.

There is nothing so influential, so central to our daily lives as our immediate physical environment. Our environment influences and shapes our behavior to such a great extent that its design deserves a prominent place in the discussions about conflict management, foreign policy, and diplomatic relations. What if we used urban planning, in sync with local ecology, to directly address armed conflicts, crime, poverty, and health epidemics? It may be that changing an area’s urban infrastructure will prove to be more effective—and cost less in lives, time, and money—than conventional policy and traditional intervention solutions that underestimate the power of a physical space’s persuasion.

We Need to Be More Informed

When it comes to urban infrastructure and local ecology, common knowledge needs a makeover, if not an outright revolution. Every individual in every country should be able to answer basic questions about his or her local waste management systems, natural resources, and their managing infrastructures. A quick self-evaluation quiz about the basics shows our involuntary ignorance about the space in which we spend the majority of our time. Do you know where, specifically, your trash, used water, and human waste go when they leave your home? Can you name the specific landfill or processing plant, and do you know how they are processed? What is your local water source? What are the indigenous and invasive species in your neighborhood? Is your local pollinator population healthy? What is the intended primary and secondary purpose of your neighborhood? Is it working?

While most of us are unable to answer these questions, we should be able to answer them with the same ease with which we note our home address. By understanding the physical environment around us, we will be more aware of specific problems faced by local communities to which we belong, and more able to address them with innovative solutions.

Learning From Micro-Lending and Crowdsourcing Models

With a better understanding of how we, as individuals, interact with the natural environment and man-made systems that exist where we live and work, we can begin to use that knowledge to make incremental changes in our urban environments that will address larger societal problems. Most of us are familiar with micro-lending and crowd-sourcing models, wherein a large number of individuals lend or donate a small amount of money to help an individual or group accomplish a larger goal. A successful microloan might launch a new woman-owned small business in Uganda, or a crowd-funding campaign might launch a new tech startup in the United States. These were once strange concepts, but are now common practice. In a similar way, perhaps it is time to solve regional and megacity problems with hyper-local solutions based on ecology and urban infrastructure.

Hyper-Local Awareness Can Solve Megacity and Regional Issues

We can use increased awareness of the local urban and natural environments, and improved local planning, to solve the big challenges facing megacities. For example, downtown Johannesburg, South Africa—a vital pillar of economic growth in the region—lost investors and stability due to its reputation for violent crime. However, recently Johannesburg has gained international attention by transforming small pockets of the city into accessible, functional, safe areas, such as parks. In response, foreign investors and middle class South Africans are returning to the city. Further, by transforming an “unsafe” space into a “safe” space, the community is sending a strong message about new social norms and tolerated behaviors. This hyper-local solution to a hyper-local problem is having positive repercussions for the region, and has the potential to serve as an international model for megacities facing similar challenges.

Similarly, residents of waterfront “slums” in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, are participating in and identifying priorities for the city’s urban development. This holistic exercise directly addresses and prevents widespread conflict stemming from the threat of demolition. By focusing on smart, collective development, residents and authorities are able to work together to identify local development priorities and pursue common goals efficiently without instigating violence, extending poverty through displacement, or impairing Nigeria’s oil trade.

We can also use our newly-informed local awareness to make personal decisions that lift the pressure on public finances for services such as waste management. In Toronto, Canada, residents now sort compost from their recycling and trash. This increases each individual’s awareness about their amount of waste and how it is processed, and the resulting reduction in waste reduces the city’s landfills and costs. In Kamikatsu, Japan, residents sort their waste into 34 categories, resulting in a near-zero waste. A change in how people view their kitchen garbage bin has the potential to change public support for national and international environmental policies.

Moreover, by focusing on the micro level, the sphere of actors who are capable of tackling a problem expands to include more than just the government or established organizations. In Mekele, Ethiopia, for instance, a savvy entrepreneur has used old mortar shells to create coffee machines, simultaneously providing a reliable product used by coffee sellers in local markets (due to the high quality metal) and removing the shells from the local environment.

A Priority

The private sector has long since mastered the use of physical space to influence human behavior. Retailers, land developers, and advertisements successfully shape our lifestyle decisions by using “atmosphere” and other environment-based marketing strategies. This can no longer remain a tactic of the private sector alone. Understanding one’s local urban infrastructure and local ecology is a necessity for every resident of rural villages and metropolitan cities alike, in both developing and developed countries. As we begin to address local problems using crowdsourcing methods, we can simultaneously decrease the scale of and identify potential solutions for macro challenges. It is time for governments and society at large to solve purportedly ingrained challenges like crime and armed conflict, pollution, and global poverty by using small-scale solutions targeted at improved urban planning and knowledge of the local ecology.

Kristin Weis is the founder of Morebears, a company using eco-tourism and design solutions to support sustainable, balanced development in local communities within developing countries. Her flagship program, Roskanet, is a product-oriented program that develops local, innovative, and responsible waste management and encourages tourists to pick up litter while on holiday in developing countries.

This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's November/December 2013 print edition.

Photo: UNDP in Europe and Central Asia (cc).

The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.

