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Globally, cities have become hubs for economic activity, productivity, and important platforms for achieving sustainable development goals. The potential of urban agriculture (UA) in improving urban local economies and urban micro-climate has been acknowledged in the literature. The study looked at how the concepts of UA, local economic development (LED), and climate change can be treated in unison. Based on the review of credible published papers on the various concepts of UA, LED, climate change and nature-based solutions (NBS), a proposed conceptual framework was developed in this paper showing the linkages. The paper established that UA could boost LED, build resilient urban settlements, and promote social inclusiveness, but with social challenges. It is therefore recommended that policymakers make UA a crucial aspect of their agenda in the coming years to address the local economic and climate challenges now and in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a tendency for debates around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to focus on particular Goals or Targets. What tends to get lost, however, is the bigger picture. In this paper we ask: to what extent and under what conditions do the SDGs offer a pathway to equality? Specifically, we focus on the potentials of the SDGs as a pathway to urban equality in the decade of delivery. We focus on the ways that three key interrelated development agendas, eradicating extreme poverty, promoting prosperity, and building resilience, are mobilised through the SDGs. Together these agendas reveal tensions and opportunities in the relationship between the SDGs and urban equality. In discussion, we reflect on the potentials of an urban equality lens to read the SDGs, and the conditions under which they might contribute to the realisation of fairer and more equal cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Urban Agenda (NUA) and Agenda 2030's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognise the key role of 'sub-national entities', including cities, in achieving sustainable development. However, since these global policy agendas were agreed and signed by national governments, implementing them at the local level requires a process of localisation to fit local realities. This paper analyses the national guidance (or lack of) and the resultant collaborations emerging between various levels of government in the implementation of these agendas in African cities, namely Kisumu, Kenya and Cape Town, South Africa. It argues that effective implementation of the SDGs requires a strong framework for multi-stakeholder engagement and coordination at all levels of governance, which is possible if both top-down and bottom-up approaches are used concurrently and harmonised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic developments affect urban land-use changes. Using Lefebvre's production of (urban) space as a conceptual framework, this study investigated the industrialisation process and its urban spatial outcomes in three cities (Galan, Dukem, and Bishoftu) along the southern outlet of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. Landsat images were used to quantify the changing patterns of the three cities from the period 2006 to 2021. Interviews with key informants and document analysis were used to supplement these findings. The analysis reveals that in Addis Ababa-Bishoftu economic growth corridor, the unruly urban land-use changes have become a serious issue, challenging the sustainable development of cities. The study confirms that the proximity to Addis Ababa has contributed to the urbanisation process and urban corridor formation through investment expansion. This calls for a high level of expertise as well as integrated regional development for sustainable urban and industrial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular development creates more resource efficient, adaptive, and ecologically healthy cities. Circular food and construction systems; the ecological regeneration of contaminated brownfield sites and circular tactical urbanism are just some of the processes and systems adopted by those implementing a circular development pathway. These produce benefits, however, there are many challenges to implementing circular development, demonstrated by two London cases. The research reveals the difficulties low-value, circular activities encounter when competing for space in London. It shows how the imbalance between local supply and demand for circular products prevents scaling-up. It suggest a lack of data monitoring the benefits of adopting circular development, undermines political support. It reveals the conflict between the reliance on civil society to engage with circular actions versus public resistance. It highlights the need for accountability and transparency in the process of implementation and for a regulatory framework to encourage circular development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are patterns, outcomes, and factors emerging from the urban environmental sustainability actions? To what extent do the conditions of action arenas facilitate urban environmental actions? In this research, the community-level public space named 'neighbourhood activity centres' in Taipei City is observed and investigated. Besides the field observation effort, a data set is established with the combination of subjective and objective data sources collected from a questionnaire investigation (255 units of observations) and the governmental open data systems. After employing ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, the author concludes that environmental friendly facilities (such as aquaponics systems), environmental tendency of the communities, exhibition of policies or regulations and action networks among participants, could facilitate the outcomes of urban environmental sustainability movement. However, the diversity among the participants negatively affects the relationships between some external factors and action outcomes. The divergence in actor preference increases the required transaction costs in the consensus process due to time-consuming communication and compromise. This study thus proposes recommendations, such as benchmark Lis and neighbourhood associations, as policy application that could enhance municipal implementation of sustainability policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search for mechanisms that can bolster sustainable development governance is underway. Bilateral city-to-city partnerships (C2C) have been put forward as platform through which cities can strengthen sustainable development in urban landscapes. Here, we critically examine claims about the capacity of these international cooperative arrangements, originally designed and deployed as development aid delivery mechanisms, to promote sustainable development. Our systematic examination of the extant literature on bilateral North-South C2C in Latin America fails to provide sufficient evidence that C2C can deliver on its promise to promote robust governance, both generally and in the specific context of sustainable development. Instead, it seems that C2C is more likely to support than challenge entrenched practices which can weaken sustainable development governance. Identifying these tendencies is a first step in formulating strategies that may enhance C2Cs and other transnational partnerships aimed at improving urban sustainable development in the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]