Urbanmetabolism,urbanecologicaldistribu3onconflicts

JoanMar3nez-AlierFedericoDemaria

(ICTA,UniversitatAutònomadeBarcelona)

SUSTAINABILITYANDURBANIZATION

•  Urbanareasarebecomingthemainhabitatforamajorityoftheglobalpopula3on.Thegrowthofci3esnotonlyentailsafundamentalchangeinhumanseRlementpaRernsbutitcomestogetherwithagreatchangeofthesocialmetabolism.

•  Thus,urbanareasandtheirdevelopmentareatthecentreofdiscussionsonsustainabilityorGreenTransi3ons.

MartaDinarès,ICTAUAB,UrbanMetabolism:Areviewofrecentliteratureonthesubject,Doc.d’AnàlisiGeogràfica,2014,60/3.

Sustainableci3es?

•  Anoxymoron,Iagree.Theissuehereistodiscussmeanstoachievelessunsustainableci3es.Planofthetalk:

1)TherapidlyincreasingsocialmetabolismofIndia.

2)Urbanmetabolism(e.g.theBUMP).

3)Somecountertrendsinci3es(preservingcompactform;valuingecosystemservices;recyclingmaterials...).

4)Increasedurbaniza3onandecologicaldistribu3onconflictsatdifferentscales.

IntheConclusion:Ecologicaldistribu3onconflictsandtheEJAtlas

1)SOCIALMETABOLISM

SOCIALMETABOLISM•  Bysocialmetabolismwerefertotheinterac3onofhuman

societyandthenaturalenvironment,intermstheflowsofenergyandmaterials(includingwater),fromextrac3ontotransportanduse,andtowastedisposal.(M.Fischer-KowalskiandH.Haberl,SocialMetabolism:AMetricsforBiophysicalGrowthandDegrowth,inJ.Mar3nez-AlierandR.Muradian,HandbookofEcologicalEconomics,E.Elgar,Chelterham,2015).

•  Theindustrialeconomyisnotcircular,itisentropic.Itdrawslargelyonfossilfuels(photosynthesisofthedistantpast)forenergy.Oil,coalorgascannotberecycled.Thereisadailyneedfor“fresh”supplies.

•  Theindustrialeconomyproduceslargeamountsofwaste

(includingGHG).

METHODSFORSTUDYOFSOCIALMETABOLISM

Energyaccoun3ng:

-Endosoma3cenergyuse:foodperperson/day,approximately2400kcal=10MJ,perperson/year3650MJ,3.65GJ.

-Exosoma3cenergyuse:dependsoneconomicgrowth(andotherfactors)–mayvaryfrom10GJperperson/yearto200GJormoreperperson/year(asanaverageforveryrichcountries).

METHODSFORSTUDYOFSOCIALMETABOLISM

Materialflows:

-Dividedintoa)biomass,b)metaloresandindustrialminerals,c)sandandgravel,d)fossilfuels.

-  Therearetrends–Indiain2008atalevelofabout5tonsperperson/year,Spainin2007at20tons/person/year(buildingbubble)–SpainhasgonedowntoaEuropeannormallevelof12or14tonsperperson/year.

-  India’smaterialsflowsmustbeincreasingatarateof5to7%peryear.

TrendsinthesocialmetabolismofIndia•  MorethanIndiaasawhole,itwouldmakemoresensetotalkofthemetabolismofdifferentstates,comparingalsothe“sacrificezones”tometropolitan

areas.Sources:a)Socialmetabolismandenvironmentalconflictsin

India,J.Mar3nez-Alier,L.Temper,F.Demaria,OccasionalPaper,NehruMemorialMuseumandLibrary,NewDelhi,alsochapter3inN.Ghoshetal.(eds.),Nature,EconomyandSociety,INSEE/Springer,Delhi,2015.

b)India'sbiophysicaleconomy,1961–2008.Sustainabilityinana3onalandglobalcontext,S.J.Singh,F.Krausmann,S.Gingrich,H.Haberl,K-H.Erb,P.Lanz,J.Mar3nez-Alier,L.Temper,Ecol.Economics,2012,76:60-69(openaccess).

