City-Level Decoupling-Full Report

local sustainable solutions. However, the wider external clean development mechanism framework and internal financial obligations contributed little.

1. The Accra project shows the potential fragility of bottom-up, user-driven responses. Despite the creation of an intermediary to develop training and education to reduce food contamination, the practices and solution are not yet officially recognized. Benefits for food security, water savings and reduced conclusively. Continued urbanization and land encroachment are squeezing space for urban farming, and fertile lands are being seen as nothing more than transitional spaces awaiting development. If this project is not continued or is abandoned, then the sewage system may produce harmful wastes that are currently intercepted. demand for wastewater treatment are not well quantified and are difficult to prove 2. The Kampala example is well documented and understood, but despite the community continuing to run it after its official end point, the future of the activity is unclear. While other interested users have learned about it, no mechanism is in place for up-scaling, accelerating and repeating the lessons in other relevant contexts. The re-use of organic waste for animal feed can provide a relevant alternative to conventional solid waste management practices, but it is likely to remain an isolated experiment without further resources to capture and transfer lessons to other areas. 3. The Lagos BRT example shows that existing intermediaries can develop new networked technologies. They were given the capacity approach that included the reorganization of the bus industry, financing from the private sector and the creation new institutional and regulatory structures. Strong management was instrumental in achieving swift implementation. 4. The Durban case also shows the potential of existing intermediaries to provide financial and technical support, as well as how local communities can be involved to develop necessary to achieve this, and had the required buy-in to pursue an integrated

These case studies demonstrate the potential benefits of unconventional infrastructure projects, and the critical roles and limitations of intermediaries working in a multi-level framework to develop and implement these in a systemic way.

6.5 Reconfiguring cities as ’systemic urban transitions'

In contrast to the development of new networks, cities around the world are embracing systemic responses to the reconfiguration of their intertwined infrastructure systems under the banner of over-arching city objectives like reducing emissions, preparing for more expensive oil or improving sustainability. Such developments represent attempts to implement purposive urban transition in the socio-technical organization of cities and existing infrastructure systems, focusing on the overall outcome rather than a specific intervention. Critically this means mobilizing the social, institutional, political and technological complexity to reshape the existing urban networks. City reconfigurations are often led by groups of city leaders and decision-makers, researchers, developmental and international agencies. An example is the C40 (funded by the Clinton Foundation), which is working with coalitions of the world’s largest and most powerful cities and some of the world’s most influential businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It aims to achieve this by developing common procurement strategies, sharing common emission measurement tools, establishing baselines and tracking reductions, and promoting information exchange and mutual learning among member cities. Such strategies encourage systemic socio- technical change in the organization of cities in order to prepare for climate change

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