Alex Kenya Abiko

Urban Resilience and Landslide Risk Management: The Case of Santos (Brazil)

The concept of Urban Resilience has entered discussions on how cities can prepare for, adapt to, and cope with acute natural disasters. Urban resilience is understood as a process that involves enhancing capabilities for learning about changing conditions and for adapting to such conditions in order to reduce the risk of disasters, restore essential urban services and improve quality of life. In the past, landslides were the major cause of deaths from natural disasters in Santos, a large port city on the coast of Sao Paulo state, Brazil. The number of fatalities however fell significantly with the introduction of the Civil Defence Prevention Plan (PPDC) which has been in annual operation since 1989. The aim of this paper was to identify the landslide risk management tools employed by the Santos Civil Defence Department (responsible for disaster management), and to analyse the role of these tools in promoting urban resilience. Field, documentary and qualitative research (including literature reviews) revealed the Department’s use of the following instruments: weather monitoring; a map to chart susceptibility to gravitational mass movements and floods; a Risk Reduction Plan; and a geotechnical map to illustrate aptitude for urbanization. The paper concludes that promotion of urban resilience by the Santos Civil Defence has been only partially achieved to date. The above-mentioned tools are still being implemented only gradually and challenges remain, such as the need to improve coordination between local government departments in favour of risk reduction.

Recommendations for Preparation of Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases Emission Inventory for University Campuses

Most of the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change come from urban areas, and cities are at the forefront of low-carbon initiatives, playing a crucial role into mitigating global climate change. In this context, comprehensive sustainability education is paramount for success in the adoption of sustainable development practices. The role of a Sustainable Campus, as a field for research and experimentation, is already recognized by initiatives such as the International Sustainable Campus Network, the UNEP Global Universities Partnership on Environment for Sustainability and others. A ground rule for those initiatives is the establishment of a campus-wide inventory of GHG emissions. Nevertheless, existing guidelines commonly refer to the Campus inventory in broad terms, without offering any specific and detailed methodology on how to calculate the emissions generated from the campus operation. Based on literature review, surveys and workshops, this research offers recommendations to prepare the campus inventory, based on the widespread standard Greenhouse gas Protocol for Cities GPC. Some relevant emissions sources, specific to University Campuses, are identified. It is expected that, with the proposed recommendations, the resulting inventory will allow a better visualization of GHG mitigation opportunities.

Urban planning and low-carbon cities: a comparison of german and chinese initiatives

The world is becoming more urbanized. The estimates made by the UnitedNations (UN, 2014) shows a trend of migration from rural to urban areas:As of 2014, 52% of the global population lives in urban areas, and thispercentage is likely to increase up to 66.4%, with an expectation that theglobal population reaches 9.55 billion until 2050. This urbanization trend isrelevant, since most GHG emissions that contribute to global climate changecome from urban areas. Urban areas are associated with around 70% ofglobal energy consumption and energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.China and Germany are two key players into mitigating the effect of climatechange, and both countries have already managed to implement severalinitiatives towards the development of a low-carbon city. This paper presentthe results of a research whose objective was to compare cities in China(Tianjin, Hangzhou and Beijing) and Germany (Munich and Berlin), andfocuses on the role that urban policymaking plays on getting towardscarbon neutral targets. Results indicate that, despite clear demographicsand economic differences, there are several best practices in the field ofurban planning that can be shared and transferred to cities in bothcountries, helping them to achieve their respective GHG reductions goals.The world is becoming more urbanized. The estimates made by the UnitedNations (UN, 2014) shows a trend of migration from rural to urban areas:As of 2014, 52% of the global population lives in urban areas, and thispercentage is likely to increase up to 66.4%, with an expectation that theglobal population reaches 9.55 billion until 2050. This urbanization trend isrelevant, since most GHG emissions that contribute to global climate changecome from urban areas. Urban areas are associated with around 70% ofglobal energy consumption and energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.China and Germany are two key players into mitigating the effect of climatechange, and both countries have already managed to implement severalinitiatives towards the development of a low-carbon city. This paper presentthe results of a research whose objective was to compare cities in China(Tianjin, Hangzhou and Beijing) and Germany (Munich and Berlin), andfocuses on the role that urban policymaking plays on getting towardscarbon neutral targets. Results indicate that, despite clear demographicsand economic differences, there are several best practices in the field ofurban planning that can be shared and transferred to cities in bothcountries, helping them to achieve their respective GHG reductions goals.

Urban Engineering: Concepts and Challenges

The purpose of this chapter is to explain the concepts of urban engineering and to highlight some of the challenges faced by this discipline. The overall idea is to describe how urban engineering relates to other areas of engineering expertise, particularly within the context of civil engineering. To do this we have drawn mainly on our own professional and academic experience, fleshed out by an examination of the relevant literature available both in Brazil and further afield. At the outset it should be said that most of our observations focus on the city of Sao Paulo where our present professional concerns lie. However, in future works we hope to extend our approach beyond the confines of Sao Paulo in an effort to broaden and improve our understanding of the concepts underlying urban engineering as a necessary prelude to enable us to supply useful guidance for researchers, experts and students keen to work alongside the engineering professionals currently employed in our cities.