Network governance and the Urban Nexus of water, energy, and food: lessons from Amsterdam

Covarrubias, Moises; Spaargaren, Gert; Boas, Ingrid

doi:10.1186/s13705-019-0196-1

Cited by 19 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Firstly, the existence of a common goal beyond cross-sector efficiency, such as mitigating climate change in LA, is an important driver of WEN governance. This confirms the results of [31], who also noted the importance of the broader goal of decarbonization in the emergence of water-energy nexus governance in Amsterdam. The LA case also highlight the significance of common evaluation criteria, which further illustrates how the existence of performance-based indicators are important factors for encouraging policy coordination [108].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…In addition to the system benefits brought about by the unintended policy integration, in Amsterdam as well, institutional flexibility has proven to be a key factor for improving WEN governance [31]. In our case studies, institutional flexibility means that institutional activities conducted by WEN stakeholders at different levels are an important mechanism for successful WEN governance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Of the cross-national comparative studies that do exist, most focus on European countries [22] or at the broad national level in countries of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development [30]. At the same time, there have been only a few empirical studies on WEN governance [31,32].…”

Section: Conceptual Framework: Environmental Policy Integration and Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Level of Inter-Sectoral Policy Integration for Governance in the Water–Energy Nexus: A Comparative Study of Los Angeles and Beijing

et al. 2020

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As concerns around water scarcity and energy security increase, so too has interest in the connections between these resources, through a concept called the water–energy nexus. Efforts to improve the integration of water and energy management and to understand their cross-sector relevance are growing. In particular, this paper develops a better empirical understanding on the extent to which governance settings hinder and/or enable policy coherence between the water and energy sectors through a comparative analysis of two case studies, namely, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, and the city of Beijing, China. This paper examines the extent to which the institutional context enables policy coordination within (vertically) and between (horizontally) the water and energy sectors in Beijing and Los Angeles. To do so, we propose a framework for analyzing policy integration for the water energy nexus based on environmental policy integration (EPI). The results highlight the multiple and flexible approaches of EPI in nexus governance, not least with regards to horizontal and vertical policy integration, but also in terms of explicit (i.e., intended) and implicit (i.e., unintended) coordination. The level of nexus-focused policy integration is highly dependent on the motivation at the local context and the criteria to evaluate policy success in each sector.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Conceptual Framework: Environmental Policy Integration and Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Level of Inter-Sectoral Policy Integration for Governance in the Water–Energy Nexus: A Comparative Study of Los Angeles and Beijing

et al. 2020

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“…However, such code and coding still deserve further development on closing physical and social distances, not only within the food network (through its processes) but between the WEF (nexus) dimensions through every process of food provisioning in Barcelona. It might be that other European cities than just Barcelona do not yet actively engage with WEF domains in their food policy and decision-making. Yet, effective and sustainable governance of urban food provisioning in these cities, as in this case Barcelona, would profit from integrating more cross-sectorial thinking and practices among practitioners, and policy and decision-makers from WEF domains (Artioli et al 2017;Covarrubias et al 2019). An effective level for action and innovation to address (un)sustainable practices of WEF connections would for instance be through a coordinating body similar to the Food Council as in the case of Barcelona.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bazilian et al 2011;Howells et al 2013;Nair et al 2014;Endo et al 2015;Daher and Mohtar 2015;Chen and Chen 2016;Smajgl et al 2016;Tevar et al 2016). Nevertheless, the urban level of the nexus has received less attention in the literature when compared to the regional and national levels (for recent calls see Artioli et al 2017;Covarrubias 2018;Covarrubias et al 2019), just as food in the city has received less attention as compared to water and energy domains (Morgan 2009;Sonnino 2009). Understanding the WEF urban nexus of flows in the city, therefore, deserves further exploration.…”

Section: Background: a Wef Urban Nexus Perspective In Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The making of a sustainable food city in Barcelona: insights from the water, energy, and food urban nexus

Covarrubias

Boas

2019

Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences

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This paper examines the making of urban sustainable food provisioning through the case of Barcelona. Barcelona is seeking to develop a more sustainable food system. It aims to green its municipal food markets by reducing the distances from which the food is sourced from. This has been labelled by the city of Barcelona as "proximity food". We shed light on how, and to what extent, proximity food contributes to making the city more sustainable. To frame our analysis, we employ concepts from networks and flows as developed in sociology by Manuel Castells. We examine the provisioning processes that proximity food goes through before they enter retail markets. This includes an analysis of connections with urban energy and water flows. This so-called water, energy and food Urban Nexus, which we argue to be a key factor in the greening of urban food systems. This means that sustainability of food is not just determined by physical distances between its provisioning processes per se but by the specific ways in which food flows relate to connections (both physical and social) with energy and water. ARTICLE HISTORY

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The influence of COVID‐19 on modes of governance for climate change—Expert views from the Netherlands and the UK

et al. 2022

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While the world is still in the grasp of COVID‐19, countries are contemplating how to get their economies back on their feet. With a unique opportunity to do so in a sustainable manner, there is an urgent need to revisit the governance of climate change. Opportunities are clearly there: the resurgence in top‐down policies in the pandemic might spill‐over to climate governance; green economic stimuli might cause an increase in market‐based approaches; or an increased focus on solidarity, inclusion and collective buy‐in may drive more inclusive network‐based governance. Using the classic trichotomy of hierarchy, market and network governance, we have analysed the findings of 60 interviews with expert representatives from government, industry and third sector parties in the UK and the Netherlands. Their consideration of the key policies and measures needed to help the transition forward point towards a clear desire for a more hierarchical approach. In addition, mixing the three approaches, especially market and hierarchy, is considered the best way forward.

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Network governance and the Urban Nexus of water, energy, and food: lessons from Amsterdam

Cited by 19 publications

References 23 publications

Assessing the Level of Inter-Sectoral Policy Integration for Governance in the Water–Energy Nexus: A Comparative Study of Los Angeles and Beijing

Assessing the Level of Inter-Sectoral Policy Integration for Governance in the Water–Energy Nexus: A Comparative Study of Los Angeles and Beijing

The making of a sustainable food city in Barcelona: insights from the water, energy, and food urban nexus

The influence of COVID‐19 on modes of governance for climate change—Expert views from the Netherlands and the UK

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