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11. Cities and Climate: The Future of the Future

Author:
Nicolas J. A. Buchoud
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Baku Dialogues
Institution:
ADA University
Abstract:
The present paper is intended to serve as a background document for the World Urban Forum that will take place in Cairo in November 2024 under the slogan, “Cities and Climate: The Future of the Future.” It is critical to learn from the historical foundations of contemporary urban imaginaries and trends. This essay explores some of these as they crystallized during the 1960s and early 1970s, alongside the emergence of planetary or “world systems” understanding. There is much to learn from the context and impact of futurologist studies produced decades ago, particularly those that looked to the then-distant year 2000. A better understanding of this history is useful to have in mind in the context of envisioning future urban policymaking options, a few of which which will be examined in light of recent events and trends.
Topic:
Climate Change, Cities, and Future
Political Geography:
Middle East

12. Managing Investments in Urban Areas: The Case of Azerbaijani Cities

Author:
Shahnaz Badalova
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Baku Dialogues
Institution:
ADA University
Abstract:
Urban areas in Azerbaijan are experiencing rapid growth and development, fueled by a combination of natural resource wealth, strategic geographic location, and economic reforms. In cities such as Baku, Ganja, and Sumgayit, significant investments have been made in infrastructure, housing construction, and industry. However, effectively managing these investments to achieve sustainable urban development remains a critical challenge. This article examines the policies and strategies for investment management in Azerbaijani cities, learning from both successes and ongoing challenges.
Topic:
Development, Natural Resources, Investment, Urban, and Cities
Political Geography:
Eurasia, Azerbaijan, and South Caucasus

13. Long Way Ahead: Applying the Sustainable Cities Implementation Framework in Azerbaijan

Author:
Anar Valiyev and Fidan Namazova
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Baku Dialogues
Institution:
ADA University
Abstract:
In the past 30 years, Azerbaijan has transformed from a majority rural society to a majority urban one. The urban population rate grew from 45 percent in 1993 to 57 percent in 2024. Of the total country’s population, around 24.3 percent is concentrated in the city of Baku. But the Greater Baku Area, which consists of the urbanized region encompassing the nearby cities of Sumgayit and Khirdalan (both of these are located, as is Baku, on the Absheron Peninsula), is estimated to host around 40 percent of country’s population—that is to say, around 4 million people. Ganja, the country’s second‑largest city, has a population of a little less than 400,000, making the urban primacy index in the country around 7 (unofficially, the number is closer to 10).
Topic:
Climate Change, Cities, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Eurasia, Azerbaijan, and South Caucasus

14. Urban Green Areas in Baku: Crafting a Sustainable and Climate-Resilient City Agenda

Author:
Tural Aliyev, Mauel Fischer, Janine Bollinger, and Alexandre Hedjazi
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Baku Dialogues
Institution:
ADA University
Abstract:
In the face of ongoing global environmental dynamics such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and natural resource depletion, one of the most significant challenges of the twenty‑first century is mitigating the negative externalities due to urbanization while adapting to the consequences of urban development. Beyond the increasing, ecological footprint of urban areas and the escalating demands for a diverse array of resources, land‑use practices significantly diminish the availability of areas essential for sustaining ecosystem services. This reduction not only impacts biodiversity but also limits nature’s capability to provide crucial services like clean air, water, and climate regulation—paradoxically, precisely in cities where their demand would be greatest. Many of these ecosystem services are directly linked to the natural environment in cities, such as green urban areas. Indeed, urban green areas (UGAs) are of high importance as they significantly contribute to vital ecosystem services (e.g., pollination through increased biodiversity), response options and thus resilience to environmental (climate) change (e.g., sponge cities), and human wellbeing, including direct impacts on our physical and mental health (e.g., nearby recreation).
Topic:
Climate Change, Urban, Cities, Sustainability, and Resilience
Political Geography:
Eurasia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, and Baku

