Social Economy Science


Book Description

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Academic and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Lack of progress in the area of global sustainable development and difficulties in crisis management highlight the need to transform the economy and find new ways of making society more resilient. The social economy is increasingly recognized as a driver of such transformations; it comprises traditional forms of cooperative or solidarity-based organizations alongside new phenomena such as impact investing or social tech ventures that aim to contribute to the public good. Social Economy Science provides the first comprehensive analysis of why and how social economy organizations create superior value for society. The book draws on organizational theory and transition studies to provide a systematic perspective on complex multi-stakeholder forms of action. It discusses the social economy's role in promoting innovation for impact, as well as its role as an agent of societal change and as a partner to businesses, governments, and citizens.




Inclusive and Resilient Societies


Book Description




Building the New Economy


Book Description

How to empower people and communities with user-centric data ownership, transparent and accountable algorithms, and secure digital transaction systems. Data is now central to the economy, government, and health systems—so why are data and the AI systems that interpret the data in the hands of so few people? Building the New Economy calls for us to reinvent the ways that data and artificial intelligence are used in civic and government systems. Arguing that we need to think about data as a new type of capital, the authors show that the use of data trusts and distributed ledgers can empower people and communities with user-centric data ownership, transparent and accountable algorithms, machine learning fairness principles and methodologies, and secure digital transaction systems. It’s well known that social media generate disinformation and that mobile phone tracking apps threaten privacy. But these same technologies may also enable the creation of more agile systems in which power and decision-making are distributed among stakeholders rather than concentrated in a few hands. Offering both big ideas and detailed blueprints, the authors describe such key building blocks as data cooperatives, tokenized funding mechanisms, and tradecoin architecture. They also discuss technical issues, including how to build an ecosystem of trusted data, the implementation of digital currencies, and interoperability, and consider the evolution of computational law systems.




Cities, Culture and Creativity


Book Description

Culture and creativity have untapped potential to deliver social, economic, and spatial benefits for cities and communities. Cultural and creative industries are key drivers of the creative economy and represent important sources of employment, economic growth, and innovation, thus contributing to city competitiveness and sustainability. Through their contribution to urban regeneration and sustainable urban development, cultural and creative industries make cities more attractive places for people to live in and for economic activity to develop. Culture and creativity also contribute to social cohesion at the neighborhood level, enable creative networks to form and advance innovation and growth, and create opportunities for those who are often socially and economically excluded. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a deep impact on the cultural sector, yet it has also revealed the power of cultural and creative industries as a resource for city recovery and resilience. More generally, cities are hubs of the creative economy and have a critical role to play in harnessing the transformative potential of cultural and creative industries through policies and enabling environments at the local level. 'Cities, Culture, and Creativity' (CCC) provides guiding principles and a CCC Framework, developed by UNESCO and the World Bank, to support cities in unlocking the power of cultural and creative industries for sustainable urban development, city competitiveness, and social inclusion. Drawing from global studies and the experiences of nine diverse cities from across the world, the CCC Framework offers concrete guidance for the range of actors -- city, state, and national governments; creative industry and related private-sector organizations; creatives; culture professionals and civil society-- to harness culture and creativity with a view to boosting their local creative economies and building resilient, inclusive, and dynamic cities.




