This book, focuses on South and Southeast Asia, upgrades our understanding of the influence of multiple sociopolitical and governance factors on climate change and risks. Moving beyond science and technology-oriented discussions on climate change, it argues that the real solutions to climate change problems lie in societies, governance systems, non-state actors, and the power and politics underpinning these systems. It presents a range of detailed conceptual, empirical, and policy-oriented insights from different nations of South and Southeast Asia, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, Maldives, and Bhutan. The chapters bring forth critical discussions of climate change, covering a diverse range of topics including livelihoods, gender, community perspectives, relocation, resilience, local politics, climate change communication, governance, and policy responses. By investigating climate change vulnerabilities and as well as offering feasible solutions to the states and other non-state actors in responding to climate change and risks, this book deepens our existing knowledge of the social and political dimensions of climate change. With interdisciplinary perspectives, this book will appeal to all students, researchers, and scholars of environmental studies, geography, disaster studies, sociology, policy studies, development studies, and political science. It provides valuable reading to practitioners, policymakers, and professionals working in related fields.

Very few studies have been conducted to explore the vulnerability of women in the context of climate change. This book addresses this absence by investigating the structure of women's livelihoods and coping capacity in a disaster vulnerable coastal area of Bangladesh. The research findings suggest that the distribution of livelihood capitals of vulnerable women in rural Bangladesh is heavily influenced by several climatic events, such as cyclones, floods and seasonal droughts that periodically affect the region. Women face several challenges in their livelihoods, including vulnerability to their income, household assets, lives and health, food security, education, water sources, sanitation and transportation systems, because of ongoing climate change impacts. The findings have important policy relevance for all involved in disaster and risk management, both within Bangladesh and the developing countries facing climate change impacts. Based on the research findings, the book also provides recommendations to improving the livelihoods of women in the coastal communities. This book will appeal to academics, researchers and professionals in environmental management, gender and development, and climate change governance looking at the effects of and adaptation to climate change, gender issues and natural disaster management strategies.

This book offers an extended case study of the urban community of Bushwick, located in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The authors begin with a broad review of the history of Bushwick and Brooklyn, from before the earliest European settlements of the 1600s, through the 18th and 19th centuries and up the 1960s. Chapter Two begins by tracing the steep decline of the community, which culminated in catastrophic fires and looting in the wake of New York's electrical blackout of 1977 and goes on to describe the beginnings of urban planning and renewal efforts which launched the recovery of Bushwick in the 1980s to early 2000s. Chapter Three steps back from the immediacy of the community to discuss urban change from a theoretical perspective. The authors outline advances in 'sustainable urban planning' and describe how these apply to Bushwick and the wider Brooklyn community. Chapter Four offers a detailed examination of the intent and function of New York's community board planning system, known as the Charter 197-a program. In Chapter Five the authors examine the 197-a planning process and its application in the areas of Bushwick, Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Northeast Brooklyn; Brooklyn Downtown and in Southeast Brooklyn including Coney Island. The following chapter examines a number of innovative Bushwick high schools that offer practical experience in urban planning. Drawing the urban planning experiences together, the book concludes with a look at future directions in city renewal. Emphasis here is placed on 'sustainable urban planning' and the lessons to be learned from the experience of Bushwick and Brooklyn. The specifics of urban planning and renewal are illustrated with tables and figures. The details of planning are informed by an overarching sense of history, beginning with the dedication of the book to the memory of six Universalist writers associated with New York: Henry Thoreau, Helena Blavatsky, Henry George, Henry Miller, Arthur Miller and Walt Whitman. A rich trove of historical materials, ranging from family sketches to school rosters to rarely seen photographs, helps to keep the survey and analysis of urban planning grounded in the lives of Bushwick's residents, past, present and future.

This book is in part a response to the attempts of governments to address increasing concerns over such environmental issues as the impact of climate change; carbon emissions; pressures from overpopulation of cities; coal seam gas extraction and depleting natural resources. The authors have developed a Sustainable Communities Framework (SCF) which incorporates social-cultural, environmental and economic sustainability principles in the process of urban planning. The authors propose a five-step SCF built on an application of sustainability tables. The book examines a wide range of urban planning practices utilizing sustainability criteria, outlining both qualitative and quantitative tools. Separate chapters discuss application of the SCF to both the natural environment and the built environment. This framework is applied to a case study of the outer Sydney growth area of Wyong Shire, Central Coast, NSW, Australia. Addressing the question of how best to measure the environment, the authors present a table for selecting indicators of sustainability, and outline sustainability scorecards which use color-coded ratings of green, red and amber to measure indicators of sustainability. The authors show how aggregating these ratings allows the framework to be scaled up for application to larger areas. Finally, the authors show how scorecards can be incorporated in sustainability reports, with actions and monitoring components. The authors also examine urban planning education including land use planning, natural resource planning and sustainable urban planning, focusing on the extent to which schools incorporate principles of sustainability. The authors offer their critique on the movement of planning practices towards a more coordinated and holistic framework, in incorporating sustainability principles. Sustainable Communities: A Framework for Planning concludes by drawing a future scenario on the application of the SCF to incorporate principles of sustainability into urban planning. The authors propose future options for SCF applications, including adopting a systems program; environmental performance monitoring and showing how the framework will accommodate the social-cultural and economic components of sustainability, in addition to the environmental ones as examined in the case study.