TheHANPP(humanappropria3onofnetprimaryproduc3on)

•  Thisisanindicatoroflossofbiodiversity.•  Wecalculatefirstthepoten3alproduc3onofbiomass,thenthechangesduetolanduse,thenthepartofthebiomassproduc3onremaininginthefield.Wecompare(in%)theparttakenawaytothepoten3alproduc3on.

•  VerydetailedstudiesandmapsbyHaberletal.Indiacomesontopamonglargecountriesin%ofHANPP(bothbecauseofhighpopula3ondensityandintensiveuseofbiomass).

•  Notethatinacity,par3cularlyapavedcity,theHANPPisextremelyhigh,near100%.

Marx,socialmetabolismandthe“metabolicrit”

•  Marxregardedurbaniza3onasaprocessleadingto“metabolicrit”(Foster,2000).Underindustrialcapitalism,humanstooknolongercareoffer3lityofthesoil,nutrientswerelostbecauseofthegrowthinlong-distancetradeinfoodandclothing.

•  MarxquotedLiebigandMoleschoRonthe“metabolicrit”.•  Thefocushereisonlinksbetweenenvironmentalcondi3ons

andthehistoricalandspa3alpaRernsofinequalitythatmanifestthemselveswithinthecity(CastánBrotoetal.,2012)andonlinksbetweencity,hinterland,andwiderenvironment.

•  However,Marxistscholars(inIndiaandelsewhere)scarcelycontributedtostudiesofsocialmetabolismbeforethe1990s.

Ecologicalfootprint,apopularindex

•  The“ecologicalfootprint”wasdevelopedbyecologistW.Reesin1992inVancouver(BC),aprofessorofurbanecology,andcard-carryingecologicaleconomist.

•  Popularizedbyhisstudent,M.Wackernagel.

•  Addsuplandactuallyused(forfood,feedandwood)and“virtual”landthatwouldabsorbthroughphosynthesisthecarbondioxideemissionsfromfossilfuels.

•  InVancouver,4hectaresperperson.InBangalore,s3lllessthan1ha?Goingup?

Growthinthesocialmetabolism

•  ThereisaconvergenceinindustrialeconomiestowardsofcommonpaRernofuseofenergyandmaterialsperperson.

•  Thisvariesaccordingtopopula3ondensityinthecountry,andothervariables(themainone,GDPpercapita).

•  Thereisnodecouplingbetweenindustrializa3on/growthofGDPpercapita/increasedsocialmetabolism.

2)URBANMETABOLISM

TheforwardmarchofUrbaniza3on

•  Whatdefinesthecityanditsconurba3on?Popula3ondensi3esofover50,70,100personsperhectare.

•  Wecanfavoururbanagroecology,permaculture–howeverthecitycannotfeeditself.

•  Wecanfavoursolarenergyinroofs–thecityneedsneverthelesssenergyinputscomingfromoutside.

•  Insteadof'smartci3es',shallwetalkofunavoidably'stupidci3es‘fromanecologicalviewpoint?(seefromBarcelonastupidcity.net)

Earlystudiesofurbansocialmetabolism

•  Urbangrowth,inthe19thand20thcenturiesinEuropeandAmerica,wasaresultofthespreadofindustrializa3onandtheassociatedincreaseintheuseoffossilfuels.Itisnowacommontrendallovertheworld(Girardet,H.(1996).TheGaiaAtlasofCiCes.NewdirecConsforsustainableurbanliving.Gaiabookslimited.cit.byM.Dinarès).

•  Wenowcomparethesocialmetabolismofcountries,regionsandci3es.Webuildonworkonthemetabolismofci3essinceWolman(1965),Boyden(1981–studyofHongKong).