Reconomics


Book Description

RECONOMICS is the first book that shows how to boost economic growth and community resilience simultaneously. It also reveals the surprising factor that sabotages most revitalization / resilience efforts. RECONOMICS is THE guide to healing economies, societies and nature together! "RECONOMICS is a must-read for every mayor, resilience activist, planning commissioner and urban redevelopment professional who has been frustrated in their attempts to revitalize a place. It succinctly describes why most revitalization plans fail, analyzes what's missing, and provides a simple, easy-to-follow strategic process for success." - Kevin L. Maevers, D.Mgmt., AICP; President, Arivitas Strategies, LLC, La Quinta, CA; Vice Director of Policy, IES, California Chapter, American Planning Association. "Storm Cunningham is so far ahead of the community revitalization game, I'm in awe." - Sarah Sieloff, Executive Director, Center for Creative Land Recycling (September 2019) "RECONOMICS hits the nail on the head!" - Nalin Seneviratne, Director of City Centre Development, Sheffield City Council, Sheffield, England "Storm Cunningham's RECONOMICS Process raises the bar for community and regional revitalization. It's a powerful package, succinctly capturing the process that we have doggedly tried to identify over time, not always knowing the next step. The RECONOMICS Process brings a holistic dimension to redevelopment, inextricably linking vision and task." - Eric Bonham, P.Eng, Board of Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Former Director, BC Ministry of Environment & BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs "Storm Cunningham is the world's thought leader on community revitalization and natural resource restoration." - George Ochs, Managing Director of Real Assets, JP Morgan. "RECONOMICS should be mandatory reading for all Mayors, Chief Executives and Directors of Planning in cities and regions." - Rick Finc, Principal, RFA Development Planning, Edinburgh, Scotland "RECONOMICS is very concentrated, highly sophisticated and stunningly accurate." - Merrit Drucker, Anacostia Waterfront Trust, Washington, DC "Storm Cunningham's RECONOMICS transformed our latest project, which uses his 3Re strategy." - Dumas F. Lafontant, Director, Lower Roxbury Coalition, Boston, Massachusetts Does your city or region have an actual process for reliably creating resilient, inclusive economic growth...or just the usual vision, plan and projects? The reliable production of ANYTHING requires a process. Everyone knows this...except most leaders of local renewal initiatives. Over 95% of community revitalization and resilience projects fail to achieve their goals, and a shocking percentage of them fail outright. The reason is the same in almost all cases: lack of a complete renewal process. There's always at least one crucial element of the process missing. Since most leaders don't know what the minimum viable process is, they can't fill the gap. In RECONOMICS, that complete strategic renewal process is revealed for the first time. It can be applied at the community, regional or national levels. If you have ANY role in improving your local future, you need to read this book. What it reveals can easily double the ROI (revitalization on investment) of your redevelopment, renewal and climate adaptation efforts.




Research Handbook on the Green Economy


Book Description

Outlining how the concepts of green economy and green growth have become the forefront of policy and political debates within the last decade, this compelling Research Handbook investigates the policies and plans that utilise these concepts at both the local and global level to achieve a truly green economy. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.




Climate Action to Unlock the Inclusive Growth Story of the 21st Century


Book Description

Climate change is a major threat to the sustainability and inclusiveness of our societies, and to the planet’s habitability. A just transition to a low-carbon economy is the only viable way forward. This paper reviews the climate change challenge. It stresses the criticality of systems changes (energy, transport, urban, land use, water) in a climate-challenged world, and the importance of infrastructure investment geared toward such systems changes. The key policies to enable the transition are: public spending on and investment frameworks for sustainable infrastructure, pricing carbon, regulations, promoting sustainable use of natural resources, scaling up and aligning finance with climate objectives, low-carbon industrial and innovation policies, building resilience and adaptation, better measurement of well-being and sustainability, and providing information and education on climate risks. Implemented well, climate action would unlock the inclusive growth story of the 21st century, making our societies more sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous.




Inclusive Green Growth


Book Description

Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development makes the case that greening growth is necessary, efficient, and affordable. Yet spurring growth without ensuring equity will thwart efforts to reduce poverty and improve access to health, education, and infrastructure services.




Achieving Sustainable Development and Promoting Development Cooperation


Book Description

This book presents an overview of the key debates that took place during the Economic and Social Council meetings at the 2007 High-level Segment, at which ECOSOC organized its first biennial Development Cooperation Forum. The discussions also revolved around the theme of the second Annual Ministerial Review, "Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to sustainable development."--P. 4 of cover.




Lifelines


Book Description

Infrastructure—electricity, telecommunications, roads, water, and sanitation—are central to people’s lives. Without it, they cannot make a living, stay healthy, and maintain a good quality of life. Access to basic infrastructure is also a key driver of economic development. This report lays out a framework for understanding infrastructure resilience - the ability of infrastructure systems to function and meet users’ needs during and after a natural hazard. It focuses on four infrastructure systems that are essential to economic activity and people’s well-being: power systems, including the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity; water and sanitation—especially water utilities; transport systems—multiple modes such as road, rail, waterway, and airports, and multiple scales, including urban transit and rural access; and telecommunications, including telephone and Internet connections.