy in a more integrated way. Secondly, there is a need for greater horizontal policy integration, emphasising appraisal of co-benefits of policies, and policy experimentation. Thirdly, rather than growing cities waiting for detailed and perfect knowledge about urban issues and policies, they need to adopt precautionary policies on sustainability, if important opportunities to address the pressing issues of energy insecurity, climate change and maintaining health and wellbeing are to be successfully taken.
Pdf: Cities as systems: Implications for sustainability and health
31 December 2011 – 4:12 pm
Also posted in news & events
The Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart (WUNZ:HS) programme began on July the 1st 2009. WUNZ:HS is a $340 million dollar multi-year year programme funded by the New Zealand government that provides funding for insulation retrofits and clean, efficient heating grants for New Zealand households. It is the largest programme of its type in New Zealand history and is intended to produce a range of energy and health related benefits.
In 2010 the Ministry of Economic Development (MED), EECA’s parent organisation, tendered a contract to carry out a full cost benefit analysis of the programme. The bid was won by a consortium including academics including New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities members Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman and Nick Preval.
The evaluation was completed in Oct 2011 had produced very favourable results. Although at the present time the evaluations carried out have not been made publicly available an internet search found the following text in the document Energy and Resources Portfolio: Briefing to the Incoming Minister (Dec 2011):
The government’s $340 million Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart home insulation scheme has been well implemented, with a formal assessment of the scheme showing a strong net national benefit – primarily from health benefits. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority is keen to expand its successful energy efficiency programmes.
Links to the four reports that make up the evaluation will be made available when the reports become public and further information is available at the University of Otago website.
27 October 2011 – 1:57 pm
Also posted in news & events and urban governance
This document produced by Landcare Research in May 2011 provides and inventory of 92 post activities initiated earthquakes and a list of 144 people who have made a contribution to the rebuilding research, planning or practice.
Ph Helen Fitt 64 3 321 9999 for more details.
Christchurch Earthquake Activity Inventory
18 October 2011 – 9:36 am
Also posted in NZ policy issues and transport and urban design
Angus Hulme -Moir – Thesis
Minimum Parking requirements (MPRs) mandate that each new development provides enough parking to ensure ample provision at the time of peak demand. This approach tends to oversupply parking above the optimal level, and by bundling parking into the development costs, ensures that parking is free to the user. As a result, land-use and transport decisions are distorted. A case study of Porirua central business district (CBD) was undertaken to investigate the use of MPRs in the New ZEaland context, and to assess their impacts on transport and land-use patterns. Findings indicate that MPRs tend to oversupply parking relative to weekly mean and peak occupancies. Land use mapping found that 24 percent of CBD land is allocated to car parking and MPRs were shown to contribute to dispersed development patterns. Stand choice data and a cost recovery model for car parking highlight how free and ample car parking provision favours car driving and has distortionary impacts on travel decisions.
Angus Hulme-Moir
10 October 2011 – 10:47 am
Also posted in NZ policy issues and transport
Car use is engrained in our culture. Changing behaviour towards using more sustainable travel modes such as public transport is notoriously difficult, despite the increasing awareness of environmental problems caused by car use. Integrated ticketing is a policy measure more recently used in strategies towards achieving integrated and sustainable transport systems. It allows a passenger to travel with one public transport ticket throughout a region. This research uses a mixed method approach to assess how integrated ticketing may affect public transport use in Greater Wellington. The psychological constructs determining decisions to use public transport are tested using an integrated environmental behaviour model proposed by Bamberg and Möser (2007). The results support the integrated modelling approach. Intentions to use public transport are indirectly affected by awareness of environmental problems caused by car use mediated through social norms, guilt, perceived behavioural control and attitude. The intention to use public transport explains 56% of the variance in public transport behaviour. Integrated ticketing presents an opportunity to increase the ease and convenience of travel, shown to be important in the model. The majority of survey respondents perceived that they would use integrated ticketing in Greater Wellington and that it was important both on a regional and national scale. Achieving an effective integrated ticketing system in Greater Wellington will be conditional on firstly improving public transport service reliability and stakeholder communication. Integrating fares across the region and across modes will also be crucial to the system’s success.
C Morley Thesis (2)
