Addressing climate change through green building in Luxembourg and Freiburg: achieving urban sustainability or business as usual?

Scientific Conference (2017, April 07)

Grounded into critical literature on the green economy and ecological modernisation (e.g. Gibbs and Krueger 2007; Bina 2013; Whitehead 2013; Bailey and Caprotti 2014) the proposed contribution looks at ... [more ▼]

Grounded into critical literature on the green economy and ecological modernisation (e.g. Gibbs and Krueger 2007; Bina 2013; Whitehead 2013; Bailey and Caprotti 2014) the proposed contribution looks at climate policies focusing on green building in two city regions: Luxembourg (LU) and Freiburg (DE). Although they have engaged differently and at different points in time with the topic, both identify the built environment as key in reaching urban sustainability. Through the discursive analysis of policy and media documents, further contextualised with interviews of key local actors, I will inquire how far these green building policies, following their claim to be innovative and transformative, can indeed be considered to be so, further from their technological carbon-controlling dimension. I will focus specifically on the visions, rationales and justifications mobilised to show that, despite their apparently different conceptions, green building policies in both places are framed along a "sustainability (policy) fix" (While et al. 2004; Lombardi et al. 2011) prodded by the dominant socioeconomic consensus. In Luxembourg, green building is strongly articulated as a mean to pursuit the existing model of social affluence, while in Freiburg the citizen-led achievements of the 90's have been recuperated by the city administration to competitively position itself as a leader in green wealth and quality of living (Cidell 2012; Mössner 2016). I will conclude by illustrating how this materialises into concrete building projects with very similar (technological) focuses towards carbon controlling. [less ▲]

Keeping Up with the Pace of Green Building: Service Provision in a Highly Dynamic Sector

in Jones, Andrew; Ström, Patrik; Hermelin, Brita (Eds.) et al Services and the Green Economy (2016)

According to the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Green Economy Report (2011), energy consumption of buildings in most of the industrialized countries accounts for around one-third of ... [more ▼]

According to the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Green Economy Report (2011), energy consumption of buildings in most of the industrialized countries accounts for around one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. The building sector also consumes more than a third of global resources and contributes by about 40 % to solid waste streams (mainly through demolition but also construction) in developed countries (UNEP 2011, p. 341). But while having been identified as the single largest contributor to human-related greenhouse gas emissions, the sector is also considered to hold the greatest potential to lower emissions based on the relatively low case of retrofitting existing or constructing new buildings (IPCC 2014). Following the realization of these potentials, the last years have witnessed the emergence of a green building agenda in many countries across the globe including technical and organizational innovations in the conception of single buildings (both residential and commercial) as well as enlarged approaches to the role and impact of the built environment in cities including neighbourhood and public infrastructures planning. The sector’s dynamic is partly caused and sustained by a high commitment of public authorities (e.g., via co-funding or tax exemption schemes) and seconded by the involvement of semi-public agencies (e.g., municipal building corporations, energy agencies, public housing services, vocational learning centres). Although the main focus is on low carbon objectives and energy efficiency, social objectives are also present mainly by acknowledging user interactions with their built environment around questions of health and quality of life. [less ▲]

„Grüne" Dienstleistungen im Bausektor: Akteure und Innovationen in der Nachhaltigkeitstransition

Scientific Conference (2015, October 02)

Interaktive Transitionsforschung und Wissensgenerierung im Bereich nachhaltiges Bauen

in pnd - rethinking planning (2014), 2014(2), 1-14

Basierend auf den Erfahrungen eines internationalen Forschungsprojekts zu den institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen für Innovativität im nachhaltigen Bauen illustriert der Beitrag das Potenzial interaktiver ... [more ▼]

Basierend auf den Erfahrungen eines internationalen Forschungsprojekts zu den institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen für Innovativität im nachhaltigen Bauen illustriert der Beitrag das Potenzial interaktiver Methoden für die Produktion von »Transitionswissen«. Die frühe Einbindung von lokalen Praktikern, Unternehmern, Wissenschaftlern, politischen Entscheidungsträgern und Vertretern von Nichtregierungsorganisationen dient dabei nicht nur den Forschenden zur Exploration des jeweiligen Forschungskontexts, sondern schafft eine Plattform für produktiven Austausch von Wissen. Methodisch unterstützt durch interaktive Workshops sowie Delphi-basierte Feedback- und Validierungsrunden entsteht über die Projektlaufzeit ein wechselseitiger Lernprozess, der zusätzlich durch den Austausch von Erfahrungen aus vier Fallstudienregionen in Europa, Australien und Kanada inspiriert wird. Er liefert für alle Beteiligten wichtige Erkenntnisse über die Gestaltbarkeit von nachhaltigkeitsorientierten Transitionsprozessen im Baubereich. [less ▲]

Sustainability Research and Interactive Knowledge Generation

E-print/Working paper (2014)

Based on experiences from the GreenRegio research project that investigates framework conditions for innovations in sustainable/green building, this working paper explores the potential of interactive and ... [more ▼]

Based on experiences from the GreenRegio research project that investigates framework conditions for innovations in sustainable/green building, this working paper explores the potential of interactive and collaborative methods for knowledge generation and co-production. Engagement with local practi-tioners, private industry, academics, political decision-makers and representatives of the non-profit sector early on in the research process allows researchers to gain better understanding of the re-search object and context. It also creates a platform for (mutual) knowledge exchange. Methodologi-cally, the project incorporates interactive workshops and Delphi-based feedback and validation rounds, that – over the lifespan of the project – offer a mutual learning process further inspired by in-sights and experiences across four case studies in Europe, Australia, and Canada. The exchange and learning processes provide important insights on different forms and pathways of sustainability transi-tions in the building sector to all participants involved in the project, researchers and researched alike. [less ▲]

Etat des lieux de la démocratie participative dans les Communautés Urbaines de France

Report (2007)