Operationalization of the ecosystem services (ES) concept for improved natural resource management and decision support cannot, thus far, be rated as satisfactory. Participation of stakeholders is still a major methodical and conceptual challenge for implementing ES. Therefore, we conducted an online survey and a literature analysis to identify benefits and challenges of the application of ES in participatory processes. The results show that the purpose of stakeholder engagement is very diverse as a result of varying objectives, spatial scales and institutional levels of analysis. The complexity, terminology and (lacking) coherent classification of ES are pivotal aspects that should be accounted for in the design of studies to improve stakeholder participation. Although limitations of time and financial resources are bigger challenges than ES related ones, tailoring communication strategies and information for different stakeholder groups are of major importance for the success of ES studies. Results support the view that the potential benefits of applying ES, e.g., consensus finding, and development of integrated solutions, cannot be realized consistently across the different spatial scales and decision-making levels. Focusing on stakeholder processes represents a means to increase the relevance, reliability and impact of study results and to move participation in ES research from theory to reality.
More and more people worldwide live in urban areas, and these areas face many problems, of which a sustainable food provision is one. In this paper we aim to show that a transition towards more sustainable, regionally organized food systems strongly contributes to green, livable cities. The article describes a case study in the Dutch region of Arnhem–Nijmegen. Partners of a network on sustainable food in this region were interviewed on how they expect the food system to develop, and in design studies possible futures are explored. Both the interviews and the designs give support to the idea that indeed sustainable food systems can be developed to contribute to green livable cities. They show that the quality and meaning of existing green areas can be raised; new areas can be added to a public green system, and connections with green surroundings are enforced. They also show that inhabitants or consumers can be stimulated to become so called food citizens, highlighting that the relation of food systems and livable cities is a very close one.
Dutch policy strives to increase the amount of agroforestry. This paper aims to research the forces and obstacles for this growth, in particular the role of various drivers of change. Therefore we conducted a case study in Lingezegen Park (near Arnhem, The Netherlands), using the transition model of Van der Meulen et al. as a basis. This model describes the connection between the transition of the social and physical realms. Important drivers of change influencing the social and physical realms in Lingezegen Park are the establishment of the park itself, but also the relations and roles of the various stakeholders and the presence of a change agent. The case of Lingezegen Park clearly shows that the transformation of the social realm intertwines with developments in the physical realm. The development of the park, both a change in the physical as well as the social realm, made way for new initiatives in sustainable farming systems such as agroforestry.
The key urban water management concept is sustainable or integrated Urban Water Resources Management (UWRM). This concept promotes integration of water management and spatial planning for holistic management of all parts of the water cycle, including both natural and technical water infrastructure (Feilberg & Mark, 2016;Hering & Vairavamoorthy, 2018;Kirshen et al., 2018). The integration of water management and urban spatial planning is also advocated in the United Nations' New Urban Agenda (UN, 2017). Integrated management requires knowledge of each component of the water system (Mosleh & Negahban-Azar, 2021); surface water is one such component. To create This research is targeted at water-rich cities with relatively high water quality, such as in Europe and Northern America, because their surface water system can support a broad spectrum of water uses. The study areas for in-depth assessments in this thesis are the cities of Amsterdam in The Netherlands (Europe), Ghent in Belgium (Europe) and Toronto in Canada (Northern America). Amsterdam serves as study area in each phase of the research, while Ghent and Toronto are used as study area for specific research activities.The assessment of the current use of and future demand for urban surface water use functions is conducted for Amsterdam and Toronto. These cities are selected because they represent cities on different continents, with different climates and geographic characteristics, including different types of surface waters (Table 1.1). This variation broadens the relevance of this study. Amsterdam and Toronto are medium sized cities with respectively 854,047 and 2.96 million inhabitants. This is a relevant size class for studying urban surface water use and demand because most city dwellers in Europe and Northern America live in cities with a population of respectively 500,00 to 5 million inhabitants and 1 to 10 million inhabitants; this is expected to continue through 2030 (UN, 2019). In both cities, urban redevelopment leads to land use change and densification. Together with local water quality improvements, especially reductions of nutrient concentrations and faecal pollution (
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