IN-PERSON: Livable Cities – New York

Abstract

With economic growth and urbanization, cities worldwide are consuming very high levels of natural resources, thereby driving climate change. Despite the known risks, levels of resources consumption continue to rise. There is much debate on how to procure more resources, but little on how to curb resources demand. Many cities are already facing serious public health issues linked to mismanagement of natural resources. The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus approach as an integrated urban planning framework can support cities in taking more sustainable development pathways by enabling resource conservation and more effective management of the WEF security Nexus. “Waste” streams in cities not harvested systematically hold huge potential to cater to resource demands locally, thereby mitigating climate change and supporting adaptation. Much Nexus research exists, but little is solution-oriented with a focus on urban scales. Cities tend to plan in sectoral silos, thereby reinforcing “business as usual” urban development tending to implement resource-intensive conventional infrastructure, hampering deployment of more climate friendly alternative technology options. This paper presents case studies from typical towns in Africa and Asia, namely Agona Swedru in Ghana, Leh in India and Shaxi in China, to describe how this pattern is underpinned by international consulting companies and funding agencies. It finds that despite alternative technology options having been discussed in these locations, conventional infrastructure development approaches ended up being deployed nonetheless. The paper discusses implications in the context of cities worldwide and highlights opportunities for resource recovery as key to a systemic socio-technical transition to a circular economy.