Urban Political Ecology

Toronto’s Greenbelt Under Threat: Civil society and (who is) defining ‘nature’

December 2019 saw the 15th anniversary of a landmark Act being passed, the Ontario Liberal Government’s Greenbelt Act, passed in December 2004. In December 2004, the Ontario Government passed legislation that designated 730,000 hectares of land, the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) Greenbelt around the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to combat the growing metropolitan area and the associated impacts of urban sprawl (Cadieux et al., 2013).

Figure 1 shows the extent of land which is protected as a result of the passing of this Act. The Act enabled the creation of the world’s largest permanent greenbelt, an achievement that ‘is one of the greatest contributions our generation has made to the future of Ontario’.

Figure 1: Greater Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt. The area that is considered protected countryside. Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MAH), (2005) The Greenbelt Plan. Queen’s Printer, Toronto.

A greenbelt, an area of land that is undeveloped, ecologically preserved and largely covered in vegetation, provides ecological services for society that ultimately makes it healthier. While greenbelts can be found in urban and rural arenas, the GGH Greenbelt this can be found at the urban-rural fringe. This Greenbelt is largely characterised by undeveloped areas of land, or lands designated for forestry and farming which has been the case for decades and even hundreds of years (Cloke, 2000).

Land use development has been growing and growing in the Toronto, similarly to much of the rest of North America, which brings several challenges such as environmental impacts, and socio-economic impacts, with housing supply and pricing being a prevalent issue for the Toronto area and its Greenbelt. Ecologically, some of the best farmland in Canada, and also environmental services like freshwater, cleaner air and the psychological effects of ‘countryside’ are being degraded at alarmingly increasing rates (Burton, 2019).

Impacts have been continuing to multiply, not only in their diversity but also in their extremity. A report by Environmental Defence Canada has identified four main areas in which the Greenbelt is under serious impact as of present day. These are:

1- Infrastructure expansion – especially of highways, thus including sewers and pipes. This facilitates urban sprawl. This impacts on wildlife movements, farmland, poorer air quality and higher levels of pollutants.

2- Sprawl – Developers and administrations are trying to shift the Greenbelt Plan to allow development, losing out in farmland, forests and wetlands. This costs more than building on brownfield sites or expanding current urban areas.

3- Dumping – contaminated soils on Greenbelt areas pollutes rivers, drinking water and agricultural land, impacting upon wildlife.

4- Pickering Airport – building a new airport, which also brings factories and industrial zones. There will be a loss of habitat, farmland and increased levels of air and noise pollution.

Civil society, which is collective action that is voluntary and non-profit but members of the public who are non-state and non-stakeholders (Heinrich and Fioramonti, 2008), has played a significant role in the bringing about of policy and the lobbying of stakeholders in regards to the above issues and other impacts such as housing.

The aforementioned Environmental Defence (ED) Canada helped create the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance (OGA) in 2002, an coalition of 47 different activist groups that pressured the Ontario Government into passing the Greenbelt Act within three years of its creation (Burton, 2019). They were successful as they brought together a variety of people with different resources, skills and knowledges, converting their social capital into pressure on state actors. This is continuing in the current day with the ED Canada, Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA), to provide just two examples, who provide regular updates on issues around the greenbelt and how they are trying to create change.

Linked to this action is the framing of the Greenbelt, and the countryside as a whole. How it is defined shapes the way in which is used, or not used. The Greenbelt has been seen as a potential building site for expansion of industry and housing, as leaked by Premier candidate Doug Ford. Thus, the greenspace has had its environmental services devalued, and thus the rhetoric around its intrinsic value has declined in the arena of political and industrial policy. Counter to this, is the work carried out by the TEA and ED, for example, who try to continue the idea that the Greenbelt, and green space, is an essential part of Toronto life, given the environmental services it provides.

This blog has aimed to provide an insight into Toronto’s greenbelt, its creation, the issues it is facing, and how collective action has and continues to create change despite the increasing pressure from state and economic actors to reframe the Greenbelt as an opportunity to create new areas of industry and housing, which inevitably brings challenges for the ecology of the Greenbelt. In doing so, it has highlighted the interconnected nature of policy, the urban and rural environment, and how people are interwoven into the decision making process at all scales.

Reference List:

Burton, W. (2019) Mapping civil society: the ecology of actors in the Toronto region greenbelt, Local Environment, 24 (8), 712-726.

Cadieux, K, V., L. E. Taylor, M. F. Bunce, (2013) Landscape ideology in the Greater Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt Plan: Negotiating material landscapes and abstract ideals in the city’s countryside, Journal of Rural Studies, 32, 307-319.

Cloke, P. (2000) “Rural.” In Dictionary of Human Geography, edited by R. J. Johnston, D. Gregory, G. Pratt, and M. Watts, 4th ed., 718. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Heinrich, V. F., and L. Fioramonti. (2008) ‘Introduction‘, In CIVICUS Global Survey of the State of Civil Society, Volume 2: Comparative Perspectives, edited by V. F. Heinrich and L. Fioramonti, xxix–xxxix. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press.

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The Nevada Test Site and its radioactive legacy in Vegas!

In the late 1950s an area of land in the Nevada desert was allocated for nuclear testing, located roughly 60 miles away from the city of Las Vegas. Nuclear tests were carried out at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) up until 1992.

The tests were carried out to ensure that US military power was maintained. It helped to assert the USA’s dominance as a super power (NNSS, 2017). The nuclear testing began above ground but amid growing concerns from the population President Kennedy signed a Partial Ban Treaty in 1963 limiting the testing to only occur underground (Rogers, 2014).

When the testing began the mushroom clouds produced from the explosions were a spectacle to all that saw them. In Las Vegas casinos and hotels located in now what would be referred to as ‘Old Vegas’ (Freemont Street) would host ‘dawn parties’ and would serve atomic themed beverages so that tourists could party and stay up to watch the nuclear test clouds appear in the distance (Atomic Heritage, n/d). People in surrounding neighbourhoods were encouraged to watch the bomb tests from their front porches whilst wearing a badge. These badges were then collected by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and tested for radiation (Buck, 2017).