This book examines the planning and implementation of policies to create sustainable neighborhoods, using as a case study the City of Sydney. The authors ask whether many past planning and development practices were appropriate to the ways that communities then functioned, and what lessons we have learned. The aim is to illustrate the many variations within a city and from neighborhood to neighborhood regarding renewal (rehabilitation), redevelopment (replacement) and new development. Case study examples of nine City of Sydney neighborhoods note the different histories of planning and development in each. Features of the studies include literature searches, field work (with photography), and analysis. The authors propose a set of sustainability principles which incorporate elements of the twenty seven principles of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development Part One explores sustainable urban planning, and the importance of planning tools that enable best planning outcomes for communities and investors. Common factors in the nine case study neighborhoods are renewal, redevelopment and development pressures affecting Sydney from the 1970s to 2014. Also discussed are the differing circumstances of planning faced by authorities, developers and communities in each of the study areas. Part Two of the book is focused on the case study areas in City of Sydney East area: Woolloomooloo and Kings Cross. Part Three covers case study areas in Sydney's Inner South area: Chippendale, Redfern and Waterloo District. Part Four surveys the Inner West suburb of Erskineville. Part Five looks at the City West area, including the Haymarket District and the Pyrmont and Ultimo District. Part Six concentrates on the North West area suburb of Glebe. Part Seven of the book looks at the growth area of South Sydney District, which includes the suburbs of Beaconsfield, Zetland and the new localities of Victoria Park and Green Square. The authors recount lessons learned and outline directions of planning for sustainable neighborhoods. Finally, the authors challenge readers to apply the lessons of these case studies to further advances in sustainable urban planning.

This book offers an extended case study of the urban community of Bushwick, located in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The authors begin with a broad review of the history of Bushwick and Brooklyn, from before the earliest European settlements of the 1600s, through the 18th and 19th centuries and up the 1960s. Chapter Two begins by tracing the steep decline of the community, which culminated in catastrophic fires and looting in the wake of New York s electrical blackout of 1977 and goes on to describe the beginnings of urban planning and renewal efforts which launched the recovery of Bushwick in the 1980s to early 2000s. Chapter Three steps back from the immediacy of the community to discuss urban change from a theoretical perspective. The authors outline advances in sustainable urban planning and describe how these apply to Bushwick and the wider Brooklyn community.

Chapter Four offers a detailed examination of the intent and function of New York s community board planning system, known as the Charter 197-a program. In Chapter Five the authors examine the 197-a planning process and its application in the areas of Bushwick, Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Northeast Brooklyn; Brooklyn Downtown and in Southeast Brooklyn including Coney Island.The following chapter examines a number of innovative Bushwick high schools that offer practical experience in urban planning. Drawing the urban planning experiences together, the book concludes with a look at future directions in city renewal. Emphasis here is placed on sustainable urban planning and the lessons to be learned from the experience of Bushwick and Brooklyn.

The specifics of urban planning and renewal are illustrated with tables and figures. The details of planning are informed by an overarching sense of history, beginning with the dedication of the book to the memory of six Universalist writers associated with New York: Henry Thoreau, Helena Blavatsky, Henry George, Henry Miller, Arthur Miller and Walt Whitman. A rich trove of historical materials, ranging from family sketches to school rosters to rarely seen photographs, helps to keep the survey and analysis of urban planning grounded in the lives of Bushwick s residents, past, present and future."

