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A majority of human beings live in cities, half of them in cities of less than 500.000 inhabitants, and around 1 billion of dwellers live today in slums (meaning 25% of urban residents in the global South). Having these numbers in mind, the main question for urban planners and decision makers is: why our forecasts of a sustainable urban development have not been reached, at least not for all people, what may we change in order to create and enhance “smart cities” offering access to infrastructures, services and environment of quality to all, without any exception? Based on a conceptual approach of urban planning and on case studies in Africa and Latin America, we shall focus on 3 dimensions of a renewed urban planning: base the planning on a diagnosis of human and material reality specific to each city – involve the planning in a critical perspective of financial and human available resources – implement innovative technologies in a participatory approach including inhabitants and all urban stakeholders.
Jean-Claude Bolay. When Inclusion Means Smart City: Urban Planning Against Poverty. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 2019, 283 -299.
AMA StyleJean-Claude Bolay. When Inclusion Means Smart City: Urban Planning Against Poverty. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing. 2019; ():283-299.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJean-Claude Bolay. 2019. "When Inclusion Means Smart City: Urban Planning Against Poverty." Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing , no. : 283-299.
This article discusses the concept and the practice of transdisciplinary research, including how it is conceived and implemented through the cooperation of different actors involved. With transdisciplinarity gaining recognition as an approach to addressing sustainable development challenges, the successful integration of various disciplines and actors in the process of knowledge generation becomes essential. Through the Cooperation and Development Center (CODEV), the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has promoted transdisciplinary research by proposing a space where North–South partnerships integrating academic and non-academic actors enable the expansion of appropriate technologies and innovations adapted to local societal contexts. This study examines five collaborative research projects conducted at the EPFL. By using an analytical framework consisting of design principles for ideal transdisciplinary research, we conducted semi-structured interviews with academic and non-academic members of the research projects to assess the degree of transdisciplinarity. This framework proved to be a useful tool for exploring transdisciplinary dynamics and assessing the effectiveness of joint knowledge generation. We found that the transdisciplinary cooperation involving different actors is not a linear process, as it depends on the social context in which the project is carried out and on the internal and the external organizational structure established for its implementation. We provide recommendations on how transdisciplinarity could be expanded through institutional support and its results could be effectively transferred into science and practice and discuss the implications for further studies in the conclusions.
Gabriela Tejada; Marina Cracco; Clémence Ranquet Bouleau; Jean-Claude Bolay; Silvia Hostettler. Testing Analytical Frameworks in Transdisciplinary Research for Sustainable Development. Sustainability 2019, 11, 4343 .
AMA StyleGabriela Tejada, Marina Cracco, Clémence Ranquet Bouleau, Jean-Claude Bolay, Silvia Hostettler. Testing Analytical Frameworks in Transdisciplinary Research for Sustainable Development. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (16):4343.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGabriela Tejada; Marina Cracco; Clémence Ranquet Bouleau; Jean-Claude Bolay; Silvia Hostettler. 2019. "Testing Analytical Frameworks in Transdisciplinary Research for Sustainable Development." Sustainability 11, no. 16: 4343.
The efforts made to plan cities in emerging and developing countries are confronted to multiple issues, especially in small and middle-sized cities, which can be considered as poor through several criteria: socio-economic level of majority of population; low levels of public investments, weak quality of local administration, and large dependence of external donors. Following several authors, one of the main reason is that philosophy and methods of urban planning applied to these specific contexts are directly reproduced from a Western tradition, which does not correspond to the local and national context in terms of needs, priorities and organization of the financial resources. The cases of Koudougou, a medium-sized city in one of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso, with a population of 115,000 inhabitants, and of Montes Claros, an industrial blooming city of 360,000 inhabitants in Brazil, one of the most dynamic emerging countries in the world, will give the opportunity to make comparisons in order to understand concretely which and how these deficiencies are translated in an urban context. And foresee, more globally, alternative models of urban planning better adapted to medium-sized cities, focusing on the intermediation with their environment, in the perspective to offer new instruments of urban planning able to tackle in an efficient way the main constraints of their urbanization: growing population; territorial extension and fragmentation; environmental contamination and health; poverty and social exclusion, urban governance.
