Receptivity to transformative change in the Dutch urban water management sector

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. de Graaf ◽  
R. J. Dahm ◽  
J. Icke ◽  
R. W. Goetgeluk ◽  
S. J. T. Jansen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Water System ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Urban Water System ◽  
Urban Water Systems

Worldwide, the need for transformative change in urban water management is acknowledged by scientists and policy makers. The effects of climate change and developments such as urbanization, the European Water Framework Directive, and societal concerns about the sustainability of urban water system force the sector to adapt. In The Netherlands, a shift towards integration of spatial planning and water management can be observed. Despite major changes in water management policy and approach, changes in the physical urban water management infrastructure remain limited to incremental solutions and demonstration projects. Policy studies show that institutional factors and professional perceptions are important factors for application of innovations in urban water management. An online survey among Dutch urban water management professionals demonstrates that according to most respondents, optimization of the current system is sufficient to achieve both European and national objectives for sustainable urban water management. The respondents are most concerned with the effects of climate change on urban water systems. In contrast to current policy of the national government, priority factors that should be addressed to achieve a more sustainable urban water system are improving knowledge of local urban water systems, capacity building, developing trust between stakeholders, and improving involvement of elected officials and citizens.

Adapting Cities to Climate Change: Institutional Change around Sustainable Urban Water Concepts in the City of Hamburg, Germany

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Hawxwell ◽  
Joerg Knieling
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Management Concepts ◽  
Urban Water Systems

<p>Diverse concepts have emerged in recent decades which (at least in their rhetoric) aim to instigate processes that make cities more resilient to climate change and support more sustainable urban development (Coaffee and Lee 2016; Hodson and Marvin 2017). With regards to urban water management, the Water-Sensitive City (WSC) is one such concept that promotes urban water planning to “protect, maintain and enhance the multiple benefits and services of the total urban water cycle that are highly valued by society” (Wong and Brown 2009, 674). The WSC, along with related integrated urban water management concepts have seen growing scholarly attention in recent years (see e.g. Fletcher et al. 2015). The emergence of such concepts reflects the growing demand for more sophisticated and integrated understanding and management of urban water systems. Such an ambitious model represents a broadening of the competencies and responsibilities of practitioners involved in water management and improved coordination with other urban sectors. Thus, such changes (must) typically coincide with changes amongst actors engaged directly or indirectly in water management, along with the prevailing institutional arrangements that govern their activities.</p> <p>Yet very little is known about processes of institutionalisation of such concepts within socio-technical regimes such as those that characterise urban water systems (Fuenfschilling and Truffer 2014). This paper aims to map processes of institutionalisation of concepts associated with the Water-Sensitive City amongst practitioners working in urban water management related fields in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The research explores changes in the institutional arrangements between 1990 and 2020.</p> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <p>Coaffee, J., and P. Lee. 2016. <em>Urban Resilience:</em> <em>Planning for Risk, Crisis and Uncertainty</em>. Macmillan International Higher Education.</p> <p>Fletcher, T. D., W. Shuster, W. F. Hunt, R. Ashley, D. Butler, S. Arthur, S. Trowsdale, et al. 2015. ‘SUDS, LID, BMPs, WSUD and More – The Evolution and Application of Terminology Surrounding Urban Drainage’. <em>Urban Water Journal</em> 12 (7): 525–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/1573062X.2014.916314.</p> <p>Fuenfschilling, L., and B. Truffer. 2014. ‘The Structuration of Socio-Technical Regimes - Conceptual Foundations from Institutional Theory’. <em>Research Policy</em> 43 (4): 772–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2013.10.010.</p> <p>Hodson, M., and S. Marvin. 2017. ‘Intensifying or Transforming Sustainable Cities? Fragmented Logics of Urban Environmentalism’. <em>Local Environment</em> 22 (sup1): 8–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2017.1306498.</p> <p>Wong, T. H. F., and R. R. Brown. 2009. ‘The Water Sensitive City: Principles for Practice’. <em>Water Science and Technology</em> 60 (3): 673–82. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2009.436.</p> <p> </p>

Sustainability of urban water system: examples from Fukuoka, Japan

Water Policy ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 501-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Czemiel Berndtsson ◽  
Kenji Jinno
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Reclaimed Water ◽  
Water System ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Urban Water System

