ABSTRACT The topic of land-use pressures from wind power and second homes is crucial due to the significant challenges they pose to land use, biodiversity and wilderness areas. But the local legitimacy each kind of development enjoys, stemming to a large degree from the respective planning processes they go through, can be starkly different. This article investigates legitimacy and planning outcomes by comparing top-down and bottom-up planning processes for wind power and second homes development in a Norwegian municipality. The study employs energy justice theory, focusing on recognition, procedural, and distributive justice, and uses a comparative case study approach to analyse the planning processes and outcomes. The findings reveal that, compared to wind power development, second homes development is perceived as fairer and more beneficial for the local community. Second homes are perceived to provide local income, employment, and have positive economic ripple effects, while wind power projects are considered to mainly benefit national energy needs and owners of the plants. The top-down planning process for wind power leads to increased resistance and perceptions of unfairness, whereas the bottom-up approach for second homes is seen as more inclusive and legitimate. These differences, combined with local benefits of second homes development, helps to explain the widespread opposition to wind power development and the strong support for second homes in many municipalities, even though second homes development has resulted in the greatest loss of wilderness areas in Norway.

ABSTRACT The Shoe Dhoni fisherfolk community exemplifies a distinctive and resilient livelihood system centered around indigenous, shoe-shaped fishing crafts known as “Shoe Dhoni,” which serve as both mobile homes and tools for traditional fishing practices, such as shell collection. This research employs a case study approach with an ex post facto design, followed by a enumeration method, using mixed methods to investigate the socio-economic dynamics, historical evolution, and current challenges of the Shoe Dhoni fisherfolk in the Godavari Estuary, Andhra Pradesh, India. The study revealed that currently, 63 families maintain this heritage, living on 63 boats and facing mounting challenges from environmental changes, modernisation, and diminishing fishery resources that threaten their economic stability and way of life. Their unique adaptation to aquatic life, primarily reliant on bivalve and gastropod fishing, offers insights into the community’s resilience, socio-economic struggles, and strategies for sustaining their traditional livelihoods amidst changing conditions. The study results indicate that policy directions must focus on ensuring the cultural preservation and socio-economic resilience of heritage communities, such as the Shoe Dhoni fisherfolk in the Godavari Estuary, through integrated interventions that prioritise ecological conservation, livelihood diversification, gender inclusion, and the documentation and promotion of traditional knowledge. Key Policy Highlights Socio-economic empowerment and livelihood diversification to enhance economic resilience and reduce dependency on a single livelihood source. Inclusive governance and ecological co-management to ensure sustainable management of natural resources while empowering the “Shoe Dhoni” community.

ABSTRACT This mixed-methods research studies the perceptions and practices related to water consumption among social workers in Türkiye. It looks at the determinants that may influence water-saving behaviour and the potential of environmental education. Quantitatively, the results showed that according to the returned questionnaires completed by 395 social workers, significant differences were observed in terms of gender, age, marital status, parental influence, and water-saving training programmes; the female respondents, older respondents, and respondents with children were more active in water-saving practices. In-depth interviews with a purposive sample of ten social workers reinforced how personal experiences, family upbringing, and cultural values shape attitudes related to water conservation. Thematic analysis showed that early socialisation and direct exposure to water scarcity are key factors in promoting sustainable water behaviours. The combination of the quantitative and qualitative results highlights placing environmental education in the curriculum and post-qualifying education on the use of water as a resource in a sustainable manner. For this, future research should be carried out to identify the long-term effects of education concerning water conservation within social work practice.

ABSTRACT In northern cities, the long, dark winters shape everyday outdoor life in ways that are often overlooked in planning discourse. In Stockholm, Sweden, winters are less severe in terms of temperature and snow, but marked by prolonged darkness. Outdoor activity during those months is especially important for public health and wellbeing. Drawing on everyday sensibilities and inspired by affordance theory, this paper explores how residents of Botkyrka – a suburban municipality shaped by Sweden's modernist welfare planning – engage with snowy public spaces during the winter months and reflects on accessibility of recreation in winter. Through multi-seasonal observations and photographic documentation of footprints and informal activities, the paper examines the making of recreational spaces in snow-covered landscapes. The study shows that the “left-over” snowy ground, often overlooked in formal planning, become vital arenas for a spontaneous winter play and everyday recreation. These spaces support accessible outdoor activities, particularly for families whose routines are challenged by daylight limitations. The findings suggest that the legacy of generous green space from modernist welfare planning offers affordances for winter recreation, even as current urban planning trends towards densification put such spaces at risk. By foregrounding the daylight sensitive winter daily life, this paper argues for a more nuanced understanding of public space that includes the informal and temporal spaces for outdoor recreation. It calls for planning approaches that recognise ways in which people inhabit winter cities and stresses the importance of accessibility of open spaces for sustainable wellbeing albeit the contemporary compact city paradigm in planning.

