Local Public Authorities Research Articles

Urban Policy Sustainability through a Value-Added Densification Tool: The Case of the South Boston Area

Over the past decade, urban density has been growing faster than ever, forcing high-density expansion. The aim of this study is to verify whether urban density is accepted as a sustainable value-added quality, internalized in the willingness to pay on a buildable per square feet basis. To explore the relationship between land prices and densification processes, this study focused on a low-density area, which recently went through a densification policy process with the approval of a new zoning tool. The study analyzes land price trends on a 144-Acre of area, located in the South Boston Submarket, identified as the Dorchester Ave Area. I analyzed land transactions in this area between 2012 and 2021. I also examined land price variations before and after the approval of a densification plan in correlation with the overall trend of the real estate market in that area. The results suggest that density is a value-added feature that affects land prices. Indeed, a higher density leads to higher values per buildable square feet. Densification policies have a strong positive impact on land transaction prices. Community and developers valued density with a greater willingness to pay, internalizing the economic, social, and environmental sustainability benefits. This phenomenon should be taken into consideration by local public authorities implementing their zoning tools.

Overcoming the Challenges of Sustainable Family Agriculture in Southern Brazil: Contributions to the 2030 Agenda

Concerning sustainability and food production, efforts are made by social, political, and environmental actors to enact changes in production and consumption patterns and adopt new management models and instruments. Hunger, waste, poor distribution of food, and low diversity affect many countries, and small family farmers are abandoning their activities due to the challenges which minimize the possibilities of contemplating SDG 12. Local production and SDG 12 favor access to safe and cheaper food, thereby encouraging food security and minimizing food waste. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with the participation of local actors in 16 municipalities in southern Brazil. The study took a qualitative research approach and content analysis was used as a mode of investigation. It was then possible to provide assistance to the decision-making process of local and regional public authorities in terms of development to support sustainable production and consumption. This study highlights the contribution of family agriculture to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), specifically SDG 12. The study presents guidelines and means of implementation for a more sustainable family agriculture, as well as attributes to the challenges of the sector. With this approach, it was possible to connect the problem with the solutions, classifying them by thematic axes.

ЕКОНОМІЧНІ ІНТЕРЕСИ ДЕРЖАВИ ТА ІНШИХ СУБ’ЄКТІВ І СТЕЙКХОЛДЕРІВ У РОЗВИТКУ СПОРТИВНО-ОЗДОРОВЧОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ

Recently, the problem of ensuring the proper state of human health has been increasing. Most scientists perform substantiation and experimentation with sports rehabilitation programs to improve the population's health. This provokes a growing demand for sports and health services among the people. The majority of economic entities in the process of excessive demand for sports and health services found a financial interest in their provision. That is why, in current business conditions, the study of the essence of the concept of "economic interests", and the determination of their importance for the state and other subjects and stakeholders in the development of sports and health activities in Ukraine are pretty relevant. 
 The essence of the concept of "economic interests" was studied, and their importance for the state and other subjects and stakeholders in the development of sports and health activities in Ukraine was determined. It was determined that "economic interest" includes action, motive, the satisfaction of needs, and awareness of necessity. The author's position is expressed that economic interest is a motive and incentive for steps to obtain financial benefits from the provision of sports and health services and social effects. It was emphasized that economic benefits are received by business entities that provide sports and health services and the state in the form of taxes and fees.
 Stakeholders were systematized according to the level of importance and influence for the development of sports and health activities in Ukraine. It was determined that stakeholders should be systematized according to the level of significance and power for developing sports and health activities in Ukraine into primary and secondary. The main ones include stakeholders with high importance and influence (individuals and legal entities; the state; public administration bodies). Secondary stakeholders with a high level of influence and a low level of importance (local public authorities, public organizations), stakeholders with a low level of power, but a high level of significance (owners of enterprises, institutions, organizations providing sports and health services; scientific and educational institutions; investment companies), stakeholders with a low level of influence and a low level of importance (information centers (platforms), financial organizations).