•  PatrickGeddesbeforethem(outsideIndiaandinIndia)–heinspiredLewisMumford(whocri3cizedLeCorbusierasurbanplanner).

Economicexplana3onoftheincreaseinurbaniza3onandindustrializa3on

•  Asproduc3vityperhourofworkincreasesinagriculture(produc3viyisheremeasuredineconomicterms,notinenergyterms),andduetothefactthatthedemandforagriculturalproductsasawholehaslowincome-elas3city,

•  thereforetheagriculturalsectorlosesac3vepopula3ontothebenefitoftheothersectorsoftheeconomy.

•  Thisistheprocessofeconomicgrowthoreconomicdevelopment.Themoreofthis,thebeRer.

•  Somuchfortheeconomists.

Urbaniza3on,metabolismanddelusionsof“greengrowth”

•  TheUNEP’s2013reporten3tled"City-LevelDecoupling:UrbanResourceFlowsandtheGovernanceofInfrastructureTransi3ons"makesthecaseforexaminingci3esnotonlyfromasocio-economicbutalsofromamaterialflowperspec3ve,presen3ngthecityasa“living”organism(butactuallythecityisnotmakingphotosynthesis).

•  Itisadissipa3vestructure-onecouldsay-,withacon3nuousflowofmaterialandenergyinputsandoutputsasthecomponentsofitsmetabolism.(UNEP2013)

•  No3cetheexpecta3oninthisUNEPreportof“absolutedecoupling”,of“greentransi3ons”inci3es.Thisisnothappening.

Awayfromeconomicpraiseforurbaniza3on,andalsofromhopesof“greengrowth”:e.g.theBUMP

(BangaloreUrbanMetabolismProject)

•  Analyzesthemetabolismofthisurbanarea,focusingoninequali3es.

•  AsregardsWateruse,itexplainstheHydro-SocialCycle,accoun3ngfortheinequi3esindomes3chouseholdwaterconsump3onpaRernsinBangalore.

•  AnthropogenicdriversofgroundwaterhydrologyinBangaloredominatebackgroundbiophysicaldrivers.Unequalspa3aldistribu3onofpipedwaterinfrastructureistheprincipaldriverofgroundwaterhydrologyinBangalore.

•  Infact,notonlyurbanhydrologyalsoruralhydrology(witnessthedamsintheHimalaya)issocialhydrology.

Source:MetabolicUrbanismandEnvironmentalJus3ce:TheWaterConundruminBangalore,India,byV.K.Mehta,R.Goswami,E.Kemp-Benedict,S.Muddu,andD.Malghan,EnvironmentalJusCce(2014).

3)COUNTER-TRENDS?

Countertrends?3.1)CompactcityvsUrbansprawl

•  Urbanformandtheecologicalfootprint.Acompactcityhas(forthesamenumberofinhabitants)asmallerecologicalfootprint,becauseoflesspavedarea,lesstravelbycar.

•  SuburbanizaConisthegrowthofareasonthefringesofci3es-theUSpaRernofurbansprawl.

•  Theword“urbansprawl”introducedforLosAngelesin1956.Thereweresimilarconceptsbefore,goingbacktoPatrickGeddes“conurba3on”(usedasanastyterm).

•  Urbaniza3onislinkedtoincreasedsocialmetabolism–buttheformofthecity,andtherelatedmobilitysystems,havesomeinfluenceonthedimensionsofthesocialmetabolism.

Therearenoenvironmentallysustainableci3es,buttheycouldbecomelessunsustainable

•  Youcannotlivefromthephotosynthesisatdensi3esof50,70,100inhabitantsperhectare.

•  Lesssowhenyouconsiderthegrowingmetabolicuseofenergyandmaterials.

•  Whatwediscussishowtomakeci3eslessenvironmentallyunsustainable.

