The Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions
INSIGHTS INTO
METROPOLITAN
INNOVATION COURSE ‘METROPOLITAN INNOVATORS’ MADE Master Metropolitan Analysis, Design, and Engineering
from the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions Edited by Roberto Rocco & Clemens Driessen
Insights into Metropolitan Innovation from the Course ‘Metropolitan Innovators’ of the Master’s Metropolitan Analysis, Design, and Engineering of the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions
This book gathers essays produced by students from the course ‘Metropolitan Innovators’ of the master’s programme Metropolitan Analysis, Design and Engineering (MADE) of the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS) between 2017 and 2023. The course ‘Metropolitan Innovators’ is led by Clemens Driessen (WUR) & Roberto Rocco (TU Delft) and addresses the complex challenges faced by contemporary metropolitan regions, having the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA) as a paradigmatic case. The course delves into the socio-technical, (eco)systems, and spatial justice perspectives to analyse and evaluate competing claims by a variety of stakeholders, while equipping participants with theoretical and conceptual tools to tackle metropolitan challenges and assess potential solutions, considering environmental impacts, transdisciplinary knowledge, and the intersection of technological solutions with political questions of justice and democracy.
Edited by Roberto Rocco & Clemens Driessen Course coordinators Clemens Driessen and Roberto Rocco Lecturers Dr. ir. Roberto Rocco, Dr. ir. Clemens Driessen, Dr. Aksel Ersoy, Prof. dr. ir. Ellen van Bueren
Published by TU Delft Open The Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL. Delft, The Netherlands
Edited by: Roberto Rocco & Clemens Driessen Cover and graphic design by Roberto Rocco DOI: https://doi.org/XXXXX ISBN/EAN: XXXXX
The Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions AMS is a research intitute set up as partnership between the city of Amsterdam, Wageningen University & Research, the Delft University of Technology and the Massachussets Instute of Technology. AMS Institute, in its pursuit of urban transformation, stands at the forefront of creating sustainable and resilient metropolitan environments. With a vision of cities that are livable, just and economically stable, AMS Institute endeavors to address significant urban challenges on a metropolitan scale. By focusing on key areas such as energy, circularity, digitisation, climate resilience, mobility, and food, AMS Institute strives to reshape the urban landscape. It recognises that meaningful change can only be achieved through a synergy of ideas, talent, and collaborations. AMS Institute actively engages with cities, seeking to analyse, design, and engineer solutions that align with the aspirations of more sustainable, prosperous, and just urban centers, a concept it aptly terms “re-inventing cities.” AMS Institute’s distinctive strength lies in its ability to foster a cross-pollination of ideas. This approach permeates its research, innovation, and educational initiatives, creating an innovative ecosystem where knowledge institutions, private enterprises, and public organisations converge. This unique positioning allows AMS Institute to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and real-world urban challenges, facilitating collaborative efforts to address the pressing issues of our time. In essence, AMS Institute serves as a catalyst for connecting science with societal needs, ultimately contributing to the creation of sustainable metropolitan solutions.
Disclaimer: This work is licensed under a CC-BY 4.0 license, except where otherwise mentioned. This means that the CCBY license conditions where you can find here are not applicable where it is mentioned something different in this work (for example CC-license conditions are not applicable to works marked with a different CC license or “with permission” etc.). It is your responsibility to check what the conditions are to re-use the work further. Every attempt has been made to ensure the correct source of images and other potentially copyrighted material was ascertained, and that all materials included in this book have been attributed/used according to their license and/or the applicable copyright rules. If you believe that a portion of the material infringes someone else’s copyright, please contact R.C.Rocco@tudelft.nl. We are grateful to the Copyright Team of the TU Delft Library for their diligence in checking the images printed in this book.
WE MAKE O AND THEN O MAKE US
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OUR CITIES OUR CITIES
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Metropolitan Innovators
Clemens Driessen & Roberto Rocco
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ontemporary metropolitan regions face various complex challenges that concern large numbers of stakeholders with often competing claims, originating from different world views. Metropolitan regions like the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA) are grappling with the challenge of managing transitions towards sustainability that are simultaneously effective, inclusive and fair while facing high costs to break free from path dependency lock-ins. This transition towards sustainability may seem like a relatively new aim but is something the Dutch government has been pursuing since its first Environmental Action Plan (1989), which focused on closing production and consumption loops, preventing degradation and exhaustion of resources and harmful emissions. The plan also emphasised the responsibility of different social groups (public, private, and civic), to meet environmental targets. The envisioned transition is characterised by a systems-change, which means
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The Course
Metropolitan Analysis, Design, and Engineering 11
that whole chains of production, consumption and behaviour must change comprehensively, thus involving a large number of stakeholders with a multitude of worldviews and competing claims over those systems. On top of this, successive shocks have demonstrated that the burdens and benefits of transitions are ill-distributed, with disproportionate negative impacts on vulnerable groups, people of colour, the poor and people with a migration background. This course enables Metropolitan Innovators to identify and evaluate these claims from three main perspectives: socio-technical, (eco)systems and spatial justice. The course thereby offers the theoretical and conceptual tools to analyse and discuss metropolitan challenges and the possible implications of proposed solutions. When we seek to innovate to attain the desired technological and societal transition, a number of questions arise that are both theoretical and, at the same time, deeply practical: How do we optimise environmental impacts when promoting systems transitions? How do we understand knowledge in transformation processes where transdisciplinary is necessary? How can we understand how technological solutions relate to political questions of justice and democracy? These questions become particularly urgent in view of new approaches developed to promote innovation: using big data and developing smart cities, where experimentation occurs in living labs and space is created for entrepreneurial interventions. How do we face the ethical, political, cultural, economic, and environmental challenges related to these processes?
Motivation The management of systems in transition to sustainability has several dimensions: cultural, political, technical and
12 Insights into Metropolitan Innovation
aesthetic, to cite but a few. This is because we assume sustainability can only happen when its three crucial dimensions (social, economic and environmental) happen simultaneously (Larsen, 2012). Hence, this transition cannot be addressed by planners, engineers and designers alone, as they require engagement with a multiplicity of actors holding different perspectives necessary to understand and tackle all the dimensions involved. The various disciplines that contribute to AMS and the MADE program bring particular approaches to innovations towards sustainability: from engineering to entrepreneurship, from urban design to human geography and data sciences, from environmental sciences to sociology of innovation. Combining these into interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary ways of working is required to deal with complex systems involved in urban development and innovation. For any actor working to contribute to advanced metropolitan solutions towards sustainability it becomes crucial to be able to translate metropolitan challenges into researchable questions and to be able to understand, communicate and cooperate with other actors in order to integrate their knowledge about issues at hand and to understand different (and often conflicting) objectives. Awareness of the socio-economic context, as well as the implicit and explicit values and cultural norms operating in a specific place are essential to achieve suitable solutions. This course enables students to use, contrast, discuss and integrate those various approaches to engage with metropolitan innovations and potential solutions in a meaningful way, starting from three main perspectives: socio-technical, ecosystems and spatial justice. These perspectives contain different normative and theoretical dimensions that trigger different questions for metropolitan innovators. These different questions require the use of different methods of research. These perspectives, their questions and methods are explored in the course. Socio technical: in this perspective,
Metropolitan Analysis, Design, and Engineering 13
students understand metropolitan innovation and transition towards sustainability from the point of view of debates on the relations between technology and society, as well as competing ideas on the role of science and knowledge for socio-technical innovation. (Eco)systems: in this perspective, students understand metropolitan innovation and transition towards sustainability from an ecosystems perspective. Framing urban areas as systems makes it possible to model urban areas and distinguish the different subsystems from which they are made. Spatial Justice: in this perspective, students understand metropolitan innovation and transition towards sustainability from a political point of view, in which the governance and the social sustainability of systems is highlighted. This allows students to reflect and situate their actions within ideas of democracy and participation, for instance,and to ponder on how to distribute the burdens and benefits of solutions. All three perspectives examine the ethical dimensions of their own assumptions and frameworks, and encourage students to consider, evaluate and discuss these ethical and political dimensions.
Overlapping themes This course complements and supports the Metropolitan Challenges Course, which is given in the first quarter of the programme, and provides a theoretical basis for the Metropolitan Solutions Course, given later. We introduce and discuss tools and theoretical frameworks for unravelling complex metropolitan challenges and present approaches from different areas of knowledge dealing with metropolitan innovation challenges. These areas of knowledge are primarily design (broadly conceived), planning, engineering and urban studies. In short, those are disciplines that deal with the three main objects of a metropolitan innovator: space, society and technology. It does so by promoting a discussion
on metropolitan transition to sustainability and the theoretical and practical frameworks and tools being used by different disciplines via interactive lectures and student workshops evaluating and acting upon the issues being treated in other courses at AMS.
At the end of this course, students are able to: 1. Describe different logics of enquiry and the suitability of methods derived from them. Logics of enquiry pertaining to the natural sciences (including environmental sciences), applied sciences (engineering), the social sciences and design activities [Skills covered: literature research, critical thinking, research design] 2. Describe and interpret a variety of knowledge claims in three main areas proposed (sociotechnical/ eco-systemic / spatial justice). By ‘knowledge claims’ we mean the connection between research questions, methods employed, expected outcome and deliverables according to different research traditions. [Skills: research design, literature research, critical thinking] 3. Explain the merits of various modes of organising, governing and discussing metropolitan innovation: living labs, transition towns, system innovations. [Skills: groups dynamics, communication and collaboration skills]. 4. Identify and critically discuss the implicit values of particular interventions in relation to the three frameworks presented, including what interests are at stake, what stakeholders are involved, what subjects are produced, groups configured, experiences generated and scripted behaviour
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Learning outcomes
Metropolitan Analysis, Design, and Engineering 15
promoted [Skills: mapping, story-telling, visioning, planning, sketching, communicating graphically and orally]. 5. Identify and discuss strategies for transition towards sustainability from an ecosystems point of view, including the understanding of metropolitan systems in interaction with one another. 6. Explain the distribution of burdens and benefits of metropolitan solutions, and to use spatial justice as a framework for decision making, including its implications for the governance of metropolitan systems and the management of these systems towards sustainability, including notions of governance, citizenship, participation and democracy. 7. Make explicit the values that support decisions and to reflect on ethical matters and professional roles connected to the research and design activities. In doing so, students must be able to reflect on and discuss how different worldviews impact problem identification, knowledge formation and design interventions [Skills: writing, sketching, drawing, story-telling, critical thinking].
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Metropolitan Analysis, Design, and Engineering 17
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Metropolitan Analysis, Design, and Engineering 19
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Metropolitan Analysis, Design, and Engineering 21
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22 Insights into Metropolitan Innovation
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Metropolitan Analysis, Design, and Engineering 23
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Metropolitan Analysis, Design, and Engineering 25
26 Insights into Metropolitan Innovation
Metropolitan Analysis, Design, and Engineering 27
METROPOLITA SPACES
TAN
We follow Henri Lefebvre for whom space is not just a passive backdrop for human activities but is actively produced and shaped by social, economic, and political forces. Lefebvre emphasises that urban space is fundamentally a social product. He introduced the concept of “spatial practices,” which refers to the everyday activities and routines of people in space, and how these practices contribute to the creation of spatial structures. He distinguishes between three aspects of space: perceived or “lived” space (how individuals experience space), conceived space (how space is planned and designed by authorities), and perceived space (how space is represented and understood). Lefebvre’s concept of social space emphasises the dialectical relationship between these aspects. Lefebvre’s ideas contributed to the “spatial turn” in the social sciences, which refers to a transformative shift in the way scholars and researchers approach and analyse social phenomena by emphasising the importance of space and place. This intellectual movement gained momentum in the latter half of the 20th century and has since had a profound impact on various disciplines within the social sciences, including geography, sociology, anthropology, political science, and urban studies. Overall, the spatial turn represents a paradigm shift in the social sciences, emphasising the interconnectedness of space, society, and culture. It has enriched research by providing new insights into issues of place, identity, power, and inequality,
and it continues to shape the way scholars approach and investigate social phenomena in a spatial context. Spaces are integral components of socio-technical systems, playing a crucial role in shaping, facilitating, and mediating the interactions and dynamics between technology, actors and institutions. (RR)
A double catch: dealing with waterfront brownfields in cities and providing a place for growth An assessment of and reflection on Haven Stad Amsterdam Martijn van Stam
DEC 2017
Abstract: Since the city of Amsterdam is growing steadily, the municipality has to build housing to keep up with this growth. One of the most promising developments to enable this growth is Haven-Stad, a large area northwest of the city centre that needs to house over 100.000 inhabitants by 2040. This paper assesses and reflects on this vision for this development using three different perspectives: the ecosystems approach, spatial justice, and the socio-technical perspective. By deriving criteria from these perspectives, this paper aims to reflect on the vision regarding sustainability and spatial justice. Keywords: Haven-Stad, Sustainability, Urban growth, Amsterdam, Ecosystem, Spatial Justice, Sociotechnical systems
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METROPOLITAN SPACES:WATERFRONT BROWN FIELDS
1. Introduction Amsterdam is growing, primarily because of increased immigration to the city because of its attractive living environment. Between 2013 and 2017, the city of Amsterdam has grown to over 45.000 inhabitants, of which over 38.000 were made up of non-Dutch people (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017-2). The growth of the city is leading to an increasing demand for housing. This paper will investigate and assess one of the possible areas where this growth will occur in the future: Haven-Stad. First, the challenge the city of Amsterdam is facing and the vision for Haven-Stad will be explained. Three frameworks will be introduced to assess and reflect on this vision.
