A political–industrial ecology of water supply infrastructure for Los Angeles

Cousins, Joshua J.; Newell, Joshua P.

doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2014.10.011

Cited by 79 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…This research is even younger (80% of papers published since 2010) and dominated by scholars in the field of IE who deploy UM modeling to quantify material and energy stocks and flows. Although IE UM has significantly advanced knowledge in the area of urban environmental burdens (Kennedy et al 2007), these approaches have been largely static, insensitive to multi-sectoral interactions and weak on socio-economic and political analyses (Swyngedouw 2006, Newell andCousins 2015). Some of these 'metabolists' are themselves skeptical that simply reporting UM parameters had salience for policy (Kennedy et al 2011), since underlying demand-drivers and related governance levers are indeed black-boxed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 40-year review of food–energy–water nexus literature and its application to the urban scale

Newell

Goldstein

Foster

2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

145

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Essential for society to function, the production and consumption of food, energy, and water (FEW) are deeply intertwined, leading to calls for a nexus approach to understand and manage the complex tradeoffs and cascading effects. What research exists to date on this FEW nexus? How have scholars conceptualized these interactions at the urban scale? What are some promising approaches? Where are the research gaps? To answer these questions, we conducted a quantitative review of the academic literature on the FEW nexus (1399 publications) over more than four decades , followed by in-depth analysis of the most influential papers using an evaluation matrix that examined four components: 1) modeling approach; 2) scale; 3) nexus 'trigger'; and 4) governance and policy. Scholars in the fields of environmental science predominated, while social science domains were underrepresented. Most papers used quantitative rather than qualitative approaches, especially integrated assessment and systems dynamics modeling although spatial scale was generally recognized, explicit consideration of multi-scalar interactions was limited. Issues of institutional structure, governance, equity, resource access, and behavior were also underdeveloped. Bibliometric analysis of this literature revealed six distinct research communities, including a nascent urban FEW community. We replicated the analysis for this urban group, finding it to be just emerging (80% of papers have been published since 2010) and dominated by scholars in industrial ecology. These scholars focus on quantifying FEW flows of the urban metabolism in isolation rather than as a nexus, largely ignoring the political and socio-economic factors shaping these flows. We propose the urban FEW metabolism as a boundary object to draw in diverse scholarly and practitioner communities. This will advance research on complex FEW systems in four key areas: (1) integration of heterogeneous models and approaches;(2) scalar linkages between urban consumption and trans-boundary resource flows;(3) how actors and institutions shape resource access, distribution and use; and (4) co-production of knowledge with stakeholders.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 40-year review of food–energy–water nexus literature and its application to the urban scale

Newell

Goldstein

Foster

2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

145

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“…Recent drought in California during the 21st century [ Mann and Gleick , ; Ayars , ] has indicated the need for improved scientific understanding and monitoring of snow in this state. Drought in the Los Angeles region is currently a source of concern for the population in this area since a stable supply of water is required for human use and consumption [ Cousins and Newell , ]. Much of the water supply of agriculture‐producing state Idaho is derived from snowmelt, leading Abramovich [] to refer to snow as “Idaho's frozen liquid gold.” In a similar fashion, snow is considered to be “white gold” in California [ Roos , ] and “houille blanche” (white coal) in France [ Landry , ], respectively, indicating the importance of snow to agriculture and hydroelectric power generation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement of the physical properties of the snowpack

Kinar

Pomeroy

2015

Reviews of Geophysics

196

202

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This paper reviews measurement techniques and corresponding devices used to determine the physical properties of the seasonal snowpack from distances close to the ground surface. The review is placed in the context of the need for scientific observations of snowpack variables that provide inputs for predictive hydrological models that help to advance scientific understanding of geophysical processes related to snow in the near-surface cryosphere. Many of these devices used to measure snow are invasive and require the snowpack to be disrupted, thereby precluding the possibility for multiple measurements to be made at the same sampling location. Moreover, many devices rely on the use of empirical calibration equations that may not be valid at all geographic locations. The spatial density of observations with most snow measurement devices is often inadequate. There is a need for improved automation of snowpack measurement instrumentation with an emphasis on field-based feedback of measurement validity in lieu of postprocessing of samples or data at a lab or office location. The scientific future of snow measurement instrumentation thereby requires a synthesis between science and engineering principles that takes into consideration geophysics and the physics of device operation.

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“…The contested points mainly focus on the real existence of controls, information-mediated feedback cycles, or evolutionary mechanisms, as shown in several studies [71][72][73]. We are also aware that industrial ecology assessment takes little account of the social, historical, and political processes and dynamics reshaping urban metabolisms [74]. Political-industrial ecology analyses offer valuable and novel insights into the relationship between the society, policy and nature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability and Chinese Urban Settlements: Extending the Metabolism Model of Emergy Evaluation

et al. 2016

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Anthropogenic activity interacts with urban form and inner metabolic processes, ultimately impacting urban sustainability. China's cities have experienced many environmental issues and metabolic disturbances since the nation-wide market-oriented "reform and opening-up" policy was adopted in the 1980s. To analyze urban reform policy impacts and metabolism sustainability at a settlement scale, this study provides an integrated analysis to evaluate settlement metabolism and sustainability using a combination of emergy analysis and sustainability indicators based on scrutiny of two typical settlements (one pre-and one post-reform). The results reveal that housing reform policy stimulated better planning and construction, thereby improving built environmental quality, mixed functional land use, and residential livability. The pre-reform work-unit settlements are comparatively denser in per capita area but have less mixed land use. Housing reform has spatially changed the work-housing balance and increased commuting travel demand. However, short commuting distances in pre-reform settlements will not always decrease overall motor vehicle usage. Integrating non-commuting transport with local mixed land-use functional planning is a necessary foundation for sustainable urban design. Functional planning should provide convenient facilities and infrastructure, green space, and a suitable household density, and allow for short travel distances; these characteristics are all present in the post-reform settlement.

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A political–industrial ecology of water supply infrastructure for Los Angeles

Cited by 79 publications

References 86 publications

A 40-year review of food–energy–water nexus literature and its application to the urban scale

A 40-year review of food–energy–water nexus literature and its application to the urban scale

Measurement of the physical properties of the snowpack

Sustainability and Chinese Urban Settlements: Extending the Metabolism Model of Emergy Evaluation

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