Application of life cycle thinking in multidisciplinary multistakeholder contexts for cross‐sectoral planning and implementation of sustainable development projects

Abstract

Development planning and implementation is a multifaceted and multiscale task mainly because of the involvement of multiple stakeholders across sectors and disciplines. Even though top-down sectoral planning is commonly practiced, bottom-up cross-sectoral planning involving all relevant stakeholders in a transdisciplinary learning environment has been recognized as a better option, especially if the goal is to drive development projects toward sustainable implementation (Rowe and Fudge 2003; Müller et al. 2005; Global Development Research Center 2008). Even though many planning approaches have this goal, there are limited decision frameworks that are suitable for achieving consensus among stakeholders from multiple disciplines with sectoral objectives and priorities. In most instances, the upstream and downstream effects of development decisions are not thoroughly investigated or communicated with the relevant stakeholders, strongly affecting cross-sectoral integration in the real world (Wiek, Brundiers, et al. 2006). This article presents methodological aspects of developing a stakeholder based life cycle assessment framework (SBLCA) for upstream-downstream decision analysis in a multistakeholder development planning context. The applicability of the framework is demonstrated using simple examples extracted from a pilot case study conducted in Sri Lanka for sustainable posttsunami reconstruction at a village scale. The applicability of SBLCA in specific planning stages, how it promotes transdisciplinary learning and cross-sectoral stakeholder integration in phases of project cycles, and how local stakeholders can practice life cycle thinking in their village development planning and implementation are discussed.

Application of the new Swedish planning support system Citylab to a Chinese urban case

“…Step 6: Integrated development using eco-cycle models To understand and visualize the plot's urban metabolic system, we propose sets of related eco-cycle models based on the analysis of focus areas and corresponding strategic measures. The idea behind eco-cycle planning is that what comes out of the city or city area in the form of waste should be returned to the city or city area as recycled or reused material or in the It is a way to map upstream and downstream issues and solutions and to ensure that improvements are applied at the right points to lead to feasible, sustainable solutions (Thabrew and Ries, 2009). One of the eco-cycle models related to "blue-green structure, material flow, water and energy", as shown in Figure 7, based on the characteristics of the plot and its cooperation with other urban subsystems, integrates the daily life of residents and the operation of public facilities.…”

“…The idea behind eco-cycle planning is that what comes out of the city or city area in the form of waste should be returned to the city or city area as recycled or reused material or in the form of energy. It is a way to map upstream and downstream issues and solutions and to ensure that improvements are applied at the right points to lead to feasible, sustainable solutions (Thabrew and Ries, 2009).…”

Building Model-Driven Decision Support System in Product Redesign Plan

“…Recovery cost for producing a manufactured product, includes costs of acquiring materials, parts and/or components for assembly and/or disassembly related activities for the purpose of reusing, remanufacturing, and recycling [4,5,[10][11][12]33,37,38,41,51,55] Manufacturing lead-time Lead-time for recovery operations include various operational and/or non-operational related activities, such as machine setup, testing, inspection, control, sorting, etc. when reusing, remanufacturing and recycling parts and/or component for producing a manufactured product [4,5,[10][11][12]33,[35][36][37][38]41,51,[55][56][57][58] Waste minimisation…”

Towards sustainable financing models for micro-hydro plants in Sub-Saharan African countries: A theoretical review

“…The review used life cycle analysis in identifying life cycle activity phases, mapping of stakeholder involvement, and development of context-specific indicators that help in visualisation of the system (Thabrew and Ries, 2009). On the other hand, systems thinking assisted collective analysis of system [the MHP"s life cycles, stakeholders and financing or the "physical" and the "financial" aspects], enabling consideration of cascading effects, inertia, and other systemic features related to sustainability issues and sustainability problem-solving frameworks (Claesson andSvanström, 2013 citing Wiek et al, 2011).…”