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Assessing the sustainability of small wastewater systems A context-oriented planning approach

Abstract The authors present a planning tool for comparing and assessing the sustainability of different wastewater systems. The core of the planning tool is an assessment method based on both technical and social elements. The point of departure is that no technique is inherently sustainable or ecological in itself, but that the sustainability of the total system of technologies for a particular settlement in a given location must be assessed in a holistic and transparent manner. A pilot case is used to demonstrate the structure and the results of the assessment method. The assessment method is still under development, and this paper discusses crucial points in the development of the method.

Assessing the potential for change in urban infrastructure systems

Abstract The premise of this paper is that there is a need for rethinking the design of technical infrastructures because of environmental problems, and to understand the dynamics of and the potential for change, urban infrastructure large technological systems must be seen as socio-technical artefacts. This paper offers a methodology for analyzing current infrastructure systems, and a case study, demonstrating that social relations play a significant role as barriers against implementing new management practices. It is argued that there is a need to involve more people in the rethinking of urban infrastructure, and this paper raises some strategic questions concerning planning for the transformation of technical infrastructures into more sustainable systems.

Has Social Sustainability Left the Building? the Recent Conceptualization of "Sustainability" in Danish Buildings

Abstract Sustainable buildings have often been niche products, but in recent years a new approach has emerged in Denmark aimed at mainstreaming and normalizing this mode of construction and seeking to attract ordinary Danes through market conditions. The aim is to present an alternative conceptualization of sustainable buildings to the ecocommunities’ vision and to involve traditional building firms in their design and development. From a theoretical perspective, the mainstreaming of sustainable buildings can be seen either as an example of ecological modernization or technological transition. The new conceptualization has implied a narrower approach to sustainability and a lack of social sustainability measures. While earlier paradigms of sustainable buildings emphasized themes such as community building, self-provisioning, local empowerment, and shared facilities, such objectives are largely absent in the new types of sustainable buildings. We question to what extent it is possible to design sustainable settlements without social sustainability. By viewing sustainable buildings as technological configurations, we argue that the multiactor approach, fragmentation of roles, and absent initiatives for social sustainability influence the buildings’ environmental performance and should be important for the next generation of these structures.

Urbanising facilities management: the challenges in a creative age

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the challenge of the creative economy for FM practice and research. It seeks to do so by comparing developments in FM with developments in the related discipline of urban planning.Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a comprehensive literature review as well as action research in relation to urban planning.Findings – The growth of the creative economy has meant a close connection between corporate and urban development. This means that FM, in order to facilitate creative environments, can find inspiration from trends in urban planning, and look at the urban context as a part of its facilities. However, including the urban context in FM, and studying it, comes with possibilities as well as challenges. FM needs what is called a thematic as well as epistemological “urbanisation” in order to recognise creative and social possibilities and needs.Research limitations/implications – Whereas the research is thoroughly founded in urban and social ...

Managing facilities in a Scandinavian manner:: creating a research agenda

Presents the aims and needs of research in facilities management (FM) at the Section of Planning and Management of Building Processes at BYG(DTU. As the building stock in Denmark is rapidly increasing, socio‐demographic development implies profound changes in both the needs of inhabitants and the way that buildings are used, combined with an increased consciousness of sustainability. Buildings should be seen as long‐term “investments” while also keeping in mind the construction sectors need for increased productivity, long‐term product quality and enhanced value. This is the background for developing a research position. Identifies “the Scandinavian way” as using FM on a multi‐actor level, rather than just to serve the interests of a single organisation. The aim is to focus on small and medium‐sized enterprises, non‐profit associations and tenants, as well as the bodies administrating infrastructure within the mainstream FM field. There is an urgent need to address how society can best manage the growing (and decaying) building stock, to develop life‐cycle‐rooted infrastructure and building design, and finally allow buildings to be appropriated by their current and future users.

Reinventing the bicycle: how calculative practices shape urban environmental governance

ABSTRACT The concept of sustainability transitions has become increasingly prominent in academic and policy discourses during recent decades, but the importance of the link between knowledge-producing epistemic practices and urban governance has been underappreciated in this discourse. Based on a case study of cycling in Copenhagen between 1900 and 2015, and drawing upon a governmentality-inspired analytical framework, this research demonstrates that transformative governance may be initiated by epistemic practices that render urban systems visible in other ways. Urban cycling has been reconstructed over time in Copenhagen as a traffic safety ‘problem’, a component of the experiential and liveable city, and a health-producing (and hence economically valuable) regional transport mode. The research findings emphasise that epistemic practices can provide a powerful stimulus for creating changes in urban governance. The results also provide support for initiatives to broaden the terms of academic debate on sustainability transitions.