Urban water management policy in Japan, with examples from Fukuoka city, is described and the potential for sustainability of Fukuoka's urban water system is discussed. A framework of the qualitative characteristics of a sustainable system (including social, environmental and economic factors) is developed and used in the analyses presented here. The Fukuoka example shows that technically advanced solutions for use of reclaimed water and rainwater in buildings can be practically and economically feasible. Regarding the organization it is shown that the wastewater sector has a somewhat lower status than the water sector. It is argued that merging the water and wastewater sectors could stimulate the development of a holistic approach to urban water management, contribute to increasing resources availability for the wastewater sector and, in this way, the overall sustainability of the urban water system. Tackling water shortages through controlling water demand, investments in increasing water distribution efficiency and utilization of reclaimed water and rainwater in Fukuoka are all in line with increasing sustainability of the urban water system.

scholarly journals Shaping More Sustainable Communities: a Case Study in Urban Water Management

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Robyn Moore
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Theory Of Constraints ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management ◽  
Urban Water Systems

<p>The motivation for this study was to consider how communities might take a more integrated and systematic approach to meeting the challenges of water management in New Zealand, and achieve more sustainable systems. The specific challenges facing a community pursuing sustainable urban water management objectives were examined and solutions sought and tested. Urban water systems, in particular, are under increasing pressure to meet the expectations of communities, with water managers required to articulate sensible management initiatives that secure water supplies and protect water for its intended use, now and in the future. Despite policy and regulation intended to advance outcomes and integrate efforts within the complex area of urban water management, fragmented approaches persist, while a pattern of decline in the quality of New Zealand's water resources remains a cause for concern. Nearly half of urban rates collected in New Zealand apply to water and wastewater management. Thus, this study is concerned with understanding the critical constraints to achieving healthier, more sustainable urban water systems that are affordable for New Zealand communities. The thesis demonstrates the methodology by focusing on Kapiti, a settlement north of Wellington, which has been debating and responding to water quality and security issues for more than a decade. Subsequent to a piloted investigation, a methodological framework was proposed, based on integrating three near complementary perspectives. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) was used with a Stakeholder Typology to identify system stakeholders, capturing and representing their perspectives with Intermediate Objective (IO), Current Reality Tree (CRT) and Prerequisite Trees (PRT), while Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) from Systems Dynamics were constructed with some participants to explore and circumvent potential negative outcomes. The combined framework provided a source of deep insights into the challenges, dilemmas, potential solutions and side effects facing resource managers and other stakeholders in an urban water system under pressure from population growth and climatic/topographical conditions. It is possible that the combined theoretical framework can be applied to other resource management cases. The use of the Stakeholder Typology to complement TOC provided a tactical element not routinely evident in systems studies, valuing the experiential and historical perspectives of those who might otherwise be treated as being outside the system, their perspectives marginalised or ignored. The TOC framework offered a logic-based means to identify and invalidate a critical assumption that peak demand would reduce to a level predicted by system managers. Further, the TOC tools were used to focus on and agree the set of conditions necessary to deal with the demand constraint and meet the system goal agreed by the stakeholder participants.</p>

A socio-technical model to explore urban water systems scenarios

2013 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 714-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fjalar J. de Haan ◽  
Briony C. Ferguson ◽  
Ana Deletic ◽  
Rebekah R. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Water System ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Water Drainage ◽  
Urban Water System ◽  
Societal Needs ◽  
Urban Water Systems ◽  
Technical Model

This article reports on the ongoing work and research involved in the development of a socio-technical model of urban water systems. Socio-technical means the model is not so much concerned with the technical or biophysical aspects of urban water systems, but rather with the social and institutional implications of the urban water infrastructure and vice versa. A socio-technical model, in the view purported in this article, produces scenarios of different urban water servicing solutions gaining or losing influence in meeting water-related societal needs, like potable water, drainage, environmental health and amenity. The urban water system is parameterised with vectors of the relative influence of each servicing solution. The model is a software implementation of the Multi-Pattern Approach, a theory on societal systems, like urban water systems, and how these develop and go through transitions under various internal and external conditions. Acknowledging that social dynamics comes with severe and non-reducible uncertainties, the model is set up to be exploratory, meaning that for any initial condition several possible future scenarios are produced. This article gives a concise overview of the necessary theoretical background, the model architecture and some initial test results using a drainage example.