Metropolitan Spaces 33
The first framework is the ecosystems approach. This approach addresses the sustainability of the vision for Haven-Stad by looking at the human impact on the environment. Understanding these impacts will lead to criteria to address Haven-Stad’s environmental sustainability. Secondly, the case will be analysed from the perspective of spatial justice. This perspective explores the fair allocation of resources and opportunities in the city’s territory and assesses whether citizens can achieve the right to the city. In this section, I will explore and evaluate the possibilities for citizens to achieve the right to live in a safe, healthy, and prosperous city when looking at the municipality’s plans for Haven City. The last and third perspective is the sociotechnical perspective. It describes the relations between objects and subjects in different networks. It will address how social sustainability is achieved, partially through technological means and as a matter of social change, in the vision for Haven-Stad. Criteria to assess the municipality’s vision will be derived from the theoretical background. This will be done in the methodology section. In the results, the vision for Haven-Stad will be evaluated and reflected on using these criteria, from which some conclusions will follow. Lastly, a section will shortly discuss the findings and a personal reflection.
2. The challenge: facilitating the growth of the Metropolitan region of Amsterdam. There is a significant demand for affordable housing within Amsterdam, especially within the ring A10 highway looping around the inner city. Amsterdam is
a growing city where companies want to settle, and people want to live because it offers an attractive environment and facilities (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2013). As a result, the Amsterdam municipality is looking for opportunities to accommodate this growth. One of the areas that will provide additional housing in the future is situated within the ring A10 highway and covers a large area of what is currently part of the port of Amsterdam. The unique feature of this area poses challenges for the development of functions such as offices, residential and leisure, but also gives dam even classifies Haven-Stad as the area with the most opportunities to facilitate the city’s growth because of its proximity to the city centre and being the last ample open space on the map of Amsterdam within the Ring A10 highway. Figure 01 shows the large area that makes up Haven-Stad (in red) and its proximity to the city centre (in yellow). Figure 01. Haven-Stad and its location within the ring A10 highway. Source: Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017-3 Haven-Stad is divided into 12 districts that cover a large area within the Metropolitan region of Amsterdam. The central location, combined with the fact that there is an increasing demand for housing in Amsterdam, has led to the interest in transforming the port into a residential area. The future of the Haven-Stad area has been on the administrative and political agenda since 2006 when a vision for this area was developed (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2013). At this point, building for residential land use is not yet possible since the port is still too dominant in the area. The vision sets a timeline for 2040 in which between 40.000 and 70.000 homes have to be built, and about 45.000 to 58.000 jobs should be created in this area (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017). In June 2017, the municipality of Amsterdam presented the ‘Ontwikkelstrategie Haven- Stad’ (in English: development strategy Port- City). The plans present a high-density, green, liveable neighbourhood with lots of educational, cultural, and recreational facilities that are sustainable, affordable, and accessible. It seems like a very coveted neighbourhood for most population segments. However, the question remains whether this new part of the city will indeed be sustainable when assessing the plans for sustainable urban development criteria and whether the high density and green space can be accomplished simultaneously.
34 Insights into Metropolitan Innovation
the area its name: Haven-Stad (in English Port-City). The municipality of Amster-
Furthermore, it can be questioned whether this new part of the city will be affordable to all citizens who want to live here and if they have equal rights to the city. Lastly, critical reflection is needed on how social sustainability is achieved through technical means, for example, by the physical layout of this new area. These questions lead to the main research question: “How does the vision of the Municipality of Amsterdam perform when reflecting on it using criteria from the ecosystems-spatial justice and sociotechnical perspectives?”
3. Theoretical Framework
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3.1. The Ecosystems approach The ecosystems approach can be used to analyse urban environments. It will help to understand the factors that lead to the unsustainable development of these environments and the relationships between these factors (Van Bueren et al., 2012). The three pillars of sustainable development are people, planet, and profit. The latter has recently been described as prosperity since this captures more than just money. These three pillars come together in the built environment. Even though the built environment is not only constituted of cities, cities and urban areas are responsible for consuming about 75% of the world’s demand in energy, materials and other resources and emit about 50 to 60% of the world’s total greenhouse gasses (UNHabitat, 2017). This makes the urban environment a relevant site for sustainable development. The scarcity and degradation of the quality of natural resources have increased the interest in sustainable urban development in policymaking (Yigitcanlar & Dizdaroglu, 2015). Another contributing factor to focusing substantial attention on the urban environment is that it is the most human-dominated ecosystem (Grimm et al., 2000). Human activities lead to a local environmental impact, eventually leading to a global ecological impact. A few examples of human impact are the changes in land use, greenhouse gas emissions, needs, expectations, urbanisation, industrialisation, overconsumption, and overproduction (Yigitcanlar & Dizdaroglu, 2015). These human activities can lead to local impacts such as chemical and hazardous waste generation, nutrient cycle disruption, reduced infiltration, water contamination, air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. All these human activities and local en-
vironmental impacts are essential to the case of Haven-Stad because they have all occurred in the past or present. The ecosystems approach should be used in the future to increase the sustainability of the area. In this way, the area can contribute to tackling global challenges like rising seawater levels, extreme weather conditions, rising temperatures and unhealthy ecosystems (Yigitcanlar & Dizdaroglu, 2015). Indicators need to be identified to assess whether development is sustainable or not. The World Commission on Environment and Development has defined susout compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs” (Keeble, 1988). Yigitcanlar and Dizdaroglu (2015) describe various sustainable development principles that, when applied correctly, provide a sustainable balance of human activities in the natural environment. These principles described below (Yigitcanlar & Dizdaroglu, 2015) will be used and applied to the analysis of Haven-Stad. • Sustainable land use and urban design This refers to compact urban design with mixed land use, leading to more social interactions and a more comprehensive range of services, thus improving the quality of life. It also entails green building design, minimising energy consumption and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Lastly, it includes reducing the pressure on environmentally sensitive areas by giving space to green areas and preventing urban sprawl. Compact design also leads to a lower per-capita energy consumption, as transportation is more efficient (Davoudi & Sturzaker, 2017) • Sustainable Transportation Sustainable transportation means respecting the capacity of the Earth’s system by designing for environmentally friendly modes of transportation. This focuses mainly on reducing the use of car traffic but stimulating transportation by bike, foot, and public transportation. This is done by promoting, providing, and maintaining the infrastructure for these modes of transport. • Environmental protection and restoration By designing for public and private green spaces and green buffer zones, ecologically valuable green spaces can be created. This will contribute to protecting and restoring habitats for wildlife and aquatic life of existing species. They also bring nature into the city, make the city environment more attractive and provide recreational opportunities. • Renewable energy and waste management The renewable energy strategy for sustainable resource use starts with re-
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tainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present with-
ducing, reusing, and recycling waste. This strategy is essential for developing sustainable cities. Some renewable energy technologies are solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass. Environmental taxes and laws can stimulate sustainable waste management practices, for example, the zero-waste principle.
3.2. Spatial Justice The right to the city allows us to change ourselves by changing the city. A collective effort is needed to shape the city, revealing that the right to the city is a common right rather than an individual right (Harvey, 2008). This makes the right to the city complex because different stakeholders are involved. All these stakeholders
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have different interests and definitions of the right to the city, yet they need to work together to create and shape the city. The three main actors identified are the public, private, and civil society (Rocco, 2017). When these three actors are balanced, spatial justice is more likely to occur. The public sector primarily consists of the government and aims to protect and fulfil the needs and wishes of a large population group, including minorities. However, this actor is elected by the public, representing a majority of the population, but not everyone. The Netherlands is unique since the political landscape is scattered, leading to compromises between stakeholders. The private sector mainly comprises businesses, usually controlling many financial assets. These businesses are driven by profits and do not represent all city inhabitants. Civil society refers to groups in society that organise themselves around a shared value or purpose (Rocco, 2017). For example, people who belong to the same church go to the same university, but also neighbors who organise their electricity by buying solar panels together. These groups can be small or big but usually don’t have much power. When these three interest groups are balanced, represented by the power disparity in Figure 02, spatial justice is more likely to occur (Rocco, 2017). Since civil society is the most underrepresented group, they need to be empowered. This is done by citizen participation, which is a way to achieve spatial justice (Rocco, 2017). However, citizen participation requires active citizenship. Active citizenship includes (i) the right to take part in the affairs of the city, (ii) to make decisions about one’s living environment, and (iii) to fulfil one’s full potential as a human being. Figure 02. Disparity of powers. Source: Rocco, 2017
The spatial justice perspective explains that designing and planning cities are political activities (Rocco, 2017-2). This designing and planning process has to be based on values, which implies that urban development involves political decisions that include choice, negotiation, friction and divergence and occasionally agreement that enables action. These political decisions result from discussions between the three main actors involved, who will all have their unique perspectives on an mon ground in the different points of view is part of the design and planning process, for which the designer is partially responsible. ‘The right to the city is a condition to achieve spatial justice’ (Rocco, 2017). Besides the right to the city, there are more conditions to achieve spatial justice. One of these is democracy (Marcuse, 2009). Harvey concludes that this desire for democracy is an important value. He states that ‘greater democratic control over the production and utilisation of the surplus’ (Harvey, 2008) would be the outcome of social movements, and oppositions would come together. This democracy is one of the most important values when designing for spatial justice, giving citizens the ‘Right to the city’. The reason behind problems with democracy is a lack of democratic accountability of governance structures (Papadopoulos, 2007). This lack of accountability comes from citizen representatives’ weak presence, often in multilevel governance. Furthermore, Harvey (2008) describes how urbanisation is a way to absorb excessive capital surpluses when the economy is booming. These developments are often triggered by investments of large agencies, wealthy investors, developers and construction companies and will inevitably displace people. This leads to increased housing prices, making certain districts unavailable to specific groups of the population, and in this way, taking away the right to the city of this group. There are a few tools that can be used to re-establish spatial justice. One way of restoring this is by using taxes, explains Harvey (Harvey, 2008). When the surplus value is taxed, the proportion of the state’s disposal rises significantly, which leads to a stronger position for the public sector. This is a way to establish a balance between the three earlier-mentioned actors. However, only when the state is under democratic control will these taxes positively impact spatial justice. To conclude the spatial justice perspective, three conditions can be derived that likely lead to spatial justice when in place. The first is active citizen participa-
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urban challenge or problem. Coordinating the variety of opinions and finding com-
tion, which is the most critical tool to establish balance in power disparity. Since designing a city is a political process, democracy must be in place, which is the second condition to establish spatial justice. The third one is a fair allocation of costs to ensure the city remains affordable. Housing affordability is essential to preserve the right to the city for all groups and promote spatial justice.
3.3. The Socio-technical approach The sociotechnical perspective provides another way of explaining the interaction between humans and technology. Here, Haven-Stad is not considered just as an (eco)-system with clearly defined sustainability criteria or as a city with
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citizens and rights but as a particular combination of objects and subjects that together form a network. In this network, technologies and infrastructures influence human behaviour, and human behaviour influences technologies and infrastructures, making this relationship a two-way- nature. This relationship is captured by Hughes’ metaphor of the ‘seamless web’. Society and technology constantly interact to shape one another (Brand, 2005). When an environment is known and unchanging, and the more uniform a population or a social space is, the easier it is to control and the more amenable it is to the influence of state officials (Scott, 1998). These authorities have planning instruments such as zoning, employment, housing, wage levels and physical layout (Scott, 1998). Using these powers, they can shape a city’s environment and influence the citizen’s behaviour. Scott, 1998 states: “These urban planners backed by state power are rather like tailors who are not only free to invent whatever suit of clothes they wish but also free to trim the customer so that he fits the measure”. This implies that not the customers’ needs and desires are leading in the designand decision-making process, but the vision of the planners and designers from the municipality only. Sustainability is not always achieved through technical means. For example, saving energy does not only have to be done by changing light bulbs to less energy-consuming ones but can also be achieved by changing the user’s behaviour. Two types of Designs influence Social Practice (DiSP). The first type focuses on making certain behaviours unattractive by preventing or discouraging them. For example, a car that only starts after buckling up (Brand, 2005). This type of influence is called behaviour-fugal. The second type is the opposite and stimulates certain behaviours
by making them more attractive, called behaviour-petal (Brand, 2005). By making the desired behaviour easy and convenient, designers try to promote certain choices. When planning for this behavioural change, it is essential to remember that the individual and his environment are the most critical planning units (Moos, 1975). The social progress aimed to be realised is partly the result of creative solutions developed by a few individuals. However, the individual and societal involvement most optimal environment (Moos, 1975). Moos (1975) emphasises that social change might be initiated by individuals but accomplished by groups: “Social change occurs to the extent that many individuals, who are each competent to cause this change, band together with a common goal.”
