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Assignments (1, 2, 3 & 4) Governance for Sustainable Cities
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All assignments of the course. Grades: 10, 8.25 & 8.75.
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Assignment week 11.
I lived in Amsterdam, where I experienced multiple costs and benefits of agglomeration.
Agglomeration benefits:
1. Labour market
I used to live in a small village. In Amsterdam, there are way more job opportunities and I
immediately found a job I liked.
2. Infrastructure – Public Transport
In Amsterdam, it was only 5 minutes to the metro. I really enjoyed the connection to other places,
shops, and my job.
3. Quantity of urban functions
Needs can be satisfied quick as there is a great diversity of human activities. In my street, there was a
gym, shops, and restaurants.
Agglomeration costs:
1. Environmental noise
I received a phone call and wanted to find a quiet place outside to talk. This place was nowhere to be
found because of noise, which I experienced as oppressive.
2. Price of houses
Living in Amsterdam, I paid 550 euros per month for a 5m2 room. This was the downside of living in a
central place: finding affordable housing.
3. Crime
I did feel less safe in Amsterdam due to the higher number of crimes. In the dark, I did not feel safe
walking alone in less well-lit streets, so I felt not free to go outside.
2.
Governance is described as contemporary systems that formulate, deliver and legitimate public
policy. According to Rydin, governance does not directly influence the capacity of government
organizations themselves; the involvement of networks generates the capacity to act on public policy
problems. Governance can be made more effective by (1) bringing more actors into networks/
bringing the relevant actors and (2) improving the quality of engagement. In my opinion, bringing
more actors into networks increases diversity and representativity. This increases democracy and
involvement throughout the population. Quality is important to efficiently meet the goals set.
Involving actors and improving quality are therefore key in governance.
Governmentality describes governing as a project of the state to control from the side-line by
steering actors in their self-discipline in line with the government’s goals. Within this view, actors
wish to engage in activities for their own purpose and discipline is internalized. Governmentality
relates to the mode of governance of ‘Enabling’ explained by Bulekly and Kern (2006). Enabling
governance focuses on guiding and campaigning and to ‘involve the community and other partners in
meeting local needs and in planning local futures’. According to Bulkely and Kern (2006), the role of
the government within this mode is to facilitate, co-ordinate and encourage action through
partnership and multiple forms of community engagement. This connects to the concept of
governmentality that refers to the state as controlling and steering actors, implying the important
role of communities and engagement.
, 3.
When building cities, people replaced the natural land cover with pavement, buildings and other
surfaces that absorb heat, causing changes in radiative and thermal properties of urban
infrastructure (Akbari et al., 2011). This causes the occurring of Urban Heat Islands, where
temperatures are elevated compared to rural surroundings. A cause-effect relationship exists
between higher temperatures and increasing energy demand which results in higher air pollution
levels and GHG emissions. UHIs associated with higher levels of air pollution can affect human health,
leading to discomfort, respiratory health issues, heat cramps, exhaustion, heat stroke and heat-
related mortality. Urban Heat Islands also worsen the effect of Heat Waves (Akbari et al., 2011;
Heaviside et al., 2017). In these periods of abnormally hot and humid weather, sensitive populations
as children, the elderly, people with health issues and low socio-economic groups are at risk.
According to Akbari et al. (2011), the number of premature deaths due to heat stress between 1979
and 1999 in the US exceeds the number of mortalities caused by hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes,
floods, and earthquakes combined. In 2003, a heatwave in Europe even killed more than 70.000
people (WHO, n.d.). Urban Heat Islands are made by humans and therefore be changed by humans.
Altogether, these UHIs reduce the liveability in cities and lead to an increase in heath related deaths
and therefore air pollution and heat stress need to be mitigated.
To increase liveability in cities in terms of summer heat and air quality, two measures will be
discussed. Important indicators within the measures are particulate matter and heat stress. An
important difference between urban and rural areas is the amount of green and blue spaces which
play important roles in mitigation. Therefore, trees need to be planted in the city. Trees can provide
cooling in two ways: (1) through shade and (2) evapotranspiration (Tran et al., 2016). The shade
reduces our physiological temperature and thus heat stress and moreover leads to a reduction of
particulate matter (Ozdemir, 2019). Reducing exposure to outdoor air pollution and heat stress
reduces the risk of exhaustion, heat strokes and long-term heat mortality. As said before, a cause-
effect relationship exists between higher temperatures and increasing energy demand. Concluded
the other way around, providing shade by trees leads to lower air temperatures which subsequently
reduces the demand for energy and results in less air pollution.
A second measure to mitigate the urban heat island is to include water bodies. Water bodies increase
thermal comfort and reduce the negative health effects of heat (Akbari et al., 2011; Wang et al.,
2019). Water bodies have an evaporative power, releasing water to the surrounding air, dissipating
ambient heat (Akbari et al., 2011). Moisture due to evapotranspiration leads to reduced heat, and in
the long-term results in lower energy demand and thus particulate matter. Water moreover has the
advantage of moderating temperatures. During the daytime, it has a cooling factor and during the
night, a heating factor. Last, bodies of water can generate winds that convect heat away from the
cities. Besides, water and therefore wind can also prevent air pollutants from being ‘stuck’ in the city.
Summarized, by including vegetation and blue spaces and thereby reducing heat stress and air
pollution, liveability in the city can be restored.
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