Strategic Planning for Regional Development - Case Study Example

?The Great London ity and Mayor’s Environmental Policies Introduction London is one of the most successful cities in the world in terms of competition and economic productivity. The city is reputed for its innovation, art, diversity, and economic success. The mayor and the Greater London Authority (GLA) are important managerial persons that have seen London grow to the status that it holds today. Perhaps, without these bodies in place, London could not have been as beautiful and prosperous as it is today. GLA was instituted in 2000 after a referendum was conducted that approved its formation. This body consists of the mayor, directly elected by members, 25 members, who carry out inspection duties, and stuff consisting of about 700 persons (Greater London Authority, 2010). GLA draws its powers from two main acts: the Greater London Authority Acts, 1999 and 2007. GLA enjoys jurisdiction in areas such as policing, fire planning, environment, economic development, emergency and transport. In order for the body to carry out its duties effectively, it was thought wise to institute four bodies to assist in the management of the aforementioned services. These bodies include the London Fire and Emergency planning authority, Metropolitan Police Authority, London Development Agency and Transport for London (Greater London Authority 2010). The UK government funds GLA although some of its financial resources are received from direct taxes collected from the area. Responsibilities of the Greater London Authority In order to assure the welfare of its residents is prioritized, the UK government gave GLA, under the leadership of the mayor, certain responsibilities to make sure everything is done in accordance with the laid down rules for the betterment of London. In this regard, GLA has strategic administration responsibilities for the whole London city. To ensure this is done, it is responsible for coordination of the local authorities of the Greater London. GLA shares the same powers as the City of London Corporation and the 32 London Boroughs Councils (Greater London Authority, 2010). The mayor, on the other hand, was given powers to formulate and influence policies for the Greater London city. The mayor as the chairperson is charged with the responsibility of establishing the strategic direction for London through the formulation of strategies for the city. The second responsibility is that as the mayor of the city, he is responsible for preparation of the budgets, which are presented to the congress for debate and possible adoption. Thirdly, he is given powers to make appointments to bodies under his leadership as well as pan-London bodies. Finally, the Mayor of London is responsible for representing London city both internationally and at home, especially in matters pertaining to the city (Greater London Authority, 2010). Recent Environmental Policies and Strategies Introduced The Mayor of London notes that London seeks to be among the leading cities in the world in terms of environmental management and conservation. He notes that for this to be achieved, a bold step must be taken towards reducing pollution, consuming fewer resources, dealing with issues of climate change, and decreasing the level of carbon. Achieving this dream is not easy when people just talk about them but fail to implement. As such, the mayor came up with several strategies to be instituted in London in respect of the environment. The first proposal pertains to the lowering of air pollution in London. Dow (2009, p.12-28) notes that over 70% of the global energy is consumed by large towns, resulting in about 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. London is among the cities of the world with a high level of greenhouse gas emissions and the greatest emitter of greenhouse gases in UK – about 80%, which is approximated at about 44 million tons of carbon dioxide. Environmentalists argue that these emissions are likely to increase in London, considering that the town has been witnessing high population growth and economic development. It is for this reason that the mayor of London prioritized the lowering of gaseous emissions in the city as a way of preserving the environment. In his strategic plan, he estimated that London should be able to achieve about 65% of greenhouse emission by the year 2025 (Greater London Authority, 2009). Therefore to achieve this target, the mayor proposed that the energy efficiency should be improved, supply efficiency increased and, lastly, the country would have to consider the use of renewable sources of energy. In fact, plans are underway to ensure that buildings in London meets the standards of climate change requirements as set out in the Kyoto protocol of 2005. Secondly, the mayor introduced the Waste Recycling policy aimed at preserving the environment. The policy is expected to annually save the city about 90 pounds usually spent on waste in the city, according to Andrew et al. (2008, p. 15-21). Research that has been conducted in the city indicates that approximately 55 tonnes of waste products are produced in London daily. Therefore, reduction of waste was found to be one of the best strategies of conserving the environment around London. Waste reduction was to be done in two ways: through the implementation of Business Waste Strategy and through the implementation of the Municipal Waste Management Strategy according to Greater London Authority (2010). The third strategy set by the Mayor is the London Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (Great London Authority Act 2010). The strategy pertains to three major issues. First, recognition of subjects and objects at risk in London; second, the analysis of how the climate change might affect the threat of famine, drought, heat waves, and food; and third, explaining the strategies needed for managing the issues and the persons who should be involved. Mythologists predict that London is likely to experience adverse drought followed by floods in the near future. The mayor is concerned with this kind of prediction and has proposed a plan aimed at mitigating the effects of these adverse weather patterns. In this regard, the mayor has given the Drainage