4. Methodology To assess the vision of the municipality of Amsterdam for Haven-Stad, criteria need to be derived from the theoretical framework described in the previous chapter. For the ecosystem approach, principles summarised by Yigitcanlar and Dizdaroglu will be used: • Sustainable land use and urban design • Sustainable Transportation • Environmental protection and restoration • Renewable energy and waste management Urban development can be seen as more sustainable when these four principles are in place. There are more sustainable indicators present, and these indicators are not exhaustive. Still, to assess whether the vision for the development of Haven-Stad can be classified as sustainable from an ecosystem perspective, these four principles will be used to reflect on this vision. Following the theoretical framework section about spatial justice, some essential conditions can be derived to promote spatial justice. These critical conditions do not automatically lead to spatial justice. Still, when they are in place in the design and decision-making process, it is more likely that the outcome will safeguard citizens’ right to the city and establish an equal, healthy, safe, and prosperous environment. The three most apparent conditions are identified to reflect on the vision for Haven-Stad.
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will contribute to social change since it will stimulate people to formulate their
• Citizen participation • Democracy • Fair allocation of costs The result section will reflect on the vision for Haven-Stad and assess whether these values are present in the design. The planning instruments of the municipality will substantially influence the development of Haven-Stad as they will shape the living environment and influence the residents’ behaviour. From the sociotechnical perspective, these planning instruments will be assessed to evaluate if and how the municipality influences the behaviour of its citizens and if the design by itself of the needs and desires of
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citizens is leading. The following questions will be addressed: • Does the design lead the development, or do the desires and needs of citizens? • What behaviour-fugal and behaviour-petal principles are in place to influence the behaviour of future residents of Haven-Stad?
5. Case-study: Haven-Stad Amsterdam The ambitions of the municipality for Haven-Stad are very high. In the vision and development strategy, the city describes how Amsterdam’s new area must be high-quality and high-density. A living environment that also offers space to small and medium-sized businesses. At the same time, there has to be a lot of green space, and the area has to be well connected. On top of this, it has to function as a city on its own, which means there will be schools, sports, art, cultural and other recreational facilities. All of this has to be realised in a sustainable way (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017). Below, the ambitions of the vision are shown, categorised by the three different perspectives.
5.1 Ecosystem approach In Table 1, the measures taken in the vision for Haven-Stad are quantified and categorised by different criteria. The third row describes how these measures will lead to sustainability.
[insert table 1 here] Table (01) Sustainability measures taken in Haven- Stad, classified by eco-systems approach criteria. Sources: (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017 & Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017-3)
cially in three categories. However, the ‘environmental protection and restoration’ category only contains one measure.
5.2 Spatial Justice Perspective The word ‘residents’ is abundantly present in Haven-Stad’s development strategy. Nevertheless, it does not describe any form of active citizen participation. The only section where the active involvement of residents comes in is in a survey that took place among citizens in neighbourhoods bordering the IJ channel. Apart from this incidental mention of residents’ participation, no vision of participation can be found. The three criteria mentioned in the theoretical framework for achieving active citizenship are unmet. Citizens do not have the right to participate in affairs or make decisions, and nothing is stated about realising their full potential. The municipality explains that citizens will be actively involved once construction starts (Appendix I). This is already the case for a sub-area of the whole plan, and participation meetings have occurred. The main reason it is not possible to involve residents actively is because, for the most part, it is unsure who will eventually live in Haven-Stad. Nonetheless, the municipality has a clear vision of what future residents will be like. The fact that they plan for this type of resident and expect those people to move to Haven-Stad is a big assumption. An example of such an assumption is the noise nuisance. Since Haven-Stad will be partially built near Amsterdam’s port, noise cannot be eliminated. The development strategy describes that future residents must accept this (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017). It is assumed that future residents will indeed do this since their opinions have not been tested at this point. [insert Table 2]
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Table 1 shows that many measures are in place to promote sustainability, espe-
Table 02. Identification of Stakeholders in the current state of Haven-Stad The area that will be developed into Haven-Stad consumes a lot of space. The municipality even claims this will be the most prominent ‘neighbourhood’ development in the Netherlands, becoming home to about 122.500 people. The scale combined with the location of the project leads to complexity. In complex projects like this, there are many stakeholders involved. In Table 02, the most important ones in this project stage will be identified and described. Since the project is not far [missing text?] Identified yet. As a result, only the stakeholders currently related to the project are described. Table 02 illustrates the different stakeholders and their different interests, showing the project’s complexity. However, since the project is only in
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the early stages, actual interaction between stakeholders has not occurred yet and cannot be analysed. The development of Haven-Stad is a political process, and political processes should lead to democracy. The city council is a democratic institution, so their decisions are seen as democratic. To ensure that the planning- and design process of Haven-Stad is democratic, a few institutions are in place. The city council first had to adopt the ‘transformation strategy’, which was already done in 2013. This transformation led to the development strategy that had to be voted on by the mayor and aldermen, who also adopted the development strategy. Now, the development strategy has to be adopted by the entire city council, which is a democratic institution. If they do, it can be concluded that the process fulfils the standards of democracy that are in place in The Netherlands. However, undemocratic practices such as corruption are hard to identify and are mostly only revealed, if revealed at all, long after they have occurred. Most of the land that is being developed is privately owned. This is one of the main reasons for the municipality to stimulate private stakeholders to build Haven-Stad (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017). The municipality primarily aims to seduce developers to invest and wants to facilitate the development. To facilitate and catalyse development, some strategic land purchases will be made. A few ways to influence and steer the development are by ‘ground lease’ and using the land-use plan and permits (Appendix I). The fact that private stakeholders will do most of the development means they will also bear many costs. These costs need to be investigated to determine the affordability of Haven-Stad. The municipality wants to house diverse residents, including expats, singles, families, and elderly and disabled
people. The main instrument to ensure housing affordability for all groups is the 40% social housing quota, 40% middle-class rental housing and 20% high market segment (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017-5).
5.3. Sociotechnical perspective In the case of Haven City, the development is driven by the increasing demand for housing. Large-scale solutions must be examined to release the pressure on the housing market. But Scott’s statement that planners design to their own will seems to hold in Haven-Stad. The urban planners, designers, and others involved in the decision-making process lead the development. Participation in this stadium of the process is absent. The development strategy pictures an ideal type of resident. One working in the creative industry wants to contribute to sustainability by minimal car use and desires to live in a high-density urban area with services and facilities in its surroundings. Policy instruments are in place to select the perfect residents, for example, the quota to limit the number of cars. The municipality states (Appendix I): “We think this attracts citizens who consciously choose to live in a high-urban environment with services and facilities around the corner.” This proves the point that the municipality consciously influences citizens through the physical layout of Haven-Stad. What behavior-fugal and behavior-petal principles are in place to influence the behavior of future residents of Haven-Stad? The physical layout of Haven-Stad will discourage or promote particular behaviour of its residents. One of the leading behavioural principles that will be used in Haven-City is the target of having only 15% of transportation in Haven-City be made up by car. The remaining part must be sustainable modes of transport, namely 30% public transportation, 30% bicycle traffic and 25% pedestrians (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017). These targets are ambitious compared to the rest of Amsterdam, where about 16% of transportation is done by public transport and 25% by car (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017). To discourage car use, a few design principles will be used. Since the area will be developed entirely, it is relatively easy to construct infrastructure that will promote sustainable modes of transport. This means the
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Does the design lead the development, or do the desires and needs of citizens?
construction of bike lanes, sidewalks and public transportation that will include bus-, tram- and metro lines. Another way to limit the use of cars is by limiting the number of parking places in Haven-Stad, for which a parking norm of 0,2 vehicles per household is in place (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017-3). This is very low since the average amount of car ownership in the entire city of Amsterdam is 0,32 cars per household. In Amsterdam’s city centre, this is 0,21, meaning that by policy design, car ownership in Haven-Stad will be less than in the city centre.
6. Conclusions To answer the main research question: “How does the vision of the Munici-
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pality of Amsterdam perform when reflecting on it using criteria from the ecosystems-spatial justice and sociotechnical perspectives?” different criteria are used. The vision performs well for some of these criteria and performs less on others. First, it is interesting to mention how the three perspectives come together. For example, in how the behaviour-fugal interventions from the sociotechnical perspective lead to CO2 reduction, seen as sustainable in the ecosystems approach and how the absence of active citizen participation affects both spatial justice and social change as described by the sociotechnical perspective. Overall, the vision for the municipality performs quite well for the criteria mentioned from the ecosystem’s perspective, for example, on ‘sustainable land use and urban design’ and ‘renewable energy and waste management’. By achieving sustainability goals such as promoting a circular economy, reducing urban sprawl, reducing the demand for raw materials and reducing energy demand, Haven-Stad contributes to worldwide targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling climate change to safeguard the Earth for future generations. This way, Haven-Stad will be a clean, healthy, and safe place to live. However, from an ecosystem perspective, there is room for improvement in the ‘environmental protection and restoration’ category, as it is essential to protect and restore existing ecosystems where possible. This restoration is even more critical in a polluted area like a port. From the spatial justice perspective, it can be concluded that there is a lack of focus on citizen participation in the development strategy documents. Of course, the process is still at an early stage, which means, according to the municipality, it is too early for participation. However, the vision should describe a desired outcome, meaning that if participation is desired later to achieve a ‘just’ outcome, it should
be mentioned in the development strategy. Up to this point in the process, it seems that designers and planners are influencing the behaviour of citizens and judging by the sociotechnical standards, even selecting the future residents rather than involving them. Furthermore, the vision is very focused on planning-based actions and motivating why the city’s expansion is needed. Very few values come forward, such as inclusivity, affordability, equality, and transparency. The absence of these values does not have to mean the outhow spatial justice will be achieved. The most promising instrument is the principle that 40% of realised housing has to be social housing, automatically making this affordable. Technologies, mainly in the form of political instruments such as quotas and standards, land-use plans and ‘ground leases’ are in place to select future residents for Haven-Stad. The municipality seems to design for a specific type of green, environmentally conscious and highly urban resident. Back to the example of cars, people who want to drive will just live elsewhere. This demonstrates how the government influences social segregation in The Netherlands.
7. Discussion The most significant limitation of the investigation of Haven-Stad is the stadium design- and decision-making process. The large scale and complexity of the project requires a vision that reaches far into the future, which brings uncertainty into the plans. As a result, some criteria might not apply to the plans yet. For example, the municipality expresses the desire for citizen participation but explains it’s too early in the process. Similarly, the design process has not reached far enough to design sustainable buildings with green roofs or facades. Furthermore, the criteria used are not exhaustive. Many more indicators can be considered and used to reflect the vision. This paper only aimed to briefly overview the most apparent indicators.
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come will not safeguard the right to the city, but it does remain the question of
8. Personal reflection In my opinion, the most critical aspect of being a ‘Metropolitan Innovator’ is to be courageous. Innovation only happens from a strong vision that reaches far into the future, with a robust imaginary aspect that only those who are creative can produce. Innovation starts with a personal belief and vision, but to implement, an innovator should be able to inspire and convince others. All of this is done with the foundation of values. I believe the vision of the municipality shares the same values I have. The goal of developing a new area is to reduce pressure on the housing market and keep it affordable in Amsterdam. This safeguards values that I share, such as inclusivity and
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equality. In my opinion, the vision lacks some courage. Especially since it reaches far into the future, I think some aims could be higher. 2040 is 23 years away, and if we look back to the world 23 years ago, it was very different. This means we cannot imagine the world of 2040, but at least we can be as idealistic as possible and make our imagination a reality.
9. References Brand, R. (2005). Urban Infrastructures and Sustainable Social Practices. Journal of Urban Technology, 12(2), 1-25 Davoudi, S., Sturzaker, J. (2017). Urban form, policy packaging and sustainable urban metabolism. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 120: 55-64. DigitalNet, T., Dizdaroglu, D. (2015). Ecological approaches in planning for sustainable cities: A review of the literature. Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management, 1(2), 159-188. Harvey, D. (2008). The Right to the City. New Left Review 53, September/October 2008. Gemeente Amsterdam (2012). Transformatiestrategie Haven-Stad, Sterke Stad-Slimme Haven. Retrieved from https://www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/volg-beleid/haven-stad/ Gemeente Amsterdam (2017). Ontwikkelstrategie Haven-Stad. Retrieved from https://www. amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/volg-beleid/haven-stad/inspraak/ Gemeente Amsterdam (2017-2). Onderzoek, Informatie en Statistiek. Standgegevens, 1 januari 2013-2017. Retrieved from https://www.ois.amsterdam.nl/feiten-en-cijfers/
Gemeente Amsterdam (2017-3). Milieueffectrapportage Haven-Stad. Retrieved from https:// www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/volg-beleid/haven-stad/mer/ Gemeente Amsterdam (2017-4). Nota parkeernormen auto. Retrieved from https://issuu. com/gemeenteamsterdam/docs/nota_parkeernormen_auto?e=19262377/56381024 Gemeente Amsterdam (2017-5). Nota van beantwoording inspraak en advies: ontwikkelstrategie Haven-Stad. Retrieved from https://www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/ volg-beleid/haven- stad/inspraak/ Long-Term Studies of Urban Ecological Systems: Urban ecological systems present multiple challenges to ecologists- pervasive human impact and extreme heterogeneity of cities and the need to integrate social and ecological approaches, concepts, and theory. BioScience, (50)7:571-584 Keeble, B. R. (1988). The Brundtland report: ‘Our common future.’ Medicine and War, 4(1), 1725. Marcuse, P. (2009). From critical urban theory to the right to the city. C 3): 185-197 Moos, R. H. (1975). Evaluating correctional and community settings. Wiley-Interscience. Papadopoulos, Y. (2007). Problems of Democratic Accountability in Network and Multilevel, Governance. European Law Journal 13(4): 469-486 Rocco, R. (2017-2). Why governance will make urban design and planning better: dealing with the communicative turn in urban planning and design. Retrieved from: http://www. worldurbancampaign.org/roberto-rocco Rocco, R. (2017). Lecture at AMS-Institute: Spatial Justice. Course code: YMS30306. Date 1030-2017 Scott, J.C. (1998). Seeing like a state: How certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed. Yale University Press. UNHabitat (2017). Energy. Retrieved from https://unhabitat.org/urban-themes/energy/ Van Bueren, (2017). Lecture at AMS-institute: Ecosystem Approaches to Metropolitan Innovation. Course code: YMS30306. Date 11-06-2017. Van Bueren, E., van Bohemen, H., Itard, L., Visscher, H., (2012). An Ecosystems Approach. Dordrecht: Springer, 2012, Chapter 1 (Introduction) & Chapter 2 (Ecosystems Thinking: Ecological Principles for Buildings, Roads, and Industrial and Urban Areas), Ch. 11 (Environmental Strategies and Tools for Integrated Design).
