Rethinking sociotechnical transitions and green entrepreneurship : the potential for transformative change in the green building sector
Economy ; England ; Entrepreneurship ; Firm ; Green economy ; Green technology ; House building ; Innovation ; Socio-technical transition ; United Kingdom ; Wales
This paper explores the development of green building sector in England and Wales and its potential role in transformative change towards a green economy. It shows that green entrepreneurs move between ‘green’ and ‘conventional’ business, evolving
over time, such that this is a fluid and blurred, rather than static, state. Moreover, while the green economy and the green building sector are often referred to as coherent sectors, with agreed and consistent practices, our evidence suggests
that they are far from agreed, that business models vary, and that there are significant contradictions within so-called green building practices.
Focusing on literature on sociotechnical transitions, ecological modernisation, the ‘green’ cultural economy, and postpolitical governance, this article argues that understanding the functional and spatial heterogeneity of the green economy
necessitates a multitheoretical approach. It then explores how combining branches of research on socioenvironmental governance can lead to theoretically and ontologically richer insights into the drivers, practices, and power relations within the green economy
Green growth or ecological commodification : debating the green economy in the global south
Brazil ; Central America ; Commodification ; Deforestation ; Ecology ; Economic growth ; Ecosystem ; Green economy ; Natural resources ; Renewable resources ; Sustainable development
This article examines recent institutional thinking on the green economy and the implications of official understandings and structuration of a green economy for the global South. The analysis is substantiated through two illustrative Latin American
examples: the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor and green economy initiatives in Brazil. These suggest that, if the green economy is to address global challenges effectively, it must be conceptualized as more than a bolt-on to existing globalizing capitalism
Nutrients and heavy metals in urban soils under different green space types in Anji, China
Applied ecology ; China ; Eco-city ; Green space ; Lead ; Nutrient ; Organic materials ; Soil pollution ; Soil properties ; Trace-element ; Urban area ; Zhejiang
The AA. investigated the soil pH, bulk density, nutrient content and the concentrations of Cr and Pb in the 4 main green space types, namely park green (PARK), street green (STREET), attached green space (ATTACH) and protective green (PROT
) in the built-up area of Anji (northwest of Zhejiang Province). Owing to past use of leaded petrol, the soils of the 4 green space types have been polluted by Pb in Anji, especially in the STREET and PROT sites. As an eco-county, Anji needs to adapt a soil
Building a city for “The People” : the politics of alliance-building in the Sydney Green Ban Movement
This article analyses the politics of alliance-building in the Sydney Green Ban Movement. It examines the rights and the authority that was invested in “the people” by green ban activists, and traces the work of political subjectification through
which “the people” was constructed. In acting as/for “the people”, green ban activists produced a political subject able to challenge the claims of elected politicians, bureaucrats and developers to represent the interests of the city. It concludes
Mapping the green building industry : how local are architects and general contractors?
This paper examines the geography of the green building economy within the United States, based on the location of the architects and contractors involved in producing green buildings in a selection of metropolitan areas. An overwhelming percentage
of both architects and contractors are locally-based, suggesting that rather than green building expertise clustering in a few cities, it has diffused nationwide. This has positive implications for the spread of knowledge about how to build more
This paper documents that, over the 2000–09 period, the expanding supply of green buildings within a given London neighbourhood had a positive impact on average rents and prices, but reduced rents and prices for environmentally certified real estate
. The results suggest that there is a gentrification effect from green buildings. However, each additional ‘‘green’’ building decreases the marginal effect of certification in the rental and transaction markets by 2 per cent and 5 per cent respectively
Smart cities and green growth : outsourcing democratic and environmental resilience to the global technology sector
This article examines smart cities and green growth though outsourcing democratic and environmental resilience to the global technology sector. Based on evidence from the cities of Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow, it is argued
that the strategies is to expand the market for new technology products and services to support ‘green growth’ with disregard for their wider impacts. It also explains that city systems become a digital marketplace where citizen-consumers’ participation
The green economy, sustainability transitions and transitions regions : a case study of Boston
Boston ; Energy ; Energy transition ; Governance ; Green economy ; Massachusetts ; Sustainable development ; United States of America ; Urban economy
This article explores the development of the green economy in particular locations, with the aim of identifying why some cities and regions have been successful in engendering green growth. It examines four key questions. What role does the enabling
and facilitative state play in these cities and regions? What new institutional forms and governance structures are being developed? How do actors in particular cities and regions construct their green vision, and how do they encourage other actors to buy
The green economy and post-growth regimes : opportunities and challenges for economic geography
Economic geography ; Green economy ; Sustainable development
This article explores and critically examines neoliberal discourses on the green economy and smart growth by exploring contributions to debates on green economics proposed by ideas linked to post-growth economies. Based on studies by scholars
Practicing the cultural green economy : where now for the environmental social science ?