Jean-Claude Bolay. Urban Planning in Developing World: Which Alternative for Poor Cities? Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions 2017, 3 -17.
AMA StyleJean-Claude Bolay. Urban Planning in Developing World: Which Alternative for Poor Cities? Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions. 2017; ():3-17.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJean-Claude Bolay. 2017. "Urban Planning in Developing World: Which Alternative for Poor Cities?" Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions , no. : 3-17.
Today, urbanisation is a global process that characterises the rapid development of a majority of emerging and developing countries, giving rise to important social, spatial and economic changes. In such a context, urban issues systematically couple with rural migration phenomena and increasing numbers of poor people living in precarious conditions, engendering urban informality (housing conditions, employment, etc.) and environmental contamination (water, soil, air and waste). The result is growing insecurity and vulnerability among the disadvantaged. The epitome of such trends is the slum, an extreme urban form of social and residential marginality that has become emblematic of urban growth processes, the clear antithesis of sustainable urban development. As such, slums should be the starting point for reflection on the urban future in emerging and developing countries. Based on different urban case studies, we will use them here to offer a rigorous analysis that incorporates the social, economic, environmental and urban dimensions of sustainable development. Our aim here is to redefine this multi-faceted issue by focusing on the ways and means to quantify and qualify it. We will begin by identifying the appropriate instruments for assessing the various issues and then prioritizing them to better envisage solutions for addressing the most urgent. In the long-term, this approach aspires to ensure acceptable living conditions for poor urban populations in South cities and for all city-dwellers by extension.
Jean-Claude Bolay; Jérôme Chenal; Yves Pedrazzini. Slums and Precarity in Developing Countries. Representing Place and Territorial Identities in Europe 2016, 3 -16.
AMA StyleJean-Claude Bolay, Jérôme Chenal, Yves Pedrazzini. Slums and Precarity in Developing Countries. Representing Place and Territorial Identities in Europe. 2016; ():3-16.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJean-Claude Bolay; Jérôme Chenal; Yves Pedrazzini. 2016. "Slums and Precarity in Developing Countries." Representing Place and Territorial Identities in Europe , no. : 3-16.
Regarding the critique of urbanism and sociology of the fragmented city, slum theory aims at understanding in what ways slums reflect the segregated city and dominant urban order, when its inhabitants generally have neither the opportunity nor the means to resist this order, other than by increasing the informality of their urban integration. In this chapter, we invert the usual position of city professionals, which consists in considering the slum as a problem in terms of property, services, equipment, health, violence, and insecurity. This reverse logic leads us to envisage slums not as problems, but rather as solutions – for innovative “good practices” of urban management in particular. But it is not enough: it is obviously a theoretical reversal, an element of urban and critical theory, which we use to foster a symbolic rehabilitation of the slums. That being said, we are endeavouring to “theorize” the slum as a novel agent of urban transformation, for which the position of an outsider enables us to reveal another layer of the contemporary city: social, cultural and economic fabric, as much urban as material, which may eventually allow the slums and their inhabitants to reaffirm their “right to the city”. This theoretical stance obliges the scientists and policy makers to think differently and regard the slum as the missing piece of a history of urbanism in the twentieth century.
Yves Pedrazzini; Jérôme Chenal; Jean-Claude Bolay. Slums: Note for an Urban Theory. Cities between Competitiveness and Cohesion 2016, 19 -29.
AMA StyleYves Pedrazzini, Jérôme Chenal, Jean-Claude Bolay. Slums: Note for an Urban Theory. Cities between Competitiveness and Cohesion. 2016; ():19-29.
Chicago/Turabian StyleYves Pedrazzini; Jérôme Chenal; Jean-Claude Bolay. 2016. "Slums: Note for an Urban Theory." Cities between Competitiveness and Cohesion , no. : 19-29.
