ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN VIETNAM: INSIGHTS FROM A STRUCTURAL MODEL

Vietnam is increasingly exposed to climate change. The COVID-19 crisis offers an opportunity to push for green investment and climate-resilient adaptation. In this context, the paper uses a DSGE structural model, calibrated to features of the Vietnamese economy, to simulate the macroeconomic trade-offs of investing in resilient infrastructure. Compared to scenarios of a baseline no policy change and additional standard infrastructure spending, the model findings illustrate the long-term benefits of adaptation infrastructure investments on growth and public debt dynamics. Specifically, while adaptation infrastructure is initially slightly costlier during the scale-up period, it can better withstand natural disaster shocks, and over time, would have lower maintenance costs and higher return than conventional infrastructure. Other model scenarios illustrate the trade-offs of different financing sources as well as the benefits of public financial management reforms that improve investment efficiency. © 2021 AESS Publications. All Rights Reserved.

Disaster risk reduction and G20: A major step forward

Disaster risks are increasing and changing their nature. The global risk landscape is evolving as new risks – many of them arising from cascading and inter-connected hazards – are arising. While significant achievements have been made to reduce loss of lives, economic and asset damages are still on the increasing trend. G20, which started as the major economic group meeting, has emerged over years as an influential political forum. While there have been several attempts to bring disaster risk reduction agenda to G20, the issue has not been addressed in a comprehensive and sustained manner. A new working group on Disaster Risk Reduction has been established under India's Presidency. This paper analyzes G20 and DRR risk reduction agenda's evolution, provides insights on India's contribution to the thematic area, and suggest future interventions required at G20. While Indian Prime Minister's 10-points agenda sets the future DRR interventions targets, India's leadership in DRR can be seen in terms of local level risk management framework, resilient infrastructure, financing of disaster risk management, social protection, people's engagement, and resource management. In addition to that, response to COVID-19 through the Disaster Management Act has set up a new milestone for multi hazards and all hazards risk management, including complex and cascading risks. Five specific areas that are urgently required are: 1) investment in resilient infrastructure, 2) digital infra and data management protocol, including open data, open governance, 3) use of disruptive and emerging technologies, 4) enhancement of technology transfer and market creation through private sector involvement, and 5) fostering youth innovation and entrepreneurship in DRR. This will help not only the G20 nations, but also contribute to other vulnerable countries and communities. © 2023 The Authors

Disaster risk reduction and G20: A major step forward

Disaster risks are increasing and changing their nature. The global risk landscape is evolving as new risks – many of them arising from cascading and inter-connected hazards – are arising. While significant achievements have been made to reduce loss of lives, economic and asset damages are still on the increasing trend. G20, which started as the major economic group meeting, has emerged over years as an influential political forum. While there have been several attempts to bring disaster risk reduction agenda to G20, the issue has not been addressed in a comprehensive and sustained manner. A new working group on Disaster Risk Reduction has been established under India's Presidency. This paper analyzes G20 and DRR risk reduction agenda's evolution, provides insights on India's contribution to the thematic area, and suggest future interventions required at G20. While Indian Prime Minister's 10-points agenda sets the future DRR interventions targets, India's leadership in DRR can be seen in terms of local level risk management framework, resilient infrastructure, financing of disaster risk management, social protection, people's engagement, and resource management. In addition to that, response to COVID-19 through the Disaster Management Act has set up a new milestone for multi hazards and all hazards risk management, including complex and cascading risks. Five specific areas that are urgently required are: 1) investment in resilient infrastructure, 2) digital infra and data management protocol, including open data, open governance, 3) use of disruptive and emerging technologies, 4) enhancement of technology transfer and market creation through private sector involvement, and 5) fostering youth innovation and entrepreneurship in DRR. This will help not only the G20 nations, but also contribute to other vulnerable countries and communities.