London Forum the mandate to identify areas that could be at greater risk and formulating plans of containing the anticipated problem (Greater London Authority 2009). This is a good vision as scientists will argue, since it prepares London for any eventual calamity that may hit London as a result of climatic change. It is reported that most regions around the world have started experiencing the impacts of climate change mainly brought about by global warming. Water conservation has been categorized by Great London Authority as one of its priorities in ensuring a sustainable environment for the residents of the city. Dow (2009) reveals that the mayor has once asserted that his priorities, as far as water is concerned, are to ensure that the environment around London meets standards of protection and preservation of the quality of life of its residents. He went ahead to state that this can only be achieved if all water resources within the city of London can be safeguarded. To achieve this dream, he has set a policy concerned mainly with usage of water within the city. In this regard, a supply management would be undertaken to reduce loss of water through leakage, usage of recycled water, efficient water use, and development of water resources that mitigate climate change. The second policy pertains to educating Londoners to learn to store water for future use. His third policy pertains to the best way of disposing water (Greater London Authority, 2009). In this case, he proposed that wastewater should be discharged to foul sewers or combined sewers. The policies have already had a great impact on water usage within the city of London, as residents have learnt the significance of water preservation as advocated for by the Greater London Authority through its chairperson the mayor. The Mayor of London has also been concerned with the quality of air around London. In this regard, the mayor has formulated measures to ensure that London remains one of the cleanest and greenest cities of the world. The strategy adopted includes purifying the air in London. Other policies set by the mayor include those that are aimed at ensuring that pollution within the city is reduced to the lowest level possible. The policies have mainly affected the transport sector in London as the operators are required to clean the fleet of the busses in London on a daily basis for them to conform to Euro IV emission standards for PM10 and NOx. The mayor also introduced a policy aimed at cleaning the taxi fleet and Private Hire Vehicles by introducing age limits aimed at eliminating older and unroadworthy vehicles from London (Dow, 2009). The mayor also formulated a policy requiring vans and minibuses to conform to the Euro standards with regard to Low Emission Zone (LEZ) beginning in the year 2012.Another policy introduced by the mayor is the new NOx for LEZ starting 2015. The Greater London Authority (2010) reveals that other policies that have been put in place ensure that the quality of air within London is improved in the next five years. These include increasing public awareness by enlightening the people of London on the importance of reducing air pollution inside and outside the city, instituting new standards of emissions for new joint powers, biomass boilers and heat systems; and, finally, adapting practices that ensure that dust emissions are reduced through the construction of sites and development of Supplementary Planning Guidance. Development priorities of Greater London Authority (GLA) The British government published a consultation document known as the Greater London Authority (GLA) in November 2005. The organization is in charge of key strategic issues that affect London citizens. In particular, GLA is concerned with planning, improving housing, nurturing skills and talents, and managing waste. These development policies are aimed at improving the quality of life in the city. In addition, the Greater London Authority Act 1999, states that the mayor should be elected to be in charge of GLA. The mayor is responsible for the economic and social development and managing environmental pollution. In addition, the mayor is responsible for setting statutory strategies concerning transport planning and waste management (Dimitriou, 2007, p.247). The creation of GLA was a result of the immense challenges affecting London. In particular, London hosts greatest financial institutions in the world, being a major contributor to the economy of United Kingdom. However, for the city to contribute to the UK economy, integrated policies to sustain international competitiveness must be guaranteed. The ability of the city to become internationally competitive requires large scale investment programs. The mayor and the GLA must ensure that there is integration of economic policy, training and skills, infrastructure, better housing, and environmental conservation policies to ensure its efficiency and success (Dimitriou 2007, p.247). The success of London also requires the utilization of all human talents. This is based on the fact that London hosts about 46 percent of all black and other minority groups. In addition, there is a need to put in place measures to address the cycles of poverty, as approximately, 41% of children in London live in poverty. The mayor and the GLA must put in place measures to address poverty (Dimitriou, 2007, p. 247). For about five years of its existence, GLA has achieved most of its development priorities. Some of the successes include the publishing of the London Plan. The London plan provides a well laid down strategy on the direction of the capital. For example, a 10 billion pounds investment in transport has been put in place to avail a modern transport system for the Londoners. In addition, bus use has also increased in London since the GLA began its operations in the city; bus use has increased by one third since 1998. Other developments include the congestion charge which has eased the congestion in the city by 30 percent and increased the police patrol since 2001 (about 8000 policemen have been added to the security system), establishment of a three-year childcare program, and the selection of London to host the 2012 Olympic Games. The record of successes of GLA can be enhanced further