Just Transitions in Cities and Regions, London | 2023

David Hearne, Lecturer, University of Birmingham Library (presenter)

David Bailey (Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham) – United Kingdom,

Alex De Ruyter (Birmingham City University) – United Kingdom,

Philip Tomlinson (School of Management, University of Bath) – United Kingdom

Utilising the theoretical underpinnings found in the literature on a “just transition”, this paper considers the implications for the automotive sector in the West Midlands and North East of England. The UK’s automotive industry is spatially highly concentrated and hence a rapid move towards a net zero economy has profound spatial implications. That both regions are widely considered to be some of the most “left behind” in the country adds further salience. The paper adopts an explanatory mixed-methods approach in which surveys of trade union members within the sector (in both regions) are followed-up by a small number of detailed semi-structured interviews. A number of illuminating themes emerge around disparities in worker perceptions of regional-sectoral preparedness for the transition to EV manufacturing. We also find that this is not solely driven by major OEMs but instead appears widespread across the sector’s supply chain. The work hence contributes to an emerging literature looking at industrial transition to low carbon technologies outside of ‘extractive’ industries. In particular, it stresses the importance of adopting a multi-scalar approach to policy in which national and supranational policymaking is effectively aligned with local needs and existing and emergent specialisms.”

Sandrine Labory (University of Ferrara) – Italy,

Lisa De Propris (University of Birmingham) – United Kingdom,

Patrizio Bianchi (University of Ferrara) – Italy

Utilising the theoretical underpinnings found in the literature on a “just transition”, this paper considers the implications for the automotive sector in the West Midlands and North East of England. The UK’s automotive industry is spatially highly concentrated and hence a rapid move towards a net zero economy has profound spatial implications. That both regions are widely considered to be some of the most “left behind” in the country adds further salience. The paper adopts an explanatory mixed-methods approach in which surveys of trade union members within the sector (in both regions) are followed-up by a small number of detailed semi-structured interviews. A number of illuminating themes emerge around disparities in worker perceptions of regional-sectoral preparedness for the transition to EV manufacturing. We also find that this is not solely driven by major OEMs but instead appears widespread across the sector’s supply chain. The work hence contributes to an emerging literature looking at industrial transition to low carbon technologies outside of ‘extractive’ industries. In particular, it stresses the importance of adopting a multi-scalar approach to policy in which national and supranational policymaking is effectively aligned with local needs and existing and emergent specialisms.”

Will Eadson, Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Newcastle (United Kingdom)

This paper examines processes of economic change in old industrial towns that have been subject to investment and/or disinvestment through the emergency of new energy economies in the process of societal decarbonisation. Drawing from in-depth four case studies of industrial towns in Europe it examines processes of change through a cultural and political economy lens of industrial change. Drawing on path development studies alongside conceptualisations of place-based industrial change (e.g. Eadson & van Veelen, 2023) it asks how we can and should understand ‘green’ industrial change alongside notions of just transition, and specifically examines what the implications are for vulnerable people in economically vulnerable places. Drawing from cultural economy the paper attempts to provide a politics of hope for industrial change by providing an expanded gaze on place and economic activity: in doing so showing how industrial places might find ways of navigating through ‘utopian demands’ for a thriving post-carbon future.

Sally Weller, Associate Professor, University of South Australia (Australia)

The transition from fossil fuels involves the closing down of fossil-fuel based plants and activities, such as coal mines and coal fired power stations. A just transition demands the management of these closures in ways that not only minimises adverse impacts for affected workers and communities, but also creates new local opportunities and kindles hope for the future. This paper draws on the experience of place-based structural adjustment research in Australia to identify six domains for policy action: pre-planning, coordinating change, managing the closure process, redeploying the labour force, redeveloping the local economy, and maintaining social cohesion. The article advances understanding of Just Transition by identifying the goals, targets and indicators of each domain to specify the magnitude of intervention required to achieve a just transition. After providing broad estimates of the associated costs, the article concludes that a just transition is the anti-thesis of a least-cost shift in energy sources.

Adam Drobniak, Dean, Spatial Economy and Regions in Transition, University of Economics in Katowice

Marcin Baron (University of Economics in Katowice) – Poland,

Artur Ochojski (University of Economics in Katowice) – Poland

The presentation seeks an answer for the question of what will determine the success of the Just Transition (JT), pointing to the dilemmas faced by this process in Polish coal regions, i.e. regions that create the largest number of jobs in mining in the scale of the European Union (EU), and facing the most drastic change in the context of the energy transition (ET).

Transition dilemmas are perceived as problematic situations, that have arisen in the process of planning and implementing JT in Poland, in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives.

Due to the scale of the ET and the complexity of JT processes in Poland this kind of changes require bold vision, knowledge, leadership, multi-sector collaboration and a broad social contract. Unfortunately, in Poland, for various reasons, there is a visible defragmentation of JT process, i.e. the lack of a broad agreement between regional and central stakeholders, as well as the lack of a framework encouraging multi-stakeholder cooperation along the lines of: HEIs, R&D, enterprises, traditional sector, non-government organizations, trade unions, and communities.