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www.diplomaticourier.com

Micro Solutions for Macro Challenges

December 12, 2013

There is nothing so influential, so central to our daily lives as our immediate physical environment. Our environment influences and shapes our behavior to such a great extent that its design deserves a prominent place in the discussions about conflict management, foreign policy, and diplomatic relations. What if we used urban planning, in sync with local ecology, to directly address armed conflicts, crime, poverty, and health epidemics? It may be that changing an area’s urban infrastructure will prove to be more effective—and cost less in lives, time, and money—than conventional policy and traditional intervention solutions that underestimate the power of a physical space’s persuasion.

We Need to Be More Informed

When it comes to urban infrastructure and local ecology, common knowledge needs a makeover, if not an outright revolution. Every individual in every country should be able to answer basic questions about his or her local waste management systems, natural resources, and their managing infrastructures. A quick self-evaluation quiz about the basics shows our involuntary ignorance about the space in which we spend the majority of our time. Do you know where, specifically, your trash, used water, and human waste go when they leave your home? Can you name the specific landfill or processing plant, and do you know how they are processed? What is your local water source? What are the indigenous and invasive species in your neighborhood? Is your local pollinator population healthy? What is the intended primary and secondary purpose of your neighborhood? Is it working?

While most of us are unable to answer these questions, we should be able to answer them with the same ease with which we note our home address. By understanding the physical environment around us, we will be more aware of specific problems faced by local communities to which we belong, and more able to address them with innovative solutions.

Learning From Micro-Lending and Crowdsourcing Models

With a better understanding of how we, as individuals, interact with the natural environment and man-made systems that exist where we live and work, we can begin to use that knowledge to make incremental changes in our urban environments that will address larger societal problems. Most of us are familiar with micro-lending and crowd-sourcing models, wherein a large number of individuals lend or donate a small amount of money to help an individual or group accomplish a larger goal. A successful microloan might launch a new woman-owned small business in Uganda, or a crowd-funding campaign might launch a new tech startup in the United States. These were once strange concepts, but are now common practice. In a similar way, perhaps it is time to solve regional and megacity problems with hyper-local solutions based on ecology and urban infrastructure.

Hyper-Local Awareness Can Solve Megacity and Regional Issues

We can use increased awareness of the local urban and natural environments, and improved local planning, to solve the big challenges facing megacities. For example, downtown Johannesburg, South Africa—a vital pillar of economic growth in the region—lost investors and stability due to its reputation for violent crime. However, recently Johannesburg has gained international attention by transforming small pockets of the city into accessible, functional, safe areas, such as parks. In response, foreign investors and middle class South Africans are returning to the city. Further, by transforming an “unsafe” space into a “safe” space, the community is sending a strong message about new social norms and tolerated behaviors. This hyper-local solution to a hyper-local problem is having positive repercussions for the region, and has the potential to serve as an international model for megacities facing similar challenges.

Similarly, residents of waterfront “slums” in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, are participating in and identifying priorities for the city’s urban development. This holistic exercise directly addresses and prevents widespread conflict stemming from the threat of demolition. By focusing on smart, collective development, residents and authorities are able to work together to identify local development priorities and pursue common goals efficiently without instigating violence, extending poverty through displacement, or impairing Nigeria’s oil trade.

We can also use our newly-informed local awareness to make personal decisions that lift the pressure on public finances for services such as waste management. In Toronto, Canada, residents now sort compost from their recycling and trash. This increases each individual’s awareness about their amount of waste and how it is processed, and the resulting reduction in waste reduces the city’s landfills and costs. In Kamikatsu, Japan, residents sort their waste into 34 categories, resulting in a near-zero waste. A change in how people view their kitchen garbage bin has the potential to change public support for national and international environmental policies.

Moreover, by focusing on the micro level, the sphere of actors who are capable of tackling a problem expands to include more than just the government or established organizations. In Mekele, Ethiopia, for instance, a savvy entrepreneur has used old mortar shells to create coffee machines, simultaneously providing a reliable product used by coffee sellers in local markets (due to the high quality metal) and removing the shells from the local environment.

A Priority

The private sector has long since mastered the use of physical space to influence human behavior. Retailers, land developers, and advertisements successfully shape our lifestyle decisions by using “atmosphere” and other environment-based marketing strategies. This can no longer remain a tactic of the private sector alone. Understanding one’s local urban infrastructure and local ecology is a necessity for every resident of rural villages and metropolitan cities alike, in both developing and developed countries. As we begin to address local problems using crowdsourcing methods, we can simultaneously decrease the scale of and identify potential solutions for macro challenges. It is time for governments and society at large to solve purportedly ingrained challenges like crime and armed conflict, pollution, and global poverty by using small-scale solutions targeted at improved urban planning and knowledge of the local ecology.

Kristin Weis is the founder of Morebears, a company using eco-tourism and design solutions to support sustainable, balanced development in local communities within developing countries. Her flagship program, Roskanet, is a product-oriented program that develops local, innovative, and responsible waste management and encourages tourists to pick up litter while on holiday in developing countries.

This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's November/December 2013 print edition.

Photo: UNDP in Europe and Central Asia (cc).

The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.