if the mayor and the other staff of GLA are given additional powers to help them deliver quality and better living standards for Londoners (Hall, 1997, p.72). Housing There is a growing need for more houses in London that are affordable to the majority of the population. In the past, there have been challenges of constructing more houses to meet the demands of all Londoners. At the present, the responsibility of public housing investment lies with the London Housing Board. The mayor is, however, not included in the decision-making process. Key mayoral strategies concerning housing in the city risk to be neglected if the office is not given the powers to contribute to the decision-making process. It is important to note that London housing needs can only be achieved and implemented in conjunction with the Mayor’s London Plan (Hall, 1997, p.72). As regards skills development, the current Learning and Skills Councils (LSC) have failed in implementing their policies. Their lack of success has been necessitated by their complex and disconnected structures, which only lead to skills wastage and duplication. GLA should be given the responsibility to develop appropriately skilled people relevant for the growing London economy. Waste Management and Waste Planning London’s waste management problems are numerous and require immediate intervention from the mayor and the GLA. However, the implementation of municipal waste management strategy is not efficient, because the mayor does not have the powers to deliver the waste management priorities. The GLA and the mayor see waste as a resource for new, green industries but not as a problem that cannot be tackled. The mayor recommends the creation of a Single Waste Authority as part of GLA, which will be in charge of treatment and disposal of wastes in the city (Hall, 1997, p. 92). Students’ opinions concerning Mayor’s environmental conservation policies in London One of the main GLA environmental policies in London is policy 4A.7. It aims at reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by using renewable energy sources such as biomass, wind energy, solar energy, cooling and electricity generating plants, and hydrogen fuel cells (Imrie, 2009, p.6). Students at Greenwich School of Management believe that the mayor’s policy on green energy will reduce global warming. The students note that the effect of global warming has affected the lives of human beings because of several disasters such as floods, droughts and hurricanes that have killed several people. The adoption of the green energy will prevent the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere; carbon dioxide has been linked to the depletion of ozone layer, which is important for the survival of mankind. Nitrogen oxides which are produced when electricity is generated through the burning of fossil fuels combine with other chemicals to produce ozone smog. Ozone smog and nitrogen oxides have irritating effects to the lungs; they have also been said to be causing diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia. The students believe that the elimination of nitrogen oxides by using green energy will help reduce the number of deaths arising due to pneumonia and bronchitis. Further, the students believe that green energy sources will be cost-effective to most people. Green energy is affordable and appropriate for use in cooking and for the country’s energy needs. If money is invested in cheap energy sources, living standards of most people can be improved. Health complications that arise due to carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide fuels such as cancer can be eliminated. Greenwich School of Management students believe that air pollution will be reduced by the use of green energy sources. Air pollution is responsible for diseases such as asthma. In addition, air pollution has been linked to premature deaths of the elderly and the children as well as people with lung diseases. Consequently, the students believe that sulfur oxides are responsible for acid rain. Sulfur oxides are generated when electricity is produced through the burning of coal. Acid rain makes water bodies acidic thereby affecting both plant and animal life. Conclusion The generation of green energy and its distribution in London is important in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, green energy will help tackle climate change, which has become one of the greatest dangers affecting the quality of life in the world. The city of London is also challenged by high rates of fuel poverty because there is a growing need to ensure energy security for the capital businesses. The mayor of London has a statutory responsibility to contribute to the production of renewable energy sources. To do their duties effectively, the GLA and the mayor must have additional powers and resources to deliver their duties. In particular, GLA should be granted the ability to influence energy efficiency expenditure. The effective fulfilment of statutory duties concerning environmental management requires the provision of stronger mayoral powers. The mayor must be given authority and powers in areas concerning waste management, skills, planning and housing. The powers in these sectors would ensure that the mayor and the GLA staff contribute to the sustainable development in United Kingdom. Reference list Andrew, W., Duncan, W., Jessica, N., and James, F., 2008. Key actions to reduce waste in London: Final report to the Greater London Authority. Bristol: Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd. Dimitriou, H., 2007. Strategic planning for regional development in the UK. London: Taylor & Francis. Dow, J., 2009. Rubbish in resource out: Design ideas for waste facilities in London, London: Greater London Authority. Greater London Authority, 2009. Leading to a greener London: an environment programme for the capital. London: Greater London Authority. Greater London Authority, 2010. The Mayor’s vision for London, London: Greater London Authority. Hall, W., 1997. The Greater London Authority; Principles and organizational structure, London: Institute For Public Policy Research. Imrie, R., 2009. Regenerating London: Governance, sustainability and community. London: Taylor & Francis. Read More