Image 1, mushroom cloud from bomb tests (https://www.atomicheritage.org/location/nevada-test-site)

Higher rates of bone and thyroid cancer as well as increased instances of childhood leukaemia began to be reported from populations in the states surrounding the NTS – Utah was the most impacted (Beck & Krey, 1983). Las Vegas also saw an increase in cancer related deaths. This was largely ignored by Congress, they used the inconclusive results of the AEC badge testing to back this claim (Rogers, 2014). Further research has been carried out and it is found that Strontium (Sr-90) – a radioactive chemical – is detectable in the teeth of adults who lived close to the test site (Mangano & Sherman).

In the originally documents published by the AEC in 1955 potential harm to human health was accounted for as well as nuisance created by the blasts. However in usual political style all of the inconveniences were justified by the need to keep ‘atomic strength at peak level’ helping the USA to ‘buy precious time’ in military operations (Atomic Energy Commission, 1955). It is reported that in declassified documents that the tests may have been carried out to fully understand the impact that radioactive fallout could have on the human population (Nuclear Chain, n/d). However, this has not been proven.

Image 2, onlookers watching the tests (https://www.atomicheritage.org/location/nevada-test-site)

Pressure was continually applied to the government by activist groups – arguing that they (the populations surround NTS) were subject to harmful levels of radiation throughout the 1970s and 80s. Organisations such as ‘Downwinders’ were set up to provide support to those impacted by the nuclear tests (Solomon, 2001). Finally in 1990 President Bush agreed that the levels of radiation were damaging to those in the surrounding areas – he passed the Radiation Exposure Act which gave compensation to those affected (Curtis, 2018; Nuclear Chain, n/d).

Further testing and investigation has uncovered that groundwater is also contaminated – which could spell disaster for future populations and acts as a barrier to urban sprawl from cities like Las Vegas (Vartabedian, 2009; NNSS, 2017).

So how does this related to UPE?

Whilst the problems of radioactive contamination continue in to the present day – and are likely to well in to the future it is clear that political power remains the most important issue to Congress. Activist groups have had to continually and forcefully lobby their point of view – backed up by statistical truths of the rising death toll from cancers. Impacts of groundwater contamination are likely to be felt in years to come – however continued strength in political and military power work to cover the truth.

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Reference List:

Atomic Energy Commission (1955) Atomic test effects in the Nevada test site region, (WWW) AEC: USA (https://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/www/atomic_tests_nevada/ , last accessed 10/03/20)

Atomic Heritage (n/d) Nevada test site, (WWW) Atomic Heritage Foundation: Washington (https://www.atomicheritage.org/location/nevada-test-site, last accessed 10/03/20)

Beck, H., & Krey, P. (1983). Radiation Exposures in Utah from Nevada Nuclear Tests. Science, 220: 4592, 18-24.

Buck S. (2017) Nuclear bombs were being tested less than an hour from Las Vegas – and Howard Hughes tried to stop it, (WWW) Medium: USA (https://timeline.com/howard-hughes-nuclear-weapons-las-vegas-53fb1cb30008, last accessed 10/03/20)

Mangano, J. and J. Sherman (2011) Elevated in vivo strontium-90 from nuclear weapons test fallout among cancer decedents: a case-control study of deciduous teeth, International journal of health services, 41: 1, 137-158

Nevada National Security Site (2017) Nevada Test Site, (WWW) NNSS: USA (https://www.nnss.gov/docs/docs_LibraryPublications/2017%20NNSSER%20Summary.pdf, last accessed 10/03/20

Nuclear Chain (n/d) Nevada Test Site USA, (WWW) Nuclear Risks: Germany (http://www.nuclear-risks.org/en/hibakusha-worldwide/nevada-test-site.html, last accessed 10/03/20)

Rogers, K. (2014) Report: Nuclear testing remnants remain radioactive (WWW) Review Journal: Las Vegas (https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/report-nuclear-testing-remnants-remain-radioactive/#,l, last accessed 10/03/20)

Solomon, N. (2001) 50 years later, the tragedy of nuclear tests in Nevada (WWW) Fair: New York (https://fair.org/media-beat-column/50-years-later-the-tragedy-of-nuclear-tests-in-nevada/ – , last accessed 10/03/20)

Vartabedian, R. (2009) Nevada’s hidden ocean of radiation, (WWW) LA Times, LA (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-nov-13-na-radiation-nevada13-story.html – last accessed 10/03/20)

Where does Amsterdam’s ‘green’ image come from?

According to the World Economic Forum, Amsterdam has the 12th most trees of any city with 20.6% of the city populated with them. However, when it came to cities with the highest percentage of green spaces, Amsterdam did not make the top 20. With only 13% of Amsterdam covered in public parks and gardens, compared to Moscow’s 54%, and London’s 33%, it trails very far behind major European metropolises. Green spaces in urban settings have social, economic, cultural, and environmental dimensions in sustainable development. They improve air quality and cool buildings/areas in urban spaces (Haq, 2011). The relationship between nature and the built environment in Amsterdam hints at questions of not only ecological betterment but also environmental equity for all city-dwellers.

Herengracht from Canalhouse Museum: taken by me

Visiting the Grachtenhuis Museum in Amsterdam, I was struck by the continuous mention of Amsterdam as a green city: it was described as one full of green spaces, written into the initial architectural design of the city. The lack of public green spaces in place, but the paradoxical abundance of trees can be linked to the historical prominence and grandeur of canalhouse gardens.

A quick historical recap: during the 1600s, issues of population increase and density forced the city to be re-designed. This expansion included the addition of three main canals – Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht – with a space for a row of trees along the banks. The architects wanted to maintain an image of stone and nature in balance: ‘the city in the forest, or the forest in the city’ (Albrecht and Grever, 2015: 11). To create this image of a “Green City”, there was an ordinance that banned industry businesses from setting up premises in this area, and to leave spaces for gardens. These gardens were filled with trees, to ensure shade for residents so the class conscious canalside inhabitants could enjoy their tea without getting tanned (ibid, 2015). In those days, pale skin unharmed by the sun was a sign of wealth.

*Het Grachtenhuis* *Museum* Garden from inside. Notice the big space and smaller back houses: Taken by me.