To summarize, it appears, from the 15 cases studied, that a certain number of tell-tale traits can be distinguished beyond the specificities of each case. To begin, we must distinguish between slums located on the periphery – which critically lack basic equipment and connections – and those in central areas, where the residential environment is severely dilapidated. Strong pressure from property developers in city centres and difficulty acquiring land are crucial issues. Whether planning for the territory as a whole or for more occasional development work, urban transformations impact both current slum populations and those to come. It is essential to identify the players involved and the way these changes are then implemented, be it within the framework of dialogue or as a result of power struggles, even conflicts. Either way, urban authorities play a vital role in heeding the slums. Certain studies highlight the key role of community associations – and external partners, NGOs and universities to a lesser extent – in developing alternative strategies at the local level, given that political ambitions are often tied to the private interests of national or foreign property developers. The analyses of the 19 authors of this work provide keys for identifying the problematics of slums and their pivotal role in territorial, social, economic and political dynamics. The analyses likewise dispel the chaotic image of slums, and propose instead that we view them as element revelatory of an urban planning style that is far from embodying the principles of sustainable development.
Jean-Claude Bolay; Jérôme Chenal; Yves Pedrazzini. Lessons Learned from Case Studies. Cities between Competitiveness and Cohesion 2016, 221 -226.
AMA StyleJean-Claude Bolay, Jérôme Chenal, Yves Pedrazzini. Lessons Learned from Case Studies. Cities between Competitiveness and Cohesion. 2016; ():221-226.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJean-Claude Bolay; Jérôme Chenal; Yves Pedrazzini. 2016. "Lessons Learned from Case Studies." Cities between Competitiveness and Cohesion , no. : 221-226.
Slums may clash with a vision of a modern city. However, bearing in mind that on a global scale, around one billion dwellers live in such poor settlements, the slum is an emblematic issue of contemporary urbanization. We therefore need to review the causes and effects of this phenomenon. The problem of slum cannot be solved on its own, taken out of its spatial and social context. This approach requires theoretical analysis to demonstrate that the slum is not only defined through deficiencies, but also as a direct outcome of urban spatial and social practices. We will take into account a diversity of urban situations and the considerable differences in the status of slums in various urban decision-making systems. It is essential to know how the slums challenge the city. The first issue is that of their marginality, despite their economic dynamism and their intense social organisation. The second issue is that of constructive and planning standards that become totally abstract and obsolete when addressing the slums. The third issue that we cannot avoid is that of informality. Within a renewed urban framework, interventions should not overlook the interaction between slums and an urban vision on a citywide scale. The diagnostic will be based on typological features to frame the problems and render them coherent, in order to prioritise interventions. Actions will be undertaken together with all involved urban stakeholders, including representatives of the slum population.
Jean-Claude Bolay; Yves Pedrazzini; Jérôme Chenal. Learning from the Slums, Learning for the Slums…. Representing Place and Territorial Identities in Europe 2016, 239 -247.
AMA StyleJean-Claude Bolay, Yves Pedrazzini, Jérôme Chenal. Learning from the Slums, Learning for the Slums…. Representing Place and Territorial Identities in Europe. 2016; ():239-247.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJean-Claude Bolay; Yves Pedrazzini; Jérôme Chenal. 2016. "Learning from the Slums, Learning for the Slums…." Representing Place and Territorial Identities in Europe , no. : 239-247.
Jean-Claude Bolay; Jérôme Chenal; Yves Pedrazzini. Learning from the Slums for the Development of Emerging Cities. Cities between Competitiveness and Cohesion 2016, 119, 1 .
AMA StyleJean-Claude Bolay, Jérôme Chenal, Yves Pedrazzini. Learning from the Slums for the Development of Emerging Cities. Cities between Competitiveness and Cohesion. 2016; 119 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJean-Claude Bolay; Jérôme Chenal; Yves Pedrazzini. 2016. "Learning from the Slums for the Development of Emerging Cities." Cities between Competitiveness and Cohesion 119, no. : 1.
