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Towards a Method of Participatory Planning in an Emerging Metropolitan Delta in the Context of Climate Change. The Case of Lower Parana Delta, Argentina.
Abstract and Figures
The Paraná Delta is a large and heterogeneous territory that can be considered an extreme and particular case due to the dynamics that interact within this area. Nevertheless, many of the conflicts that can be found in this area replicate in other deltas around the world, which are subjected to pressures related to urban growth and climate change, within a context of uncertainty and unpredictability. Those pressures interact at multiple scales and temporalities, affecting the components of the systems, as well as the relations between them and with the environment. This complexity reveals the need for the society (including governments, institutions, civil organisations, academia, etc.) to enhance the adaptability of the system of the delta, in order to cope with changes without losing their substantial characteristics.
This thesis is focused on the study of the complexity of self-organising processes that emerge in metropolitan areas located in (or near) delta territories, in order to link climate adaptation with urban development from an actor-oriented perspective. For that purpose, this research based on the understanding of the self-organising processes that emerge in urbanising deltas to design and implement a methodology that can be applied at the local level, to generate an impact at other scales. The method designed in this thesis also includes the development of scenarios in order to think about possible future events and reflect on the necessary policy and actions to make the system respond to changes in a more adaptive way. The scenarios, as well as all the indicators analysed along the process, are developed through participatory workshops, after an analysis of the actor-network of the area, and also of the local, provincial and national regulations.
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... Deltas can be considered complex adaptive systems, where ecological, social, environmental and many other factors coexist in constant transformation within a context of great uncertainty, exacerbated by climate change (Zagare, 2018). This conception of urban deltas as complex adaptive systems comes from Complexity Theories, and it is related to different aspects. ...
... First, urban deltas are open systems in constant interaction with their external environment. Within the system, many subsystems (formed by physical components, social actors and the relationships between them) interact with each other (Zagare, 2018). The interactions are a result of constant adaptation processes between the components and between the system and the environment, which leads to changes in the structure and organization of the system. ...
... Lack of public participation and top-down processes are also obstacles, as well as an unsupportive and rigid legal framework. Knowledge transfer (previously mentioned), capacity building and collaborative governance include a wide range of instruments and methods which can generate spaces for social mobilization that can be anchored within the planning and institutional existing framework (Zagare, 2018). ...
Coastal areas, especially deltas, are some of the most urbanized territories in the world. Historically, the natural richness and strategic location of these areas resulted attractive for human settlements worldwide. However, these areas are also highly vulnerable due to rapid and unplanned urbanization, land use changes, and extreme climate events. There is an international consensus on the need for new strategies for sustainable development to help cities to mitigate the effects of climate change, as well as adapt to new changing conditions in a context of increasing uncertainty. This paper will explore the specific aspects of urban deltas and coastal areas, from a complexity-based approach, and analyse Nature-based Solutions as alternatives towards sustainable development in these areas.
... Asimismo, el territorio natural presenta dinámicas propias y se encuentra en constante transformación. Es así como las zonas costeras y los deltas alcanzan una doble complejidad derivada de la coexistencia de procesos emergentes tanto naturales como antrópicos, en un contexto de cambio continuo e impredictibilidad frente al futuro (Zagare, 2018;Meyer, 2014a). Esta incertidumbre está dada no solo por las tendencias sociales y económicas, sino también por los efectos del cambio climático, que muchas veces generan grandes impactos en estas zonas, aumentando su vulnerabilidad. ...
... El análisis Escenarios. (Zagare, 2018) fue estructurado siguiendo la metodología del Layer Approach o "Perspectiva de Capas" (McHarg, 1969), que distingue tres capas de organización espacial del territorio: substrato (ambiente), redes (infraestructura y comunicaciones) y ocupación (usos del suelo). Esta perspectiva, inicialmente desarrollada en Estados Unidos de Norteamérica en 1969, fue adoptada en los Países Bajos en la década del ochenta, y sentó las bases para numerosas políticas urbanas. ...
... Zagare, 2018). ...
This article is focused on the double complexity that takes place in emerging metropolitan deltas due to the coexistence of natural dynamics and urban processes, in a context of uncertainty regarding climate change and economic development. Within this scope, traditional planning turns ineffective to address current and future issues in a flexible and participatory way. In order to develop efficient planning methods and strategies, it is necessary to understand the structure and processes that define these systems. For that purpose, in this article the concept of emerging metropolitan deltas will be presented, deepening the understanding of these areas as complex adaptive systems. Then, the challenges of planning will be addressed by analysing the case of the Paraná Delta and presenting an adaptive and participatory planning method for the area.