Without developing a consensus on desired changes related to JT at the central and regional level, including the introduction of real dialogue and the creation of high-quality transition projects, the implementation of the European Green Deal and spending of Just Transition Fund (JTF) will be difficult and likely to be characterized by low effectiveness.

Michael Steiner (Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz) – Austria

Sandro Lackner (University of Graz) – Austria

The topic of national debt is currently the subject of much debate in the economy and in society as a whole. Public debt has increased dynamically over the past 5 years at national and sub-national level. The main reason for this is the increasing expenditure, which is being driven by the areas of health, care and social affairs and, since mid-2020, by corona aid measures and the government’s fight against inflation. Due to the institutional framework in Austria, which is characterized by federal guidelines, the federal budget is closely linked to the budget of the provinces and municipalities. Therefore, politicians and economists not only have to ask themselves the question of the debt limit at the federal level, but also expand the discourse to the regional and municipal level. The paper will give an overview of existing theoretical approaches to the limits of indebtedness and expand the applicability of these economic models to the subnational level of regions and municipalities. It will present a model of these limits that can be applied to these levels. An empirical estimation for the cities of Graz/Styria and Klagenfurt/Carinthia will show the link between primary account and debt and give an estimation of the fiscal space for the future. In this context, the link is also drawn to the legal-institutional limits, which in Austria are particularly important at the regional level and should therefore not be missing in an analysis of the debt limit. Finally, an outlook on future developments is outlined, which is intended to show the challenges that the federal state and its subordinate levels will be confronted with.

Leslie Budd, Professor of Regional Economy, Open University (United Kingdom)

In the face of increased economic and spatial inequality, the Conservative government pledged to address this issue in its 2019 election manifesto to level up the economic and social geography of the United Kingdom. The February 2022 Levelling White Paper sets out the government’s strategy that includes twelve missions, five policy pillars and cites six forms of capitals as drivers of levelling up.

Fundamentally there is often confusion in the White Paper between agency and structure and it is unclear whether the purpose of levelling up is absolute or relative.

Yet, recent events appear to have reinforced both these aspects and undermined the possibility of achieving the overall objectives of Levelling Up. Paradoxically, these events reinforce the need for transforming the spatial structure of the UK economy and addressing its manifold and atavistic problems.

One way of addressing these challenges and issues more comprehensively is to produce a critical narrative around Just transitions and Levelling down, particularly the dominance of the London economy (otherwise known as the Great Wen).

Just transitions was adopted in 2010 by the International Trade Union Confederation in addressing challenges for workers and labour markets as a result of climate change. But as a recent British Academy report stresses, the concept and practice can be expanded to focus on locally and regionally based solutions that promote community assets and wealth; circular economy; and, resilience.

The London and South-East regional problem is one that the Levelling Up agenda does not address. The economic inequality between the UK’s wealthiest region is usually excused by its superior GDP per head performance and contribution to the national tax take. Alongside the fact that London also suffers some of the worst socio-economic deprivation, leads to some commentators to resist levelling down. But a more comprehensive analysis based upon a balance sheet approach including public policy externalities that generate locational wealth and income and drive poorer people to the commuting periphery of the region. Thus, in combination with Just Transitions, Levelling Down is a serious contender as an intervention for transforming the UK economy and its regional structure.

Drawing on the recent work by Dan Coffey et al’s in Regional Studies and its concept of rentier productivity effect, this paper explores the proposition that the Just Transitions agenda will not be realised unless London and the SE Economy is levelled down.

Bernardo Campolina, Associated Lecturer, Federal University of Minas Gerais. (Brazil)

The aim of this paper is to analyze the implications for the economy of Minas Gerais of its specialization in commodities and products of low technological intensity, against the backdrop of an international context in rapid productive transformation. To this end, based on a presentation of the characteristics of the economy of Minas Gerais from the 2000s onwards, we tested the hypothesis whether companies and sectors of greater technological intensity have the capacity to boost the state’s economy more effectively, based on the premise that these companies generate a higher salary mass than those linked to other economic activities in Minas Gerais. The tested econometric model reinforces and confirms the hypothesis that the most technologically advanced firms pay a higher wage premium, inducing a positive effect on economic activity in general. The database used and the period analyzed for the economy of Minas Gerais, except for better judgement, have not yet been tested.

Astrid Krisch (University of Oxford) – United Kingdom,

Christina Lampl (Austrian National Public Health Institute) – Austria

Understanding the climate crisis as a major threat for public health in the 21st century has by now become common sense in sustainability science. At the same time, policy responses to the climate emergency have been criticised to exacerbate inequalities, thus creating new eco-social risks. Designing transformative change must take different vulnerabilities into account to achieve health and climate equity, which calls for a systemic shift towards health promotion and prevention while also demanding a more sustainable and climate-resilient urban environment.