ABSTRACT Energy poverty is a persistent barrier to socioeconomic development in Lesotho, especially in rural and remote communities. This study examines how political and social accountability shape energy access, focusing on interactions between public electricity providers, elected representatives, and community stakeholders. Using purposive sampling, the study captured the lived experiences of rural communities affected by inadequate electricity services. Findings reveal that ineffective political accountability, marked by unfulfilled promises and lack of oversight, undermines energy access. By contrast, social accountability initiatives, such as community-led electricity schemes and advocacy, emerge as promising mechanisms. The study concludes that bridging accountability gaps through a hybrid political–social accountability model can advance energy equity and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Policy interventions should therefore integrate community input and prioritise infrastructural investment to improve electricity access in rural Lesotho.

ABSTRACT In recent years, a vibrant debate on clean energy transition has emerged. In Greece while private investment in utility-scale renewable energy projects is promoted as the driver of decarbonisation, critical voices calling for energy democratisation come to the fore and the idea of Energy Community (EC) becomes increasingly popular. This paper aims to shed light on the under-investigated landscape of Greek ECs and explore its socially innovative features and potential to democratise energy systems. Drawing on social innovation theories and the notion of energy democracy, the paper examines to what extent and under which conditions does the EC instrument facilitate social innovation niche and contribute to a real just energy transition in Greece. Empirical evidence draws from: (1) legislative and regulation documents on decentralised energy; (2) semi-structured interviews with EC members; and (3) participant observation during the Pan-European EC gathering in Athens, 2023. Heterogeneity in the Greek EC landscape and spores of social innovation in ECs under study are traced, showing evidence of emerging energy system democratisation. Nevertheless, these developments run the risk of remaining anaemic in the context of neoliberal state policies that have cultivated the hegemony of profit-making ECs, thus largely distorting the original intention of the idea of energy community.

ABSTRACT This paper analyses human settlement development projects’ environmental and social impacts in the City of Ekurhuleni Municipality, South Africa. The socio-environmental impacts examined in this paper are noise pollution, safety and security, traffic congestion, waste management, water pollution, air pollution, ecological degradation, and land-use changes. Using qualitative data collected through traditional participatory research approaches, the study reveals that the increase in population in the Gauteng province, South Africa, has contributed to high demand for housing development projects, which further contributed to the continued expansion of residential areas in the City of Ekurhuleni Municipality. This new urban development has impacted the environment and social well-being of Ekurhuleni residents. The results revealed that current existing environmental policies are insufficient to tackle environmental and social impacts encountered while redressing spatial injustice, which contributed to unequal distribution of resources and opportunities in urban areas. Of particular concern is the absence of monitoring of projects once the construction of houses is completed and residents have occupied their homes. The results emphasised that without proper housing development plans, people will utilise open spaces to establish slums even though they are in a sensitive environment. The findings highlight the urgent need to understand the complex interplay between the sustainability of human settlements and spatial equality. Finally, the study results recommended the need to raise awareness among stakeholders to mitigate the environmental and social impacts of human settlement development projects in the City of Ekurhuleni Municipality.

ABSTRACT Housing accounts for approximately 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union, making it a key area for municipal climate policies. This paper examines the intersection of housing and environmental policies in three Finnish cities (Oulu, Tampere, Turku) and three German cities (Kiel, Mainz, Wiesbaden). Utilising data from policy documents and 49 interviews with local councillors, the study explores the perspectives on sustainability in municipal housing policy-making. The findings reveal that municipal housing policy often fails to holistically integrate the multiple dimensions of sustainability – ecological, social, economic, cultural, institutional and material-technological. Instead, political priorities, economic pressures and fragmented governance structures frequently lead to trade-offs and tensions between sustainability goals. A more long-term, visionary and politically conscious approach that integrates infrastructure, environment and services is needed to alleviate the tensions and achieve sustainable housing at the municipal level. The study provides insights into achieving such an approach to sustainable housing at the municipal level.

ABSTRACT The present study attempts to evaluate the transition of cooking and heating energy sources in Indian households and also identifies factors attributing to transition based on an NSSO survey of 2.76 lakh households using a multinomial logit model. We observed that the energy transition from firewood to clean fuel in Indian households follows the “fuel stacking theory” rather than the “energy ladder theory”. The results of the Multinomial Logit showed that income and wealth growth pushes households to use clean fuel; however, landholding and household size do the other way around. The study results justify and indicate the need for the Government’s subsidy-based clean fuel distribution policy. The study also outlines that the reduction of GHGs using traditional fuel may be counter by improving household livelihood and land productivity.

ABSTRACT With an emphasis on social justice and environmental sustainability, this systematic literature analysis evaluates how Pakistani plastic waste management solutions incorporate carbon financing mechanisms. This study emphasises the opportunities and problems that exist in developing nations through a thorough investigation of the literature on carbon finance and recycling operations. This study is innovative because it fills in the gaps in the literature on the fairness and environmental effects of carbon payment models, especially in Pakistan where waste management is complicated by socioeconomic factors. Our research shows that although carbon finance can improve regional environmental policy, there are major obstacles to implementation and equitable benefit distribution. One particular policy idea is to create a national framework for carbon credits that benefits vulnerable populations like informal garbage workers and encourages involvement from the public and private sectors. The study ends with evidence-based suggestions for future research and policymaking on sustainable waste management, with the goal of coordinating financial incentives with social justice and sustainability.