What kind of innovations to fight climate change are emerging in small and medium cities in the fastest growing areas of the World?
HIC participates in the research project “Low Carbon Action in Ordinary Cities (LO-ACT)” based at the University of Sheffield. This is a European Research Council funded project that focuses on climate change action in ‘ordinary’ cities, primarily in the global South (https://www.loactproject.com/).
What is LO-ACT?
LO-ACT is looking at the ‘ordinary actions’ taken by citizens to improve everyday life whilst tackling climate change. The project will examine specific examples of climate change actions and policies to find out how ideas, materials, technologies, and expertise can be transferred across urban contexts.
LO-ACT will develop tools to design and discuss urban climate change politics.
Why is the research being done and what will it involve?
The purpose of this project is to examine the kinds of innovation that emerge in small and medium cities, cities which are often excluded from the general circuits of innovation. To do so, the project will look at the ways in which cities are represented in international climate policy, how innovations travel across cities, and how innovations emerge within specific cities. The LO-ACT team has approached you because of your expertise in the area of international policy, cities, and climate change.
What involves HIC participation?
As part of this data collection process, a member of the research team research has interviewed HIC-GS General Secretary, Álvaro Puertas. In the first stage the research is investigating the role of cities in international climate policy debates. During the interview, HIC has shared the Coalition work experience in relation to this topic and the Right to the City approach, represented at the COP in Madrid.
This research is funded by the European Research Council and hosted at the University of Sheffield. More info available at https://www.loactproject.com/