... Frente a la evidencia de los efectos negativos producidos por el Cambio Climático y las actividades humanas desarrolladas en forma no sustentable (MEA, 2005), las SbN buscan hallar alternativas de mitigación y adaptación que a la vez protejan la biodiversidad y respondan a los desafíos sociales (Eggermont et al., 2015, p. 244). Esta perspectiva reconoce la complejidad de los sistemas socio-ecológicos (su dinamismo, auto-organización, y capacidad de adaptación), para así evitar limitarse a resolver los desafíos sociales y ambientales exclusivamente a través de la ingeniería tradicional (Cohen-Shacham et al., 2016;Eggermont et al., 2015;Zagare, 2018). ...
... Ubicados en tierras bajas susceptibles a las inundaciones producto del aumento del nivel del mar, han hecho históricamente grandes inversiones en infraestructura gris de protección, y desarrollado planes tales como el Delta Works o el Zuiderzee Works, ambos llevados a cabo luego de las devastadoras inundaciones de 1953 (Meyer et al., 2014). Luego de llevadas a cabo las obras, se llegó a cuestionar hasta qué punto se garantiza la protección en un contexto de continuo aumento de nivel del mar, así como también, cuál es el grado de irreversibilidad de las obras grises, y cuál es la posibilidad de restaurar el territorio a su estado original (Meyer et al., 2014;Zagare, 2018). Estos cuestionamientos dieron pie a un cambio de paradigma orientado a trabajar "con" el agua en lugar de luchar "contra" el agua (Vrijling & Stive, 2010). ...
Given the evidence of the negative effects of Climate Change and the development of human activities in an unsustainable way, ecosystem-based approaches have gained prominence in the international debate, both in academia and in practice. In this article, the concept of Nature-based Solutions will be presented, as well as its background and the different perspectives on the subject. The concept will then be illustrated with the presentation of national and international cases. Finally, a reflection on the implementation of these types of solutions in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires will be presented, as well as the advantages of generating spaces for the exchange of experiences and knowledge with international institutions.
The Paraná Delta has long been a territory of slow-onset
transformations, despite its proximity to major cities. However,
in recent decades it has come under increasing
pressure from accelerated changes in land use, notably
the unfettered expansion of cities, while enduring the consequences
of the rapid rise of industrial agriculture in
Argentina (notably soybeans), that have tended to displace
cattle production to the delta, among other areas.
Climate-change impacts such as floods, droughts, fire
outbreaks, and the hydrologic effects of sea-level rise
contribute to heightened vulnerability in the delta. However,
national response to climate change is providing a
framework for action to protect it. This links wetland conservation
programs with Argentina’s efforts to establish
its low emissions long-term climate strategy, meet the
objectives of its Second Nationally Determined Contribution
to the Paris Agreement, and implement its National
Adaptation Plan. ‘Conservation lighthouses’ could be the
start of a more systematic response to support climatechange
adaptation.
Este documento presenta una base de datos geográfica sobre los endicamientos y terraplenes
identificados en del Delta del Paraná, que toma como punto de partida los datos del mapa desde
el año 2013 y los actualiza hasta julio de 2018. Esta base geográfica contiene 654 polígonos
cubriendo 247.168 ha, lo que representa un 12,36 % de la superficie del Delta. Desde el año 2013
al 2018 se han incorporado 173 endicamientos nuevos, localizados casi totalmente en el Bajo
Delta, que ocupan un total 19.695 ha que representa el 7,97% de la superficie total endicada y un
0,98% de la superficie total del Delta.
El principal uso actual de los endicamientos es el ganadero, seguido del forestal y mixto en
proporciones similares. La mayor proporción de áreas endicadas se encuentra en territorio
entrerriano, siendo la bonaerense levemente menor. En las regiones tradicionalmente afectadas
por las grandes crecientes del río Paraná, que en este periodo tuvieron lugar entre 2014 y 2016, se
destacan la desaparición de las áreas endicadas de uso agrícola y un aumento de superficies sin
uso definido. Los de uso residencial son bajos en superficie total y presentan en general tamaños
pequeños, son difíciles de distinguir o están bajo la modalidad de marinas, que no quedan
representadas adecuadamente en una base de endicamientos. La superficie total endicada en el
Delta del Paraná continúa en aumento, con una tendencia a la reducción del tamaño de los
endicamientos muy marcada. La década actual es la que registra el mayor avance territorial, pero
con endicamientos de mucho menor tamaño que los desarrollados en las décadas de mayor auge
de esta práctica (1970 y 1980 ). También se afirma la transformación de los grandes endicamientos
forestales a ganaderos o a usos mixtos.
La base de datos de terraplenes presenta total de 6.913 segmentos de terraplenes que recorren
una longitud total de 8.893 km. La mayor proporción de terraplenes corresponde a los diques
perimetrales seguida por los caminos y terraplenes interiores.
El territorio entrerriano presenta diques de mayor tamaño, una superficie endicada levemente
mayor, y una mayor proporcione de terraplenes de caminos. El bonaerense en cambio, presenta
mayor número de diques pero de menor tamaño, y se han identificado mayor proporción de
terraplenes internos. El uso es predominantemente ganadero y mixto en territorio entrerriano,
mientras que en el bonaerense los usos típicos son el forestal y el residencial.