Dryland irrigation is a major concern in arid and semiarid regions where agricultural output is low and water a scarce and vital resource. Irrigation efficiency and sustainability are, therefore, of paramount importance in these regions, where small farmers generally over-irrigate vegetables to avoid yield loss, resulting in excessive water consumption, unnecessary water pumping costs, and soil degradation. Improving dryland irrigation support requires field data, which is often scarce and unreliable in developing countries, being mostly collected manually with obsolete equipment. Modern automatic weather stations are costly, and local resources for station repair and maintenance are limited. The research project Info4Dourou2.0 aims to improve environmental data collection in developing countries by using low-cost wireless sensors networks (WSN). Hydrometeorological stations have been designed specifically for harsh environmental conditions and the limited local resources. They are simple to install and require little maintenance. The collected data is available in real time via a mobile phone and a web interface. These completely automatic stations have been developed by Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the start-up sensorscope, with the aim of being manufactured, assembled, maintained, and commercialized locally. Results of the present study show that by coupling autonomous and continuous measurements of meteorological variables with soil-water-plant-atmosphere models, we have designed a simple irrigation management system that has a strong potential to improve agricultural production: up to a 38 % yield increase has been achieved using 20 % less water compared to the unassisted way of irrigating.
Clémence Ranquet Bouleau; Theo Baracchini; Guillermo Barrenetxea; Alexandre Repetti; Jean-Claude Bolay. Low-Cost Wireless Sensor Networks for Dryland Irrigation Agriculture in Burkina Faso. Technologies for Development 2015, 19 -31.
AMA StyleClémence Ranquet Bouleau, Theo Baracchini, Guillermo Barrenetxea, Alexandre Repetti, Jean-Claude Bolay. Low-Cost Wireless Sensor Networks for Dryland Irrigation Agriculture in Burkina Faso. Technologies for Development. 2015; ():19-31.
Chicago/Turabian StyleClémence Ranquet Bouleau; Theo Baracchini; Guillermo Barrenetxea; Alexandre Repetti; Jean-Claude Bolay. 2015. "Low-Cost Wireless Sensor Networks for Dryland Irrigation Agriculture in Burkina Faso." Technologies for Development , no. : 19-31.
This chapter looks at the opportunities and uncertainties of globalisation in terms of the production of world knowledge, with an emphasis on the factors that limit the distribution and fair use of this knowledge for the benefit of less advanced countries. We show how existing disparities between developed countries and emerging and developing countries relating to the level of higher education, the resources available for research and access to technologies and innovation have made scientific cooperation an indispensable mechanism for advancement. Having established this context, we then turn our attention to the transfer of knowledge for the benefit of developing countries, as promoted by the scientific diaspora. Taking the case of India and its relationship with Europe as an example, we present a qualitative analysis based on interviews held with Indian students and researchers who are either living in Europe or who have returned to India, and with some other key informants. India is a paradigmatic case in terms of knowledge, science and technology insofar as the country is a source of skilled personnel for many developed countries, including the European countries that have become popular as new destinations. We look at three determinants for channelling knowledge transfer: institutional mechanisms for bilateral cooperation, transnational collaboration and the affective capital of migrants. We observe how these channels foster scientific cooperation and strengthen the critical mass in the country of origin. While our findings point to a trend whereby scientific diasporas become carriers of knowledge for their countries of origin in the South, there is a need for further studies to examine the specific level of impact that these forms of knowledge transfer generate in the Indian context and to see whether the local society obtains actual benefits from them.
Jean-Claude Bolay; Gabriela Tejada. Globalisation Challenges and Knowledge Transfer from the Indian Scientific Diaspora. Dynamics of Asian Development 2014, 185 -211.
AMA StyleJean-Claude Bolay, Gabriela Tejada. Globalisation Challenges and Knowledge Transfer from the Indian Scientific Diaspora. Dynamics of Asian Development. 2014; ():185-211.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJean-Claude Bolay; Gabriela Tejada. 2014. "Globalisation Challenges and Knowledge Transfer from the Indian Scientific Diaspora." Dynamics of Asian Development , no. : 185-211.