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Grimm, N.B., Grove Grove, J., Pickett, S.T.A., Redman, Ch.L., (2000). Integrated Approaches to
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METROPOLITAN SYSTEMS
The connection between Lefebvre’s conception of space as socially constructed, the spatial turn in the social sciences, and the (eco)systems approach lies in their shared recognition of the complex interplay between human activities, spatial organisation, and the environment. While these concepts emerge from different intellectual traditions, they converge in their emphasis on the interdependence of social, spatial, technological and ecological factors. The (eco)systems approach, often applied in the context of urban planning and sustainable development, recognises cities and urban areas as complex systems of systems. It considers the interdependence of social, ecological, and spatial elements within these systems and explores these interdependences as potentially synergistic and mutually reinforcing. Both Lefebvre’s conception of space and the ecosystems approach advocate for a holistic perspective. They argue that understanding complex systems, whether urban or ecological, requires considering multiple dimensions, including social, spatial, technological and environmental. This concept reflects the idea that a city is not a monolithic spatial entity but rather a complex and interconnected network of various subsystems and components, each with its own functions, dynamics, and interactions. Viewing cities as systems of systems allows for a more holistic understanding of urban environments and the recognition of the interdependence among
different aspects of city life. Cities consist of numerous subsystems, such as transportation networks, housing systems, economic structures, social organizations, environmental systems, and governance structures. Each of these subsystems operates independently to some extent but is also influenced by and influences other subsystems. The subsystems within a city are interconnected, meaning that changes or developments in one subsystem can have ripple effects throughout the urban system. For example, improvements in public transportation can impact housing patterns and employment opportunities. Cities are inherently complex due to the multitude of interactions and feedback loops among subsystems. This complexity can make urban planning and management challenging but also underscores the need for a systems thinking approach. The interactions among subsystems can give rise to emergent properties or phenomena that are not apparent when looking at individual subsystems in isolation. For instance, the combination of diverse economic activities, cultural amenities, and social networks in a city can lead to a vibrant urban culture (RR).
The contribution of the Virtual Power Plant in Nieuw-West, Amsterdam, to the energy transition of the Netherlands Carola Raaijmakers JAN 2018
With the current energy demand rising, the quest for more sustainable usage of energy is becoming more and more pressing. Nowadays the energy system is in transition to a more sustainable state. The current forms of renewable energy are not meeting demand yet and the existing energy-grids are risking problems of intermittency. An innovation to combat this is the Virtual Power Plant. The Virtual Power Plant is a collective of households with each means of producing energy but also storing this energy to meet demand and supply. Alliander, as one of the biggest grid operators of the Netherlands, is implementing the concept of the Virtual Power Plant in 50 households in Amsterdam-west. The goal of this paper is to assess how the Virtual Power Plant contributes to the energy transition using three approaches, the socio-technical approach, the ecosystems thinking approach and spatial justice. The VPP contribute to the energy transition mostly on a technical level but lacks contribution in the social realm. Keywords – Energy transition, Virtual Power Plant, Sustainability, Socio-technical approach, Spatial justice
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METROPOLITAN SYSTEMS: ENERGY
1. Introduction With fossil fuels reaching irreversible depletion and climate change on the rise, the energy sector needs vigorous change (Verbong & Geels, 2010). In the last decades, the energy sector has been innovating for more resilient, efficient, and environmentally friendly alternatives to the current most used fossil fuels. In recent years, the search for alternative and renewable forms of energy has increased rapidly (Fridley, 2010). Not only the search for alternative forms of energy has been on the rise but also the ways of how energy is produced and distributed is more and more questioned. The gradual change in how energy is produced, distributed, and
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perceived by society can be seen as a systemic shift to a more sustainable energy sector. This gradual systemic shift is often called the ‘energy transition’ (Naus et al., 2014). To achieve such a sustainable energy transition, the European Union developed targets to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in 2020 and by 40% in 2030 (Naus et al., 2015). To ensure that these targets are met, the European Union looks at smart grids to facilitate the transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable forms of energy. Smart grids can be defined as socio-technical networks that are characterised by active management of information and energy flows to control practices of energy production, energy storage, consumption, and flexible demand (Naus et al., 2014). These smart- grids operate not only from energy producer to grid operator to consumer but also the other way around. Smart grids facilitate the exchange of information with the goal of facilitating a more secure and cheaper way to operate the grid. Besides this, with the help of smart meters, the consumer gains possibilities to get insights into their own individual energy consumption pattern and possibilities to deliver energy back to the grid, which could possibly lead to more efficient energy use (European Union, 2011). As part of the European Union the Netherlands is also obligated to reduce their emissions and implement smart meters as part of the envisioned smart grid. One of the trends regarding the smart grid implementation is decentralised energy production. The Dutch government is eager to facilitate this trend and in 2013 the national government signed the ‘Energy-Agreement for Sustainable Growth’. This agreement was signed by more than 40 organisations from the government sector, the market, and civil society, which agreed to work towards a fully sustainable energy network in 2050 (Naus et al., 2014). Decentralised energy pro-
duction of sustainable energy is one of the ten pillars that make up this agreement. The agreement strives to a minimum of 1 million households and/or small and medium enterprises that supply their own energy with the possibility to supply back to the grid by 2020 (Social and Economic Council, 2013). To further facilitate the sustainable energy, transition the national government devised an energy agenda towards 2050 in which they identified three functional central elements for the energy sector. These three elements are decreasing the CO2 emissions of energy adjustment of the energy network because of increasing energy production (Ministry of Economic Affairs, 2016). Since the 1990’s, the Dutch government has pursued a more liberal energy market, and from 2004 on, the government facilitated semi-governmental energy producers to become fully private with semi-governmental grid operators managing the Dutch energy network (Naus et al., 2014). One of these semi-governmental grid-operators is Alliander. Alliander is a network company responsible for distribution of energy, but they do not produce themselves. Alliander is a semi-governmental company that through shares is owned by various Dutch provinces among which, in order of size, Gelderland (44,68%), Friesland (12,65%) and Noord- Holland (9,16%) but also the municipality of Amsterdam is one of the bigger shareholders. Various smaller municipalities in the aforementioned provinces also own shares but in a much smaller percentage. (Alliander, 2017a) With local and regional governmental entities being shareholders Alliander’s strategy strongly resembles national as well as regional policies towards a more sustainable energy future. Most energy handled by Alliander is produced by power stations and windfarms, but an increasing portion of this energy is produced by consumers and businesses themselves and distributed back into the grid of Alliander (Alliander, 2017b). Alliander is one of the institutional players that has facilitating decentralised energy production as a priority (Naus et al., 2014). For a company as Alliander decentralised energy production can be seen as a solution to several challenges that arise with the transition to a more sustainable energy grid but it also raises new challenges. One of the more pressing challenges of the decentralisation of sustainable energy production is intermittency. In our current society, it is expected that with the flip of a switch, energy is available, but the alternatives to coal and oil do not offer the same energy security. Wind turbines and solar panels, for instance, only produce energy when there is wind or when
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production, improvement of the (Northwestern) European energy market and the
the sun is shining. Energy that is only available intermittently cannot react to the variations in demand and creates a misbalance in our energy system (Fridley, 2010). According to Fridley (2010) the key to combat the impact of this intermittency is storage. In order to combat and make use of the intermittency of the aforementioned energy alternatives on a household level, Alliander co-developed the ‘Virtual Power Plant’ (VPP). Currently, solar power is a reliable and profitable way for households to become independent of energy suppliers, but the problem of intermittency is still present. Intermittency not only influences availability of energy but also influences energy pricing. Every 15 minutes the price of energy fluctuates when the availability of energy changes (Greenspread, 2017a). Both challenges are the main
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focus of the VPP. The VPP is a project in which 50 households in Amsterdam-West receive a home battery to store their own produced solar energy. These 50 households are connected to each other to form a collective that together will be the ‘Virtual Power Plant’. The collective enables the households to actively participate in the energy market; this is not possible for individual households (Alliander, 2017c). This collective of households will deliver energy to the grid when there is a surplus of energy but also will be able to buy energy from the grid collectively when energy levels are low. The VPP sounds promising, but how does the VPP project contribute to the energy transition? That is the main research question of this paper. The VPP project will be assessed using three approaches: the socio-technical approach, the ecosystems approach and the spatial justice. The main research question will be answered by three secondary research questions: where is the VPP positioned in the energy system? Does the VPP influence the social practices of the households participating? And what impact does the VPP have on the power relations of the actors involved? In the next section of the paper, the methodology of the research will be elaborated. The third section of this paper dives into the theoretical framework, which is the basis for the discussion that follows after the theoretical framework. A concluding chapter and a section with recommendations will follow.
2. Methodology This research is based on qualitative research. First, literature research was done to set up the theoretical and analyse the current state of play in which the chosen case operates. The theoretical framework is used to assess the case of the VPP and dive into impacts the VPP has on the
3. Frameworks As stated above the VPP is a project operating within an ongoing transition. It is important to elaborate on various perspectives in order to assess the implications that this project has on the transition it is positioned in. The VPP has implications for the socio-technical realm but also influences the existing urban metabolism and the power relations between the actors within the energy system in the Netherlands. With the use of the theoretical framework proposed these implications will be further elaborated.
3.1. The socio-technical perspective Technology plays an important role in our everyday lives and fulfils various societal functions, but technology never functions without human agency and social structures (Geels, 2005). This linkage between the social and the technical can be seen as unavoidable. Technology serves no purpose when it is not adopted and facilitated by society. Geels (2005), but also Brand (2005), refer to Thomas Hughes’ statement that the social and the technical form a ‘seamless web’ in which they create an environment in which a certain technology can function. This ‘seamless web’ can be seen as a socio-technical system, and this perspective will be used throughout this paper. Socio-technical systems consist of various elements that interact with each other. Examples of these elements are technology, regulations, user practices and markets but also cultural norms, maintenance networks and supply networks (Geels, 2005). Socio- technical systems are actively created, produced, and refined by several social groups like companies, universities, public interest groups and of course users (Geels, 2005). The activities and interactions of these groups make up
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current state of play.
the elements and links that exist within socio-technical systems. With each group having their own interests, values, preferences, strategies and resources, like money and knowledge, the various groups can influence the system and all groups do so but some on different levels than others.
3.1.1. Changing social practices With new innovations and the adoption of these innovations social practices are often the subject of change. Social practices are (daily) activities individuals and households engage in in regard to the management of their everyday lives. Examples of social practices regarding energy systems are for instance doing the
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laundry, watching TV, making dinner (Naus et al., 2015). Brand (2005) argues design influences our social practices, with design Brand (2005) is pointing at architecture and the design of the space around us but also the design of de products and infrastructures we use for our social practices influences our social practices. A quick example from Geels (2005) illustrates this. The introduction of the bicycle and the car changed the way people saw and used roads, from social meeting places to places of quick transport (Geels, 2005). But changes in social practices do not emerge from nowhere. Design has been used to influence social practices for many decades already but not always with the right motivation and in history there have been many design implementations that tried to influence social practices top-down. Brand (2005) points out that participatory design is the way to influence social practices to maximise the chances for success with success being defined as the facilitation of new social practices that are compliant with socially desired goals.