15. Implementing Azerbaijan’s New Urban Agenda: The Case for Transformative Policymaking

Author:
Anna Soave
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Baku Dialogues
Institution:
ADA University
Abstract:
We live in a time of profound and rapid transformation. Trends and multifaceted challenges that have been gradually evolving in the past decade appear to be converging towards radical changes in the urban realm, driven by global geopolitical shifts, cultural dynamism, uneven socio‑economic progress, the disruption of labor markets reshaped by the digital revolution, and emerging technological and scientific advancements. All these are, to make matters more even complex, topped by the drive to “go green” due to the increasing evidence of our overuse of finite natural resources and the vulnerability of our ecosystem to climate crisis, and thus to our own wellbeing. Azerbaijan’s comprehensive “Strategic Road Maps,” approved in 2016, set the basis for the country’s aspirations towards the sustainability and competitiveness of its economic structure through the development of the non‑oil sector and its human capital. The more recent policy and reform framework, titled “Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for Socio‑Economic Development,” which was endorsed in 2021, spells out clean‑cut priorities for the country aimed at stimulating the growth of its economy, fostering a dynamic, inclusive, and socially‑just society, promoting the balanced development of the regions, encouraging innovation and creativity, guiding the return of internally displaced people (IDPs) to their areas of origin in the liberated territories, and promoting decarbonization.
Topic:
Climate Change, Geopolitics, Urban, Cities, and Decarbonization
Political Geography:
Eurasia, Azerbaijan, and South Caucasus

16. Towards a Seat at the Table: How an Initiative of Cities Got Their Voices Heard during Germany’s 2022 G7 Presidency

Author:
Maria Elisabeth Gronen and Yannick Sudermann
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
In the past, both researchers and policymakers have often underlined the important role cities have to play in reaching the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Meanwhile, city networks have become increasingly active in approaching international institutions and getting their voices heard. Among them are the Urban7 Group – a recently founded group of city associations from G7 countries advocating for a stronger involvement of cities in G7 policymaking. The discussion about who has a voice in the G7 and what role cities can potentially play in it is significant. The G7, despite being somewhat contentious, remains a highly relevant forum both in terms of the negative contribution of its members to global sustainability crises (such as climate change) and their collective economic capability to address the crises. In the past, references to the role of cities were largely absent from G7 official documents; this changed during Germany’s G7 presidency in 2022. Based on a document analysis and semi-structured interviews with ministry officials and city network representatives, this paper investigates how, in 2022, the Urban7 Group was involved in the G7 process, and which actors and contextual factors had an impact on the width and depth of this involvement. While the German presidency opted not to directly involve the Urban7 Group as an official G7 engagement group, the group nevertheless gained access to ministerial negotiations, in particular those of the new G7 track on urban development. The paper finds that this engagement was facilitated by pre-existing contacts with ministerial officials as well as changes in the delineation of ministries following the German federal election in late 2021 that led to changes in political leadership and the formation of a new ministry to take responsibility for urban development. The paper closes with critical reflections on the 2022 process, recommendations and potential avenues for future research.
Topic:
Sustainable Development Goals, Institutions, Cities, and G7
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

17. The Politics of New Cities: Diversification of Actors and Recentralization of State Power in the Case of Diamniadio

Author:
Sina Schlimmer
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI)
Abstract:
The construction of new cities on the African continent is in vogue. From multifunctional urban hubs to eco-districts, the images that accompany the announcement of these projects promote an African urban future based on modernity and technology. This trend for urban planning that claims to make a clean sweep of pre-existing approaches is not unique to African countries, whose governments are inspired in particular by North African and Asian models. However, the promotion of new cities in Africa is part of the lively debate that has been going on for several years on the rapid urbanization of the continent's countries. The creation of modern cities, organized and corresponding to the urban planning standards of international metropolises, is presented as a means of avoiding haphazard, chaotic urban development. This paper offers a critical analysis of the policy of new cities based on an empirical study of the new urban pole of Diamniadio (PUD) in Senegal. Two key arguments are put forward in this paper. First, the analysis deconstructs the ex nihilo character of these urban projects and emphasizes that they are part of public policy trajectories. Due to its geo-economic and strategic position, Diamniadio has been at the heart of the Dakar region's territorial planning policies since at least the end of the 1990s. Secondly, new towns are far from being neutral and technical urban planning instruments; rather, they are political devices that convey interests and stimulate power games. By delimiting the boundaries of the PUD, which is presented as President Macky Sall's political footprint, the central government regains certain administrative powers, particularly in terms of land planning and allocation. In addition, the PUD reflects competition from foreign actors, both public and private, and the growing importance of emerging actors such as Turkey.
Topic:
Infrastructure, Governance, State, Urban, and Cities
Political Geography:
Africa and Senegal