Thus, the city has plenty of trees but a lack of green spaces. The issue here is that due to city blocks being sealed off, this greenery is hidden and visible only to canal side residents, which happen to be the wealthiest residents. Historically, even the help who lived in coach houses at the back of the gardens did not have real windows. This prevented them from looking into their employer’s private gardens (Grachtenhuis Tour, 2019).

What does a lack of green spaces actually mean for Amsterdam?

Urban centres are frequently zones of exacerbated summer temperatures. The built environment creates an ‘urban heat island’ caused by vehicles emitting heat, concrete and asphalt absorbing and radiating heat, and ‘urban canyons between tall buildings trapping heat at the street level’ (Oldfield, 2018:2). The usual response to the increasingly common heat waves in cities is to crank up the air conditioner, but that involves the vicious cycle of heating the outside to cool inside.

The best solution for cities is, you guessed it: public green spaces. Vegetation and greenery provide shade and stimulate evapotranspiration cooling the environment as well as absorb pollutants from the air and provide residents with aesthetic and calming places to relax.

Amsterdam might have to consider creating more of these places, given that over the last few years the heat waves have shocked it. In 2019, they hit 40 degrees Celsius, for the first time in recorded history (Ambrose, 2019). Unused to this, the cities’ residents panicked. I remember my sister calling me in a panic, asking me to ship her a fan because they were sold out in every store and on back-order online. That summer, Amsterdam experienced two heat waves. A smog warning was released by the public institute (RIVM), and suggested limited physical activity, especially in the mornings and evenings when pollution levels were highest. A total of 2,964 people died (Pieters, 2019).

People seeking shade in city center during 2019 heat wave: Source

Despite being viewed as a ‘Green City’, Amsterdam trails behind many other major urban centers when it comes to actual greenery. This image vs. reality contradiction ties into the issues of complacency in the residents of the city, which I have spoken of in other entries. It also reveals the ‘class character’ that underpins socioenvironmental injustices (Bridge, 2008: 572). In the name of harmonious coexistence of urban and rural conditions that are inclusive to all within this city, Amsterdam needs to create more public green spaces to accompany Vondelpark.

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References

Albrecht S. and Grever, T. (2015) Canal house gardens of Amsterdam: The Hidden Green of the City W. Books: Zwolle, Netherlands

S. Haq, “Urban Green Spaces and an Integrative Approach to Sustainable Environment,” Journal of Environmental Protection, Vol. 2 No. 5, 2011, pp. 601-608

Maina Wambugu, Daniel . (2018). Cities With the Most Green Space. Retrieved from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/cities-with-the-most-greenspace.html

Garfield, L. (2018) These are the 19 cities with most trees, World Economic Forum. Retrieved from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/03/the-12-cities-with-the-most-trees-around-the-world

Oldfield, P. (2018) What would a heat proof city look like, The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/aug/15/what-heat-proof-city-look-like

Pieters, J. (2019) 400 more deaths during heat wave than average, NL Times. Retrieved from: https://nltimes.nl/2019/08/09/400-deaths-heatwave-average

Heat Islands and the Production of Urban Air- Las Vegas!

Thanks to its positioning in the desert, Las Vegas can top temperatures of 40*C during the summer months. Heat islands are created above Las Vegas. These happen when building materials that hold heat, transfer the stored heat energy to the surrounding air (via radiation and conduction) (Black, et al. (2013). This creates higher night-time temperatures in the city. In past years Las Vegas has been on average 7.3*C hotter at night than surrounding urban areas (Hanscom, 2014) – this makes it the city in the USA where the heat island effect is most pronounced (Wilson, 2019). Climate change is increasing the number of heat wave events, whilst urbanisation is increasing the prevalence of the heat island effect.

Image 1, Scorching sun in Las Vegas – https://grist.org/cities/vegas-tops-the-list-of-the-countrys-worst-heat-islands/

Heat related deaths are the biggest climate related killed in the USA (Wilson, 2019). Patterns of mortality from heat wave within cities often match closely with patterns of low socio-economic status (Graham, 2015). In Vegas this is also seen to be true. Between 2006 to 2017 there were 437 heat related deaths (Bandala, 2019). A relatively high proportion of these were in the homeless communities living in Las Vegas. Whilst the homeless are often able to seek shade during the day in tunnels underneath the city, the sweltering night-time temperatures push their bodies to the limit. Temperatures can reach in excess of 35*C overnight due to the urban heat island effect. Nearly a quarter of heat related deaths occurred in the 20-50 year old population. The majority of these had pre-existing drug and alcohol abuse problems (Flavelle and Popovich, 2019). These often resided in the poorer suburbs of the city – often these dwellings did not have air-conditioning (AC), or when they did often the cost of using the extra electricity to power the AC units was too high (Graham, 2015).

Heat related deaths remain under-reported. It is claimed that heat is only used as the explanation of death when all other explanations can be ruled out (Flavelle and Popovich, 2019). Often times heat is ignored as a contributor to death if it is seen as an aggravator of a pre-existing condition such as asthma. This means that the statistics for heat induced deaths is likely to stand far higher.

Image 2, Facts about heat island effect – https://statesatrisk.org/nevada/all

The production of urban air in indoor environments along the Las Vegas strip ensures that tourists are protected from the scorching heat. Indoor air production implies a mixing of both the social and the natural to create a form of urban nature (Gissen, 2008). Cooling and filtering occur to ensure that the air within indoor spaces is comfortable for tourists visiting the city. Along busy street passages on the Las Vegas strip, large industrial fans and water mist machines are strategically placed to help tourists cope with the punishing heat

Image 3, cooling mist outside in Las Vegas – https://www.reviewjournal.com/life/home-and-garden/mist-cooling-systems-offer-outdoor-ac/

Officials are now left with decisions to make in order to tackle the rising number of heat related deaths within Las Vegas. Whilst climate change is a global influence increasing the instances of heatwaves, the regional urban heat island effect is one which can be addressed. City planners need to begin to move away from heat absorbing materials – such as concrete – and retrofit buildings with materials that absorb less heat, they also need to create more urban vegetative spaces (using drought resistant plants to conserve water).