3.2. The Ecosystem Thinking The ecosystems approach helps to see a city as an integrated, ecologically dependent and functioning system (van Bueren et al., 2012). This undermines the notion that is often posed that nature should be defended from cities. Cities are ultimately part of the system. A system can be described as a way in which something is organised with rules to maintain the system. The classic definition of an ecosystem integrates water, soil, air, temperature, plants and animals and their interactions. We humans are an integral part of ecosystems because we also depend on the existing ecosystems for our survival. The significance for ecosystems
thinking in this context lies in the fact that all components of an ecosystem make up a network of relationships and that these relationships are often interdependent (van Bueren et al., 2012). Simple systems consist of various elements, relationships between these elements, boundaries and certain in- and outputs. The theory of ecosystems thinking helps to frame the chaotic web of relations and variables that shape the city and helps us to understand the relationships between the many elements of the urban environment that together contribute to unsustainable dechoosing scale. Van Bueren et al. (2012) proposes that spatial scales can be used to define boundaries of cities and within cities, with building being the lowest scale distinguished. For this paper, this will be indeed the lowest scale that is assessed. When regarding a city as an urban ecosystem it must be related to other ecosystems that are nearby as well as ecosystems far away. To assess whether a system is sustainable or not the in- and output flows of the system are important information bearers to quantify the use of resources of a city. This flow approach can be seen as an extension to the ecosystems approach, with flows being the relations between the various elements in the ecosystem. Flows in an urban environment can for instance can water, energy, food and waste (van Bueren et al., 2012). To limit the in- and outputs of urban systems Hendriks (2001) developed a Three Steps Strategy to do so. The following three steps have to be followed to reach reduction; reduce incoming and outgoing flows, use renewable or infinite sources and, when using sources that are finite, use them as efficiently and wisely as possible. This Three Steps Strategy can be translated to energy, the first step reducing demand, the second focussing on renewable energy and third step use fossil fuels efficiently. Important to understand is that these steps are based on priority (Hendriks, 2001).
3.3. Spatial justice & the right to the city delivered through participation. The city is ultimately created by its inhabitants, and everyone in the city should have the individual liberty to access urban resources, but the right to the city is far more than that (Harvey, 2008). The right to the city is also the right to change ourselves by changing the city. The right to the city is besides an individual right
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velopment. A challenge in looking at the city as a system is defining boundaries and
also a more collective right because the transformation of the city depends on the exercise of collective power. Marcuse (2009) elaborates on this by quoting Henri Lefebvre ‘… the right to the city is like a cry and a demand.’ The right to the city is both a cry out of necessity and a demand for something more, these are two separate things. The demand comes from those who are excluded, the cry is of those who are alienated. The demand is for the material necessities of life, the aspiration is for a broader right to what is necessary beyond the material to lead a satisfying life. The right to the city is not one right but multiple rights that are incorporated, it is not just one right to public space or one right to resources (Marcuse, 2009). Lefebvre (1991) points out that the right to the city is not necessarily the right to the existing city but also the right to the future city.
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Spatial justice and the right to the city are intimately related. Within spatial justice the emphasis lies on social economic relationships that are happening in space and the spatial dynamics of the distribution of resources, financial means and opportunities (Rocco, 2017). Fair allocation of resources and services within an urban area can be defined as distributive justice. Procedural justice within spatial justice is the justice or injustice that lies within planning processes themselves. To achieve spatial justice participation regarding urban affairs is key. Citizen participation could redistribute power in Figure 1: A ladder of participation illustrated (Arnstein, 1969)
order to enable citizens to be
deliberately included in decision making processes.
Arnstein (1969) developed the ladder of participation where the key point is that participation is delicate process but if applied right it can facilitate the redis-
tribution of power that enables the have-not citizens, presently excluded from the political and economic processes, to be deliberately included in the future. Thus, participation could be seen as a tool to deliver spatial justice and actively involve people to manage their Right to the City. The ladder of participation consists of eight levels, which indicate the extent of power the citizens have in determining the end product (Arnstein, 1969). The first two levels are forms of nonparticipation, within these levels, participation isn’t the objective but distributes all power into levels that give ‘tokenism’, participants have a voice and are possibly heard but they lack power to ensure that their views will be taken into account. Placation is simply said a higher level of tokenism because it enables participants to advise but the actual decision making is still in the hands of the power-
Figure 2: Illustration of the VPP in Amsterdam-West (Alliander, 2017c).
holders. The top three levels are levels where citizen power have increasing power in decision making. The partnership level enables citizens to negotiate and engage in trade-offs with the original power holders, while at the levels above the have-not citizens obtain the majority of the decision-making power or even full managerial power (Arnstein, 1969).
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the hands of the people that already have the power. The third and fourth level are
4. The Virtual Power Plant in the Energy Transition The VPP isn’t a new phenomenon in the energy industry. Several examples around the world already exist, one of them even powering a whole Scottish island (Andrews, 2014). In the Netherlands however Alliander’s VPP is the first of its kind with 50 households situated in Amsterdam-West participating in the project. Each household has photo-voltaic panels on their roof to produce energy which is stored in a home battery. This battery will load when energy prices are low and will unload when energy prices are high. This loading and unloading are done automatically and is decided by an algorithm that is programmed to forecast when surplus energy
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can be delivered back into the grid and when energy can be used by the household to avoid high energy prices (Alliander, 2017c).
4.1. The Position of the Virtual Power Plant in the energy system The VPP is a collective initiative which means that the system exists out of various individual actors, in this case 50 households. These households all are provided a home battery but only together the VPP works. The generated energy on a household level is not enough to participate on the energy market and profit from the fluctuating energy prices (van Zoelen, 2017). To this day the original energy grid of Alliander is a one-way interaction with central energy production by energy providers that is transported to the consumer via Alliander’s grid. The traditional consumer is only able to consume energy and the sole feedback that consumers originally have is the energy- meter in their homes. With the rise of the smart-meter, information sharing is on the rise, and the flow of information becomes more of a two-way principle. The introduction of the VPP adds a new flow into the existing system. As described above the VPP enables households to not only deliver information back into the grid but also surplus energy that they themselves do not use. This new flow within the energy system is considered very valuable, according to Alliander (2017c). The new flow of energy into the system makes the system more resilient towards power shortages because demand can be met with the stored energy. Furthermore, the system gains flexibility because energy can be produced at various levels, at the level of the household
but also at a more centralised level but the systems keep functioning when the one or the other isn’t able to do so. Within the Three Step Strategy designed by Hendriks (2001), the step with the highest priority regarding energy, namely the reduction of energy demand, still needs to be met with the implementation of the VPP. Nonetheless, the second and third steps are actively strived towards with the VPP. The VPP is powered by renewable energy, but since the grid nowadays still relies on fossil fuels, the VPP energy is unavailable.
4.2. Social Practices and the Virtual Power Plant Smart meters are responsible for changing the social practices of individuals living in a house with a smart meter (Naus et al., 2015). Participants reportedly chose to adjust the timing of social practices, for instance, doing the laundry, which uses large amounts of energy. Interestingly, though is that the motives to do so vary per participant; some change their practices because of financial gain, while others change their practices to cut their demand on the energy system (Naus et al., 2015). With the VPP still being a running project, changes in social practices are only sometimes available because some households have been involved longer than others. An example of a person shared his experiences is Hielke Ploeg from Osdorp. He already has been living with a home battery of Alliander for two years. During summer, his household can use almost no energy from the grid and to live fully from energy produced by the solar panels on their roof. “We only need to be careful not to use the laundry machine during the day”, he argues (Parool, 2017). From this quote it seems that indeed the VPP influences the social practices within the household of Hielke. Another resident participating in the VPP is Jan Engelen from Nieuw Sloten, he expresses that the motivation for participating in the VPP stems from wanting to be more sustainable. “Since I have solar panels I am more conscious of when to use the dishwasher or the laundry machine, when the sun shines I turn them on.” (Greenspread, 2017b) In this case the VPP is not the initial reason to be more conscious of certain social practices but it illustrates that presence of energy production and monitoring within a household influenced the social practices of Jan. The VPP enables the users to be more conscious about their energy use but users only reduce their energy costs through their participation. If
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also enables the energy consumer to use fossil fuels efficiently when renewable
all users would keep using energy as usual there is a probability the VPP won’t be able to reduce the use of fossil fuels, this makes it clear that the VPP is a design that needs participation of its users in order to be successful but through participation does shape and change social practices.
4.3. Power relations influenced by the Virtual Power Plant The VPP has several actors contributing within the project. First of all, the providers of the VPP, Alliander. As explained earlier, Alliander a grid operator that
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ensures that energy can be delivered to the consumer. Besides Alliander, some other players from the energy industry play a role, energy provider Greenspread and ICT-developer EXE, which is a daughter-enterprise of Alliander (Alliander, 2017b, Alliander 2017c). An actor on that is operating on the background is the municipality of Amsterdam, while not actively involved in the VPP the municipality does have a significant number of shares in Alliander and is provider of permits for among other things solarpanels. Furthermore of course the residents of the households that participate in the VPP are important actors but also the collective of households could beseen as an actor. As noted, earlier participation is key in the VPP when it comes to the reduction of energy demand, but to what extent do the participant really get to participate when looking at other characteristics of the VPP. The VPP is advertised as a way for residents to have more control over their own energy expenses and it should give residents more insight in the pricing of energy. In practice, the residents individually do not have the control over when energy is sold or bought in because the VPP works only for the collective as a whole. The power in this case seemingly lies with the residents but power only exists for the collective. Furthermore, the home battery runs on an algorithm that decides whether energy is sold, stored or flows back to the energy grid of the household. The residents themselves do not have a button where they can choose to release power back into the grid or to keep their batteries full, moreover it is questionable if residents have the knowledge to fully understand what this algorithm does. The right to the city only to an extend is reached in this case because the choice is facilitated to be involved in the VPP but to actively participate in the energy market a collective is still needed. Full power to the residents
is only partially reached because in the ladder of Arnstein (1969) the VPP only seems to be stuck on the level of ‘placation’, one of the levels within tokenism, because the residents are able to influence the VPP by using certain amounts of energy but the actual decision making is still in the hands of the powerholders and in this case also the technical features. The participation level of the residents in the VPP is limited and this makes that the VPP is not necessarily an initiative delivering more power to the residents of the collective. Through the VPP the grid operator is still to a more spatial just system.
4.4. Virtual Power Plant’s contribution to the energy transition The VPP certainly does contribute to the energy transition but only to a certain extend. Apparent is that the VPP contributes highly to a more efficient, reliable and flexible energy system. It combats intermittency and supports the use of renewable energy without adding to uncertainty on the availability of energy. The impact of the VPP on the social practices of the residents in the participating households is something only the future can tell. There are certainly signs that the VPP encourages participants to act more consciously about their social practices and the effect these practices have on the demand of energy their households have. In regard to the influence of the VPP has regarding the power relations within the existing energy system the residents do get more power but no actual power. Power only exists when the residents are united in a collective and even then, the real power lies with the grid operator who operates the system with predesigned algorithms that decide about the flows of energy. The VPP is a project that from an ecosystem thinking view adds highly to the energy transitions but in accordance to the right to the city and spatial justice the VPP contributes no revolutionary amount of influence.
5. Conclusion Within the energy transition the Virtual Power Plant contributes to a more efficient, reliable and flexible energy system. The VPP enables households to produce
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in charge of how much energy is fed back into the grid and this is not contributing
their own renewable energy and lowers the demand for energy produced in a more unsustainable way. The VPP combats challenges like intermittency which is a large threat regarding an energy grid with mostly renewable energy because it introduces new flows to the existing energy grid. The new flows introduced are storage in time of surplus energy at the level of the household but also a flow of energy into the grid in times of lack of energy elsewhere in the system. The VPP is responsible for some change in social practices regarding energy use in the participating household, but real empirical research is still lacking to see if the VPP really affects social practices as expected. The VPP could be a way for the users to be more conscious about their energy use, but users only reduce their energy costs through their participation. If the social practices towards energy use
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of the participating households stays as usual there is a probability the VPP won’t be able to reduce the use of fossil fuels. This makes it clear that the VPP is a design that needs the participation of its users in order to be successful but through participation does shape and change social practices. The power relations in the energy system do not shift drastically with the introduction of the VPP. The power remains mostly in the hands of the facilitators of the VPP, the households are merely little power plants but can’t influence the system on an individual level and even collectively the influence the residents should have is regulated by algorithms. The VPP thus does not deliver the amount spatial justice that it could deliver when the household participating in the VPP would have more tangible influence on the decision making within the flows of energy. To conclude the VPP adds to the transition mostly on a technical level rather than it exploits the possibilities to do so in the social realm. The VPP is not necessarily the solution for the energy problem the future might hold but facilitates a more sustainable use of energy through the use of renewables and two-way flow of energy.
