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?
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