Heat dumping from AC units – due to heat exchange at the transformers is another significant source of excess heat in the city. However it is unlikely that state officials or hotel/casino owners will reduce the usage of indoor air cooling due to the importance of the tourist economy within the city. This shows how different groups within a city are treated with varying importance. Despite those in the Las Vegas suburbs being long term residents – they provide less value to the economy than the hordes of tourists visiting the city’s indoor environments. This means that policy changes for use of AC units and changes to buildings are unlikely to be introduced due to the disruption that it would cause tourists.

Overall, this blog post shows how climate change can have a significant impact on regional climate in Las Vegas. This impact is made more significant due to the urban land use in Las Vegas and the creation of heat islands that make living conditions unbearable for the vulnerable in society. City planners in Las Vegas need to address the creation of urban heat islands by encouraging more environmentally sustainable building – incorporating more vegetative space in to urban planning and using building materials that absorb significantly less heat.

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References:

Bandala, E, et al. (2019) Extreme heat and mortality rates in Las Vegas, Nevada: inter-annual variation and thresholds, International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology

Black, A. et al. (2013) Temperature Trends and Urban Heat Island Intensity Mapping of the Las Vegas Valley Area ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Web

Flavelle and Popovich (2019) Heat deaths jump in South West, United States, Puzzling Officials, NY Times, NY https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/26/climate/heat-deaths-southwest.html, 14/02/2020

Graham, S. (2015). “Life support: The political ecology of urban air.” City 19(2-3): 192-215.

Gissen, D. (2008). Atmospheres of late-modernity the urban production of indoor air in new york city, 1963–2003 (Order No. U591482). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

Hanscom, G. (2014 ) Vegas tops the list of country’s worst heat islands, (WWW) GRIST, Seattle (https://grist.org/cities/vegas-tops-the-list-of-the-countrys-worst-heat-islands/, 13/02/2020)

Wilson, M. (2019) Las Vegas planners discuss how to mitigate the ubran heat island effect, (WWW) Las Vegas Sun: Nevada (https://lasvegassun.com/news/2019/oct/16/las-vegas-planners-discuss-how-to-mitigate-the-urb/, 13/02/2020)

Toronto’s Air Pollution: Proximity to roads, monitoring, and… Trump?

This blog post aims to understand how air pollution impacts upon Toronto, who is involved in the assessment of air quality and use this as a lens for understanding air pollution more generally. Graham (2015) has previously stated that understanding air pollutants has been understudied and underdeveloped. This is surprising despite constant lobbying in academia to understand air, given that air is implicit for everyday human and geological life (Sloterdijk, 2009). In understanding the air quality of Toronto, there is a variety of actors and processes, which brings in reference to metabolism, one of Urban Political Ecology’s key debates and theory. Understanding air means we can understand how the city operates as a complex and evolving network.

Toronto previously had a fairly negative record on air pollution in comparison to its Western world compatriots, when compared to cities of similar sizes and populations. In 2004, Toronto Public Health reported that air pollution contributed to around 1700 premature deaths and 6000 hospitalisations as a direct result of pollutants in the Torontonian air. While the numbers have fallen to 1300 and 3550 respectively in a decade since the report, ‘air pollution still has a serious impact on the health of Toronto’s residents’, as of 2014.

**Figure 1: Traffic-Related Air Pollution. Taken from:** https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/documents/ohp-trap.pdf?la=en

From the monitoring that takes place in Toronto, there is evidence to suggest that unequal power relations occur between those who reside near to the main road networks, and those who reside further away. As figure 1 demonstrates, ‘those who live less than 100m from a major road or 500m from a highway… which can result in increased health risks’ (PublicHealthOntario). An area which has a high density of roads, Scarborough, is a highly diverse area, with 67.4% of its population as visible minorities. Typically, minorities reside in poorer areas of Toronto and have stronger associations to SO2 and NO2. This is similar to another global city, Hong Kong, where the poorer are disproportionately located due to prices of property and historical enclaving of immigrants (Wong et al., 2008).

Monitoring has seen a more participatory turn in Toronto. Toronto Environmental Alliance created the INHALE project, aiming at monitoring streets closed off from cars. Participation is one way that the city and its people can join forces to create positive change. It allows those impacted to create their own ways of monitoring and possible solutions (Sahely et al., 2003).

However, the aforementioned changes that Toronto is making to improve its air quality face the threat of its neighbours’ backtracking on progress. Toronto Public Health has estimated that US created pollution causes around 30% of the air-quality related deaths and 1/4 of hospitalisations linked to the quality of air in the City. Similarly to Toronto, there has been a de-scaling of coal-fired energy plants in the US since the turn of the millennium, which has been of benefit to the Canadian city, but proposals by the Trump administration suggest a revival of the American coal industry and minimalist the influence the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has on domestic matters. This is in keeping with his withdrawal from the Paris Summit Agreements. This could pose a new and serious threat to the progress that Toronto has made until now.

This blog has demonstrated that air pollution in Toronto has seen some progress being made, but ultimately is still a serious issue for the City, relatively speaking. In terms of Urban Political Ecology framing, the points made in regards to the policy-making processes of diminished coal power usage, the proximity of residents and businesses to major road networks, the increase in voluntary monitoring and the threat of US-created pollution highlight the intertwined nature of land and the air. These highlight how networks of actors from campaigners to policy-makers are critical for identifying, reducing and monitoring air pollution. Toronto as a ‘global city’ can be assessed through a multi-scalar approach, from the continental threat of the United States’ coal industry revival to the neighbourhood impacts that sewage burning and road networks bring.

Reference List:

Graham, S. (2015) ‘Life support: The political ecology of urban air’, City, 19, 2-3, 192-215.

Sahely, H., S. Dudding and C. Kennedy (2003) ‘Estimating the urban metabolism of Canadian cities: Greater Toronto Area case study’, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 30, 468–83.

Sloterdijk, P. (2009) Terror from the Air (Translated by A. Patton and S. Corcoran), Semiotext(e):Los Angeles.

