Urban Studies Cities and the Anthropocene: Urban Governance for the New Era of Regenerative Cities. Journal: Urban Studies Manuscript ID CUS-867-17-10.R1 Manuscript Type: Special Issue <b>Discipline: Please select a keyword from the following list Planning that best describes the discipline used in your paper.: World Region: Please select the region(s) that best reflect the focus of your paper. Names of individual countries, Australia, Southeast Asia cities & economic groupings should appear in the title where appropriate.: Major Topic: Please identify up Agglomeration/Urbanisation, Built Environment, to 5 topics that best identify Environment/Sustainability, Infrastructure, Planning the subject of your article.: You may add up to 2 further relevant keywords of your Regenerative Cities choosing below:: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cus [email protected] Page 1 of 41 Urban Studies 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Cities and the Anthropocene: Urban Governance for 11 12 the New Era of Regenerative Cities 13 14 15 Abstract 16 17 18 The emerging “grand challenges” of climate change, resource scarcity and population growth 19 present a risk nexus to cities in the Anthropocene. This paper discusses the potential that rapid 20 21 urbanization presents to help mitigate these risks through large-scale transitions if future 22 23 urban development is delivered using evidence-based policies that promote regenerative 24 urban outcomes (e.g. decarbonizing energy, recycling water and waste, generating local food, 25 26 reclaiming areas for biodiversity). Observations from an Australian case study are used to 27 describe urban governance approaches capable of supporting regenerative urbanism. 28 29 30 The regenerative urbanism concept is associated with macro-scale urban and transport 31 planning that shape different urban fabrics (walking, transit, automobile urban fabric) as the 32 33 underlying infrastructure of each fabric exhibits different performance, with automobile fabric 34 35 being the least regenerative. Supporting urban systems based upon regenerative design 36 principles at different scales (macro, meso and micro) can deliver deep and dramatic outcomes 37 38 for not just reducing impact from the grand challenges but turning them into regenerative 39 change. In combination, these approaches form the cornerstone of regenerative cities that can 40 41 address the grand challenges of the Anthropocene, while simultaneously improving liveability 42 43 and urban productivity to foster human flourishing. 44 45 46 Keywords: 47 48 Regenerative cities, Anthropocene, regenerative design, urban governance, urban fabrics, 49 urban transitions. 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cus [email protected] Urban Studies Page 2 of 41 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Introduction 11 12 13 14 15 Once constructed, urban environments can be slow to change. Buildings typically last for 16 17 decades and infrastructure such as roads and pipes can last for centuries. Therefore, urban 18 19 structures should be designed, not only to meet the needs of today, but ideally to meet the 20 21 social, environmental and economic needs of the long-term future. 22 23 However, the long-term future is increasingly uncertain. The world is currently 24 25 undergoing a period of rapid change, ecologically, socially and economically. Rapid change and 26 27 28 uncertainty are associated with the so-called “grand challenges” of climate change, resource 29 30 scarcity, population growth and social inequity (Bina et al. 2016). The uncertainties presented by 31 32 the grand challenges tend to be polarizing and lend themselves to fostering fear (Newman et al, 33 34 2017); but in times of fear, positive narratives can generate momentum for collective action to 35 36 deliver a hopeful future (Inayatullah and Milojević 2015). Regenerative cities offer such a 37 38 narrative. 39 40 In keeping with this special issue on Environmental Governance for Urban Resilience in 41 42 the Asia-Pacific, this paper makes reference to a case study from Australia. Australia is a nation 43 44 where 89% of the population live in cities, making it one of the most urbanized nations in the 45 46 47 world. As developing countries in the Asia Pacific region urbanize, they can perhaps learn from 48 49 the successes and failures of rapid urbanization as witnessed in Australia and even from new 50 51 demonstrations taking urban development into a regenerative phase as outlined in this paper. 