•  Howtomakemorecompactbutalso“greener”ci3es–andhowtopreserveandenhanceecosystemservicesprovidedinsideci3es.

However,“fromgreeningtogentrifica3on?”•  GREEN-LULUS,interes3ngnameforanewERCprojectatICTA

UAB,Dr.IsabelleAnguelovski,2016-2020(perhapsrelatedto“bourgeoisenvironmentalism”,AmitaBaviskar).

•  Nosystema3cstudyhasbeenconductedtomeasureifgreenerci3es(orpartsofci3es)arelessraciallyandsociallyequitable.

•  “Greenlulus”willanalyzewhethergreeningprojectstendtoincreaseenvironmentalinequali3esin40ci3es,andunderwhichcondi3onssuchprojectscanaddressequityconcerns.

•  Whogetsthenewecosystemsservices?Wecouldaskthis.

•  Thestudywilldevelopanindextoquan3fytheracialandsocialimpactofgreeningprojects.

Counter-trend?3.2)WastemanagementfromtheboRomup,relevant

forDelhi,Pune...andalsoforBogota

•  ThestoryofNohraPadillafromBogota(GoldmanEnvironmentalPrize)andtheMayorGustavoPetro,whosupportedwaste-pickersandre-municipalizedwastecollec3on.

•  Takingtherightsideinecologicaldistribu3onconflicts,orhowresistancetosocialinjus3cepromotesenvironmentalsustainability.

F.DemariaandS.Schindler,Contes3ngurbanmetabolism:strugglesover

waste-to-energyinDelhi,India.AnCpode,2015.(AlsointheEPW).

Countertrend?3.3)Urbanecosystemservices,ausefulconceptfor

planning,withinlimits•  Ci3esappropriatedifferentecosystemservices(produc3ve,

regula3ng,habitat,cultural)frombeyondthecityboundaries.•  Nevertheless,enhancingecosystemservicesinurbanareas

canreducetheecologicalfootprintand“ecologicaldebts”ofci3eswhileimprovinghealth,andqualityoflifefortheirinhabitants.Suchservicesaregivennotonlybygreenareas(parksorfoodgardens).

•  Gomez-BaggethunandBarton(Classifyingandvaluingecosystemservicesforurbanplanning,Ecol.Econ.,86,2013)explainindetailmethodstoclassifyandvalueecosystemservicesforurbanplanning.TheyuseDIFFERENTvalua3onlanguages(economiccosts,socio-culturalvalues,resilience…)thatcapturedis3nctvaluedimensionsofurbanecosystemservices.

Counter-trend:3.4)Increasingecologicaldistribu3onconflictsat

differentscalesItmightbethatthe“core”oftheconurba3onimprovesinindicatorssuchasgreenareaperperson,lessSO2,lessNOx...,

whileintheareasofurbansprawlmorelandispavedover,aquifersdisappears.,ozonedritsover(remembertheproposalforGreenBeltsfromE.Howard1902onwards,andhisinfluenceonPatrickGeddes)

andmeanwhilethe“ecologicalfootprint”oftheconurba3onincreases(intermsoftheareaneededtosupplyitwithfoodandrawmaterials,andalsoofareavirtuallyrequiredtoabsorbtheGHG).

ThefollowingfigureisfromJ.Mar3nez-Alier,Theenvironmentalismofthepoor(OxfordU.P.Delhi,2005,chapter7).

Conflicts at different scales

Urban Ecological Distribution Conflicts

Ecological Distribution Conflicts at distant scales

4)ECOLOGICALDISTRIBUTIONCONFLICTS:theEJAtlas(www.ejatlas.org)

TheEJAtlasofecologicaldistribu3onconflicts:rural,periurban,urban(www.ejatlas.org).

1700casesbyJanuary2016.

