TY - JOUR
T1 - New roles for local authorities in a time of climate change
T2 - The Rotterdam Energy Approach and Planning as a case of urban symbiosis
AU - Lenhart, Jennifer
AU - Van Vliet, Bas
AU - Mol, A.P.J.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - As cities expand and environmental challenges multiply, linear relations between resource consumption and waste need to be broken, with outputs cycled back as inputs. Twenty years of industrial symbiosis research has provided ample evidence and experience how to close material and energy cycles in industrial systems. The more recent urban symbiosis literature develops a similar perspective and experience on closing waste-resource cycles for a different social system: cities. An urban symbiosis analysis on how to close urban waste-resource cycles has to focus on geographical boundaries, local partnerships, and policy interventions. In conducting a detailed case study of Rotterdam Energy Approach and Planning (REAP), this paper aims to identify how urban actors, notably local authorities, can facilitate improved urban resource management to mitigate climate change. REAP incorporates energy and water reuse in an urban area, using by-products as resources in different urban functions. It is coordinated by Rotterdam's local authority, in partnership with architects and academic institutions in its design, and housing corporations and energy companies in its implementation. The methodology to assess REAP includes a review of policy documents, site visits and in-depth interviews. This study revealed the central role of local authorities in governing urban symbiosis projects like REAP; the need for increased private-sector participation in the design stage of such projects; and the necessity to encourage dialogue, learning and flexibility in the governance of urban resource management.
AB - As cities expand and environmental challenges multiply, linear relations between resource consumption and waste need to be broken, with outputs cycled back as inputs. Twenty years of industrial symbiosis research has provided ample evidence and experience how to close material and energy cycles in industrial systems. The more recent urban symbiosis literature develops a similar perspective and experience on closing waste-resource cycles for a different social system: cities. An urban symbiosis analysis on how to close urban waste-resource cycles has to focus on geographical boundaries, local partnerships, and policy interventions. In conducting a detailed case study of Rotterdam Energy Approach and Planning (REAP), this paper aims to identify how urban actors, notably local authorities, can facilitate improved urban resource management to mitigate climate change. REAP incorporates energy and water reuse in an urban area, using by-products as resources in different urban functions. It is coordinated by Rotterdam's local authority, in partnership with architects and academic institutions in its design, and housing corporations and energy companies in its implementation. The methodology to assess REAP includes a review of policy documents, site visits and in-depth interviews. This study revealed the central role of local authorities in governing urban symbiosis projects like REAP; the need for increased private-sector participation in the design stage of such projects; and the necessity to encourage dialogue, learning and flexibility in the governance of urban resource management.
KW - Energy strategies
KW - Resource-waste cycles
KW - Rotterdam
KW - Urban climate governance
KW - Urban planning
U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.026
DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.026
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84942983817
SN - 0959-6526
VL - 107
SP - 593
EP - 601
JO - Journal of Cleaner Production
JF - Journal of Cleaner Production
ER -