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Booklet of Enabling Governance Arrangements for Sustainable and Just Cities released by the UrbanA project (September 2021)

This booklet, authored by Sophia Silverton, Philipp Späth and Jakob Kramer from the Chair of Sustainability Governance, presents their work on governance for sustainable and just cities in the UrbanA project. The publication is aimed at helping city-makers (municipal officials, civil society members, private sector members etc.) as they design and implement local initiatives.

Many valuable insights within the booklet were contributed by participants at UrbanA's online conference in March 2021 (see this previous news release: https://www.envgov.uni-freiburg.de/de/prof-sugov/news-archiv-sus-governance/governance-sustainable-just-cities).

Inside the booklet you will find plenty of colourful drawings, videos and case studies that bring the Enabling Governance Arrangements to life. You can access the booklet here: https://medium.com/urban-arenas-for-sustainable-and-just-cities/urbana-launches-booklet-of-enabling-governance-arrangements-90d095b8d94e

Ecological Crisis, Climate Activism and Racism (June 2021)

On 12 June 2021, in the framework of the festival “Dear White People – Let´s Break the Silence”, Cristina Espinosa moderated a discussion with three young climate activists: Angela Asomah, Leonie Baumgarten and Amanda Luna Tucunan. They shared their experiences and opinions from a positioning as black and indigenous activists on questions such as: What are the links between colonialism and the climate crisis? Are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPoC) underrepresented in the climate movements? How can people engage critically against racism and for climate justice?
Ecological Crisis, Climate Activism and Racism (June 2021)

Source: zlev.de

The discussion departed from the assertion that since 2019 rapid alterations of climatic conditions that make life on Earth possible and their manifold implications have received increasing and renewed public attention. To an important extent, this has been achieved by climate movements initiated and enacted by young people which mobilize in different locations worldwide. They are tired of waiting for governments and economic actors to take actions that effectively tackle climate change. They employ different strategies such as street protests, “buycotts”, artistic performances and many others. In the centre of this manifold activism is the urgency with which action needs to be taken to keep the rising temperature levels under 2 degrees Celsius as pledged in the Paris Agreement. Climate activists engage in debates that are framed by science but also entangled with moral considerations. Indeed, issues of justice crisscross most aspects of climate change.

However, the climate movements, perhaps one of the most progressive contemporary social movements, are not free from injustices, discrimination and racism. These structural problems can be grasped, i.a. when looking at how climate debates are framed in terms that tend to silence the lived-experiences and priorities of BIPoC or which prescribe identities to them such as that of the “exemplary victim”. Likewise, the lack of mediatic attention given to BIPoC environmental activism contributes to the general view of the climate movement as a predominantly White, higher-middle class phenomenon. This gets reinforced by intersectional structural discrimination patterns. For example, racial profiling makes confrontational collective action forms (e.g. protests or blockades) in which activists alter social order and enter in direct contact with police authorities very risky for BIPoC and thus uninviting. Talking about these complex topics is a step towards forging notions of climate justice that consider social justice, are inclusive, fair and cognizant of the power asymmetries tied to historical and contemporary colonialism.

To watch the video of the discussion (in German), click here.

For more information about the festival “Dear White People – Let´s Break the Silence”, please click here.

Berlin Arena on “Governance for Sustainable and Just Cities” hosted online by the UrbanA consortium (March 2021)

On March 18th and 19th, 2021, UrbanA’s virtual “Berlin” Arena gathered over 60 city-makers to talk about ‘governance for sustainable and just cities’. It was organized by Philipp Späth and his team (Sophia Silverton, Jakob Kramer, Romane Joly, Sophia McRae, Nadia Ali, and Kassia Rudd). To help illustrate the governance themes, the Arena featured several initiatives from Berlin working on issues of energy, mobility, public space, and Donut Economics. We are proud for having enabled two days of deep discussions and lighthearted virtual mingling. Read all about it in the blog post, below!
Berlin Arena on “Governance for Sustainable and Just Cities” hosted online by the UrbanA consortium (March 2021)

Source: medium.com

New blog post and video from UrbanA project (March 2021)

In the preparation for its third so-called ‘Arena’, lead-hosted by Philipp Späth’s research group on Urban Sustainability Governance, the project ‘UrbanA – Urban Arenas for Sustainable and Just Cities’ held a webinar on “Learning between cities with governance scenarios”. The webinar is documented in a blog post and a short video featuring Sophia Silverton.
New blog post and video from UrbanA project (March 2021)

Source: medium.com

Benjamin Hennchen successfully defended his dissertation (Jan 2021)

For the last four years, Benjamin Hennchen has worked as a doctoral candidate and research associate in the project KERNiG. On January 27, 2021, he successfully defended his dissertation entitled “Local Food Systems as Fields of Practice and Knowledge: Analysis of Work in Professional Kitchens and the Organization of Urban Food Initiatives”. Congratulations, Dr. Benjamin!

Virtual Final Conference ‘Critical Perspectives on Energy Transitions in Africa’ (December 2020)

From September to December 2020, a group of ten international scholars – including Michael Pregernig and Philipp Späth (as Principal Investigator and Convenor) – worked on the broad theme of ‘The Governance of Energy Transitions in the Global South’ as part of an Interdisciplinary Fellow Group (IFG) at the Maria Sibylla Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) at the University of Ghana. On December 14 and 15, 2020, the IFG showcased its research work in a virtual final conference.
Virtual Final Conference ‘Critical Perspectives on Energy Transitions in Africa’ (December 2020)

Source: twitter.com

Organization of Panel at the POLLEN Conference (September 2020)

On September 22, 2020, Zabrina Welter co-organized and presented at the panel titled ‘New National Power Structures and Shifted Governance Agendas Disrupting Resource Access’ at the third biennial conference of the Political Ecology Network (POLLEN). The goal of this panel was to explore both theoretically and empirically national and subnational policies and policy processes for resource access from both the theoretical angle of Political Ecology and governance processes.

Start of ReSET project (August 2020)

August 2020 saw the kick-off of ‘Reconfiguring Energy for Social Equity’ (ReSET), a 4-year research project funded by the Volkswagenstiftung. Philipp Späth (as Principal Investigator) and Bleta Arifi (as PostDoc researcher) are part of a consortium of four research institutions, including the Urban Futures Studio at Utrecht University (consortium leader, The Netherlands), the Institute for Human Settlements (India), and the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition at Stellenbosch University (South Africa). ReSET compares case studies in Germany, India, the Netherlands and South Africa to understand how the global energy transition can be made more equitable. It focuses on how ‘software’, in form of policy regimes, determines the flow of investments in the hardware of energy infrastructures. Together with diverse stakeholders, the project aims to develop a generic framework and gain concrete insights that can inform future policies.
Start of ReSET project (August 2020)

Source: vimeo.com

Publication of edited volume on environment, conflict and migration (April 2020)

From October 2017 to September 2018, Tim Krieger, Diana Panke, and Michael Pregernig led a project group on ‘Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Environmental Conflict and Related Migration’ at the Freiburg Institute of Advanced Studies (FRIAS). The key result of this cooperation is an edited volume published by Bristol University Press (BUP) in April 2020 exploring the interdependencies between environmental conflicts and migration, as well as the governance challenges in this respect.
Publication of edited volume on environment, conflict and migration (April 2020)

Source: bristoluniversitypress.co.uk