Subjective Welfare and Local Government Public policies

Recientemente ha tomado fuerza la idea de adoptar medidas de bienestar subjetivo para propósitos de política pública. En este estudio se muestran los resultados de dos mediciones diferentes en el Área Metropolitana de Barranquilla (Colombia). Se estudia la asociación del bienestar subjetivo con las características personales, del hogar y del entorno. Se discute el concepto de bienestar, su relación con el concepto de felicidad, y a partir de los elementos normativos que los caracterizan se discute la pertinencia de estas medidas para el diseño de políticas públicas de los gobiernos locales. Se hace énfasis en la importancia de hacer explícito el criterio de bienestar usado y sus características normativas.

The Nutritional Quality of Kids' Menus from Cafés and Restaurants: An Australian Cross-Sectional Study.

Australian families increasingly rely on eating foods from outside the home, which increases intake of energy-dense nutrient-poor foods. ‘Kids’ Menus’ are designed to appeal to families and typically lack healthy options. However, the nutritional quality of Kids’ Menus from cafes and full-service restaurants (as opposed to fast-food outlets) has not been investigated in Australia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional quality of Kids’ Menus in restaurants and cafés in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. All 787 cafes and restaurants located within the East Metropolitan Health Service area were contacted and 33% had a separate Kids’ Menu. The validated Kids’ Menu Healthy Score (KIMEHS) was used to assess the nutritional quality of the Kids’ Menus. Almost all Kids’ Menus (99%) were rated ‘unhealthy’ using KIMEHS. The mean KIMEHS score for all restaurants and cafés was −8.5 (range −14.5 to +3.5) which was lower (i.e., more unhealthy) than the mean KIMEHS score for the top 10 most frequented chain fast-food outlets (mean −3.5, range −6.5 to +3). The findings highlight the need for additional supports to make improvements in the nutritional quality of Kids’ Menus. Local Government Public Health Plans provide an opportunity for policy interventions, using locally relevant tools to guide decision making.

АКТИВІЗАЦІЯ ГРОМАДСЬКОЇ УЧАСТІ В УПРАВЛІННІ РОЗВИТКОМ ОБ’ЄДНАНИХ ТЕРИТОРІАЛЬНИХ ГРОМАД

Proposals for the organization of effective communicative activities of local governments in the implementation of the united territorial communities (UTC) development process, where the leading role is played by civic education, civil society institutions and the media, providing dialogue between government and public on the basis of contractual partnership. The need for social democratization is based on reasonable initiative of citizens in decision-making by the authorities and leads to the delegation of powers to the public, thus not creating a conflict between UTC residents and local authorities. There is no universal or normative model of the relationship between local public authorities and the public that would be acceptable to UTC. To build a viable UTC requires the participation of all institutions of civil society in solving humanitarian, socio-economic, political and legal challenges in the rational use of community resources to provide cost-effective and high-quality social services through citizen participation in government decisions while ensuring the interests of different social population groups and non-political representation of the promotion of these interests. The stages of the public participation analysis in the association and development of the territorial community, which ensure effective cooperation between local authorities and the public, are based on community initiative in decision-making and provide for delegation of power to UTC residents.

Status and use of water supply and sewerage systems in the Northern Development Region of the Republic of Moldova