Ej Atlas: India (219 cases)

Ej Atlas: Indian Urban conflicts (29 cases)

Afewexamplesofurban/periurbanecologicaldistribu3onconflictsinIndiathatwehaveinEJAtlas

!  Water !  Waste !  Transport !  Industry !  Infrastructure !  Development of built environment !  ... BUT... Many more in the real world!

Waste: Waste-to-Energy (Delhi)

Private companies

VS Waste-pickers and citizens

Social and environmental concerns

See: http://ejatlas.org/conflict/okhla-waste-to-energy-plant-india

Dr. Ramesh meets the citizens at Okhla (2012).

Wastepickers demonstration (2012).

Transport: Ban on Cycling (Kolkata)

West Bengal government

and police argue that

non-motorized transport

slows down traffic.

Non-motorized vehicles vs

Cars and motor cycles

Transport infrastructure for whom?

See: http://ejatlas.org/conflict/ban-on-cycling-in-kolkata-west-bengal-india

Infrastructure: Manori to Marve Sea Link (Mumbai)

For the sake of tourism and higher speed, coastal habitats and fisherfolk's livelihood are put at risk.

Real Estate Developers and public authorities

VS

Fisher-folk and environmentalists. See: http://ejatlas.org/conflict/manori-marve-sea-link-mumbai-india

Energy: Simhadri thermal power plant Andhra Pradesh

Fisher folk and villagers VS

Private company See: http://ejatlas.org/conflict/simhadri-

thermal-power-plant-andhra-pradesh-india

http://www.thehindu.com/business/gandhian-way-of-protest-impresses-shinde/article2446562.ece

Industry: Industrial environmental judicial policy

making (Delhi, 1990s)

AsdescribedinTheEnvironmentalismofthePoor(chapter7)inthe1990stherewerepollu3onstrugglesinDelhi,withdecisionsbytheSupremeCourt(judgeKuldipSingh)againsttanneries,fer3lizerfactories,steelandpapermills–theyweretobedisplacedoutsidetheNCR.

ShivVisvanathan(1999)quotedfromatex3leemployee:“Inthisworldthedivideisbetweenrichandpooranditisthepoorwhohavetodiefortheyarecheaper.WewillhavetoshittoTonk(thenewsite)forthelawisoftherichman…Themanagementispowerful,thegovernmentisoftherich.ThisisanaRempttothrowthepooroutofthecity.PolluConinthecityisvehicular,notindustrial…”

Development of built environment: Sand mining – The conflicts are so widespread that in India

they have given rise to a new term in the world vocabulary of environmental injustices: “sand mafias”

- Awaaz Foundation vs Sand mafia;

- Swami (hunger strike) vs Uttarakhand State;

-  Narendra Kumar (IPS Officer)

vs Sand Mafia (Madhya Pradesh);

- Women and activists vs Sand Mafia

(Cauveri river in Tamil Nadu)

(cases from EJOLT reports)

In the EJAtlas We list the main Actors in each case: Public authorities,

Private companies, Environmental Justice Organizations (EJOs), Informal workers, Citizen groups, Religious groups, Indigenous groups…

We list the Valuation Languages deployed: Livelihood, Environmental values, Job creation, Sacredness… We state whether the case is one of success in environmental justice, or failure, or “not sure”.

We do comparative, statistical political ecology. Recent articles:

Is there a Global Movement for Environmental Justice? by J. Martinez-Alier, Leah Temper, Daniela del Bene, Arnim Scheidel, J. of Peasant Studies, 2016.

Mapping the frontiers and front lines of global environmental justice: the EJAtlas, by L.Temper,D. del Bene,J.Martinez-Alier,J.of Pol. Ecology, 22, 258-274,2015

CONCLUSIONS Cities are environmentally unsustainable There are ways to make them somewhat less

unsustainable: urban form (compact cities), support urban recyclers (against incineration), give value to urban ecosystem services (e.g. shading trees) ...

And also support those fighting for the environment in ecological distribution conflicts at different scales – they are often the poor and indigenous in rural areas. And in urban areas?