This book is in part a response to the attempts of governments to address increasing concerns over such environmental issues as the impact of climate change; carbon emissions; pressures from overpopulation of cities; coal seam gas extraction and depleting natural resources. The authors have developed a Sustainable Communities Framework (SCF) which incorporates social-cultural, environmental and economic sustainability principles in the process of urban planning. The authors propose a five-step SCF built on an application of sustainability tables. The book examines a wide range of urban planning practices utilizing sustainability criteria, outlining both qualitative and quantitative tools. Separate chapters discuss application of the SCF to both the natural environment and the built environment. This framework is applied to a case study of the outer Sydney growth area of Wyong Shire, Central Coast, NSW, Australia. Addressing the question of how best to measure the environment, the authors present a table for selecting indicators of sustainability, and outline sustainability scorecards which use color-coded ratings of green, red and amber to measure indicators of sustainability. The authors show how aggregating these ratings allows the framework to be scaled up for application to larger areas. Finally, the authors show how scorecards can be incorporated in sustainability reports, with actions and monitoring components. The authors also examine urban planning education including land use planning, natural resource planning and sustainable urban planning, focusing on the extent to which schools incorporate principles of sustainability. The authors offer their critique on the movement of planning practices towards a more coordinated and holistic framework, in incorporating sustainability principles. Sustainable Communities: A Framework for Planning concludes by drawing a future scenario on the application of the SCF to incorporate principles of sustainability into urban planning. The authors propose future options for SCF applications, including adopting a systems program; environmental performance monitoring and showing how the framework will accommodate the social-cultural and economic components of sustainability, in addition to the environmental ones as examined in the case study.

"Evaluating Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in Developing Countries" is" "a valuable reference book for practitioners and researchers conducting research in and developing studies on environmental science and management and environmental and social impact assessment. The book s authors have developed and tested a new framework to evaluate environmental impact assessment (EIA) systems that may be adopted by most developing countries with EIA experience. Application of this framework will help determine if the EIA is achieving its intended goal of sustainable development in these countries. It also explains the reasons behind the strengths and weaknesses from which the development practitioners and international development partners can take lessons. This book will help the reader answer such questions as "What are the best forms of public participation?" and "How do we measure contributions to EIA procedure?" since it is based on direct experiences from a developing country that is struggling with many of these issues. "Evaluating Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in Developing Countries" provides further understanding of appropriate tools to evaluate environmental and social impacts of development initiatives especially in developing countries.

- Demonstrates the development of an integrated holistic method that presents new research in the field

- Offers a thorough analytical assessment of an EIA system in a developing country

- Presents valuable insights into how developing countries are coping with the new phenomenon of public participation and involvement in environmental decision making and what methods and techniques have been successful

- Includes a chapter on social impact assessment in developing countries with special focus on Bangladesh, providing valuable information applicable to developing countries"

Very few studies have been conducted to explore the vulnerability of women in the context of climate change. This book addresses this absence by investigating the structure of women's livelihoods and coping capacity in a disaster vulnerable coastal area of Bangladesh. The research findings suggest that the distribution of livelihood capitals of vulnerable women in rural Bangladesh is heavily influenced by several climatic events, such as cyclones, floods and seasonal droughts that periodically affect the region. Women face several challenges in their livelihoods, including vulnerability to their income, household assets, lives and health, food security, education, water sources, sanitation and transportation systems, because of ongoing climate change impacts. The findings have important policy relevance for all involved in disaster and risk management, both within Bangladesh and the developing countries facing climate change impacts. Based on the research findings, the book also provides recommendations to improving the livelihoods of women in the coastal communities. This book will appeal to academics, researchers and professionals in environmental management, gender and development, and climate change governance looking at the effects of and adaptation to climate change, gender issues and natural disaster management strategies.

Evaluating Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in Developing Countries, Second Edition, outlines an evaluation framework that supports environmental professionals, researchers and academics in evaluating the effectiveness of impact assessment within limited budgets, promotes standardization across the field, and helps determine if Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is achieving its intended goal of sustainable development. Using Bangladesh as a case study, the book discusses key processes, highlights the need for an integrated, holistic approach, outlines the current institutional framework, and discusses environmental impact, social impact, community participation, and the implementation of mitigation measures. This new edition provides a fully updated picture of both recent changes and ongoing development in process, such as the growth in social wellbeing, community participation and enhanced auditing. Finally, the challenges still facing EIA and SIA evaluation are addressed as robustly as possible.

Experiencing Climate Change in Bangladesh: Vulnerability and Adaptation in Coastal Regions provides a conceptual and empirical framework for understanding the vulnerability of coastal communities in Bangladesh to multiple stressors and presents the process by which rural households adapt their livelihoods. The livelihoods of the poor people in many developing countries are disproportionately vulnerable to multiple shocks and stresses. The effects of climate change interacting with these livelihood disturbances further amplify human vulnerability. Future climate change is likely to aggravate this precarious situation. This book offers a solid framework for analyzing the process and components of adaptation of rural livelihoods to a changing hydro-climatic environment and presents empirical evidence of livelihood adaptation at the local level. The book creates a knowledge-base for the small island developing states (SIDS) experiencing similar socio-economic and climatic conditions. Also fills a market need by providing a conceptual framework, case studies, and reflections on lessons learned from policy responses for vulnerability reduction and adaptation to climate variability, extremes, and change.