El panorama de la distribución de terraplenes y endicamientos presentado en esta actualización
es mucho más realista que el definido en las bases de datos anteriores, mostrando de manera más
contundente el grado de antropización de la región del Delta del Paraná.
This paper addresses the challenges of Joint Fact Finding (JFF) in spatial planning and design. JFF is an important component of a deliberative planning practice: The construction of (problematic) realities is fundamental for the formulation of challenges and solutions. Information is often contested in complex planning processes due to different interests, values and perspectives. Carefully designed interaction procedures are needed to negotiate the relevance and validity of information sources. Particularly promising procedures for this are Serious Games: Facilitating joint reality construction through immersive simulations, they are appealing ways to engage not only knowledge-oriented researchers, but also practice-oriented stakeholders and professionals. Their concreteness speaks to spatial planning and design as crafts. Still, the development of such games is not without its challenges and trade-offs. As procedures for reality construction, they cannot escape the power-laden nature of knowledge. We present a case study on developing a spatial design-oriented game, and analyze it in the tradition of the sociology of translations, aided by literature on serious game development. As indicated, Serious Games could function as JFF procedures in spatial planning and design. Moreover, their architecture can be considered a 'boundary object' providing actors an environment that accommodates information sharing, learning and joint reality construction. In this way the game facilitates the building of capacity to generate and integrate knowledge for spatial planning and design. In our project on integrative planning in delta areas, the game architecture accommodated researchers and practitioners in governance, spatial design and geo-information. Striving for interdisciplinary synergies, the game architecture was to be accordingly polyvalent. Its main innovative features would be its generative and integrative capacity, i.e. its capacity to both co-produce and integrate a diversity of information sources and to co-develop/generate spatial designs on this basis. How can joint fact finding in spatial planning and design be organized through a serious game in such a way that it develops integrative and generative capacity, and which challenges and trade-offs are faced in realizing this goal? In this paper we describe and discuss the practical shaping of these two capacities, and the attendant trade-offs. Tracking the ontogenesis of a game design, we describe a struggle over appropriate JFF procedures. As proposed procedures for interactive reality construction, the successive
The Real and Virtual Worlds of Spatial Planning brings together contributions from leaders in landscape, transportation, and urban planning today. The authors present an international range of case studies - from Europe, Australia, North America, Asia and Africa - that ground the exploration of ideas in the realities of sustainable urban and regional planning, landscape planning and present the prospects for using virtual worlds for modeling spatial environments and their application in planning. The first part of this volume explores the challenges for planning in the real world that are caused by the dynamics of socio-spatial systems as well as by the contradictions of their evolutionary trends related to their spatial layout. Case studies from developed as well as developing countries are presented. The second part presents diverse concepts to model, analyze, visualize, monitor and control socio-spatial systems by using virtual worlds. Theoretical topics include modeling spatial systems as Petri nets, cellular automata as well as dynamical systems.
This book takes a bold epistemological approach to address the fundamental questions that urban design has faced since its inception – questions concerning its legitimacy, definition, nature, content, purpose, theory, methods, jurisdiction and above all its knowledge base. The appropriate level of urban design – global or local – is another critical and emerging question discussed. At the end, an integrative theory of urban design is introduced, on the basis of which a set of principles is developed for application by practicing urban designers. These principles are presented at three essential levels: general, global and local-Iranian. Toward an Integrative Theory of Urban Design is intended to dispel many of the ambiguities still troubling urban design as a discipline and profession.
The environmental burden of disease assessment approach described in this volume is illustrated through its application to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE occupies 83,600 km2 along the Arabian Gulf, with an estimated 2011 population of about 7.5 million. The UAE supports a diversified modern economy and, as a result, faces environmental and public health problems similar to those of other industrial nations. The methods we illustrate build upon a series of guidelines on environmental burden of disease assessment published by the World Health Organization beginning in 2003. Although many countries have employed these guidelines to assess the burden of disease due to individual environmental risk factors, the comprehensive environmental burden of disease assessment across multiple exposure pathways and contaminants described in this book is the first of its kind. This project was intended to serve as a model for other nations wishing to conduct similar assessments. The basic methods can be applied to any nation or subnational geographic unit (such as a state or city). Furthermore, much of the information on relationships between exposures to pollutants and the probability of becoming ill is, and will increasingly be, relevant across the globe. These relationships are specified in the UAE Environmental Burden of Disease Model, a multilayered computer simulation tool constructed in Analytica software. Other countries can adopt this model’s structure, along with much of the input data, as a starting point for their own environmental burden of disease assessments. Also relevant to other nations is the process we used to prioritize risks to include in this analysis—a process that involved systematic consultations with environment and health stakeholders. Other nations can save considerable time and resources in carrying out similar assessments by using the approaches and modeling methods described in this book.