The benefits that highly skilled migrants can bring to their home countries are increasingly regarded as being important for development, and consequently, many countries are now looking to take advantage of the experiences of their diasporas. The policies of home countries are usually given a position of prominence whenever diaspora engagement is on the agenda. Nevertheless, migrants who have successfully settled in their host country are in the best position to contribute to their country of origin. Therefore, the institutional environment and policies of the host countries play an equally significant role with regard to the opportunities that diasporas have in terms of gaining relevant expertise and being able to mobilise. This paper looks at host country environments in several European countries, and its aim is to identify good practices of enabling policies to get skilled diasporas involved in the socio-economic development of their home countries. The paper is based on a comprehensive policy review of France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland with respect to their migration and development nexus and on in-depth interviews with key experts in this field. In addition, it provides first-hand information on the subject from skilled Indians in Europe. India is often cited as a positive example of a country that has benefited from skilled migration through reverse investment flows and the world’s highest transfers of remittances and expertise. While several Indian diaspora knowledge networks are present in the USA, we know relatively little about the activities of Indian professionals in Europe. Until recently the countries of continental Europe barely existed on the map of mobile Indian professionals. Therefore, this paper seeks to fill two gaps in the existing literature: first of all, it examines the conditions of Indian professionals in new destination countries, and secondly, it explores the impact of structural differences between host countries and their ability to provide a fruitful environment for diaspora engagement in home-country development.
Gabriela Tejada; Metka Hercog; Christiane Kuptsch; Jean-Claude Bolay. The Link with a Home Country. Global Diasporas and Development 2013, 39 -68.
AMA StyleGabriela Tejada, Metka Hercog, Christiane Kuptsch, Jean-Claude Bolay. The Link with a Home Country. Global Diasporas and Development. 2013; ():39-68.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGabriela Tejada; Metka Hercog; Christiane Kuptsch; Jean-Claude Bolay. 2013. "The Link with a Home Country." Global Diasporas and Development , no. : 39-68.
Improving living conditions of the poor often involves a drastic change in lifestyle, in order to fit daily life into industrially produced dwellings. Slum rehabilitation programs replacing informal settlements with standardized mass housing, have often resulted in a mismatch of inhabitants and their built environment. Participation strategies meant to counter this problem, show little effect unless the user is in charge. What is the problem with development and participation? This paper will discuss ‘housing the poor’ as a case to illustrate how industrialization and systemization are at odds with participation. We will consider two ways of producing housing: industrial mass housing, and informal settlement. The focus is on the connectedness of the user, the inhabitant, with his dwelling. It will lead to the observation that participation aims at meeting the diversity that is natural to human beings, whereas systemization requires and produces the opposite: uniformity. Moreover, the term user-participation implicitly states the user is an outsider participating in developers’ projects, which after all are dominated by the interests of the construction industry. An Appropriate Technology-approach in housing the poor would benefit from a focus on user-building interaction as it taps directly into people’s most powerful resource: creativity. Western systemization is not the only route to improvement. Strategies based on vernacular are at least as effective, appropriate, and humanly sustainable.
Sytse De Maat; Jean-Claude Bolay; Silvia Hostettler; Eileen Hazboun. New Vernacular Architecture as Appropriate Strategy for Housing the Poor. Technologies for Sustainable Development 2013, 21 -32.
AMA StyleSytse De Maat, Jean-Claude Bolay, Silvia Hostettler, Eileen Hazboun. New Vernacular Architecture as Appropriate Strategy for Housing the Poor. Technologies for Sustainable Development. 2013; ():21-32.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSytse De Maat; Jean-Claude Bolay; Silvia Hostettler; Eileen Hazboun. 2013. "New Vernacular Architecture as Appropriate Strategy for Housing the Poor." Technologies for Sustainable Development , no. : 21-32.
