Thinking about the food-water-energy (FWE) nexus, it’s only normal some questions may arise: Where does self-sufficiency fit in? Can it be measured?
To quote the film Jurassic Park, “Life finds a way”. Nature functions on the principle of balance. Disrupt an ecosystem and it
The 15-Minute City concept is a more and more widely used approach to redefine urban daily life in neighbourhoods and make cities more attractive and climate resilient. Still, many questions on priorities and implementation of proximity urbanism need further discussion.
The integrated modelling framework developed by SUNEX analyses alternative development pathways, showing the impacts on the supply and demand for food, water and energy different scenarios. The project offers decision-makers a set of policy guidelines that produce “win-win” outcomes that fight climate change and make urban food, water and energy systems more efficient.
In the fight against climate change, combining Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI) planning strategies with urban systems integration is a promising strategy for reducing carbon emissions and waste production whilst strengthening cities’ ecosystem services. The IFWEN project fills an important knowledge gap by demonstrating which types of GBI and ecoservice are connected, as well as showing policy makers how GBI can be used as an instrument for transformative change.
Building on more than 30 published academic papers and extensive modelling the METABOLIC project proves possible energy- and water gains from treating food, water and energy as interrelated systems and delivers recommendations to policy makers on national as well as local level in Brazil, Taiwan and Japan.
Combining data and modelling with an ethnographic approach, the ENLARGE project demonstrates why a nexus approach to urban heating (integrating energy and water systems) can decrease reliance on oil and gas, increase energy security, and mitigate risks such as water stress and social conflict. Project outputs include an optimisation model that determines which heat technologies produce the lowest carbon emissions and provides relevant data for decision-making at the neighbourhood scale and determining city level emissions.
What are the benefits of targeting food in the food-water-energy nexus? Is is time to govern these resources differently in cities? The Creating Interfaces project has carried out international research on how food, energy and water systems interact (as a nexus) in three cities: Slupsk (Poland) Tulcea (Romania) and Wilmington (U.S.A). We met with Pia Laborgne and Iulian Nichersu to learn from their popular results.
Our second year under the Covid pandemic comes soon to an end and we are still stuck between online meetings and some first opportunities to meet again onsite, exploring ways of how to establish a new normal of transnational cooperation. At the same time the attention on climate neutral, inclusive, and regenerative cities has been growing this year.