6. Recommendations and further research In this research, I only assessed the Virtual Power Plant via the available literature and internet sources. The conclusion I draw are based on this observation while more elaborate research should per definition have contact with the stakeholders and actors involved in the Virtual Power Plant. With the Virtual Power Plant
being a running project the impact the VPP has is not yet measurable and there is no indication that the expectations of the stakeholders and actors are met. I do recommend more research to be done on the impact of the VPP because it could be a way to ensure a sustainable energy system for the future, but the VPP also has its limitations regarding the power distribution within the system and the actual power the participants gain with the VPP. This notion of power is in my opinion important to assess especially with the stakeholders being private parties and semi-
References Andrews, R. (2014). Eigg – a model for a sustainable energy future. Retrieved December 30, 2017, from http://euanmearns.com/eigg-a-model-for-a-sustainable-energy-future/ Arnstein, S. (1969). A Ladder of Citizen Participation. JAIP, 35(4), 216-224. Alliander. (2017a). Aandeelhouders. Retrieved December 18, 2017, from https://www.alliander. com/nl/over-alliander/corporate-governance/aandeelhouders Alliander. (2017b). Bedrijfsprofiel. Retrieved December 18, 2017, from https://www.alliander. com/nl/over-alliander/bedrijfsprofiel?cmp=button_bedrijfsprofiel Alliander. (2017c). Wijkbewoners verhandelen samen hun duurzame energie. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://www.alliander.com/nl/media/nieuws/wijkbewoners-verhandelen-samen- hun-duurzame-energie Brand, R. (2005). Urban infrastructures and sustainable social practices. Journal of Urban Technology, 12, 1-25. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10630730500307128 European Commission (2011) Smart Grids: from innovation to deployment, European Commission Directorate-General for Energy, Brussels. Retrieved December 14, 2017, http:// eur- lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0202:FIN:EN:PDF Fridley, D. (2010). Nine challenges of alternative energy. In R. Heinberg and D. Lerch (Eds.) The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century’s Sustainability Crises, Watershed Media/ Post Carbon Institute, 229-246. Greenspread. (2017a). City-zen; De nieuwe energie transitie. Retrieved December 18, 2017, from https://www.greenspread.nl/cityzen Greenspread. (2017b). City-zen deelnemer: Jan Engelen. Retrieved December 15, 2017, from https://www.greenspread.nl/nieuws/city-zen-deelnemer-jan-engelen Geels (2005) The dynamics of transitions in socio-technical systems: A multi-level analysis of the transition pathway from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles
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governmental companies this could be an interesting viewpoint.
(1860–1930), Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 17(4), 445-476, DOI: 10.1080/09537320500357319 Harvey, D. (2008). The Right to the City. New Left Review, Sept/ Oct (53), 23-40. https:// newleftreview.org/issues/ii53/articles/david-harvey-the-right-to-the-city Hendriks, C. H. F. (2001). Sustainable construction. Æneas Technical Publishers. Marcuse, P. (2009). From critical urban theory to the right to the city. City, 13 (2-3), 185-197 Ministry of Economic Affairs of The Netherlands. (2016). Energieagenda (naar een CO2-arme energievoorziening). Retrieved December 18, 2017, from https://www.rijksoverheid. nl/documenten/rapporten/2016/12/07/ea Naus, J., Spaargaarden, G., Van Vliet, B., & Van der Horst, H. (2014). Smart grids, information flows and emerging domestic energy practices. Energy Policy, 68, 436-446.
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Naus, J., Van Vliet, B., & Hendriksen, A. (2015). Households as change agents in a Dutch smart energy transition: On power, privacy, and participation. Energy Research & Social Science, 9, 125-136. Rocco, R. (2017) Spatial Justice and the right to the city: lecture for MSc MADE Course YMS30306 Metropolitan Innovators. Social and Economic Council. (2013). Energieakkoord voor duurzame groei. Retrieved December 18,
2017,
from https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/convenant-
en/2013/09/06/energieakkoord-voor-duurzame-groei Van der Brugge, R., Rotmans, J., & Loorbach, D. (2005). The transition in Dutch water management. Regional Environmental Change, 5(4), 164-176. Retrieved from https://linkspringer-com.tudelft.idm.oclc.org/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10113-004-0086-7.pdf Van Bueren, E., van Bohemen, H., Itard, L. & Visscher, H. (2012). Sustainable Urban Environments; An Ecosystems Approach. Springer. Van Zoelen, B. (2017). Woningen in Nieuw-West vormen samen virtuele elektriciteitscentrale. Retrieved December 30, 2017, from https://www.parool.nl/amsterdam/woningenin-nieuw-west- vormen-samen-virtuele-elektriciteitscentrale~a4338354/ Verbong, G., & Geels, F. (2010). Exploring sustainability transitions in the electricity sector with socio-technical pathways. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 77, 1214-1221.
Organic household waste in the big city: A spatial, ecological & sociotechnical inquiry Laurens van der Wal
JAN 2018
Household organic waste constitutes a significant portion of residual household waste in the Netherlands. While the country is recognized for its advanced separate collection systems, major cities face substantial challenges in achieving comparable recycling rates. This article employs a multi-dimensional approach, examining the urban dilemma of organic waste separation through socio-technical, ecosystems, and spatial justice lenses. The central inquiries revolve around the disparities between big cities and smaller counterparts in organic waste collection, strategies for improvement, and potential enhancements. The socio-technical perspective delves into the historical evolution of household waste, emphasizing the influence of economic and cultural drivers on waste perception and disposal processes. Notably, the divide in organic waste separation rates between rural and densely populated urban areas is a recent phenomenon. From an ecosystems viewpoint, the current organic waste collection and processing systems are scrutinized. Predominantly, incineration and landfilling methods are employed, resulting in nutrient loss and substantial greenhouse gas
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METROPOLITAN SYSTEMS: WASTE MANAGEMENT
emissions. However, these materials could be repurposed for compost or bio-based resources. Five key factors hindering organic waste separation in big cities are identified, including limited storage space, negative perceptions of organic waste, cultural diversity, absence of separation facilities, and non-conformity with social norms. The spatial justice approach investigates stakeholders in Amsterdam’s organic waste system and their proposed solutions. Diverse coalitions of stakeholders, spanning civil society, public, and private sectors, are actively engaged in various initiatives. Experimental efforts, such as neighborhood-level organic waste collections, worm hotels, and collective composting, are on the rise. Additionally, a post-processing plant for waste separation is under construction. Policymakers can leverage financial incentives, reversed collection strategies, and mandates for organic waste processing in new
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real estate developments to drive progress. While organic waste separation is gaining momentum, incineration remains dominant. Attention to storage solutions within the urban environment, communication with residents, and realistic expectations for post-processing plants is crucial. Furthermore, ongoing policy improvements are essential to advancing the circular economy and achieving a sustainable future for organic household waste. In summary, this article provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and potential solutions surrounding organic waste separation in major Dutch cities, combining insights from socio-technical, ecosystems, and spatial justice perspectives. Keywords: Organic household waste, the Netherlands, Separate waste collection, Socio-technical approach, Spatial justice
1. Introduction Separate organic household waste collection took a giant leap in the Netherlands a little over twenty years ago. That was when the Dutch National Governmnet decided to force municipalities to collect organic waste separately. The consequences were increased separation rates and a blooming industry for making compost and other products from our food scraps and garden waste (Vereniging Afvalbedrijven Afdeling Bioconversion, 2015). In this article, I explore the separation and collection of organic household waste. The Netherlands currently has Europe’s highest collection rates of green
waste (European Environment Agency, 2016). But as an inhabitant of Rotterdam, arguably one of the most modern cities in the Netherlands, I have no official possibility of disposing of my organic waste separately. When I looked into this problem, I discovered that after twenty years of organic waste separation, our largest cities, such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam, still need to catch up. The municipal waste vision of Amsterdam, see Figure 1, shows that recycling rates of organic waste in Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht are meagre compared to the naAll the while, cities, in general, are growing at massive speeds. These four cities will be responsible for a third of the entire population growth of the Netherlands in the coming decade (PBL, CBS, 2016). With urban areas still growing, this gives urgency to the question of what is happening here. Why are these big cities not on an equal level as their smaller counterparts in terms of separate garbage collection? What measures are being taken? And what more could we be doing to solve this? The problem lies not only in the difficulties of separately collecting this waste or the growing amount of the organic stream. The processing of organic waste is another challenge. Organic waste that ends up in residual waste in the Netherlands is burned, causing a considerable loss of valuable nutrients (Afval Energie Bedrijf Amsterdam, 2017). In other countries, organic waste is still often landfilled, and it ends up producing greenhouse gasses that are emitted into the atmosphere. We need circular ways to deal with organic waste, producing less greenhouse gases. I will start chapter two by explaining the methodology, mainly a qualitative documentary analysis. In the theoretical background in the third chapter, three approaches will be explained to get a grip on the topic: a sociotechnical view, an ecosystems approach and a spatial justice perspective. The organic household waste challenge will be viewed through these lenses to provide a multidimensional view. This is followed by the results in chapter four, where I combine data for the documentary analysis. This is done separately per approach, but in the last part of the chapter, a synthesis paragraph combines findings from the ecosystem and spatial justice approach. Chapter five consists of the conclusion, and chapter six covers the discussion and ideas for further research.
2. Methodology This research is a qualitative study. Literature research was done to set up
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tional average of 55% (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2015, p. 16).
the theoretical framework regarding three different approaches to the challenge. These approaches are explained in broad outlines in the theoretical background. Several aspects of organic household waste separation have been selected. They will be further researched using a documentary analysis based on the three approaches used in this course. Woven into this analysis is a case study of the organic household waste system in Amsterdam. The sociotechnical approach was mainly used to sketch the historical path taken in the last two centuries to get to the current state of play regarding organic household waste processing in Western Europe and the Netherlands. The ecosystems approach was first used to get an in-depth insight into the current linear system used for processing organic waste. Here, we start to focus
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on Amsterdam as a case study. Secondly, the ecosystem approach was used to see what a circular organic waste system could look like. Finally, it was used to analyse the dense urban context and see what factors inhibit the separate collection of organic household waste. The spatial justice perspective was used to get an idea of the stakeholders involved in the organic waste collection in Amsterdam. Furthermore, the chapter on spatial justice was used to dive into the solutions realised in Amsterdam and tackle the organic waste challenge. A synthesis chapter was added to see how well the current solutions answer the inhibiting factors for the urban context. In addition, an interview was done with an expert on (organic) waste separation to gain more insight into current and future developments in the Netherlands. This interview was mainly done to understand active stakeholders and solutions better, but some concrete remarks have been added where applicable.
3. Theoretical background As stated in the methodology, the challenge of organic waste collection in large cities will be studied from three viewpoints or theoretical approaches: a socio-technical perspective, a spatial justice point of view and an ecosystem approach. By looking at the urban organic waste challenge through these different lenses, it is possible to get a multidimensional perspective. In this theoretical background, the different approaches will be defined and explained by relevant literature. Besides that, the meaning of the term organic waste is specified in this article.
3.1 The Socio-Technical Approach Many processes within our society, such as communicating, working, and disposing of your garbage, are supported by technology. When you communicate with friends, it is often through the phone or over Skype, labour is automated by waste container. So, technology is essential for society, but it only fulfils functions in conjunction with human agency and social structures (Geels, 2005). Because society depends on technology, and technology facilitates society, we can look at this ‘collaboration’ as one complex socio-technical system (Geels, 2005). We can go even further and speak of a ‘seamless web’ where society constantly shapes technology, which again shapes society (Hughes, 1986). Socio-technical systems (STS) theory originated around the 1950s in the British coal mines. At the time, a purely technological directive ruled the design of the workplace: an increase in bureaucratisation alongside each increase in scale and level of mechanisation (Trist, 1981). However, productivity failed to increase along with increased mechanisation. Research showed that a specific mine where “the best match was found between the requirements of the social and technical systems” had better economic and human results (Trist, 1981, p. 9). With this finding, a new work paradigm and a new field of research were born. Cities are complex systems made up of a physical sub-system and a human sub-system, and they can also be considered socio-technical systems (Hillier, 2012). Geels defines socio-technical systems in more detail as consisting of “a cluster of elements, including technology, regulation, user practices and markets, cultural meaning, infrastructure, maintenance networks and supply networks” (2005, p. 446). Essential aspects to consider when looking through a socio-technical lens at the organic waste challenge are the definition of the problem when looking at the social features or the technical ones and how these are related. It can also be interesting to see how the problem came into being and what different problem definitions have been around throughout the years. Moreover, whether different problem definitions have had different solutions as an answer.
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machines or computers, and waste disposal is registered with a personal card at a
3.2. The Ecosystem Approach The ecosystem approach rests upon ecosystem theory and general systems theory. These theories have an intertwined history of development. Though not the first to come up with the notion that there are certain interdependencies in natural environments, Tansley (1935) was the first to coin the term ecosystem. He described it as one physical system of organism and their environment. These ideas were further developed by scientists such as Odum from the 1950s onwards, who described principles of development and functions for ecosystems (Odum, 1953).
