Glasgow:
The Strathclyde Sustainability Indicators Project
Glasgow:
| |
| Country: | a) Western Europe | ,b) United Kingdom |
| Language: | |
| Type: | Policy, 1 |
| Area: | City/Town, 100,000 - 1 mill. |
| Actors: | Local government |
| Funding: | Local government, National government |
| Topics: | Local Agenda 21 |
| Objectives: | Improve access to information |
| Increase public awareness | |
| Instruments: | Public participation |
After the 1992 Rio Earth Summit the regional government of the industrial heartland of the West of Scotland initiated the Strathclyde Sustainability Indicators Project. In co-operation with the UK Local Government Management Board the project aimed to establish information tools for a more balanced relationship between the economy and the natural environment. The Glasgow-based project can be regarded as an example of good practice in urban development for the following reasons:
Shortly after the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development Strathclyde Regional Council commissioned a study from CAG Consultants asking what sustainable development meant for the Strathclyde region. The conclusion of the analysis was that in a complex industrial economy like the City of Glasgow and the Strathclyde Region, materials are being used faster than the replacement and producion of wastes exceeds absorbency. In consequence, a more balanced relationship between the economy and the natural environment is desirable. The Sustainability Indicator Project was designed to translate the abstract concept of sustainable development into issues and policy measures for the region and the policy makers. Furthermore it aimed to reflect the range of indivduals and organisations involved in the issues of sustainable development. In addition, data availability for the region and the city and its systematisation was a focus of interest.
The Strathclyde Sustainability Indicators Project was part of the UK Sustainability Project, developed by the UK Local Government Management Board. The aim was to test whether the concept of sustainable indicators was useful for councils seeking to promote sustainable development. The indicators were to conform to three basic characteristics:
The project was managed by a group drawn from a number of partners: local authorities, the voluntary sector, an environmental group and central government. Indicators were selected around a series of themes:
For each theme a small number of indicators were identified that illustrated a particular concern or issue. By this approach the sustainability indicators were intended to help identify issues for an environmental agenda. Often the impacts of an environmental issue and evidence of its relevance are incomplete, provisional or uncertain for the policy makers or planners concerned. Therefore, a summarising report on sustainability indicators can be beneficial for progress in policy making as it bridges the gap between scientific consensus and impediments the formulation of environment- related measures. An indicator study not only focuses on the issue itself but it can also point to possible problems in the field of scientific evidence and related measures. The following problems in establishing authoratitive knowledge in the environmental field can be addressed:
Against this background the Strathclyde Sustainability Indicators Project focused on the above- mentioned three characteristics which were to break the ground for future policy directions in the stated environmental fields.
The report on Strathclyde sustainability indicators addresses the major environmental issues by documenting the topic and highlighting the individual indicators of the specific environmental issue or problem. Finally, the interpretation part outlines the scope of future action. The state of the environment has been analysed in the following areas:
This section deals with standards of drinking water, river water, water quality on bathing beaches, and air quality. For drinking water compliance with EU regulations on drinking water have been improved significantly during the 1990s, also the situation is temporally worsening in rural areas of Strathclyde region. The costs to bring all treatment works and pipes to EU standards will amount to estimated £ 750 million. The fresh water quality of the rivers and lochs also improved in the 1990s. However, this is partly due to shrinkage of the heavy industrial sector and the steel-works at Ravenscraig. The situation could easily worsen if there were a single dry year with regard to the standard of bathing beaches no significant improvement has taken place so far as mostly old sewage works are in operation near bathing beaches. An improvement scheme with a financial volume of £ 29 million is currently under way. In the sector of air quality it became obvious that the situation is no better due to the steady growth in traffic. As regular monitoring of air quality to EU standards is currently taking place at only one site in Glasgow, it is absolutely vital to extend the monitoring system on a regular basis.