Water is an important resources for evolution and development of the economy of the North Development Region of the Republic of Moldova. From its availability and facilities to supply depend over 909 ths. inhabitants or 25% of the country population. The most important water resources are surface water that are represented mainly by the Dniester and the Prut rivers situated at the borders of the pilot region as well as groundwater. Internal rivers are characterized by low flow and do not represent significant resources. Surface water resources lead to decrease for the last decades due to different factors including reservoirs impact as well as climate change. Development of water supply and especially water sewerage system is an important factor in order to assure people and industries with water and qualitative life. In this regard, plus to evaluation of water resources dynamics, the aim of the present research is regional and local assessment of the state and use of public water supply and sanitation systems in the mentioned region for the last decade (2010-2020). Thus, total volume of abstracted water for public water supply systems was, on average, 18.8 mil. m³. For the study period, the total volume of water delivered to the population increased by 1.8 times (4.1 mil. m3), including in rural areas by 4.5 times (by 2.6 mil. m³), and in urban areas, by only 35 % (1.6 mil. m³). As a result of the expansion of the aqueduct network, ≈½ (48%) of the population of region has access to public water supply systems, including 83% in urban areas and only 31% in rural areas. Despite the rapid expansion of public aqueducts, water consumption per capita is low and is only 71 l/day, including 84 l/ day in urban areas and only 53 l/day in rural areas. Population access to the public sewerage systems is only 19%, including 55% in the urban areas and only 0.3% − in the rural areas. Slow expansion of the public sewerage systems is caused by higher costs compared to water supply systems, and most local public authorities do not consider them as a priority.

The Effect of Social Security Coverage on U.S. State and Local Government Public Pension Plan Funding

Approximately a quarter of U.S. state and local workers’ pension plans are not covered by Social Security. This is problematic and sometimes surprising for many public sector workers, who may receive limited or no Social Security benefits upon retirement due to insufficient or no contributions paid into the system throughout their careers. While non-covered public pension plans are legally obliged to provide a comparable degree of coverage, the lack of a de-facto partial federal guarantee on pension funding has interesting implications explored in this paper. We find that pension plans not covered by Social Security have lower funded ratios and are more volatile due to greater dependence on potentially more aggressive plan investments, assumptions, and performance. We also find that the funded ratio deteriorates over time for both types of plans, and this deterioration might be faster for Social Security covered plans.

Are public administrations the only ones responsible for organizing the administration of green spaces within the localities? An assessment of the perception of the citizens of Constanta municipality in the context of sustainable development

The sustainable management of green spaces in urban localities is a major challenge for Romania's big cities. In terms of urban development, local public administrations are developing guidance and regulatory documents, one of the key elements of urban planning being the green urban infrastructure. Thus, the local public administration authorities have the obligation to keep track of the green spaces on the territory of administrative units by establishing local registers of the green spaces within the built-up areas of the localities, which must be correlated with the provisions of general urban plans and drafted urban planning regulations. The aim of this article is to capture the citizens’ perception of the manner in which the local public administration is preoccupied with the sustainable management of green spaces, in a context in which the legal provisions related to ensuring a green space area per capita are not complied with. Even though local public administration authorities are responsible for the sustainability measures in urban areas, given that the existence of green spaces is one of the important factors which define the quality of life, the involvement and participation of the community, of each citizen, as well as of all the entities present in this space is necessary.

Reconfiguring spaces in FARC’s demobilisation camps: the cases of Tierra Grata and Pondores, Colombia

After more than 50 years of civil war, the lack of a clear itinerary, unanticipated crises, and contingencies are seriously affecting the termination of the longest-lasting internal war in Latin America. The 2016 Peace Agreement signed between former guerrilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia–Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP) and the Colombian Government established the ex-combatants’ reinsertion into civilian life as key to the quest for pacification. Doubtlessly, after their demobilisation, the fighters’ relocation and reintegration posed major challenges in this ongoing path to conflict resolution. The fragile implementation process is accompanied by countless practical obstacles, severe political obstructions, and vital insecurity problems. From 2017 to 2020, we conducted ethnographic fieldwork in several demobilisation camps (Espacios Territoriales de Capacitación y Reincorporación or ETCR), including the collection and analysis of photos, videos, and documents. In this article, we reconstruct the landmarks in the reinsertion process by focusing on the modifications of the use, and the symbolic production of spaces in two of these camps. Our research illuminates they ways in which the ex-combatants reconfigure their personal and social space. The results demonstrate that self-initiated spatial reconfiguration practices play a crucial role in the ex-combatants’ reintegration into Colombian civil society. These changes are embedded in the interaction with adjacent local communities, public authorities and national or international institutions. Our case study yields insights for research on transitions from war to peace in cognate contexts.