In order to provide the first elements of a participatory process initiated and led by Chinese authorities, this paper will look at the citizen’s involvement in an urban planning project in China and discuss possible avenues to sustain the process in a specific local context over the long-term. Since the end of the 1980s, most community participation projects in China have been implemented in rural environments. This participatory process was carried out in Shanghai’s historically and culturally symbolic Caoyang Workers’ Village, without the external influence of international bodies. Even if some constraints have emerged in the participation of citizens during the pre-project phase, this participatory process seems to have fostered local governance to make significant breakthroughs. It was also the opportunity to reflect upon the minimum conditions to ensure the sustainability of this type of practice in Chinese urban planning projects by adopting the vision of an adapted participatory process.
Abigaïl-Laure Kern; Jean-Claude Bolay. Participatory Processes in Urban Planning Projects in China: The Example of Caoyang Village, Shanghai. Technologies for Sustainable Development 2013, 209 -223.
AMA StyleAbigaïl-Laure Kern, Jean-Claude Bolay. Participatory Processes in Urban Planning Projects in China: The Example of Caoyang Village, Shanghai. Technologies for Sustainable Development. 2013; ():209-223.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAbigaïl-Laure Kern; Jean-Claude Bolay. 2013. "Participatory Processes in Urban Planning Projects in China: The Example of Caoyang Village, Shanghai." Technologies for Sustainable Development , no. : 209-223.
Appropriate technologies are technologies that are socially, culturally, environmentally and economically accepted by the stakeholders. It is necessary, therefore, to develop appropriate technologies in partnership with researchers, government agencies, and industry. It is essential that this be done in a process of co-creation with the beneficiaries. The development of appropriate technologies must also include the appropriate strategy to implement and maintain them. Innovative technologies have a central role to play in the effort to alleviate poverty in this world, which today is still overwhelming, with 20 % of the world population living on less than US$1.25 per day. The development of technologies that are adapted to unreliable energy systems, or the lack of transportation or communication infrastructure is indeed challenging. There are important constraints and requirements that need to be addressed for any technological development to succeed. However, it is encouraging to see that the development potential of appropriate technologies is much larger than the challenges, as shown in this publication’s case studies from fields as diverse as agriculture, renewable energy, disaster risk reduction, ICTs and human settlements.
Silvia Hostettler; Jean-Claude Bolay. Technologies and Partnerships. Technologies for Sustainable Development 2013, 3 -9.
AMA StyleSilvia Hostettler, Jean-Claude Bolay. Technologies and Partnerships. Technologies for Sustainable Development. 2013; ():3-9.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSilvia Hostettler; Jean-Claude Bolay. 2013. "Technologies and Partnerships." Technologies for Sustainable Development , no. : 3-9.
The economic capital of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), and its near periphery – as well as the Mekong Delta region – rank amongst the areas which, on a global scale, will be the most exposed to climate change in the next 30 years. This is due to three major phenomena: sea level rise, growing flood levels and flood intensity, and the resurgence of cyclonic phenomena (Nicholls et al. 2008). The impact of climate change in Vietnam is already tangible. For the last century, and in each decade, the sea level and temperature have increased respectively by 3 cm and 0.1°C. And yet, it is the poorest populations living in the periphery of HCMC and in areas subject to strong urban pressures in the Mekong Delta that are the most vulnerable to these changes (Fig. 11.1).
Abigaïl-Laure Kern; Jean-Claude Bolay; Loan Ngo Thanh. Peri-Urbanisation and the Vulnerability of Populations to the Effects of Climate Change in Southern Vietnam: Innovating Solutions in Research. Technologies and Innovations for Development 2012, 155 -167.
AMA StyleAbigaïl-Laure Kern, Jean-Claude Bolay, Loan Ngo Thanh. Peri-Urbanisation and the Vulnerability of Populations to the Effects of Climate Change in Southern Vietnam: Innovating Solutions in Research. Technologies and Innovations for Development. 2012; ():155-167.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAbigaïl-Laure Kern; Jean-Claude Bolay; Loan Ngo Thanh. 2012. "Peri-Urbanisation and the Vulnerability of Populations to the Effects of Climate Change in Southern Vietnam: Innovating Solutions in Research." Technologies and Innovations for Development , no. : 155-167.
