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Pedestrianization is an urban revitalization strategy to enhance sustainability and livability in car-oriented cities. Despite many studies in this research field, the effects of pedestrianization on the economy of cities in developing countries still need further investigation. Additionally, the impact of this strategy on the tenant mix of commercial and historical areas in Middle East countries is nebulous. To address these inadequacies, we considered Chaharbagh Abbasi street, located in the heart of Isfahan, Iran, and investigated the impact of a pedestrianization project with particular emphasis on how it affects the economic sustainability of existent commercial fabric. Pre and post-project data along with field observations and quantifications used to assess structural replacements in trade, were analyzed with SPSS and ArcGIS software. The results revealed unexpected outcomes, such as the closure of some traditional businesses (27.5%), a stagnation in sales (69%) and a decrease in job offers (84%) leading the local economy to a fragile situation. Conversely, it was found that the footfall volume increased by 64% and 73% from the retailers’ and pedestrians’ viewpoints. This evolution along with a wide opening of food and beverage stores (approximately 60%) makes the post-pedestrianization results more promising than earlier predictions. In conclusion, these findings reinforce the importance of pedestrian streets in revitalizing economic activities in historical and commercial areas from the perspective of economic sustainability. Due to the lack of similar investigations in Middle East countries, these findings can support decision-makers and urban planners to take preventive measures in preserving the diversity of individual small shops for upcoming urban rehabilitation projects in terms of pedestrianization.

Vastly increased international trade over the past few decades has resulted in an ever larger geographical spread in the environmental impacts of local consumption. Particularly in the case of high-income countries, a large share of their total environmental footprint of local consumption now materializes in places far beyond the respective national border. On the presumption that democratic policy-makers should, and often do, act in line with prevailing public opinion we examine whether currently weak policies addressing consumption-based environmental impacts abroad may reflect a gap in knowledge among citizens, and how closing this gap would affect policy preferences concerning the greening of international supply chains. We do so based on an experiment, embedded in a large representative survey (N = 8’000) in Switzerland, a high-income country with a very large extraterritorial environmental footprint. The main finding is that there is a major gap in knowledge among the mass public in this area, and that this gap can be closed. However, closing the information gap does not lead to a significant change in policy preferences in favor of reducing the global environmental footprint of local consumption. This points to major policy challenges in trying to mitigate problems of environmental impact shifting in the global economy., Environmental Science & Policy, 146, ISSN:1462-9011, ISSN:1873-6416

Understanding the spatio-temporal dynamics of land use and land cover (LULC) and their drivers is instrumental in synthesizing knowledge for informed natural resource management, planning, and associated decisions. The objective of this study was to analyze LULC dynamics and their drivers in the Nyangatom district of southwest Ethiopia. This study adopted a mixed-method approach, comprising remote sensing and geographic information system-based analysis, focus-group discussions, key informant interviews, and structured interviews covering 384 agro-pastoral households. Land use and land cover maps were compiled with Landsat image data from 1992, 1999, 2010, and 2020 using supervised pixel-based classification with a maximum likelihood algorithm. The study revealed that grassland (33%) and shrub land (27%) are the dominant LULC classes in the study periods. The results show a significant increase in settlement, cropland, and bare land, between 1992 and 2020 following demand for fertile lands, overgrazing, and climate changes. Reductions in the water body, open woodland, riverine forest, and dense woodland of − 23%, − 18%, − 18%, and − 7%, respectively, were observed for the same period with an overall accuracy of 80%. Agro-pastoralists identified agricultural expansion, overgrazing, and drought as the main drivers of LULC changes, followed by conflicts, invasion of alien plant species, and change in policy institutions. The impacts of unplanned LULC change can be reduced through appropriate land-use planning with genuine stakeholder engagement. Updated information on present and future LULC dynamics can support these social dynamics and align a shared understanding among stakeholders that replaces polarization and erosion of mutual trust.

The study of the Cold War built environment and its links with communist ideology have permeated the field of architectural history and theory since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. However, the treatment of Ottoman Islamic heritage under state socialist rule remains a little examined subject. The earthquake that demolished large swaths of the Yugoslav city of Skopje in 1963 caused heavy damage to Ottoman architecture. In the years that followed, the reconstruction of Skopje became a symbol of a singular, international collaboration between countries from both sides of the Cold War divide. The city that arose became the 1970s brutalist capital of the Balkans. This article examines the treatment of Ottoman urban heritage in Skopje and its sociocultural and political implications during the post-disaster (re)construction of a modernizing and modernist city. I argue that disregard for the historical breadth and the continuing religious, cultural, and social significance of the region’s Ottoman-era urban spaces and structures for Skopje’s Muslim community in the creation of the brutalist city was not exclusively based on anti-Muslim rhetoric. Rather, it was part of the driving quest for modernity sought by the Yugoslav communist leaders in the second half of the twentieth century.