Wong, C.-M., Ou, C.-Q., Chan, K.-P., Chau, Y.-K., Thach, T.-Q., Yang, L., … Lam, T.-H. (2008) ‘The Effects of Air Pollution on Mortality in Socially Deprived Urban Areas in Hong Kong, China’, Environmental Health Perspectives, 116, 9, 1189–1194.

Further Information:

https://www.torontoenvironment.org/air_quality

https://aqicn.org/city/toronto/

https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/health-wellness-care/health-programs-advice/air-quality/

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Waternet and Amsterdam’s Municipality: teamwork makes the dream work

In a city as deeply associated with water as Amsterdam, water management is a particularly important theme to analyze within urban political ecology. Especially in terms of municipal goals to become ‘circular’, which focus on effective use of resources such as raw materials, energy and water (van der Hoek, 2017). Despite the epistemological divide between material culture studies and ecological anthropology, thinking in terms of urban metabolism allows us to see the ‘big picture’ quantification of inputs, outputs, and storage of energy, water, nutrients, materials and wastes in an urban region (Ingold, 2012). Employing the UPE lens we look at the flows of water, not just as standstill and fixed in place (Amin and Thrift 2002). This way of thinking is essential to the circularity of the city.

A rich history of water management and an ongoing fight of flood prevention, or sea intrusion, are at the essence of Dutch tradition and culture (Schreuder, 2001). Currently, the Netherlands is a world leader when it comes to water management. Regional and local authorities combine duties with stakeholders, in the distinctive polder approach explained in a previous blog post (click here to read), emphasizing consensus-based decision making (OECD, 2014). Agudelo-Vera et al. (2012) quantified the potentials to harvest water and energy for the Netherlands and concluded that potentials can cover up to 100% of electricity demand, 55% of heat demand and 52% of tap water demand. Therefore, this blog post will focus on Amsterdam’s water cycle, and what is being done to maximise its sustainability.

“We do not only consult with other municipalities and public authorities. We also talk to civilians and entrepreneurs. Together we ensure a safe, clean and sufficient supply of water.”

Waternet, 2020

Waternet, the first water cycle company in the country, is responsible for drinking water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, and water system management (canals, flooding) in Amsterdam (van der Hoek, 2011). It is the executive body of water management in the city, half coordinated by the municipality, and the other half by Waterboard of Amstel, Gooi and Vecht (AGV); the latter in charge of practices regarding wastewater (see Figure 1). The company wants to be climate neutral by 2020 through reduction of greenhouse gases and one of its primary goals is to recover resources from wastewater (Klaversma et al, 2013). Matters of wastewater are not under municipal authority, however, this goal still aligns with government aims of a transition to a circular economy.

Figure 1- Organizational Structure: Source

Waternet and the municipality have worked together on finding innovative opportunities for sustainable phosphate recovery. Phosphate is a non-substitutable nutrient essential to ensuring universal food security with its fertilization properties for agriculture (Sikosana, 2015). So far, the company has begun to enact a phosphate recovery plan that includes transforming the chemical into struvite, but they believe there are better methods that would reduce carbon emissions more substantially (De Jong, 2017). They have been busy creating a system in which energy recovery from surface water can be extracted as thermal energy, by using lakes as ‘cooling machines’, specific to the city in the summer (van der Hoek, 2011). Waternet had 80 projects installed or in construction in 2011 regarding energy recovery from groundwater, which amalgamated to an emission reduction of more than 23,000 ton Co2 at the time (ibid). Aquifer Thermal Energy storage (ATES) is used all throughout the city, as per environmental policy (picture below depicts how the system works). The potential energy recovery from the water cycle in Amsterdam can contribute 5% of the 40% reduction the city aimed for by 2025 (ibid).

AEB Waste-to-energy is another municipal company, in charge of two waste-energy plants in the city, and responsible for the collection and reuse of hazardous waste (van der Hoek, 2017). They have started to transition from waste incinerator to a sustainable energy and raw materials company.

Circular Amsterdam Logo: Source

The city of Amsterdam, alongside these companies, follows Venkatesh et al’s (2014) ‘Dynamic Metabolism Model’ and Agudela-Vera et al’s (2012) ‘Urban Harvesting Concept’. The former refers to a new perspective when analyzing metabolism and the ecological impacts of ‘resource flows in urban water and wastewater systems’, as a tool for future strategies and interventions (van der Hoek et al, 2017). The latter allows us to think of cities as consumers of goods and services, as well as producers of waste and therefore can be transformed to be more resilient by producing their own renewable energy and harvesting internal resources (ibid). Both these mechanisms are used by stakeholders and the municipality to achieve their own, and joint goals in the name of sustainability in Amsterdam. Thinking about the flows of materials creates opportunities not only ecologically, but economically as well.

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References

Amin A and Thrift N J (2002) Cities: Rethinking the Urban. Cambridge: Polity Press

Agudelo-Vera, C.M., et al., (2012) Harvesting urban resources towards more resilient cities. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 64, 3–12.

De Jong, R. (2017) Governance of Phosphate Recovery from Wastewater in Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam: Amsterdam

Ingold, T. (2012) ‘Toward an ecology of materials’. Annual Review of Anthropology 41: 427–442.

Klaversma, E., van der Helm, A., Kappelhof, J. (2013) The use of life cycle assessment for evaluating the sustainability of the Amsterdam water cycle. Journal of Water and Climate Change 4 (2): 103–109

Sikosana, M. (2015) A technological, economic and social exploration of phosphate recovery from centralised sewage treatment in a transitioning economy context. University of Cape Town.

Schreuder, Y. (2001) ‘The Polder Model in Dutch Economic and Environmental Planning’, Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 21(4), pp. 237–245

van der Hoek, J. (2011) Energy from the water cycle: a promising combination to operate climate neutral. Water Practice and Technology 6 (2)

van der Hoek, J., Struker, A. & de Danschutter, J. (2017) Amsterdam as a sustainable European metropolis: integration of water, energy and material flows, Urban Water Journal, 14:1, 61-68,

Venkatesh, G., Sægrov, S., and Brattebø, H., (2014) Dynamic metabolism modelling of urban water services – Demonstrating effectiveness as a decision-support tool for Oslo, Norway. Water Research, 61, 19–33.
Waternet. Accessed on 3/5/2020. Retrieved from: https://www.waternet.nl/en/about-us/who-we-are/

Cape Town: Water for all or the city must fall

The three-year drought drew widespread attention to the city’s water supply. The city’s relation with water, however, has always been complex. Cape Town still faces the ever-existing problems of racial inequality and state-led discrimination which deprive many residents of public amenities. Through an examination of water management devices, we can observe how urban metabolisms can serve elites at the expense of marginalised social groups with less agency (Swyngedouw and Heynen, 2003).