Smart Infrastructures for Rural Areas - Best Practices and Suggested Actions for Moldova

Our research is devoted to stimulating the processes of adaptation of digital innovative concepts of "Smart Village" and the operation of smart infrastructure - spatial data, in order to contribute in rural economic development and improve economic situation in rural area. In paper we describes the potential for achieving synergy in rural areas, between the projects of the programs «National Fund for Regional Development» and «National Research and Development Program» (2020-2023), through the implementation of ArcGIS - ESRI best practices and approaches to ICT adoption based on programmatic approach. Finally, our research is devoted to the recommended activities proposed to public local authorities and to local initiative groups for the digital transformation of rural villages in Moldova. This article will discuss about these issues providing examples of good practices founded in the world.

Legal and institutional aspects that determine the dialog between public authorities and civil society organizations in the Republic of Moldova

CSOs are a key component of an open and democratic society as they play a key role in the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law, their dialogue with the public authorities being a precondition for this. By analyzing the development of dialogue between Moldovan CSOs and Central and Local Public authorities (CPA / LPA), I found that PA are not yet fully aware of the value of the dialogue, which is sporadic and guided by certain interests, that do not always coincide with the public interest. The key objective pursued by this research was to review the environment underlying activity and collaboration of the civil society from the standpoint of influence exerted by the internal and external factors that determine the core essence of the social environment, while paving and setting conditions for carrying out activities and collaboration between the civil society and public authorities. The paper aims to prove that more communication and collaboration between public authorities and civil society organizations, will likely result in a more inclusive, qualitative and focused act of governance. The author analyses and presents the existing decision-making systems and its consultation mechanisms with the civil society organizations in the Republic of Moldova, the existing opportunities for CSO’s involvement in the public policy making process and the actual practices. A number of research methods were used in the study, aimed at highlighting the particularities of the dialogue and cooperation between the public authorities (PA) and the CSOs, as part of the act of governance, studying the development over time and the influence of various social, economic and political factors on these processes.

Crisis communication, social media and natural disasters – the use of Twitter by local governments during the 2016 Italian earthquake

PurposeThe objective of this exploratory research is to investigate the role of Twitter in crisis communication by analysing all the earthquake-related messages from local public authorities in four Italian regions (Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche and Umbria) during the seismic sequence that began on 24th August 2016 and finished at the end of January 2017.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a manual data collection of earthquake-related tweets. Founded on a theoretical framework, the data analysis has been developed both through textual analysis and in-depth interpretation by two researchers to catalogue the messages according to identified categories.FindingsIt emerges that the affected Italian regions used Twitter only for information coverage without offering a complete and detailed picture of the disaster. Most of the tweets concerned daily statements by politicians or regional administrators engaged in crisis management, while an accurate selection of the topics and messages to be launched does not emerge, with significant implications on the effectiveness of the tweeting activity itself.Originality/valueThis paper aims to contribute to the literature on crisis communication and social media during a natural disaster, highlighting the criticalities shown by the Italian case studies. The originality of this study relates to the comparative examination of Twitter activities for four regional government bodies involved in the 2016 Italian earthquake.

Tendencies of developing dialogue between public administration and civil society organizations in the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Armenia

The dialogue and cooperation between the public administration and civil society organizations in the three Eastern Partnership states - the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Armenia has seen a positive, albeit rather slow, development since the declaration of independence of these states until now. During this period, some interesting and effective models of dialogue and collaboration between public administration and civil society organizations were developed. The results of the research show that in institutions / communities where this dialogue is valued at its fair value, the community benefits from effective governance, focused on citizens’ issues, and the degree of interest and involvement of citizens in community affairs is higher compared to those communities where this dialog is missing. The dialogue between the public administration and civil society organizations in the three states is characterized by a low level of trust between representatives of the authorities and those of civil society organizations. National legislation in all 3 states provides for certain forms of public consultation, involvement of citizens and civil society organizations in governance processes. However, local public authorities do not have the institutional capacity to organize and maintain this dialogue, at least to the extent required by national law. In all three countries, civil society organizations face severe funding shortfalls. This does not allow them to develop organizational departments that would monitor the quality of implementation of national and local public policies.