Innovation can be a key mechanism to address some of society's greatest challenges, or it can contribute to them. There is extensive conceptual academic literature focused on how policy can be used to create more positive societal and environmental impacts through innovation, however, little empirical evidence exists to understand to what extent innovation policy in particular embeds the principles of social and environmental sustainability into its discourse. We begin to address this lack of evidence by using a critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics approach to explore how UK Innovation Policy embeds the concepts of societal and environmental impact, and how it balances these at times conflicting paradigms into policy documents. We find that although there is some inclusion of key environmental and societal words these are predominately secondary to economic themes, signalling a ‘business as usual’ approach to innovation policy.

Review of: Saintly Spheres and Islamic Landscapes: Emplacements of Spiritual Power Across Time and Place, Daphna Ephrat, Ethel Sara Wolper, and Paulo G. Pinto, Eds (2021) Leiden: Brill, 537 pp., 21 b&w and 75 colour illus., ISBN: 9789004443655, $206 (cloth)

Urban climate adaptation through nature-based solutions (NBS) requires collective action that incorporates spatial justice considerations. Collective actions reveal new ways of thinking about urban green commons and spatial justice by reframing conventional understandings of NBS, space, and climate adaptation. Three urban green commons examined in Istanbul demonstrate how the grassroots-supported NBS must navigate complex land ownership arrangements, spatial justice, and opposing urban development priorities and socio-spatial reconfigurations spurred by local and national political elites. Using qualitative data collected from fieldwork carried out in 2019, we find critical relationships between activists, academics, professional organizations, and local residents collectively acting to promote urban green commons. NBS do not rely on the dominant techno-political processes that generate primarily infrastructure-based climate adaptation solutions in Istanbul. While spatial justice and collective action scholarship often pays attention to how disadvantaged communities gain recognition and involvement in decision making - such as establishing formal channels to access environmental goods and services - climate adaptation through NBS opens spaces of opportunity for these groups to promote justice and resist the dominant economic development paradigm. Further studies must pay attention to what extent collective actions create new socio-political identities that are harnessed to resist dominant techno-political processes, and when are these emergent identities co-opted by local and national governments. publishedVersion

Toniemy w morzu plastiku. Zwierzęta morskie nie tylko połykają lub zaplątują się w (mikro) plastik, ale trafia on również do łańcucha pokarmowego, w tym ludzi. Tworzywo to pochodzi głównie z produktów jednorazowego użytku. "Dyrektywa Parlamentu Europejskiego i Rady (UE) 2019/904 z dnia 5 czerwca 2019 r. w sprawie ograniczenia wpływu niektórych wyrobów z tworzyw sztucznych na środowisko" wprowadziła liczne ograniczenia dotyczące ich produkcji. Jej skuteczność zależy jednak od krajowych wdrożeń, które opóźniają się m.in. z powodu sprzeciwu producentów. W niniejszym artykule przedstawiamy badania przeprowadzone na polskich firmach produkujących wyroby jednorazowego użytku z tworzyw sztucznych, na sprzedawcach (sklepach detalicznych i placówkach gastronomicznych) oraz na konsumentach. Wyniki pokazują, że wszystkie badane grupy zgadzają się co do potrzeby ograniczenia produkcji jednorazowych tworzyw sztucznych. Najczęściej wskazywanym rozwiązaniem jest wprowadzenie na rynek produktów wielokrotnego użytku (zgodnie z ideą gospodarki obiegu zamkniętego), które nadal byłyby polimerami syntetycznymi. Producenci podkreślają, że dla wszystkich odpadów z tworzyw sztucznych pojawiają się obiecujące technologie recyklingu chemicznego. Ponadto zarówno konsumenci, jak i producenci, w coraz większym stopniu skupiają się na produktach wykonanych z materiałów alternatywnych, gdyż konsumenci (zwłaszcza z dużych miast) mają coraz większą niechęć do plastiku w ogóle, na co zwracali również uwagę sprzedawcy. Ankietowani konsumenci uważają, że "Dyrektywa plastikowa" jest potrzebna i obwiniają producentów jednorazowych tworzyw sztucznych za stan środowiska, z kolei producenci zwracają uwagę na nieodpowiedzialne zachowania konsumentów i potrzebę większej edukacji w tym zakresie. We are drowning in a sea of plastic. Not only do marine animals ingest or get entangled in (micro) plastic, but it also ends up in the food chain, including in humans. This plastic comes from mainly single-use products. "Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment" introduced numerous restrictions on their production. However, its effectiveness depends on national implementations that are delayed due to, inter alia, the objections of manufacturers. In this article, we present research conducted on Polish companies producing single-use plastic products, on sellers (retail outlets and food service establishments) and consumers. The results show that all study groups agree on the need to reduce the production of disposable plastics. The most frequently indicated solution is the introduction of reusable products to the market (in line with the circular economy notion), which would still be synthetic polymers. Manufacturers emphasize that promising chemical recycling technologies are emerging for all plastic waste. In addition, both consumers and producers are increasingly focused on products made of alternative materials, as consumers (especially from large cities) are increasingly averse to plastic in general, which was also pointed out by sellers. Consumers surveyed believe that the "Plastics Directive" is needed and blame the producers of disposable plastics for the condition of the environment, while manufacturers highlight irresponsible consumer behaviour and the need for more education in this regard.