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The general systems theory was first developed by authors such as Boulding and Bertallanfy around the 1950s and 1960s. It is a challenge to try to summarise this in one sentence. Still, nonetheless, a core idea is discernible: The central idea is that “there are correspondences in the principles that govern the behaviour of entities that are, intrinsically, widely different” (von Bertalanffy, 1968, p.33). Von Bertalanffy uses the exponential law of growth as an example that applies to the development of certain bacteria but just as well to the growth of populations of animals and humans or the number of scientific publications. His point is that these examples are all systems, which he defines as: “complexes of elements standing in interaction” (von Bertalanffy, 1968, p.33). This interaction is an essential point of systems theory and can be seen as an opposite view of the equally scientific reductionist approach. Whereas reductionism aims to break reality down into components to study these parts, systems theory aims to unearth all interdependencies and connections (Tuominen, 2010). Only relatively recently has this knowledge and way of thinking been applied to human habitats, in the form of urban areas, by Newman in 1975. Van Bueren (2012) describes that although it is widely accepted that humans are an integral part of ecosystems, they are often not part of definitions of ecosystems. She shows the urgency by stating that “human existence depends on the biological life-support systems of the earth” (van Bueren, 2012, page). This is all the more important considering the massive negative impact human life has on the earth’s ecosystems; recent research by Rockström et al. (2015) has shown we are already crossing our planet’s boundaries, as seen in Figure 2. Significant aspects to be considered in the ecosystems approach are the more extensive system in which the urban challenge is embedded, the flows of materials
involved, and to what extent these flows are organised circularly. Another aspect is how sustainable the proposed solutions are regarding social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
3.3 The Spatial Justice Approach
the spatial or geographical aspects of justice and injustice. As a starting point, this involves the fair and equitable distribution in the space of socially valued resources and the opportunities to use them” (Soja, 2009). Rocco (2014) makes this more tangible by specifying these resources: public goods, basic services, cultural goods, economic opportunity, and healthy environments. Public goods deserve some special attention here since waste management can be considered a public good, as can recycling (Cointreau-Levine, 1994). A public good is a good that is non-rivalrous and non-excludable. The first means that one individual can consume the good without making it unavailable to another individual, the latter means that one cannot be (easily) excluded from having access to the good (Cowen, 2008). Rocco furthermore adds a distinction between distributive justice, the allocation of resources as mentioned by Soja, and procedural justice, which refers to the justice in the processes of planning, design, laws, and regulations themselves (Rocco, 2017). He continues to argue that spatial justice implies ‘the right to the city,’ a concept by Henry Lefebvre, further developed by David Harvey and defined as “a right to change ourselves by changing the city” (Harvey, 2008). Harvey argues that cities, from their inception, have come into being by spatial concentrations of surplus production. In other words, the ability of cities to produce more than necessary just for sustenance. He continues to say that cities have a basis of inequality because the surpluses have always been in control of a few hands. The right to the city then implies establishing democratic management over the urban deployment of these surpluses. Critical of the neoliberalist mindset that has dominated in western countries the last thirty years, Harvey states that corporate power has created the current system of governance which favours the corporate capital and upper classes (Har-
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The famous geographer Edward Soja defined spatial justice as follows: “In the broadest sense, spatial (in)justice refers to an intentional and focused emphasis on
vey, 2008). Rocco argues that in order to involve non-expert views, that are often not heard in spatial processes, in other words to get equality and procedural spatial justice, it is necessary to understand these governance structures (Rocco, n.d.) So, what is governance? Governance can be defined as the practice to develop policies in interaction with a diversity of societal actors (Loorbach, 2010). Rocco further defines these societal actors as the civil society, the public sector, and the private sector, as can be seen in Figure 3, a depiction of the ‘governance triangle’ (Governance, normative). The rule of law provides the framework for the existence of and relationships between these parties. (Rocco, 2013b)
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We can broadly specify these categories. The public sector consists of government bodies such as municipalities and national or supranational agencies, the private sector refers to companies and corporations, and civil society refers to civilians united for a cause such as NGOs or social or religious movements. However, in real life, there are many possible coalitions between these parties, and not all parties have an equal voice in policy-making, as depicted in Figure 3 (Governance, descriptive). Furthermore, next to formal institutions and the rule of law, informal institutions or norms based on culture and tradition, determine governance in practice (Rocco, n.d.). According to Papadopoulos the implementation of policies by networks of public and non-public actors implies a ‘multilevel’ form of governance. This involves “a large number of decision-making arenas, differentiated along both functional and territorial lines” (2007). These can be arena’s “in the home; in the neighbourhood; in local, regional, national, and international councils; in firms and markets; and in the interactions among all of these arenas with others” (Ostrom, 2005). It is clear that to achieve a level of spatial justice many different actors are involved. These actors are collaborating and discussing in many different arena’s regarding a vast range of resources. Important aspects to consider regarding the spatial justice perspective are therefore: determining who the involved stakeholders in the challenge are, whether they are all actively involved in the process and where they are located in the governance triangle. Besides that, it is interesting to determine whether any public goods are created in the proposed solutions to the urban organic waste challenge. And finally, if the inhabitants of Amsterdam can shape the way their own city deals with organic waste and thus, the way they deal
with it themselves.
3.4. Organic waste defined. In terms of waste production in urban context, different streams can be identified. One such stream is household waste but there is also waste from companies, by households and can be further subdivided in coarse and fine waste. Fine waste is all the waste that can be put in ordinary waste bags whereas coarse household waste is large bulky waste which is put on the streets at certain dates or brought to specific waste stations by the inhabitants themselves (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2015). The waste stream that is discussed in this article is the organic fraction of the fine household waste, often referred to as GFT afval in Dutch or vegetable, fruit, and garden waste (VFG waste) in English. Besides the fruit and vegetable waste, this organic fraction of fine household waste also contains other food and small garden waste. Sometimes the term organic waste is used in this article as short for organic household waste. In some literature kitchen waste, kitchen refuse or GF waste (VF waste) is mentioned, this refers only to the vegetable, fruit, and other food waste without the (small) garden waste.
4. Analysis To truly understand the current situation of organic household waste, we will start by diving into the history of the issue. When we get to the current situation, we can have an in-depth look at the current (technical) system that is used for organic household waste collection and processing. Besides, we will take a look at what factors are inhibiting the successful separation of this waste stream in big cities. Finally, we will look at what stakeholders are involved at what their proposed solutions are.
4.1 Socio-technical perspective From local reuse to ‘hygienic’ incineration Waste has existed for as long as humans have existed but there was a time
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street litter and sewage waste. Household waste is all the waste that is produced
when people produced much less waste. To get a good understanding of the current situation of organic household waste, we need to understand its recent history. Before 1880, there were two main categories of household waste in Dutch cities: organic waste, like food scraps, and ash from household stoves. These ashes were such a big part of household waste because a lot of products were made from materials like paper and wood that could be used as fuel for household stoves after their usefulness had worn out (Vis, 1996). For hundreds of years, contractors paid for the right to collect this household waste, because they could sell it to farmers. In the regional archive of the city of Dordrecht we can see an example of this: until 1918 household waste in the city was collected by a contractor. But around this time, it became too expensive, because more and more farmers started using
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artificial fertilizer, making the households waste collection a unprofitable business (Regionaal Archief Dordrecht, 2017). Velis, Wilson and Cheeseman describe a similar system in their article on 19th-century London ‘dust-yards’ where private contractors took care of the household waste (2009). ‘Dust women’ would sift the waste, taking out materials like rags, bones, string, cork, paper, coal, glass, etc., depositing these all into different receptacles, leaving the dust or soil that could be sold again as manure or material for bricks. In Figure 4, the composition of the waste gathered at one of these dust yards can be seen. In general, the attitude towards urban household waste in Europe changed around the end of the 19th century. One of the main reasons was that cities health deteriorated between the 15th and 18th centuries. With writings by Roman scholars again in fashion, so-called neo-Hippocratic ideas about health spread in society. This also stimulated the idea that the environment is important for human well-being. This was supported by extensive statistics produced at the time regarding mortality (Barles, 2014). This signalled the beginning of a public health era and, consequently, sanitary reform. In England, a consequence was the Public Health Act of 1875 (Cooper, 2010). This also had consequences for waste collection; responsibility for removal of solid waste shifted more and more to municipalities (United Nations Human Settlements Program, 2010). Stimulated by the worries about the negative health aspects of waste, at the end of the 19th century, the first waste incinerators were developed in England. At
that time, a lot of people still believed the so-called miasma theory that dirty air carried diseases, and burning waste was a definitive way of dealing with it. These incinerators became more and more prevalent, replacing the aforementioned dust yard. Thus, recycling was replaced with incineration (Cooper, 2008).
In England, recycling came back into fashion when the First World War started and was organised even better in the Second World War. During these times, stimulated by scarcity, people started rediscovering the practical use of waste materials and the money that could be earned. A writer called Frederick Talbot wrote a book on waste at the beginning of the 20th century, argued, ‘Devout worshippers of hygiene’ had forced out of operation the system of dust-picking and scavenging of pre-war dust-yards and substituted incineration, the result was uncontrolled waste (Talbot, 1919, p. 141). After the war, the amount of plastic packaging multiplied, as did the number of electronic devices. Stimulated by the rise of television, advertisements and growing purchasing power, the amount of waste increases simultaneously (Avalex, 2017). Between 1960 and 1990, household waste in the Netherlands doubled in quantity (Vis, 1996). Important to note is that besides the change in quantity, a change in household waste composition was also present. This change in residual household waste composition between 1940 and 1980 in the Netherlands can be seen in Figure 5. Although the organic part is still huge, we see a decline in the organic part and a growth of plastics and glass. Suppose we come back to the United Kingdom, with this diversification and growth of the waste output, waste disposal methods in the period after the war shifted to landfilling (also called ‘controlled tipping’) and incineration. From the article on the refuse revolution by Cooper (2008), various reasons for this reversion can be deducted: 1.
Large investments tied up in existing disposal infrastructure discouraged
new investments in recycling. 2.
The cultural attitude towards waste as something unhygienic that need-
ed to be rid of quickly stimulated disposal by, e. g. landfilling and incinerating. 3.
Unstable market conditions for recycled materials discouraged recycling.
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From wartime frugality to consumer society
4. Changes in the composition of waste materials for which there was no use, such as plastics, discouraged recycling. Limits to growth Whereas in many countries, landfilling and incineration are still the prevailing ways to deal with waste, starting at the end of the sixties, a new awareness for the environment has emerged. This change could be said to have originated with the
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efforts of the Club of Rome and the famous report Limits to Growth (Meadows et al., 1972). On a governmental level, this paradigm shift led to environmental plans and legislation, which also had consequences for the waste sector. Around the same time in the Netherlands, after several serious cases of environmental pollution and the societal unrest that came along with this, a new set of waste priorities was decided upon. In the 90s, the ladder of Lansink was introduced, which prioritised the most environmentally friendly treatment of waste, as seen in Figure 6. The legislation was introduced that obligated municipalities to collect organic household waste separately (Vereniging Afvalbedrijven Afdeling Bioconversion, 2015). This is reflected in the current composition of waste, as can be seen in Figure 7. In comparison to the previous figures of the waste composition in 1940 and 1980, Organic waste (Gft-afval e.d.) is a much smaller fraction nowadays due to the separation of streams, so this measure was quite successful. However, in the years after the law went into action, certain municipalities, mainly large densely populated areas like the big cities of Utrecht or Rotterdam, already filed for an exemption, citing reasons like organic waste that was too polluted with other waste or difficulty in collecting waste in high rise neighbourhoods (Bezemer, 2008). In 2008, the possibilities for exemption were broadened in the law to accommodate municipalities (Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat, 2008). Since the nineties, the use of resources, production of greenhouse gasses and production of solid waste material has only grown. With it, the urgency of changing our society into a more sustainable version of itself has grown. Consequently, more and more organisations are working on themes such as sustainable energy, circular economy and resource depletion, and these themes are also higher on the agenda of many political parties and governmental institutions, nationally and globally.
Currently, the Netherlands is among the biggest producers of solid waste per capita in Europe, but we are also among the top five countries with the highest recycling percentage, with 52 per cent of the household waste being recycled (European Environment Agency, 2016). European legislation aims for 65% of household waste to be recycled by 2030 (European Commission, 2017). But as said before, the Dutch government has an even more ambitious target of recycling 75% of total household waste by 2020 in
Lessons learned We can learn a couple of things from this history of waste that shed light on its socio-technical development. First off, all cultural values and the related definitions of waste, have an important influence on the evolution of technologies as does the economic situation. If we look at the waste history, people could and probably did burn their waste before the hygienic revolution. But large-scale technological development of waste incinerators only happened because of this shift in culture funded by the economic boom of the Industrial Revolution. Incinerating waste was a good way to get rid of what was considered ‘dirty and unhealthy’ waste material. Throughout the years we see that there are many different proposed technical solutions to deal with the problem of waste materials in cities. The table overview below is based on different historic literature sources on waste. It shows us the economic drivers, cultural drivers, and dominant technology of waste processing in the United Kingdom. As you can see, people can have a different outlook on waste material in the cultural driver’s column. [table] Some other lessons we can draw from the history of waste is that in times of economic growth, society has often pushed aside the issue of waste and resources, shoving it under the carpet by landfilling or incinerating. Whereas in times of need, such as wartime, we seem quite capable of reusing and recycling our resources to a large extent. Furthermore, we see new technologies like incineration might be accepted by the public for being considered better than previous solutions (for example, by being more hygienic). However, this does not say much about their
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two years (Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Milieu, 2016).
long term positive or negative effects on society, such as their environmental impact. In the case of incineration, the consequences are amongst others destruction of resources like nutrients or reusable products, and emissions, both of which are detrimental to our society in the long term (more about this in the next chapter). Finally, an important fact to keep in mind is that large investments in disposal infrastructure tend to influence policy making for decades.
4.3. Ecosystem approach By looking at the (organic) waste challenge through a socio-technical lens, we
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learned that before the 20th century, cities used to be hotspots of resources, with high rates of reuse and recycling. We also saw that the divide between large cities where organic waste is not used and small cities or rural areas where organic waste is collected separately is something recent. So, what is it about this specific metropolitan context that causes the current challenge? And how much waste is produced in the city? Let’s have a better look at this specific ecosystem.