scholarly journals Shaping More Sustainable Communities: a Case Study in Urban Water Management

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Robyn Moore
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Theory Of Constraints ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management ◽  
Urban Water Systems

<p>The motivation for this study was to consider how communities might take a more integrated and systematic approach to meeting the challenges of water management in New Zealand, and achieve more sustainable systems. The specific challenges facing a community pursuing sustainable urban water management objectives were examined and solutions sought and tested. Urban water systems, in particular, are under increasing pressure to meet the expectations of communities, with water managers required to articulate sensible management initiatives that secure water supplies and protect water for its intended use, now and in the future. Despite policy and regulation intended to advance outcomes and integrate efforts within the complex area of urban water management, fragmented approaches persist, while a pattern of decline in the quality of New Zealand's water resources remains a cause for concern. Nearly half of urban rates collected in New Zealand apply to water and wastewater management. Thus, this study is concerned with understanding the critical constraints to achieving healthier, more sustainable urban water systems that are affordable for New Zealand communities. The thesis demonstrates the methodology by focusing on Kapiti, a settlement north of Wellington, which has been debating and responding to water quality and security issues for more than a decade. Subsequent to a piloted investigation, a methodological framework was proposed, based on integrating three near complementary perspectives. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) was used with a Stakeholder Typology to identify system stakeholders, capturing and representing their perspectives with Intermediate Objective (IO), Current Reality Tree (CRT) and Prerequisite Trees (PRT), while Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) from Systems Dynamics were constructed with some participants to explore and circumvent potential negative outcomes. The combined framework provided a source of deep insights into the challenges, dilemmas, potential solutions and side effects facing resource managers and other stakeholders in an urban water system under pressure from population growth and climatic/topographical conditions. It is possible that the combined theoretical framework can be applied to other resource management cases. The use of the Stakeholder Typology to complement TOC provided a tactical element not routinely evident in systems studies, valuing the experiential and historical perspectives of those who might otherwise be treated as being outside the system, their perspectives marginalised or ignored. The TOC framework offered a logic-based means to identify and invalidate a critical assumption that peak demand would reduce to a level predicted by system managers. Further, the TOC tools were used to focus on and agree the set of conditions necessary to deal with the demand constraint and meet the system goal agreed by the stakeholder participants.</p>

scholarly journals Climate change in urban water system challenges: towards an integrated anticipatory approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Monardo ◽  
◽  
Claudia Mattogno ◽  
Tullia Valeria Di Giacomo ◽  
Luna Kappler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Water System ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Urban Water System ◽  
Green Corridors ◽  
Critical Aspects

The main goal of these reflections is to investigate and highlight innovative approaches in Climate Change driven policies, aimed at overcoming the waterfront cities’ critical aspects. The ‘River contracts’ experience, explored through two case studies in the Roman hydrographic basin, is conceived to tackle the increasing vulnerability of its territory, looking for a sensible attitude towards the integration of water systems, green corridors and open spaces, with actions to be planned and shared through participatory democracy’s steps. Anticipatory adaptation looks ahead to the project scenario trying to implement policies and strategies preventing potential disasters. Creative design and conscious management embracing different spatial scales play a crucial role in enhancing the anticipatory adaptation and resilience approach. The variety of trends, contexts and spatial scales highlights that it is definitively time for fostering the ‘adaptation approach’, supported by mitigation strategies, with a clear twofold aim: risks to be minimised and potential opportunities to be caught.

scholarly journals The limits to large scale supply augmentation: Exploring the crossroads of conflicting urban water system development pathways

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonatan Godinez Madrigal ◽  
Nora Van Cauwenbergh ◽  
Jaime Hoogesteger ◽  
Pamela Claure Gutierrez ◽  
Pieter van der Zaag
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Water System ◽  
Distribution Networks ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Development Pathway ◽  
Urban Water System ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Urban Water Systems