Water Management Devices (WMD)

A WMD is programmed to provide a daily allocation of water to use on your property (City of Cape Town, 2017) and, they will switch off the water, once the daily allocated amount has been used (Figure 1). WMDs were a key strategy in Cape Town’s water demand management plan (WCWDM, 2007). Water supply is restricted to 350 litres per day in all homes using WMDs, despite the size of the household. The city installed 250,000 WMDs during the drought, of which 64% were fitted in poor neighbourhoods (Mahlanza et al., 2016). The disproportionate installation process of WMDs in poorer households has been described as unjust and punitive (Wilson and Pereira, 2012). WMDs have been critiqued for numerous reasons and have driven complaints and protests among many social groups. Many people did not fully understand how to use WMDs as many residents were not consulted or educated about the devices. Moreover, WMDs prevent people from fulfilling their water needs and interfere with people’s daily lives. One resident of the Dunoon township described how he had to juggle many tasks to ensure their family would have sufficient water supply, which compromised their quality of life and dignity;

“The running out of water is a big disadvantage. I have a three-year-old daughter, so when she wants to use the toilet to relieve herself and there’s no water to flush with, there’s nothing I can do… I have to take her to the bush” (Mahlanza et al, 2016).

Households who require more than the 350 litres can apply for more water, given that they can afford the additional supply (CCT 2009). This raises another UPE issue. Water a basic need is treated as an economic commodity which can be bought and sold (Page, 2005). Cape Town’s urban dwellers are treated as customers rather than human citizens with basic rights to resources (Gandy, 2004). Citizens of the informal settlements were extremely angered by the regulations imposed on water. Residents gathered to the streets of Cape Town in protest chanting;

“You cannot make a profit out of water; water is necessary for life. It does not mean if you don’t have money you can’t get water. We must provide water for everybody and it must be free” (The Atlantic, 2019).

Figure 1: 15mm WMD. Source: (City of Cape Town, 2017)

Cape Town is sailing away from its apartheid past in which informal settlements and non-white areas did not have equitable access to resources. The government has aspired to address the inequalities and injustices within the city. The city has implemented legislation to manage and conserve water and also to address the socio-economic challenges facing the city (Funke et al., 2007). The South African Constitution of 1996 states that access to clean water is a human right, and the government has sought to democratise this public necessity.

The government, however, has formed private partnerships to improve the efficiency and distribution of water services (Smith, 2001). Through the implementation of neoliberal cost recovery* policies, including water cut-offs and underinvestment in infrastructure, the city is reproducing apartheid legacy inequalities (Smith and Hanson, 2003). Power relations are embedded in Cape Town’s development, and the resulting social disparities in access to water and other resources highlights how efficient economic growth comes at the expense of equity.

Examining practices of water supply and distribution through a UPE lens reveals how the city and nature are inherently intertwined. We can see how water is not just a key element in the production of cities; it is part of broader processes and practices of power, justice and agency. In Cape Town, it is a controlled and manipulated body which is perpetuating inequalities and injustice.

As Cape Town’s population continues to increase and climate-related events accelerate, the government faces enormous challenges in managing this complex city. Although neoliberal policies may be useful in making services more efficient, they generally come at the expense of the urban poor. This middle-income city, the legislative capital of South Africa with sufficient financial resources, can address poverty and inequality. The government needs to adopt a collaborative, inclusive and systematic management plan which speaks to residents from all walks of life. Water may have been the focus of this blog. However, the issues of justice and inequality are prevalent across multiple resources in Cape Town (MacDonald et al., 2002a).

*Cost recovery processes involve charging customers for services including water and electricity to recover all or most of the cost of service provision (McDonald, 2002b)

Word Count: 816

References

CCT (City of Cape Town). (2009). Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, No 108 of 1996. 1996. http://www.westerncape.gov.za/legislation/constitution-republic-south-africa.

Gandy, M. (2004) ‘Rethinking urban metabolism: water, space and the modern city’, City, 8, 363-376.

Mahlanza, L, Ziervogel. G. and D. Scott (2016) ‘Water, Rights and Poverty: an Environmental Justice Approach to Analysing Water Management Devices in Cape Town’, Urban Forum, 27, 1, 363-382.

Mcdonald, D. A. (2002a) The theory and practice of cost recovery in South Africa, in: D. A. Mcdonald and J. Pape (Eds) Cost Recovery and the Crisis of Service Delivery in South Africa, pp. 17–37. HSRC Pretoria, ZED and the Municipal Services Project, Pretoria.

Mcdonald, D. A. and Pape, J. (Eds) (2002b) Cost Recovery and the Crisis of Service Delivery in South Africa. HSRC Pretoria, ZED and the Municipal Services Project, Pretoria

Page, B., 2005. Paying for water and the geography of commodities. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 30(3), pp.293-306.

Smith. L. (2001) ‘The Urban Political Ecology of Water in Cape Town’, Urban Forum, 12, 2, 204-224.

Smith, L., & Hanson, S. (2003). Access to water for the urban poor in cape town: where equity meets cost recovery. Urban Studies, 40(8), 1517–1548.

Swyngedouw, E. and Heynen, N., 2003. Urban Political Ecology, Justice and the Politics of Scale. Antipode, 35(5), pp.898-918.

The Atlantic (2019) Countdown to Day Zero: Cape Town’s Water Crisis. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZmxEY6QoUY&t=412s (Accessed: 2^nd February 2020)

WCWDM Strategy (2007). City of Cape Town, long term water conservation and water demand management. https://www.capetown.gov.za/en/Water/WaterservicesDevPlan/Documents/WSDP_2012_2013/Topic8_ WCWDM_STRATEGY_2.pdf.

