Abid Mehmood

Evolutionary Resilience and Strategies for Climate Adaptation

The aim of this study is to develop a framework by drawing on three broad perspectives on resilience, engineering, ecological and evolutionary, and to use this framework to critically examine the approach adopted by the draft London climate change adaptation strategy. The central argument of the study is that the Strategys emergency planning-centred approach to climate adaptation veers between a standard ecological understanding of resilience and the more rigid engineering model. Its emphasis is on identifying ‘exposure’ and ‘vulnerability’ to risk from climate events and on bouncing back from the consequences of such exposures to a normal state, rather than on the dynamic process of transformation to a more desirable trajectory. The study concludes that fostering resilience involves planning for not only recovery from shocks but also cultivating preparedness, and seeking potential transformative opportunities which emerge from change.

Social innovation and the governance of sustainable places

This article explores social innovation as a tool for the promotion of place-based sustainable development. The literature highlights the satisfaction of basic needs and situations of crises as two major drivers of socially innovative actions. We use these insights to explore the conditions under which social innovation can lead to social transformation and sustainable place making. We also recognise that social processes occur through, and are shaped by, the material forms that constitute and are constituted in place-specific settings. This highlights the deep interconnections that exist between place making and the resources, attributes and characterises – the materiality (such as rivers, soil, trees) – that exist within that locality. It is here that a close tie can be discerned between understanding the adaptive process in complex socio-ecological systems and the role of social innovation in such adaptation. Socially innovative initiatives at the community level can also be scaled upwards through the co-ordinating role of the state, while at the same time act as a pressure for more participatory forms of governance. Governance processes that enhance the role of both economic and social actors in the steering of social change help to infuse more open, democratic practices into social steering. With social, economic and state actors co-mingling as agents of social change, social innovation can come to play a key role in enhancing sustainable human–environment interactions.

Of resilient places: planning for urban resilience

ABSTRACT This paper argues that resilience of a place cannot necessarily be associated only with the level of its vulnerability to the environment or security. A place-based perspective to resilience helps understand the capacity of communities to withstand or adapt with change. Resilience of a place does not only refer to contingencies—such as formulating immediate responses to crisis situations or incidents such as earthquakes, floods or other disasters in vulnerable areas—but also considers long-term mitigation and adaptation strategies to face social, economic and environmental challenges. To this purpose, the paper applies an evolutionary resilience framework to the case of Transition towns in the UK as resilient places in terms of their capacity for learning, robustness, ability to innovate and adaptability to change. In conclusion, socially innovative actions and initiatives are found to be a primary source of resilience through bottom-up creativity among communities and stakeholders to help improve social relations, support socio-political empowerment and fulfil the basic needs of the people.

On the history and potentials of evolutionary metaphors in urban planning

This article looks at the history of evolutionary thought in urban planning. It classifies the use of evolutionary metaphors in three broad theoretical streams. The first stream of thought considers the existence of vital forces and energy flows (vitalism) in an urban form. The second stream provides a holistic-organic (organicism) perspective to the city. The third stream, contemporarily very popular in social sciences, is based on the natural evolutionary theories of Lamarck and Darwin to look at urban dynamics. It is suggested that the flexible-adaptive and self-regulatory nature of evolutionary metaphors can support a holistic-integrative perspective to urban and regional planning.

General introduction: the return of social innovation as a scientific concept and a social practice: Collective Action, Social Learning and Transdisciplinary Research