Abstract. Managers of urban water systems constantly make decisions to guarantee water services by overcoming problems related to supply-demand imbalances. A preferred strategy has been supply augmentation through hydraulic infrastructure development. However, despite considerable investments, many systems seem to be trapped in lackluster development pathways making some problems seem like an enduring, almost stubborn, characteristic of the systems: over-exploitation and pollution of water sources, distribution networks overwhelmed by leakages and non-revenue water, and unequal water insecurity. Because of these strategies and persistent problems, water conflicts have emerged, whereby social actors oppose these strategies and propose alternative technologies and strategies. This can create development pathways crossroads of the urban water system. To study this development pathway crossroads, we selected the Zapotillo conflict in Mexico where a large supply augmentation project for two cities experiencing water shortages is at stake. The paper concludes that urban water systems that are engaged in a trajectory characterized by supply-side strategies may experience a temporal relief but neglect equally pressing issues that stymie the human right to water in the medium and long run. However, there is not a straightforward, self-evident development pathway to choose from, only a range of multiple alternatives with multiple trade-offs that need to be thoroughly discussed and negotiated between the stakeholders. We argue that this development pathway crossroads can cross-fertilize technical disciplines such as socio-hydrology, and social disciplines based on hydrosocial studies, which both ambition to make their knowledge actionable and relevant.

Governance instruments for optimising source separation in novel urban water systems: the case of cross-connections in urban water systems

Water Policy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 412-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Ebert ◽  
Engelbert Schramm ◽  
Bingxiang Wang ◽  
Martina Winker
Keyword(s):  
Source Separation ◽  
Water System ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Phase Cooperation ◽  
Three Phase ◽  
Urban Water Systems ◽  
Cooperation Model ◽  
Governance Instruments

Abstract Using the three-phase cooperation model and analysing projects based on their cooperation demands in the planning, implementation and operation phases, this article answers three main questions for each of the above-mentioned phases: (i) How and between which systems do cross-connections occur? (ii) Which actors are involved in those phases? (iii) Who needs to participate in which type of governance to achieve a better, more structured process of cross-connection control? The article refers to the world's largest novel water system in the Chinese city of Qingdao where a Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) providing the treatment of greywater for domestic and landscape reuse for 12,000 inhabitants has been implemented. A systematic interdisciplinary analysis of cross-connections leads to the conclusion that the approach to source separation needs to be complemented by governance instruments. These governance instruments derived from the actors identified by the cooperation management approach comprise processes of deliberation and communication, qualification and certification, final approval and inspection, as well as learning and evaluation.

Realising sustainable urban water management: Can social theory help?

2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Bos ◽  
R. R. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
System Change ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management ◽  
Social Theories ◽  
Technical Systems

It has been acknowledged, in Australia and beyond, that existing urban water systems and management lead to unsustainable outcomes. Therefore, our current socio-technical systems, consisting of institutions, structures and rules, which guide traditional urban water practices, need to change. If a change towards sustainable urban water management (SUWM) practices is to occur, a transformation of our established social-technical configuration that shapes the behaviour and decision making of actors is needed. While some constructive innovations that support this transformation have occurred, most innovations remain of a technical nature. These innovative projects do not manage to achieve the widespread social and institutional change needed for further diffusion and uptake of SUWM practices. Social theory, and its research, is increasingly being recognised as important in responding to the challenges associated with evolving to a more sustainable form of urban water management. This paper integrates three areas of social theories around change in order to provide a conceptual framework that can assist with socio-technical system change. This framework can be utilised by urban water practitioners in the design of interventions to stimulate transitions towards SUWM.

scholarly journals Transformative Approaches for Sustainable Water Management in the Urban Century

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magnus Moglia ◽  
Stephen Cook
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Adoption Of Technology ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management ◽  
Urban Water Systems ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Integrated Assessments

Sustainable Urban Water Management (SUWM) approaches highlighted in this special issue have the potential to contribute to the transformation of urban water systems. The aim of the transformation is to accommodate population and economic growth and at the same time enable a system which is environmentally sustainable and resilient to future challenges such as climate change. These approaches have increasingly entered mainstream dialogue over the last ten years as knowledge on the approaches has developed, and there is an acceptance that there needs to be a change to how urban water systems are designed and operated. However, there are still a range of aspects of these approaches that are maturing and require further research to realize the objectives of SUWM. The issue explored supply-side interventions, such as rainwater harvesting and stormwater harvesting, demand-side interventions, and water storage solutions that have the potential to enable a range of recycling technologies. The issue also highlighted a novel method for better managing the integrity of a conventional sewer system. Furthermore, there are articles that explore methods for integrated assessments, integrated decision making and an exploration of what factors may promote community adoption of technology.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document