Planning for FEWsheds: The Role of Planning in Integrating and Strengthening Food, Energy and Water Systems

Abstract

As climate change and increased frequency of extreme weather events threaten local and national Food, Energy and Waters (FEW) systems, policymakers and planners are asked to secure the long-term sustainability of resources and address disaster management where failure in one system has cascading effects. The explicit acknowledgment of interdependencies and equity across FEW systems and scales of governance is an approach we term planning for “FEWsheds.” With this research, we build an integrated framework for understanding FEW supply, equity outcomes, available data, and efforts to make FEW systems more resilient through diversification, distributed systems, or relocalization. The literature review demonstrates common flaws in both research design and policy approaches. For example, few studies explicitly address demographic characteristics. Higher-income households use more water, energy and land; are less responsive to price signaling; and often do not bear the negative externalities of infrastructure siting compared to low-income families, who are, in turn, the most vulnerable to supply disruption and contamination. A FEWshed framework helps make apparent the regional interdependencies, inefficiencies and disparities so that policymakers can take corrective action in fostering just, vibrant and sustainable communities for all constituents.

Disaster Resilient Infrastructure: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research Trends

“…[13] proposed a novel model architecture of a disaster resilient smart city through the incorporation of the internet of things and big data analytics technologies. [14] assessed the interconnectedness between the Food, Energy, and Water (FEW) systems. The objective was to develop a framework which will enable policymakers to promote inclusive, sustainable and resilient communities.…”

Solar energy development on farmland: Three prevalent perspectives of conflict, synergy and compromise in the United States

“…The FEW nexus describes the socioecological interlinkages between resource sectors and the need for integrated research and policy agendas [17]. While integrated resource management and holistic approaches to environmental governance have long lineages in both theory and practice, the FEW nexus is a recent iteration that has emerged as a popular conceptual framework across many disciplines that works against siloed ways of thinking to create new ways of planning for resilient communities and regions [18,19]. For example, energy and agricultural policy have been historically separate domains of governance as localities could create climate plans aiming for carbon neutrality, while simultaneously passing policies that prohibit renewable energy development [20].…”

The Nexus of Planning and Food Security in Indonesia: A Review of the Literature

“…Some studies have also discussed the role of planning in enhancing the integration of food-energywater (e.g. Brinkley et al, 2022;Raub et al, 2021;Roggema and Yan, 2019).…”