In the area of land use two patterns are characteristic for the changing situation within the last twenty years: firstly, the type of land on which new developments take place, and secondly, treatment of vacant sites and derelict land. Land use is strongly linked to decline in the industrial sector within the last twenty years. Promotion of re-use is a central task of the Structure Plan for Strathclyde and consideration of environmental aspects is an important aspect. Although between 1980 and 1992 a total of over 14,000 hectares of land in Strathclyde had beome vacant or derelict there remains the task of putting 8,000 hectares back to productive use. Environmental factors can play a significant role in this process. In respect to brownfields (former urban areas with industrial use as docks or steelworks as well as institutional use like schools or hospitals) and green fields (land without urban use suitable for the use by agriculture or forestry) the study reveals that a steady progress in re-use has been made over the last ten years. The change in the policy of moving housing from greenfield (60% in 1981) to brownfield (60% in 1994) can also be regarded as a great environmental success. The numbers of houses completed on brownfield sites has increased by over 200% from 1981 to 1994.
Biodiversity indicates the number of different plants and animal species on the earth. It is regarded as a major challenge at all levels of the ecosystem. For the Strathclyde region the Sustainability Indicators report examines two key issues, protected areas within the region and threatened bird species, in order to illustrate the problems and measures which are being taken to prevent further losses. In respect of the most protected areas, the Sites of Special Scientific Interest, the Strathclyde region has a good record of 16% or 93,321 ha (compared to a mere 20,000 ha in 1955). In the field of threatened bird species declining numbers of internationally important populations of corncrakes and redshanks show that greater efforts have to be made in financing nature reserves and subsidising 'corncrake-friendly' farming.
Energy consumption can be regarded as the most basic theme of sustainability. Unfortunately, comprehensive data are not available for Strathclylde which indicates the first basic area of improvement. With regard to energy consumption and energy generation the recommendation for future policy direction has to be taken on the basis of Scottish figures between 1985 and 1989. The trends is that energy consumption in the domestic sector appears to be falling, and for industry rising only slowly. However, consumption of energy by the transport sector is rising steadily, and forecasts for growth in road transport suggest that the trend will continue. So far there is little change this situation in the Strathclyde region and, in addition, the structure of the Scottish energy capacity hardly contributes to improvements as it is designated as an energy exporter with capacity for over twice the peak energy demand. The exploitation of renewable energy remains also at a low level. In energy generation currently only 6% of the energy supply comes from hydro- electrical power plants although in 1994 the Sottish Office launched the Scottish Renewables Obligation which provides a subsidy for power production sources that do not contribute to CO2 emission.
Due to the inexpensive British method of disposing waste in landfills most of the domestic and industrial wastes are not recycled. Although the UK Government has set targets for recycling household wastes (25% in the year 2000), no targets have been set for the re-use of recycled materials for industry. A tax on the use of landfill sites has been proposed but has yet to be implemented. In the Strathclyde region this trend is continued only a margin of domestic waste is recycled (under 2%). The Sustainability Indicators report stresses the importance of the issue but with comparatively low landfill costs and no stable market for recycling products the prospects are gloomy, although the 1990 Environmental Protection Act allow District Councils to introduce recycling credits. A comparable status quo can be found in the sector of industrial and commercial wastes.
The most significant trend in transportation in the past twenty years has been the growth in private car ownership and usage. Within this context, Strathclyde Regional Council has for some years promoted an integrated transport policy, reflecting the needs of the majority of those in the region without a car. The public transport network in Greater Glasgow is the largest in the UK outside London which is reflected in the high level (some 70%) of commuter journeys to the conurbations. Nonetheless, Strathcylyde region as well as the Glasgow conurbation are following the general trend and public transport accounts for only 12% of the passenger miles. Improvements are hardly to be expected as, for example, the deregulation of bus services in 1985 has not brought about an increase in the number of passengers. While there are more buses on the road, the reduction has paradoxically contributed to the decline in passengers.