In recent years, social innovation has become increasingly influential in both scholarship and policy. It is the conceptual foundation for communitybased trusts, think tanks, corporate management practices and government funding programs in every continent, leading to a wide range of projects and international networks which recognize past failures of conventional service delivery to tackle poverty and social exclusion, and seek to promote new ways of doing things, grounded in the social relations and experiences of those in need. It is the great inspiration for many social movements, associations, bottomup initiatives to claim improvements in their human conditions, their community life and their place in society. It has found a home in policy at the highest level, for example in the US Whitehouse’s office for Social Innovation and civic Participation, through the creation of the national Secretariat for Solidarity economy in brazil and in the european commission’s Innovation Policy programmes. It has become a lead term for corporate social responsibility, business ethics and the revisiting of the role of social enterprise and the social economy in socioeconomic development. The growing importance of the idea reflects wide and profound dissatisfaction with recent directions and outcomes of ‘innovation’ in technology, markets, policy and governance systems, and particularly a sense – to remain polite – that the benefits of such innovations have not been distributed as generally or as equitably as they should (see Jessop et al., chapter 8). This also holds for changes in sociopolitical regimes. Social innovation as a governance change with more bottomup participation, protection of the rights of ‘common’ citizens and collective decisionmaking systems has indeed increasingly become a mirror to reflect on the consequences of macroinstitutional changes such as the privatization of banks and social services, deregulation of markets at the expense of the satisfaction of collective needs, the heralding of elite consumerism as a value system, etc. In much policy and management discourse, social innovation refers broadly to innovation in meeting social needs of, or delivering social benefits to, communities – the creation of new products, services, organizational structures or activities that are ‘better’ or ‘more effective’ than traditional public sector, philanthropic or marketreliant approaches in responding to social exclusion. Particularly successful forms of social innovation in this sense, which to many people represent ‘iconic’ examples, include microfinance and popular education – gamechanging initiatives which have travelled well beyond their original geographical and social contexts to find permanent institutional homes in the public services of many countries (see for example ashta et al., chapter 6; dubeux, chapter 22; Fernandes et al., chapter 29). equally important, and part

Agency, structure, institutions, discourse (ASID) in urban and regional development

ABSTRACT This paper presents the relations among agency (A), structure (S), institutions (I), and discourse (D) and their analytical relevance for socio-economic development. It argues that an adequate account of these relations must recognize their inherent spatio-temporality and, hence, their space–time dynamics. This is not an optional extra but a definite descriptive and explanatory requirement. Moreover, while structure is recognized as a product of path-dependent institutionalization and path-shaping (collective) agency, agency is seen in turn as discursively and materially reproduced and transformed. This approach treats structure in terms of a differential spatio-temporal configuration of constraints and opportunities, reference to which informs the empirical analysis of strategic agency within the overall agency, structure, institutions, discourse (ASID) heuristic. The paper concludes with an eightfold typology of particular combinations of ASID features to guide analyses of socio-economic development in all its (dis-)junctural complexity.

Learning from the past

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical analysis of the disaster management structure, policies and institutions in Pakistan between 1947 and 2005, and highlights the contemporary challenges in view of the learning from the past. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a historic-integrative case study approach to disaster management and risk reduction policy, planning and practice. Qualitative data were collected through purposive sampling and a case study design was adopted. A broad range of actors was recruited as research participants. In total, 22 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted in relation to this study in six different districts of Pakistan to achieve insight into the role of different institutions and stakeholders. Findings – Overall, the post-colonial flood-centric policy framework and fragmented responsibilities of different disaster management institutions show the lack of an effective institutional structure for disaster management and mitigation ...

Institutional forms of social innovation

This paper offers a critique of the contemporary institutional discourses in social innovation theory and practice. It synthesises these discussions into the assumptions of replicability, durability and resistance of socially innovative actions and initiatives. Using the example of Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), the paper makes a case for alternative dimensions to these assumptions in the form of adaptability, sustainability and institutional resilience for addressing the socioeconomic needs of individuals and communities. From this perspective, the institutional setup of OPP emerges as a form of social innovation that has proved sustainable and resilient over time by sticking to its core ethics, sustaining its network of institutions, and adapting to the changing needs and demands of local communities. In conclusion social innovation is emphasised as a catalyst for social and institutional transformation.

Challenges of research in rural poverty: lessons from large field surveys

ABSTRACT This practical note highlights lessons learnt during the data collection of two large field surveys as part of the ongoing “Sindh Union Council and Economic Strengthening Support” (SUCCESS) programme in southern Pakistan. The experience is discussed in terms of language barriers, the educational status of households, dealing with people’s expectations and non-cooperation, and the weather conditions. The note also highlights the practice of public sharing of data in real-time to improve the design and implementation of future surveys, especially those measuring poverty and quality of life.