18. Aligning ESG and SDGs at the Urban Level

Author:
Kris Hartley
Publication Date:
08-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Abstract:
This report outlines how cities and the private sector can collaborate on and magnify sustainability efforts that enable broad systemic change. Sustainability efforts require not only public policy interventions and resources but also the initiative and innovation of the private sector. These are systematized through the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for governments, including at the city level, and through environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles for companies. Bringing these two approaches into alignment is a crucial step for fostering multi-sectoral sustainability effort, but this alignment is largely unrealized. Among the local-government sustainability documents examined for this report, mentions of corporate activity are minimal and often superficial, primarily addressing the participation of companies in multi-stakeholder discussions about policy issues. In turn, ESG reports center on the decisions and actions of corporations, with public governance referenced largely in the context of regulatory limitations and policy objectives that affect business operations. Local governments and companies are undertaking sustainability efforts in their own ways. Merging the two through shared focus and strategy can magnify sustainability efforts in ways that enable the broad systemic change needed to avert climate crisis and societal disruption. This report outlines how a more collaborative approach can proceed, first by providing an overview of policy and corporate sustainability efforts and second by detailing examples of both. The report concludes with a discussion about how sustainability narratives can be harmonized between the two sectors.
Topic:
Environment, United Nations, Governance, Sustainable Development Goals, Private Sector, Cities, Society, and Public-Private Partnership
Political Geography:
Global Focus

19. El espacio público como bien común. Seguridady convivencia ciudadana

Author:
Vicenç Aguado i Cudolà
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:
International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:
El espacio público constituye elámbitopara el uso y disfrutegeneralde todas las personas, en el ejercicio de sus derechos y libertades. Sin embargo, la regulación tradicional se ha orientado a concebirlo desde unas coordenadas esencialmente productivas, situación que ha llevado a la exclusión de la pobreza, su criminalización y estigmatización. En este sentido, deben enmarcarse las políticas de tolerancia cero, fruto del marco teórico propiciado bajo la metáforade las “ventanas rotas”, como fundamento de la represión de las infracciones de baja intensidad, así como el marco jurídico de las ordenanzas de convivencia ciudadana. En el presente trabajo se defiende la necesidad de configurar el espacio público en el marco de una ciudad de los cuidados, construyendo políticas públicas que permitan recuperar la ciudad para el conjunto de la ciudadanía. En este sentido, adquiere relevancia la configuración del espacio público, no solamente desde la idea de propiedad o titularidad públicaque comporta el dominio público, sino también desde su concepción como bien común que permite la participación de la ciudadanía en su gestión. La asunción de responsabilidades de la ciudadanía, de forma compartida con la Administración, puede constituir un instrumento para que el espacio público constituya un entorno seguro y respetuoso con el ejercicio de derechos y libertades. Se propone dotar de contenido concreto al derecho al espacio público como manifestación del derecho a la ciudad, que permita dar herramientas a la ciudadanía para garantizar su funcionalidad.De forma correlativa, la idea de responsabilidad comporta también la asunción de deberes por la ciudadanía que debería incorporar la legislación de régimen local. Asimismo, se examina el papel que pueden llevar a cabo las ordenanzas locales para garantizar este derecho al espacio público. Por último, se alude a la experiencia que se está implementando en los municipios de los agentes cívicos como medios que pueden contribuir a la realización de este derecho al espacio público.
Topic:
Regulation, Cities, Municipalities, Public Security, Public Space, and Coexistence
Political Geography:
Global Focus

20. Cities as global actors: Bringing governance closer to the people

Author:
Katja Creutz
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:
Globalization and extensive urbanization worldwide have brought cities to the forefront of global governance in a multilateral system designed and created for states. Cities have come to exercise power due in part to the inadequacy or ineffectiveness of inter-state action, but also because their democratic nature and immediate connection to the population make them legitimate actors. Cities are also home to many problems of a global nature, such as greenhouse gas emissions, pandemics, and sustainability. This makes them uniquely situated to address these challenges. City diplomacy has become a prevalent feature in many global policy issues, ranging from climate change to development cooperation. The primary tool through which cities act is networking, with hundreds of global city networks pursuing the interests and values of their constituencies. By demanding a seat at the table where global affairs are decided upon, cities challenge and complement the state-based international order, in addition to which they stretch the basic concepts and constructs of both international relations and international law.
Topic:
Globalization, International Law, Governance, Democracy, and Cities
Political Geography:
Global Focus