MILITARY ENGINEER CAPABILITIES PARTICIPATING TO OPERATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE LOCAL AND CENTRAL AUTHORITIES IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. PRESENT AND FUTURE

Climate change over the last two decades, coupled with the health crisis caused by the SARS COV-2 virus, requires central and local public authorities to involve all resources are available to preserve the health and life of the population, as well as for the protection of their material and cultural values.In addition to the fact that the Romanian Army performs support functions, it has unique capabilities whose use becomes indispensable for the management of civil emergencies.Compared to the tasks to be performed, in order to limit and eliminate the consequences caused by disasters, the military engineer structures in the Romanian Army represent the most adequate capability, by the fact that they are able to intervene in most situations. However, the military engineer capabilities must be constantly perfected and adapted so that they are able to respond to the new types of risks that may arise.

Evaluation of the Risk Induced by Soil Erosion on Land Use. Case Study: Guruslău Depression

Changes in land use, increasing of agricultural areas to the detriment of wooded ones, and poor management of agricultural land, along with the impact of current changes in the climate (reflected in the increase of the climate aggression index) makes soil erosion one of the main risks associated with improper land use, with a direct impact on its productivity and an indirect impact on human beings. The aim of this study is to assess the risk induced by surface soil erosion on land use, using as our main method of investigation the development of two models of integrated spatial analysis of the territory: a derived model of the universal soil loss equation (USLE) and a qualitative model that integrates the result of soil erosion assessment with the database representing the land use. This was carried out in order to highlight the impact on the territory. The spatial analysis models were developed on a structure of vector spatial databases, through which the soil type, soil texture, climate aggression coefficient, and land use were mapped, and alphanumeric databases, representing the market cost of land, in EUROs, that highlight the quality of cultivated land (in terms of productive economic potential). The induced risk estimation is based on a qualitative rating of soil erosion vulnerability on a scale from 1 to 5 (1-low vulnerability; 5-high vulnerability) and of the reduction of the economic value of the land (according to the vulnerability rating). The implemented methodology highlights the quantitative risk, with a maximum value of about 46.000 EUROs, spatially identified on large surfaces on the outskirts of the Jibou municipality. It is mainly caused by the impact of soil erosion on large areas of orchards, which provide necessary products for human consumption. The present methodology can be implemented on similar areas and can be used as a model of good practices in risk assessment based on financial losses by local public authorities.

Ciências da Natureza e Educação do Campo: reflexões formativas no âmbito do Programa “Escola da terra” da Amazônia Paraense

Este artigo objetiva refletir sobre a formação continuada e permanente estruturada, a partir do Programa Escola da Terra, e desenvolvido na experiência da Amazônia paraense com professores do campo que atuam em escolas multisseriadas. A metodologia ancorou-se em estudos bibliográficos na intenção de dialogar teoricamente acerca da Ciência da Natureza como área de conhecimento, bem como discutir sobre ciência e conhecimento científico na interlocução com os referenciais da Educação do Campo. A pesquisa de campo debruçou-se nas observações participantes e nos registros coletados em meio aos ciclos da formação em alternância da área de Ciência da Natureza, concretizadas no Tempo Universidade juntos aos professores do campo no ano de 2018. Os resultados apontam que as formações do Programa Escola da Terra têm problematizado a realidade das escolas multisseriadas junto ao poder público local, além de provocar e desafiar o trabalho dos professores para uma perspectiva da pedagogia da transgressão, em que há um repensar crítico sobre sua práxis sintonizada aos princípios da educação do campo.
 Palavras-chave: áreas de conhecimentos, interdisciplinaridade, formação continuada.
 
