Juan Francisco Salazar

Implementing local planetary health: Case study of Blue Mountains, Australia

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 13-08-2022

DOI: 10.1111/1745-5871.12556

Abstract: Planetary health is a concept that emerged from public health and is of central interest for geographers. Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) launched its planetary health initiative in 2020, which is a first instance of it being adopted by an Australian local government as a sustainability policy framework. This article presents an initial case study arguing for and testing how to gain empirical insights from developing local planetary health initiatives. Using an online survey of Blue Mountains residents from 2020, we elucidate key opportunities and challenges associated with implementing planetary health in local contexts. We found that respondents experience the impacts of environmental change in varied ways and want to do more to address environmental change. They demand action from governments and others to act, yet do not understand well the mechanisms available to local governments to undertake such action. We also established that planetary health shows promise in its ability to accommodate erse and scalar experiences and action from personal to communal. Thus, our key claim is that it could be an inclusive basis upon which local governments and communities can deliberate and make decisions about sustainability. However, local governments could experience difficulties in implementing planetary health should deliberation not improve community understanding of the levers available to local government to act on environmental change and the nature of shared responsibility for place‐based sustainability. We suggest geographers could do more work on such matters.

From gateway to custodian city: Understanding urban residents’ sense of connectedness to Antarctica

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 20-06-2021

DOI: 10.1111/1745-5871.12490

Abstract: Antarctic “gateway” cities have been characterised primarily as portals through which goods and services from around the world can be transported to the frozen continent. However, recent research suggests that this concept should be expanded to address other forms of connectivity, including those felt by people living in these cities rather than simply passing through them. In this article, we explore the meaning of urban relations to Antarctica in the 21st century, focusing on the Australian city of Hobart. We outline evolving understandings of gateway cities, and of Antarctic gateways particularly examine Hobart’s erse connections to the far south and analyse current public policy related to the city’s “gateway” status. We then report the results of a survey ( n = 300) conducted in 2018 to investigate how citizens understand their city’s relationship with Antarctica. Survey results show that residents prioritised ecological concerns over economic or political issues and felt strongly that the city should play a custodian role in the future of Antarctica. Hobartians’ strong sense of environmental and cultural connectedness with Antarctica suggests a need to rethink the concept of Antarctic gateways if policy is to reflect adequately the meaning of this identity to residents of the cities that circle the southern continent.

Western Sydney University

Location: Australia

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Naval Medical Center San Diego

Location: United States of America

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University Of Western Sydney

Location: No location found

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Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP110200654

Start Date: 01-2012

End Date: 05-2016

Amount: $90,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

ARC Future Fellowships - Grant ID: FT190100729

Start Date: 05-2020

End Date: 05-2024

Amount: $1,022,064.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP0882088

Start Date: 01-2008

End Date: 12-2012

Amount: $570,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP160100210

Start Date: 03-2017

End Date: 12-2020

Amount: $389,335.00

Funder: Australian Research Council