{"id":1788,"date":"2019-07-16T12:02:54","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T11:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/?p=1788"},"modified":"2019-07-17T09:48:57","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T08:48:57","slug":"can-you-solve-the-citys-sustainability-dilemma-sci-comm-south-west-delegates-given-a-taste-of-urban-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/can-you-solve-the-citys-sustainability-dilemma-sci-comm-south-west-delegates-given-a-taste-of-urban-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"Can YOU solve the city\u2019s sustainability dilemma? Sci Comm South West delegates given a taste of urban planning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Author: Mollie Atherton (<a href=\"https:\/\/courses.uwe.ac.uk\/P90012\/science-communication\">MSc Science Communication<\/a> student at UWE Bristol)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I&#8217;ve never decided the fate of a large slice of land before, fictional or otherwise. Stepping into the shoes of town planners and developers at Sci Comm South West 2019, participants in the workshop \u2018Can you solve the city\u2019s sustainability dilemma?\u2019 were given the opportunity to explore the decisions that need to be made when considering urbanisation, city growth and the all-important sustainable development goals (SDGs).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www1.uwe.ac.uk\/research\/sciencecommunicationunit\/scumembers\/researchstaff\/ruthlarbey.aspx\">Ruth Larbey<\/a>, a Science Communication Unit (SCU) expert in <a href=\"http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/environment\/integration\/research\/newsalert\/index_en.htm\">communicating science to environmental decision-makers<\/a>, gave us a simple brief. We had two minutes to make an elevator pitch (as in, the time it takes for a long elevator ride) to convince a representative of the fictional city, Swester, that our vision for a newly available two acres of inner-city land was most suitable for the needs of the city and its residents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/Elevator-pitch-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1806\" width=\"599\" height=\"401\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/Elevator-pitch-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/Elevator-pitch-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 599px) 85vw, 599px\" \/><figcaption> <em>Credit Tom Sparey<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We were split into groups\nand given an idea to pitch. I found myself in the camp proposing the building\nof a new leisure center. However, we were up against fierce competition in the\nforms of: a business incubator, a renewable energy company, a community farm,\nand housing developers.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/Teams-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1807\" width=\"593\" height=\"395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/Teams-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/Teams-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/Teams-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/Teams-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 593px) 85vw, 593px\" \/><figcaption> <em>Credit Tom Sparey<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UN\u2019s SDGs had to be\nconsidered and we had to pitch how our idea would best integrate ecosystem and\nbiodiversity values, contribute to sustainable urbanisation and best provide for the\nlocal community. We were to use our powers of persuasion to convince the city\nauthorities that ours was the best use of the land for the sustainable growth\nof the city and would best improve the health and welfare of its residents.\nBefore we started our pitches, we were also given the following information\nabout the city of Swester:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>350,000 residents&nbsp;<\/li><li>Developing IT and technology sector&nbsp;<\/li><li>Increased jobs&nbsp;<\/li><li>Fast growing population&nbsp;<\/li><li>Need for more affordable housing&nbsp;<\/li><li>Lack of green space&nbsp;<\/li><li>Lack of facilities for exercise&nbsp;<\/li><li>High air pollution due to increased number of cars&nbsp;<\/li><li>High rates of medical conditions, such as asthma,\ncardiovascular diseases and diabetes&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Considering the above\nproblems, here are the pitches proposed by each stakeholder group:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Orchard Housing<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As housing developers,\nOrchard Housing unsurprisingly suggested a new local development. They promised\n30% affordable housing to fill the gap in the market and suggested a shared\ncommunity allotment to maximise green space. The houses would incorporate renewable\ndesigns and architecture in line with the SDG of integrating ecosystem and\nbiodiversity values into local planning.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Shipshape Renewables<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shipshape Renewables\nsuggested the land would be best used as a solar farm. They wanted to turn\nindustrial land into business space and work alongside Swester\u2019s growing tech sector to\ndevelop the city into a green business hub. Their aim was to move the city\ntowards being carbon neutral and providing local fuel discounts to help\nalleviate fuel poverty.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Swestershire<\/strong><strong> Sports<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Swestershire Sports were pitching the\nidea of a new sport and leisure centre. Their argument was that a sports center\nwould improve the physical and mental health of the population of Swester, thereby relieving some\nof the pressures of an unhealthy and increasing population on the local\nhospital. They suggested school schemes and discounts for residents who would\nnot otherwise be able to afford membership.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Temple Seeds<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Temple Seeds are a\ncommunity group interested in food growing. They proposed that the land would\nbe best developed into a community farm to address the lack of green space and\nimprove air quality, local food production and community isolation. The farm\nwould be a hub of growing knowledge and organise food swaps as well as\nallotments and an education center to teach children about food.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>West Country Innovation\nHub<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The business hub wanted\nto bring jobs to the local economy. They suggested a business park of remodelled\nshipping containers, highlighting that it would bring more jobs within walking\ndistance, thus reducing residents\u2019 reliance on cars for transport and alleviating\nair pollution in the process. The park\u2019s design would be in keeping with the\nSDGs and would provide some, if not all, its power from green sources.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each potential\nstakeholder group was also given the opportunity to choose one other group to\npartner up with and share the development space. Given the city\u2019s lack of green\nspace, most groups chose to pair with Temple Seeds, as they felt a community\ngarden could be the most easily incorporated into their design.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What I found most\ninteresting about this exercise was considering not just the immediate benefits\nof each idea for the land, but also the benefits from every angle, and then\ntrying to cram all those benefits into just two minutes of talking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We realised that the communication\nof science and policy is what would make or break our pitches for the land, and\nso had to really think hard about how to maximise all the ways in which\nour ideas fitted the needs of the community and the requirements of the SDGs.\nIt made us appreciate how precious development land is, particularly with\nincreasing populations and scarcer resources.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Deciding a winner was\ndifficult. All pitches were made convincingly, and all had their own merits for\nthe community and for the environment. They also all had their own challenges\nin implementation, but in the end the best pitch won \u2013 I&#8217;ll let you decide\nwhich that one was.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Author: Mollie Atherton (MSc Science Communication student at UWE Bristol) I&#8217;ve never decided the fate of a large slice of land before, fictional or otherwise. Stepping into the shoes of town planners and developers at Sci Comm South West 2019, participants in the workshop \u2018Can you solve the city\u2019s sustainability dilemma?\u2019 were given the opportunity &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/can-you-solve-the-citys-sustainability-dilemma-sci-comm-south-west-delegates-given-a-taste-of-urban-planning\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Can YOU solve the city\u2019s sustainability dilemma? Sci Comm South West delegates given a taste of urban planning&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,11,4,21],"tags":[265,392,389,390,391],"class_list":["post-1788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty-of-health-and-applied-sciences","category-informal-formal-learning","category-science-communication-unit","category-sustainability-the-environment","tag-ruth-larbey","tag-sdgs","tag-sustainability","tag-sustainable-cities","tag-sustainable-development-goals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1788"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1831,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788\/revisions\/1831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/science-communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}