Local governments and urban planning play an important role for a just eco-social transformations that focus on the intersections between climate, health, and equity issues. Urban Planetary Health has recently emerged as a concept to address these complex interrelationships. Its recent uptake has however so far seldomly produced the necessary evidence-base to further our understanding of how governance regimes of urban planning are connecting to communities and specifically vulnerable population groups.

We respond to this research gap by presenting our case study in Austria, emphasising how the concept of Urban Planetary Health can contribute to a deeper understanding of struggles of deprived communities to live healthy and climate-friendly lives. We emphasise the intersectoral complexities of transport, nutrition, housing, the built environment, and governance and planning that hinder communities to move towards an eco-social transformation. Guided by the theory of practices, we analyse materials, competencies, and meanings to unravel barriers and necessary structural changes to transform daily lives of vulnerable population groups in line with Urban Planetary Health considerations.

Helen Lawton Smith (Birkbeck University of London) – United Kingdom

In the UK and in many other countries, the lack of support for disabled entrepreneurs is an economic, cultural, and societal issue. This is because while disabled entrepreneurs belong to and contribute to public spaces, there are often barriers to their full engagement in local economies. Where interaction is well established, such entrepreneurs add to the cultural richness of places, to personal and societal well-being and economically by wealth creation.

The purpose of this paper is to identify what can be done to overcome the marginalisation of disabled entrepreneurs, which leads to increased local equality of opportunity, thereby adding to the diversity of local economies and, thus, to a more inclusive society. However, as the evidence from this study of the geography of specialised networks which support disabled entrepreneurs in the UK shows, the entrepreneurial capacity of public spaces (inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems) for disabled entrepreneurs is better in some places and entirely absent in others. It is this local dimension that has been missing in other studies of disabled entrepreneurs.

The contribution is to explore the interconnection between the agency of particular organisations to improve inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems and overcome embedded exclusion within particular locations. Examples from the UK and from the USA provide empirical insights into what can be done. The paper draws on evidence from a study: Addressing regional inequalities in innovation opportunities for ethnic minority (BAME) and disabled groups (2020-2021).

Hilda Rømer Christensen (University of Copenhagen) – Denmark

Departing from the notion of Gender smart mobility, developed as a core concept of the EU Horizon TInnGO project, this paper introduces a broad and sustainable outlook that cuts across modalities and includes multiple agents. The notion implies an indicator consisting of five key dimensions which are crucial for meeting the goal of green mobility for all. The idea of Gender Smart mobility for all embraces a new and composite indicator which includes inclusivity, affordability, effectiveness, attractiveness and sustainability. The overall aim of this paper is to explore how and if the idea of Gender smart mobility as well as the composite indicator can assist in creating new horizons of mobility for all in local municipality practices.

Gender Smart MOBILITY aligns with the current UN Sustainable Development Goals linking green and climate friendly city developments with gender and social equality. The notion also demonstrates how gender smart mobility enables stakeholders, notably technical and planning staff in municipalities, can address smart mobility in new ways that go beyond dominant notions of economy, growth, and technology. Gender smart mobility is a visionary, yet also complicated and multifaceted, concept to work with in research and to translate into practice; what potentials and resistances does the vision of gender smart mobility and the methods provide? How can municipal and citizens’ interests in climate change politics, including green transport and technology, become an advantage for all? And how can such experiences be collected and disseminated?

Jiayi Zhu (Trinity College Dublin) – Ireland

Urban development has become a critical area of discussion within governments recently concerning the importance of living more sustainably. In particular, the idea of a ’15-minute City’ has been proposed by Moreno et al. in France, wherein residents have all of the essential amenities they need for a livable and sustainable lifestyle within 15 minutes of their home (Moreno et al., 2021). The essential elements of a ‘15-minute city’ include population density, a variety of amenities, and that the location of these are within a 15-minute walk or cycle. This concept has also been implemented in Chengdu, China which concentrates on the ‘walkability of cities’ and is called the ‘15-minute Life Circle’ (Wu et al., 2021). The idea of a ‘life circle’ began in Japan in the 1960s (Cheng, 2018). Moreover, in examining how ‘the 15-minute life circle’ has been enacted in Chengdu, through a case study of Dublin, Ireland, this research will endeavor to comprehend the emergence of the ‘15-Minute City’. This research will investigate both the convergence and divergence of these ideals in the context of their recent evolution. To acquire this knowledge, in-depth analysis in the form of interviews with urban developers in Chengdu as well as questionnaires with residents in Chengdu, we can begin to uncover how urbanist ideals translate into the experience within a city. A major contribution of this research lies in providing an in-depth look into overlaps or ‘convergence’ between seemingly divergent ideals from the European and Asian contexts to the field of urban sustainable development. An attempt will also be made to verify the efficacy of urbanist concepts by the extent to which they succeed in making cities more sustainable from a social and ecological point of view.