The study on economy and population makes clear that sustainable development is not simply an environmental issue. The social implications of economic development and the environment are demonstrated by such basic inequality factors as unemployment, people living in poverty, population and household demand, and housing and fuel costs. From the statistical data for the Strathclyde region it is obvious that the social gap is widening. The unemployment rate is at 11% and nearly one in five inhabitant of the region depends on income support. The number of households increased between 1988 and 1994 although the population has declined by 3%. The average number of people in each household has gone down from 2.6 to 2.4. As only 1% of Glasgow household meets the affordable fuel criteria of 21 C in the living room and 18 C in the rest of the house, it is obvious that fuel costs contribute to the lowering in living standards.
Social standards and environmental conditions also result in a unfavourable health situation. Compare to the average Scottish death rates, mortality in the Strathclyde region is 23% higher among male adults and 12% higher among adult female. The gap in mortality in different neighbourhood types also widens in the Strathclyde region during the 1980s and the number of death in poor areas is more than twice that in affluent ones. The harmful effects of environmental pollution is also demonstrated in the rapid increase in childhood asthma and other respiratory complaints. However, this issue is the subject of controversy over cause and effect. Asthma and other respiratory complaints are mainly linked to outdoor air pollution due to car use and poor living conditions in neighbourhoods but other social conditions can also a effect this illness.
The cost of the study has only £ 55,000, but the implications of the work (e.g. on European Structural Fund) could be to redirect capital expenditure substantially. Strathclyde European Partnership distributes some £ 70 million of structural funds (ERDF/ESF) a year to projects in the West of Scotland under the Objective 2 programme. The 1996 review of Objective 2 funds has requested that greater attention be paid to the environmental impact of applications, and issues raised by Strathclyde Sustainability Indicators have been incorporated into the procedures for applications.
The strategic planning authority, which is responsible for the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan, has adopted sustainable development as its principle objective for work in conurbation planning. In particular, the sustainable indicator guidelines must be incorporated in planning in the areas of land use, housing, and traffic.
The indicators were published and used as the basis for a substantial programme of over 40 public meetings and seminars. Participants were invited to consider the indicators and identify those issues that are significant to them. It was confirmed that many of the issues chosen are important and that there is a need for further local concern. The variety of issues and the highlighting of major and severe environmental and social problems have indicated the necessity for action by concentrating on distinct features of the Glasgow and Strathclyde region.
The Strathcyclde Sustainablity Indicators project has been prepared by a working group, convened by Strathclyde Regional Council, involving the following organisations:
Blowers, Andrew 1994: Environmental Policy. The Quest for Sustainable Development, in: International Perspectives in Urban Studies, Vol. 2, pp. 168-191
Strathclyde Regional Council, (ed.) 1995: Strathclyde Sustainability Indicators, Glasgow
Personal correspondence with Environmental Policy Officer in November 1996
| Name | : | Shaw |
| Firstname | : | Adrian |
| Telefon | : | +44 / 141 / 287 52 96 |
| Telefax | : | +44 / 141 / 287 59 97 |
| Address | : | Policy Officer |
| Chief Executive´s Department | ||
| Glasgow City Adrian Shaw | ||
| Environmental Council | ||
| City Chamber | ||
| George Square | ||
| GB Glasgow G2 1DU | ||
Glasgow is Scotland's largest urban centre. It has a long standing role as an industrial and commercial centre and has the infrastructure necessary to support its role as a significant European city. Glasgow has an international airport, is a hub of the national road and rail network, has a significant concentration of higher education institutions and substantial assets in the leisure, entertainment and tourism industry. The city has five institutions of higher education, 45 research institutions and 11 colleges of further education with around 105,000 students and £ 53 million of basic and near-market research, some 36 % of the Scottish total. Glasgow is also of significance in the TV and media industry some of which have their headquarters based there.
The city’s role is crucially important to the Scottish economy: Glasgow provides 18 % of the employment, 20 % of Scotland’s service sector employment and 25 % of jobs in the growing business services sector. The city maintains 14 % of its employment and gross value added in manufacturing, with key activities in food and drink, non-motor vehicle and instrument engineering.
Project was added at 08.12.1998
Project was changed at 08.12.1998