Citizenship ; Cultural economy ; Economy ; England ; Green economy ; Mobility ; Social practice ; Sustainable development ; Transport ; United Kingdom
individualistic perspective, environmental social scientists have tended to focus their attention on incrementalist and narrowly defined views of what ecological citizenship might look like and constitute in the green economy. The article therefore argues
that environmental social scientists need to constructively engage in a new inter-disciplinary dialogue about the role, purpose and ethics of citizen participation in developing and sustaining the green economy in an age of climate change and potential resource
Agriculture ; Agro-ecology ; Agroindustry ; Amazon Basin ; Brazil ; Ecology ; Governance ; Green capitalism ; Pará ; Soya bean ; Sustainable development
This article examines the case of agroindustrial soy production in the Brazilian Amazonian state of Pará to demonstrate how the emergence of environmental governance there facilitates neoextractivism by ‘greening’ it. Through an analysis
and at worst work to reenforce the hegemony of international environmental organizations, to green the image of agri-business multinationals, and to destabilize strategies of resistance.
Accessibility ; Green space ; Leisure ; Park components ; Public health ; Urban park ; Young people ; park characteristics ; urban green space
activity, and to discuss how these findings can be applied in park design. The results show that access to green space is the most frequently reported predictor of park use among youth. The review identified a range of characteristics and components
of urban green spaces important to youth physical activity. These include sports fields/facilities for movement, walkways and paths, shadow and shelter, trees, water elements, maintenance, renovation, form and size, openness, naturalness and safety
Imaginative geographies of green : difference, postcoloniality, and affect in environmental narratives in contemporary Turkey
Based on a series of interviews and focus groups conducted in four sites (Istanbul, Ankara, Diyarbakır, and Şanlıurfa), the concept of imaginative geographies of green is offered to highlight social and spatial differences as central
to the articulation of green visions and movements. The research foregrounds several social and spatial gradients specific to the Turkish context, including east–west divides both within and beyond Turkey (i.e., Kurdish–Turkish and eastern–western Turkey, as well
Accessibility ; Castilla-León ; Coimbra ; Distance travelled ; Green space ; Historic centre ; Local population ; Location ; Neighbourhood ; Portugal ; Public space ; Salamanca ; Spain ; Urban area
This paper analyses the distribution and accessibility of urban green spaces (Ugs) in the cities of Coimbra and Salamanca and evaluates their influence on the needs of the resident populations, in terms of users’ age, frequency of usage, as well
as of motivation and ways to enjoy the facilities. It shows that the former offers more urban green space (per inhabitant), their usage is reduced as people go there mainly choose these green spaces because of the activities they can be used for, whereas
Green militarization : anti-poaching efforts and the spatial contours of Kruger National Park
This article examines green militarization, rhino anti-poaching efforts and the spatial contours of Kruger National Park. It illustrates how the spatial qualities of protected areas matter immensely for the convergence of conservation
The power of public participation in local planning in Scotland : the case of conflict over residential development in the metropolitan green belt
Conflict ; Glasgow ; Green belt ; Local government unit ; Outer conurbation area ; Participation ; Planning ; Power ; Real estate development ; Residential environment ; Scotland ; United Kingdom
This paper analyses the construction of eco-cities as technological fixes to concerns over climate change, Peak Oil, and other scenarios in the transition towards “green capitalism”. First, it highlights the inequalities which mean that eco-cities
new eco-cities are built, including the land market, reclamation, dispossession and “green grabbing”. Lastly, a sustained focus is needed on the multiplication of workers’ geographies in and around these “emerald cities”, especially the ordinary urban