Wilson, J. & Pereira, T. (2012). Water Demand Management’s Shadow Side: tackling inequality and scarcity of water provision in Cape Town. Proceedings of the conference Strategies to Overcome Poverty and Inequality Conference. Towards Carnegie III^. 3–7 September 2012. University of Cape Town.

Figures:

Figure 1: City of Cape Town (2017). GUIDE TO WATER METERS AND WATER MANAGEMENT DEVICES. Cape Town: City of Cape Town.

The Dutch Polder Model: the cultural basis for Amsterdam’s environmental success

So, why are the Dutch looked up to as an example not only when it comes to handling environmental issues, but economic ones as well? The answer lies in the ‘polder model’, one that values consensus and cooperation rather than confrontation, with deep historical roots that have created the foundation for a cultural tradition. The Dutch identification with this consensus-building model is what lies behind much successful policy in Amsterdam, specifically in themes elaborated on throughout this blog. As the Netherlands is densely populated and has issues of heavy pollution from chemical industries, oil refineries, international transportation and intensive agriculture, the polder model emphasizes finding a solution between actors that may otherwise have conflicting goals in the name of a larger issue (Schreuder, 2001).

In Amsterdam, the five key aspects of the polder model visibly present within the city’s governance are: mutual commitment, joint fact-finding (so decisions are grounded in rigorous research), compromise, priority alignment (avoiding irrelevant subjects), and balance between centralization and decentralization (Karsten et al, 2008).

However, we must go back to the Middle Ages to understand where the “polder model” comes from, and what it represents. Back then, the polder was an important feature of the Dutch landscape. It was land reclaimed from water that was protected by dikes against flooding. They were difficult to build and to maintain, requiring plenty of manpower and capital. The Catholic church initially had their monasteries control these polders. Once the Church lost power in the country, the regulation was taken over by local communities (ibid). The polder boards, where principles of self-rule prevailed, resisted against Habsburg king Charles V in the 16th century, and were a large part of what led to the Eighty Years War (Schama, 1988). The tradition of Dutch cooperation and determination to overcome hardship was further solidified in historical events such as the German occupation of WWII and the flood of 1953.

In 1982, the Wassenaar accord was part of the revitalisation of corporatism in which there was an agreement between capital, labor and government to address issues based on the consensus building concept of the polder model. This has also extended into Dutch environmental policy, where, as problems are identified and a threat is widely recognized, stakeholders such as the municipality, entrepreneurs, civilians, and public authorities participate in finding a solution and implementing policy to address the concern (Schreuder 2001).

Amsterdam as its own municipality is charged with execution of national environmental policy, subject to creating new environmental and water management plans every four years. The city of Amsterdam seeks consensus through constructive dialogue which portrays a particular institutional system, or business system. Frequent and informal contact between stakeholders makes this process easier: especially in an urban setting in a country where environmental issues such as rising sea levels are particularly extreme.

Word Count: 467

References

Hoek, Peter. Does the dutch model really exist?. International Advances in Economic Research 6, 387–403 (2000)

Karsten, L., van Veen, K. and van Wulfften Palthe, A. (2008) ‘What Happened to the Popularity of the Polder Model?: Emergence and Disappearance of a Political Fashion’, International Sociology, 23(1), pp. 35–65

OECD (2014), Water Governance in the Netherlands: Fit for the Future?, OECD Studies on Water, OECD Publishing.
Schreuder, Y. (2001) ‘The Polder Model in Dutch Economic and Environmental Planning’, Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 21(4), pp. 237–245

Cape Town: Day Zero

Water is a basic human need, critical to life, agriculture and industry. An indispensable element, yet almost two years ago Cape Town was poised to become the first major city in the world to run out of water.

I want to begin with an exploration of the metabolic flow of water throughout Cape Town. Water is not just a simple element involved in the production of cities. Water encompasses continuous metabolic processes, which include different actors at various scales (Gandy, 2004). Water connects and disconnects, comes and goes, enables and prevents. In Cape Town, water connects people to both visible and invisible entities within the city including infrastructure, and capital flows, through multiple networks of knowledge, technology and political systems (Swyngedouw 1996). However, in Cape Town water also disconnects and prevents, reinforcing the entrenched inequalities.

Climate change triggered an unprecedented drought in South Africa’s Cape. The dry climate combined with rapid urbanisation and high per capita water consumption drove the city to crisis. Following three years of drought, dam levels had dropped to just 20%, and in early 2018 the South African Government announced that day zero was looming. Day zero became the rather apocalyptic name for the moment when water dam levels would drop to 13% and water systems across the city would be turned off (Enqvist et al., 2018).

Figure 1: Signs warning Capetonians of impeding water disaster. Source: SA People News 2017

The water crisis raised extreme concern about the state of Cape Town’s water supplies, but it has also magnified the overarching problems of inequality and injustice across the city. Everyday struggles and practices of water acquisition within the city’s informal settlements were to some invisible. For many residents of the cities sprawling townships, water has always been scarce, and throughout the drought, conditions were no different.

In January 2018, the government implemented level 6 water restrictions which consisted of many new water regulations including a controversial drought levy which would fine excessive water users. Fortunately, after much public outcry, the levy was dropped. However, the City of Cape Town introduced a higher fixed monthly tax on water (Parks et al., 2018). This process outlines how water, a public good, is being treated as a vendible commodity in the city.

Crisis Averted

The video above emphasises the steps taken to reduce water usage in the city. Local authorities and community members transformed unsustainable water practices and proved that communities can accomplish behavioural shifts. The government established numerous partnerships to educate and provide information about water conservation practices. For example, Sanlam partnered with the city of Cape Town to release an album of 2-minute shower songs to help cut down water use. Moreover, a “city water map” was established in January 2018, which named and shamed those who were not sticking to the water restrictions of 87 litres per person (Sinclair-Smith et al., 2018).

Figure 2: Sign indicating that the water tap has been switched off due to water restrictions. Source: (Walton, 2018)

So how does Gandy’s urban metabolic perspective of water help us to understand Cape Town’s water crisis? This analogy can help us analyse the city’s metabolic responses to the diminishing supply of water. The city came together to overcome the disaster. The city took drastic measures and implemented quick emergency fixes, exhibiting a short term reactionary metabolic response.

