Enhancing Quality of Life through Sustainable Urban Transformation in Cambodia: Introduction to the Build4People Project

WAIBEL Michael; BLÖBAUM Anke; MATTHIES Ellen; SCHWEDE Dirk; MESSERSCHMIDT Rolf; MUND Jan Peter; KATZSCHNER Lutz; JAYAWEERA Ravi; BECKER Annalena; KARAGIANNI Christina; MCKENNA Amelie; LAMBRECHT Oliver; RIVERA Marcelo; KUPSKI Sebastian

doi:10.61945/cjbar.2020.2.2.6

WAIBEL Michael Department of Geography, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Hamburg University, Bundesstrasse 55, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
BLÖBAUM Anke Department of Environmental Psychology, Institute for Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
MATTHIES Ellen Department of Environmental Psychology, Institute for Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
SCHWEDE Dirk Institute for Building Energetics, Thermotechnology and Energy Storage (IGTE), University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 6, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
MESSERSCHMIDT Rolf EMP, Eble Messerschmidt Partner Architekten und Stadtplaner PartGmbB, Berliner Ring 47a, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
MUND Jan Peter Department of GIS and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Forest and Environment, University of Sustainable Development Eberswalde University of Applied Science (HNEE/EUSD), Schicklerstrasse 5, 16225 Eberswalde, Germany
KATZSCHNER Lutz INKEK, Institute for Climate and Energy Concepts, Schillerstrasse 50, 34253 Lohfelden, Germany
JAYAWEERA Ravi Department of Geography, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Hamburg University, Bundesstrasse 55, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
BECKER Annalena Department of Environmental Psychology, Institute for Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
KARAGIANNI Christina Institute for Building Energetics, Thermotechnology and Energy Storage (IGTE), University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 6, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
MCKENNA Amelie Department of GIS and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Forest and Environment, University of Sustainable Development Eberswalde University of Applied Science (HNEE/EUSD), Schicklerstrasse 5, 16225 Eberswalde, German
LAMBRECHT Oliver EMP, Eble Messerschmidt Partner Architekten und Stadtplaner PartGmbB, Berliner Ring 47a, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
RIVERA Marcelo EMP, Eble Messerschmidt Partner Architekten und Stadtplaner PartGmbB, Berliner Ring 47a, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
KUPSKI Sebastian INKEK, Institute for Climate and Energy Concepts, Schillerstrasse 50, 34253 Lohfelden, Germany

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61945/cjbar.2020.2.2.6

Keywords: Sustainable buildings sustainable urban transformation integrated urban people-centric development urban quality of life sustainable urban development pathways pro-environmental behaviour and sustainable living Royal Kingdom of Cambodia

Abstract

This policy brief introduces preliminary research results of the Build4People project, funded by the German government as part of the multi-phase focus programme “Sustainable Development of Urban Regions”. Furthermore, the research agenda of the upcoming main four-year Research and Development phase (RD phase) will be introduced based on insights gained in previous shorter funding periods. The Build4People research consortium consists of representatives from four German universities and two German companies with their respective research, implementation and dissemination partners in the Kingdom of Cambodia. Build4People’s rationale is based on Phnom Penh‘s dynamic economic growth, which is coupled with a local urbanisation and construction boom. However, new buildings and neighbourhoods are rarely constructed in a sustainable way with direct and indirect negative environmental impacts. Issues of sustainability are hardly addressed by decision-makers in the construction sector, related ministries, city administrations or building users. The overall aim of the multi- and trans-disciplinary Build4People project during the RD phase is to support and analyse the transformative shift in Phnom Penh’s current business-as-usual urban development pathway towards a pathway with higher sustainability and liveability levels. The entry points for the research are the building and neighbourhood planning sectors. Methods, tools and key instruments to achieve the objectives of the RD phase are collaborative planning workshops, strategic niche management approaches, transition management approaches and subsequent experimental implementation. All of these measures will generate applied knowledge for local stakeholders and a basis for evidence-based decision-making. Urban quality of life as a people-driven approach serves as the integrating link for all of our scientific, conceptional, analytical and normative dimensions. During our research, we will jointly conceptualize, measure and model urban quality of life and consider its political dimension and its often-ambiguous relationship to sustainability.