BARCELONA’S GREENING PARADOX AS AN EMERGING GLOBAL CITY AND TOURISM DESTINATION

Following an ambitious urban renewal program that began in the late 1980s, Barcelona has become a major tourism destination in the Mediterranean. As an emerging global city, planners in Barcelona today are greening the city through park improvements, street re-designs and street traffic-calming initiatives. While striving to provide locals with green amenities, these beautification projects have also produced unexpected consequences, as they bring in more visitors and accelerate gentrification. Currently, few city greening projects can avoid discussions of gentrification, and neighborhood groups have begun to organize in opposition to the touristification that has made their neighborhoods unaffordable and/or exclusive. While the current COVID-19 pandemic has drastically reduced the number of visitors to Barcelona-producing a new experience for local residents-the impacts on local street life, public space, housing and gentrification trends remain uncertain. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Isabelle Anguelovski and James J. T. Connolly.

Resolving the Urban Dilemma of Two Adjacent Rivers through a Dialogue between GIS and Augmented Reality (AR) of Fabrics

Keelung Harbor, which is the most important center of sea freight in northern Taiwan, suffers from deteriorating urban development due to limited land supply. A dilemma arose from the Asahikawa River and the Tianliao River fronts, which evolved from cultural landscapes to buried and truncated rivers. This research was aimed at resolving the urban dilemma of the two adjacent rivers through a dialogue between the physical and augmented interaction of fabrics in three scenarios: GIS to AR, AR to GIS, and both. The physical dynamics were used to trace development chronologically by the area and length assessed from historical maps of hydrogeography, architecture, and the railroad. The augmented dynamics involved AR-based simulations and comparisons in terms of skyline overlay, fabric substitution, and fabric disposition. The dynamics involved AR models made by UAV images and 3D drawings. The assessments and simulations determined the key event in Keelung history when the Asahikawa River was leveled up. The dilemma verified from the augmented dynamics facilitated comprehension of the evolvement of the physical dynamics. With the assistance of AR and GIS, we concluded that the specific instance of riverfront reconstruction was an important landmark of meta-relationship.

Residential built environment and working from home: A New Zealand perspective during COVID-19.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 90 countries, including Aotearoa New Zealand, executed lockdowns. As non-essential businesses could not operate from their usual centralised locations, some responded by implementing working from home (WFH). This caused a temporary shift in how people interacted with the built environment and provided a unique opportunity to investigate the relationship between WFH and New Zealand's built environment. A nationwide survey was conducted online using Google Forms to explore the experiences of New Zealanders while WFH during the 2020 nationwide lockdown. Questions focused on workplace and WFH conditions, and built environment features and characteristics before, during, and after the lockdown. The quality of residential housing and its impact on respondents' ability to effectively WFH was of particular interest. In total, 794 survey respondents experienced WFH. Respondents generally had a positive experience while WFH, with 82.6 % of respondents that experienced WFH wanting to shift to part- or full-time WFH. While the context of the COVID-19 lockdown is unique, the results have potential applications for future policies that can increase the quality of the residential built environment to benefit the well-being of its users.

The Effects of Spatial Planning, Well-Being, and Behavioural Changes During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 poses a massive challenge to urban public-health emergency and governance systems. Urban planners and policymakers engaged in spatial planning and management should carefully consider how a "people-oriented" principle can be incorporated into spatial-planning systems to reduce the negative impacts on both cities and people. However, there is limited literature discussing the aforementioned issues, particularly using qualitative methods. Therefore, this research aims to explore the implications of COVID-19 on spatial planning, well-being, and behavioural change using Changchun as a case study. Semi-structured interviews are used to examine the views and insights of 23 participants. Our results show that, first, the shift to home working has changed people's way of life, affected their subjective well-being, and significantly affected spatial planning within cities, placing greater demands on architectural design and community spatial planning. Therefore, additional open public spaces and a more supportive infrastructure are required. Second, it is found that Changchun has not established an effective community-based spatial planning system, something which should have been taken into consideration in the master plan for the future. Third, our findings suggest that being a resilient city is vital for the sustainable development of second-tier cities like Changchun, which is reflected in urban development patterns, disaster prevention, and long-term functional layout, among other aspects. This study contributes to the existing literature on resilient cities, particularly from the perspective of sustainability with regard to resilience to and recovery from major urban crises. In terms of policy implications, planning departments should work with public health and public safety departments to formulate guidelines and management rules in order to improve the spatial planning of cities during periods of extraordinary change and challenge.