Although the crisis was averted and the taps kept running, day zero remains a reality for many of the poorer residents living in the Cape’s informal settlements. There is a direct link between unequal access to resources and the economic inequalities entrenched within the city, lying within the racially segregated areas developed throughout apartheid.

Many cities can learn lessons from Cape Town’s experience. This crisis reveals how cities must improve their resilience strategies to prevent future emergencies. Moreover, governmental policies should focus on improving the infrastructure of those residing in informal settlements which are at higher risk.

Aisling Friel – 690 words

References

Gandy, M. (2004) ‘Rethinking urban metabolism: water, space and the modern city’, City, 8, 363-376.

Enqvist, J. and Ziervogel, G. (2019). Water governance and justice in Cape Town: An overview. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water, p.e1354.

Parks, R., Mclaren, M., Toumi, R., Rivett, U., 2019. Experiences and lessons in managing water from Cape Town. London, England.

Sinclair-Smith, K., Mosdell, S., Kaiser, G., Lalla, Z., September, L., Mubadiro, C., Rushmere, S., Roderick, K., Brühl, J., McLaren, M. and Visser, M., 2018. City of Cape Town’s Water Map. Journal – American Water Works Association, 110(9), pp.62-66.

Swyngedouw, E. (1996) ‘The city as a hybrid—on nature, society and cyborg urbanisation’, Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, 7, 1, 65–80.

Figures:

Figure 1: SAPeople – Your Worldwide South African Community. (2017). Cape Town Gets VERY Serious About Water Restrictions – SAPeople – Your Worldwide South African Community. [online] Available at: https://www.sapeople.com/2017/02/16/cape-town-gets-serious-water-restrictions/

Figure 2: Walton, B. (2018). How Cape Town Plans to Avoid Another Brush With ‘Day Zero’ – CityLab. [online] CityLab. Available at: https://www.citylab.com/environment/2018/07/how-cape-town-got-to-the-brink-of-water-catastrophe/564800/

AMSTERDAM: ‘Venice of the North’

The Netherlands is a land deeply entwined with water, finding itself not flooded over despite one third of it being below sea level (Brower et al, 2004). Its renowned capital, Amsterdam, is characterized by the quaintness of the narrow, sometimes tilting, canalhouses, and warm earthy tones of the gabled facades. Residents are called ‘Amsterdammers’, and more often than not are found riding their bikes along the city’s narrow streets. In this blog, I will be investigating the political and environmental implications, looking at the human and nonhuman as one concept, or a socionature, within this diverse and aqueous urban space (Zimmer, 2010).

I chose this city due to my personal connections to it, as my family comes from the Netherlands and I have many relatives that live there. I frequently visit this city and am excited to delve into an in-depth analysis of the ways in which this city operates on the political, social, and environmental scale.

This blog will look at topics such as Amsterdam’s cultural traditions and how that affects environmental policy, green spaces, the city’s reaction to the global pandemic, economic goals, the digitalisation of the city and its water cycle. I will look beyond obvious conflicts in the effort to conceptualize what is ‘considered “normal” under current political, economical, and social conditions and thus goes unnoticed’ (Zimmer, 2010: 345) in Amsterdam. Of utmost importance is the city’s commitment to being completely ‘circular’: meaning it wishes to preserve valuable raw materials through mapping out various material flows (City of Amsterdam). It aims to be completely circular by 2050, having eliminated the use of new raw materials. Employing a UPE lens, I will analyse the flow of materials, knowledge and disease that connects Amsterdam and the rest of the human and nonhuman world.

Much of Amsterdam’s surface area being water, climate change and the subsequent rising sea levels affect the city particularly intensely. Water flows through many different sectors of this urban space, as you will see throughout this blog series. Acting as both a source of social cohesion, and also political conflict, water: ‘implies a series of connectivities between the body and the city… between the visible and invisible dimensions to urban space’ it can be which will be discussed later in this blog (Gandy, 2004: 373).

Common bike placement, on canal bridge: taken by me

This city is a contemporary example of the ways in which ‘nature’ and the ‘urban’ play out, affecting the lives of those who live there in ways not immediately noticeable to most. Urban political ecology provides a lens with which to follow the flows of material and energy, including water, waste and how power and people are included within these processes (Castells 2004). Concepts such as metabolism, represent how chemical, biophysical, and other materials are circulated in, out of, and through the city (Lawhon, 2012:681). In Amsterdam, these flows and processes are characterized by urban actors who are striving towards closed-loop metabolic systems in order to become more sustainable.

Word count: 489

References:

Brouwer, R., van Ek, R. (2004) Integrated ecological, economic and social impact assessment of alternative flood control policies in the Netherlands Ecological Economies, Vol 50(1), pp. 1-21

Castells M (2004) Space of flows, space of places: Materials for a theory of urbanism in the information age. In S Graham (ed) The Cybercities Reader (pp 82– 93). London : Routledge

City of Amsterdam. Accessed on 2/8/20. Retrieved from: https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/policy/sustainability/circular-economy/

Coates, B. (2015) How green is Holland? From carbon emissions to climate change The Independent. Accessed on 9/2/20. Retrieved from: https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/how-green-is-holland-from-carbon-emissions-to-climate-change-10511649.html

Gandy, M. (2004). Rethinking urban metabolism: water, space and the modern city City 8(3): 363-379.

Lawhon, M., 2013. Flows, Friction and the Sociomaterial Metabolization of Alcohol. Antipode, 45(3), pp.681–701.

Martin, A. (2020) The history of Amsterdam canals Amsterdam Info. Accessed on: 10/2/20. Retrieved from: https://www.amsterdam.info/canals/history/

van Rooij, R. (2017) Netherlands One Of Least Sustainable EU Countries. How Did The Dutch Get Their Green Image? Clean Technica. Accessed on: : 9/2/20. Retrieved from: https://cleantechnica.com/2017/07/12/netherlands-one-least-sustainable-eu-countries-dutch-get-green-image/

Zimmer, A. (2010). Urban political ecology: Theoretical concepts, challenges, and suggested future directions. Erdkunde: 343-354.