Technological innovation – combined with scientific research – has always constituted a driving force of transformation in our societies. From the moment it turns into an industrial and economic tool, any form of societal innovation involves change in production processes: the creation and development of new lines of business, increased marketing of new products, and therefore the set-up of new organizational modes of social interaction, as much within as between societies across the world.
Jean-Claude Bolay. Appropriate Technologies for Sustainable Development. Technologies and Innovations for Development 2012, 3 -15.
AMA StyleJean-Claude Bolay. Appropriate Technologies for Sustainable Development. Technologies and Innovations for Development. 2012; ():3-15.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJean-Claude Bolay. 2012. "Appropriate Technologies for Sustainable Development." Technologies and Innovations for Development , no. : 3-15.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – proclaimed in the year 2000 and aimed at guiding the planet's management and its priorities for the next 15 years – were widely based on the concept of ‘sustainable development’. This concept will be once again broadly discussed in 2012 on the occasion of the United Nations Rio+20 Summit. It will be an opportunity to decipher to what extent the city, as much from a spatial as from a societal point of view, is a stakeholder in such debate. After analysing the various interpretations of the concept of ‘sustainable development’, this article questions its implementation within the framework of the MDGs and the role assigned to urban actions. Due to its complexity and in spite of its economic and demographic prevalence, urbanism has been bypassed by a number of international global initiatives launched to date. A series of options have been proposed to finally give the city the high profile it deserves in any sustainable development analysis, aiming as much at the urbanistic and material production as at the social and economic balance of its inhabitants.
Jean-Claude Bolay. What sustainable development for the cities of the South? Urban issues for a third millennium. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development 2011, 4, 76 -93.
AMA StyleJean-Claude Bolay. What sustainable development for the cities of the South? Urban issues for a third millennium. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development. 2011; 4 (1):76-93.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJean-Claude Bolay. 2011. "What sustainable development for the cities of the South? Urban issues for a third millennium." International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development 4, no. 1: 76-93.
This paper deals with technologies, catalysts for change, and their links to development. Indeed, particularly for developing and emerging countries, scientific and technological breakthroughs create wonderful opportunities, but they may also convey risks that should not be overlooked. This leads to crucial questions on the nature of technological innovation and its capacity to fulfill the specific needs of certain societies. Thus, the issue of investing in priority sectors to guarantee more sustainable development for the benefit of all is paramount, as is the question of the stakeholders' direct or indirect involvement in this scientific, technological, and socioeconomic development process. Access to technologies is one of the last vital issues to be addressed. The paper, therefore, explores the question of the existence of exclusively urban technologies and their adaptability to city-related territorial and societal issues in emerging and developing countries and the key factors on which this adaptability will depend.
Jean-Claude Bolay; Abigaïl Kern. Technology and Cities: What Type of Development Is Appropriate for Cities of the South? Journal of Urban Technology 2011, 18, 25 -43.
AMA StyleJean-Claude Bolay, Abigaïl Kern. Technology and Cities: What Type of Development Is Appropriate for Cities of the South? Journal of Urban Technology. 2011; 18 (3):25-43.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJean-Claude Bolay; Abigaïl Kern. 2011. "Technology and Cities: What Type of Development Is Appropriate for Cities of the South?" Journal of Urban Technology 18, no. 3: 25-43.
Jean-Claude Bolay; Yves Pedrazzini; Adriana Rabinovich. Quel sens au «développement durable» dans l'urbanisation du tiers-monde ? Les Annales de la recherche urbaine 2000, 86, 77 -84.
AMA StyleJean-Claude Bolay, Yves Pedrazzini, Adriana Rabinovich. Quel sens au «développement durable» dans l'urbanisation du tiers-monde ? Les Annales de la recherche urbaine. 2000; 86 (1):77-84.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJean-Claude Bolay; Yves Pedrazzini; Adriana Rabinovich. 2000. "Quel sens au «développement durable» dans l'urbanisation du tiers-monde ?" Les Annales de la recherche urbaine 86, no. 1: 77-84.