 Natural Sciences and Rural Education: reflections within the scope of the “Escola da Terra” Program
 ABSTRACT. This paper presents a reflection about continuing and permanent training, which is structured from the Escola da Terra Program and is developed in the experience of the Amazon region of Pará with field teachers who work in multigrade schools. The methodology was anchored in bibliographic studies. It sought to dialogue about Natural Science as an area of knowledge and discussed science and scientific knowledge in dialogue with the references of Rural Education. The field research focused on the participant observations and records collected during training cycles in the alternating Natural Science carried out at Tempo Universidade together with field teachers in 2018. The results indicate that the formations of the Escola da Terra Program have problematized the reality of multigrade schools with the local public authorities. In addition, they provoked and challenged the work of teachers towards a perspective of pedagogy of transgression, in which there is a critical rethinking of their praxis in tune with the principles of rural education.
 Keywords: fields of knowledge, interdisciplinarity, continuing education.
 
 Ciencias de la Naturaleza y Educación del Campo: reflexiones en el ámbito del Programa “Escola da Terra”
 RESUMEN. Este artículo busca reflexionar sobre la formación continuada y permanentemente estructurada, a partir del Programa Escola da Terra, desarrollado en base a la experiencia de la Amazonia (en el estado de Pará, Brasil), con profesores del campo que actúan en escuelas multigrado. La metodología se fundamentó en estudios bibliográficos con la intensión de dialogar teóricamente sobre la Ciencia de la Naturaleza como área de conocimiento, así como también, discutir sobre ciencia y conocimiento científico en interlocución con los referenciales de la Educación del Campo. La investigación en terreno se basó en observaciones participantes y en registros obtenidos en medio a los ciclos de formación en alternancia del área de la Ciencia de la Naturaleza, concretizadas en el Tiempo Universidad junto a los profesores del campo en el año de 2018. Los resultados apuntan a que las formaciones del Programa Escola da Terra han problematizado la realidad de las escuelas multigrado junto al poder público local, además de estimular y desafiar el trabajo de los profesores hacia una perspectiva de pedagogía de transgresión, donde hay un repensar crítico sobre su praxis, sintonizada a los principios de la educación del campo.
 Palabras clave: áreas de conocimientos, interdisciplinariedad, formación continuada.

Collision in land legislation, as a source of operational legislation: in the example of the republic of Tajikistan

This work is devoted to a comparative legal analysis of Articles 26 and 29 of the Land Code of the Republic of Tajikistan for the presence of conflicts between the content of their norms. The relevance of the chosen topic is caused by: a) a conflict in law is expressed as a defect that needs to be promptly corrected; b) competencies between central and local public authorities should be clearly delineated and not duplicate each other; c) from the point of view of legal theory and practice, the existence of conflicts in the system of law is unacceptable. The task of the work is to develop a draft law on amending Article 26 of the Land Code of the Republic of Tajikistan. The work uses an organic approach, which will allow us to consider law as a living organism. Based on the results of the study, it was revealed that there is a legal conflict between Articles 26 and 29 of the Land Code of the Republic of Tajikistan. The authors have developed a draft law “On Amending Article 26 of the Land Code of the Republic of Tajikistan”, which can be recognized as the result of the work.

The Reshaping of Romania's Social Security System in the Context of European Union Integration

This article makes reference to the effectiveness of the national social protection system, which depends on the efficiency of systems for redistributing income within a state, i.e. the efficiency of tax and social systems. The accession to the European Union (EU) was equivalent to the start of a new transition phase for the of development and social protection of Romania system. The current system of social protection can be characterized as a centralized one, even if the intentions of decentralization of responsibilities are pronounced while the financial capacities of local public authorities are strengthened. Romania has learned that EU policies are not always tailored to its size and that it has the possibility to negotiate them so that specific features and needs are better considered and covered.

Fiscal Pressure and Local Government Public Service Expenditure Bias: A Quasi-Natural Experimental Analysis Based on China's Large-Scale Tax Reduction

Fiscal Pressure and Local Government Public Service Expenditure Bias: A Quasi-Natural Experimental Analysis Based on China's Large-Scale Tax Reduction