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cus [email protected] Page 3 of 41 Urban Studies 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The Anthropocene 10 11 12 13 A major topic of consideration in recent years has been the carrying capacity of the planet 14 15 16 in light of human impact and the ability of the biosphere to regenerate and to absorb wastes at a 17 18 pace equal or greater to the pace that resources are used and pollutants generated (Rees and 19 20 Wackernagel 2008, Rockström et al. 2009; Steffen, Richardson, et al. 2015). The ubiquitous 21 22 impact of humans upon the biosphere is encapsulated in the term – the Anthropocene (Baccini 23 24 & Brunner, 2012; Crutzen, 2002; Crutzen & Stoermer, 2000; Ruddiman, Ellis, Kaplan, & Fuller, 25 26 2015; Steffen et al., 2011; Steffen, Broadgate, Deutsch, Gaffney, & Ludwig, 2015; Steffen, 27 28 Crutzen, & McNeill, 2007; Whitmee et al., 2015; Zalasiewicz, Williams, Steffen, & Crutzen, 29 30 2010). 31 32 33 Although arguments exist for recognition of the Anthropocene as a legitimate geologic epoch 34 35 (Waters et al., 2016) this designation is still under debate by the various supporting committees 36 37 and the ultimate authority on geologic time scales, the International Society of Geologic 38 39 Sciences (see: Zalasiewicz, Waters, Head, & Castree, 2017). Never-the-less, the use of the term 40 41 Anthropocene has become synonymous with the threat posed by human activity to planetary 42 systems. Recent writers such as Bonneuil & Fressoz (2016) suggest that , rather than focus on 43 44 geologic nomenclature, the usefulness of the term Anthropocene is in the opportunity it 45 46 provides as a way to “rethink our visions of the world” and frame various future oriented 47 48 narratives (Bonneuil & Fressoz, 2016 p.12). This paper explores the positive future oriented 49 50 narrative of regenerative cities. 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cus [email protected] Urban Studies Page 4 of 41 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Numerous dates have been suggested for the commencement of the Anthropocene, 9 10 including the emergence of agriculture and cities around 10,000 years ago, the colonization of 11 12 13 America, or the beginning of the industrial revolution (Bonneuil & Fressoz 2016); but a recent 14 15 review by Steffen, Broadgate, et al. (2015) suggests a revised start date, around 1945, to coincide 16 17 with the detonation of the atomic bomb and the exponential resource use driven by rapid 18 19 industrial, population and economic growth post-WWII based on fossil fuels. This period marks 20 21 the beginning of the so called ‘great acceleration’, a concept described in some detail by Steffen, 22 23 Broadgate et al. (2015). This post-WWII, period also witnessed the wholehearted embrace of 24 25 Modernist planning and transport agendas in western society, which had been evolving in the 26 27 Europe and the US over the previous decades (Newman et al, 2017). 28 29 If we take 1945 to mark the start of the Anthropocene; then the Anthropocene is 30 31 32 synchronous with this widespread uptake of Modernist planning and transportation ideals. 33 34 This paper addresses the narrative of the Anthropocene as applied to urban planning and the 35 36 creation of a planning regime being framed to address the failings of this Modernist approach. 37 38 Narratives are critically important to urban governance, because it is narratives that form 39 40 the norms and values of society which, in turn, impact the governance models that shape cities. 41 42 Over just a few decades in mid to late 20th Century, a dominant Modernist narrative infiltrated 43 44 all aspects of western society. This paper demonstrates how these values have resulted in 45 46 unsustainable cities, and conversely, how the adoption of a new regenerative narrative, could 47 48 shape new regimes and governance models that could support a new era of regenerative cities. 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cus [email protected] Page 5 of 41 Urban Studies 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A new urban paradigm for the Anthropocene – Regenerative 10 11 12 cities 13 14 We suggest a successful city in the Anthropocene would be: 15 16 • Regenerative in that it would be capable of not only offsetting the high 17 18 19 consumption patterns of conventional cities but will begin to regenerate parts 20 21 of the biosphere that have already led to limits being exceeded, and 22 23 • Livable to ensure that the city continues to offer its opportunities for people to 24 25 flourish, to provide citizens with security, health, culture and commerce. 26 27 Quality of life and livability have long been recognized as factors making cities 28 29 competitive and attractive for investment and for citizens to create 30 31 opportunities for their families and communities not available elsewhere. The 32 33 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) are reflecting these livability visions 34 35 (United Nations 2015b). 36 37 38 Regenerative cities are grounded within a restorative ecological world view (Girardet 39 40 2010), they require urban design, urban renewal and circular economy approaches that 41 42 recognize cities as complex systems dependent upon the local bioregion.