Quantified impact Every inhabitant of Amsterdam produces waste, 370 kg per person per year to be precise. And the average inhabitant produces a large mix of different types of waste as can be seen in figure 8. As can be seen, 73% of the total waste is residual waste, and 27% is separated waste. Separated waste consists of bulky waste, paper, glass, metal textiles, plastic, and small chemical waste. Currently, organic waste is part of the residual waste and is not being separated. We see again that organic waste is the most significant fraction, making up more than 30% of the residual waste.
The current linear system In Amsterdam, all of the residual waste ends up in the incinerator of the AEB Amsterdam (Afval Energie Bedrijf). Incinerating the waste provides energy in the form of electricity and heat. In 2016, heat from AEB combined with heat from the wastewater treatment plant of Waternet heated about 25.000 houses in Amster-
dam by means of a heat grid. The residues that remain after incineration are bottom ash (the part that remains on the floor) and fly ash (ashes going up with the smoke). Some of the metals in these ashes, namely iron, aluminium, copper, and zinc, are retrieved. The residual ash is then used in civil engineering projects (Afval Energie Bedrijf Amsterdam, 2017). Of course, there are many other large metropolitan areas where residual waste is not processed nearly as efficiently as in Amsterdam. If we take the city of London incinerator. Also, the incinerator is only used for electricity production, so the heat is lost. Furthermore 49% of the municipal waste is still landfilled in London (Greater London Authority, 2011). Except for the recovery of the metals in the case of the AEB, these are linear systems. And although energy is being produced with incineration, in the best-case nutrients in the organic fraction end up in roads or other large infrastructure constructions. But to make matters worse some of these nutrients can be considered as finite resources. Scientists are already speaking of peak phosphorus, and they also agree that “the quality and accessibility of remaining reserves are decreasing and costs will increase” (Cordell & White, 2011). Furthermore, when organic waste is landfilled, the rotting process generates methane, which escapes to the air. Methane is a gas that has greenhouse effect that is 28 to 34 times stronger than CO2 (United States Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.). Consequently, when organic waste is not separately collected on a household level, it can have substantial negative effects on our larger ecosystem by reinforcing resource depletion and global warming.
A possible circular system This means there is a strong case to find more circular waste processing methods. If organic waste is recycled properly, it can be used in many different ways and produce many different circular products, see Figure 9. The best-known application is of course the production of compost which can be used in agriculture. When to soils it improves their composition and adds nutrients. Besides, composting organic waste is cheaper than processing it as residual waste (Midden, 2015); it can be done at half the price of incineration (Scholtens, 2004). Another process step that can be added is bio digestion. By digesting the waste before the compost production, bi-
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for example, we see that in 2011 only 21% of the municipal waste was sent to an
ogas can be produced that can be used to cook, power vehicles, and produce electricity (Vereniging Afvalbedrijven Afdeling Bioconversie, 2015). A maximum of 12% of the organic waste can be transformed into biogas. Therefore, the combination with composting the so-called remaining ‘digestate’ is clearly a logical step (Didde, n.d.). But there are many more uses of organic waste, for example the production of bio aromatics. Currently, aromatics, an important resource for a wide range of chemicals, coatings and plastics, are made from petroleum. However, with the depletion of fossil fuels, other renewable sources are necessary (de Winter, 2015). Additionally, the wastewater of the digestion and composting process of organic waste can be used to create biopolymers. And liquid CO2 that accompanies the production of biogas can be used in greenhouses to supply plants with carbon (Ve-
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reniging Afvalbedrijven Afdeling Bioconversie, 2015). Figure 9 Overview of a circular organic waste system (Vereniging Afvalbedrijven Afdeling Bioconversie, 2015, p.34). Processes like these can be executed on a regional scale, with a large digestor and composting facility, but also on a neighbourhood level, this could be implemented together with new sanitation concepts. An example can be found in the city of Sneek, where, in a pilot project, households were equipped with food grinders, and the organic waste leaves the house with grey water to a decentral bio-digestor (WaterSchoon, 2011).
The Metropolitan Context & Determinants So why are we not doing this yet? An often-quoted cause of the difficulties in source separating of (organic) household waste in big cities is the large number of high-rise buildings related to the high population density in these areas (Midden, 2015; VANG, n.d.; Langeveld, 2014). This relationship can be seen in Figure 10. The more high rise there is, the less waste is separated. High-rise is, of course, an inevitable part of metropolitan areas. So, we need to ask ourselves the question what it is precisely about high-rise that makes waste separation difficult? And are there other typical factors in metropolitan areas that make source separation of organic waste more difficult?
To answer these questions, we need to know why people do or do not recycle. The branch organisation Vereniging Afvalbedrijven commissioned a preliminary study on increasing the separation of organic waste in areas with considerable amounts of high-rise buildings. In this study, a model for desired behaviour is used, that helps to shed light on recycling behaviour with three determinants: 1.
Motivation: whether a person wants to perform certain behaviour, this
relates to values, social norms, awareness problems etcetera. Capacity: whether a person can perform a specific behaviour; this relates
to knowledge and skills. 3.
Opportunity: whether a person is given the opportunity by specific con-
ditions to perform the behaviour, this relates to technical, socio-cultural, economic, physical, and institutional conditions (Langeveld, 2014) According to this model, the most important factors that negatively impact separation behaviour for high-rise (apartments) and average residences (houses on ground level) were identified, as seen in Figure 11. Although all of these factors can be useful in determining measures to increase separation rates, for the focus of this essay, it is interesting to find out which are specifically crucial in organic waste separation for metropolitan areas with a large number of high-rises. Therefore, a selection was made, marked in Figure 11 with yellow outlines. This is based on findings in the literature, as explained below.
No place for smelly organic waste The first often-heard factor that negatively impacts organic waste separation in dense urban areas has to do with the opportunity to separate: a lack of storage space. High-rise can include all non-ground-bound houses, such as apartments in a flat or upstairs apartments with a shared porch (Langeveld, 2014). They lack what you typically see in neighbourhoods with row houses and gardens with green mini containers outside the house. Whereas this solution offers plenty of storage space for organic waste, apartments are generally much smaller and lack a garden or other ample outdoor space. Therefore, there is often not enough space to temporarily store organic waste before bringing it to a central container or picking it up off the street. Another factor that closely relates to this is the motivation to separate. It is a fact that separate organic waste storage is considered filthy due to stench or fruit
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2.
flies. This is especially relevant in high-rises again because of the lack of gardens, sometimes even the lack of balconies and, again, the small space. That means you cannot store organic waste outside or in an extra storage room thus you are more easily confronted with flies or stench. Also, the dense urban fabric with many different users might not allow for storage on the street either. An experiment with separately collected organic household waste in 2016 on the Oosterdokseiland in Amsterdam had to be terminated due to the invasion of flies and stench and corresponding complaints by local bars and restaurants (Wiegman, 2016). For this reason, new buildings in Adelaide in Australia are legally bound to include a waste separating system for dry recyclables, organic waste and residual waste (Langeveld, 2014). For high-rise buildings, trash chutes to central storage
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could be viable. However, whereas this solution works well for new constructions, for existing houses, this is often too difficult or expensive.
Communication Another factor related to the capacity to separate organic waste that negatively impacts organic waste separation is the number of people who do not understand or speak Dutch. This could very well be a factor that is more important in metropolitan areas, because especially the large cities in the Netherlands, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague, also have the largest share of immigrants (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, 2016).
Chicken or egg? Furthermore, two other factors determine the lack of separation. The first is a motivational factor: separating organic waste is not the dominant social norm. Therefore, people separate less. This is closely related to the factor of opportunity, that municipalities in large cities mostly do not offer organic waste separation possibilities currently. To a certain extent, this is circular reasoning; if waste separation were the dominant norm, the municipalities would offer means to do so. However, the means are not there because it is not the social norm.
Walking distance
Finally, a factor of opportunity that might matter specifically for dense urban areas is the location and the distance to where the organic waste can be collected. Research into organic waste management in apartments and waste containers by the Environmental Protection Agency of Ireland shows that “central locations where most residents are likely to pass regularly were found to be successful”. The question is how well is it possible to create centrally placed containers in a dense urban fabric? Moreover, will people still be inclined to separate their organic waste
4.3. Spatial justice perspective We now know how much waste we produce, and we know what the impact of the current system is. We also know what a circular system could look like and the conditions for organic waste separation in a dense metropolitan system. The questions that remain are: What is currently being done? Which stakeholders are involved, and to what extent, in solving Amsterdam’s organic waste challenge?
Who are the stakeholders? Let us start by looking at the different stakeholders active in Amsterdam related to household organic waste. First and foremost are the inhabitants of Amsterdam; they produce the waste material, but they need somebody to take it away. They mainly care about the frequency and reliability of the pickup of waste. Another critical stakeholder is the municipality of Amsterdam; the municipality is responsible for managing the waste. In Amsterdam, this responsibility is split between the different city districts; each takes care of its waste. The municipality has to follow waste and recycling policies set out by the national government of the Netherlands, which, as a country of the European Union (EU), has to follow recycling policies set out by the EU. The municipality processes the waste with the help of companies which are owned by the public sector, such as the AEB or de Meerlanden, and public companies (public here means: ‘listed on the stock exchange’). Examples of public companies are Renewi and Suez. They help in the collection and processing of waste. Mostly, they deliver their waste to the AEB mentioned above (who processes the waste as mentioned in chapter 4.2. Ecosystem Approach). While most
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when they have to walk further to dispose of it?
of the organic waste goes out this way, another part ends up in the sewer and is processed by Waternet and AEB. Examples of (smaller) private companies working on organic household waste are Balkonton and BinBang. Balkonton makes plant containers that use organic waste directly as fertiliser in the households. BinBang is a company with two core tasks. On the one hand, they sell a specific garbage bin that makes separating waste more comfortable in houses; on the other, they function as consultants for companies and municipalities. Of course, there are also inhabitants of Amsterdam who team up to work on the organic waste challenge. An example of this is ‘I can change the world with my own two hands, ’ an organisation based around a community garden in Amsterdam that works on local composting, food production and rainwater harvesting. Another non-profit organi-
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sation working on the organic waste challenge is ‘Stichting Buurcompost’; together with the municipality, they place vermicompost containers in neighbourhoods (composting process using species of worms). Finally, there are branch organisations such as Vereniging Afvalbedrijfen (VA) and the Koninklijke vereniging voor Afval- en Reinigingsmanagement (NVRD). The former is a branch organization for all waste companies in the Netherlands, and the latter is a public-private partnership which brings together Dutch municipalities and public sector-owned waste companies. This overview is not a complete list, but it gives an idea of the diversity and number of different stakeholders.
Governance triangle These stakeholders have been plotted on the governance triangle below; see Figure 12. The colour and distance of the three main categories say something about their closeness to the relevant sector and their identity. For example, Suez and Renewi are genuine private sector companies with shareholders for whom the most important goal is financial profit. AEB, on the other hand, is officially a company, so it strives to maximise profits. However, its only shareholder is the municipality of Amsterdam. Therefore, it is between the public and private sectors, leaning more toward the latter. The size of the circles of the different stakeholders is a coarse approximation of their influence on the organic waste process in Amsterdam, as can be seen in the legend. For example, the municipality is very influential, but separate inhabitants are hardly influential. Combined into an organisation such
as ‘I can change the world with my own two hands’, inhabitants can reinforce their position and become somewhat more influential. An interview conducted for this paper with Noor Fidgor, a business developer at BinBang, proves this point. She mentioned that they try to activate inhabitants. They want to let them see that they influence if they team up and separate their waste because this has value for the municipality and large waste processing companies. This gives them leverage and a potential seat at the negotiation table. of solutions that have recently been implemented or are currently under development. As we have seen in the ecosystems chapter, the current organic waste scheme in Amsterdam is far from ideal, but upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that Amsterdam is home to a lot of experiments, and big changes are underway. Different, almost opposing solutions are being developed by the municipality. It is interesting to note that there are different coalitions of stakeholders, and they come up with different solutions. These different solutions produce different public goods. Therefore, the stakeholders involved in a particular solution will be plotted on the governance triangle for each solution.
Municipal experiments on Java Eiland The municipality, supported by Gijs Langeveld, co-founder of BinBang, has set up an experiment in Java Eiland in Amsterdam to separate waste with centrally placed containers. Java Eiland is an area of Amsterdam that has quite a lot of high-rise buildings. This waste is source separated by the households. This was facilitated by extensive communication about the project, and the households also received biodegradable bags and baskets for the organic waste. This can decrease the stench, and as a reward, inhabitants of the area can pick up compost for free after a certain period. The preliminary results are promising; in the first four months, 15.000 kg of organic household waste was collected (Jansen & Wouters, 2017). Java Eiland has 3216 inhabitants (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2017), so if we extrapolate this data over a year (without an increase or decrease in the amount of organic waste collected). Currently, about 18% of the organic waste produced on Java Eiland is collected. Although that is a small part, the program has only been around for four months. At the same time, public goods are created, there is less of a burden on the
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Now that we know who the key players are, it is time to look at the range
environment, and a relatively easy way for people to separate their organic waste is provided for by the municipality. Although the latter is currently excludable in the sense that it is only accessible to inhabitants of Java Eiland, in the case of a city-wide implementation, this would change to be non-excludable. In the process, free compost is also created for the inhabitants (6000 kg in four months); this is a welcome added effect, but it cannot be considered a public good since it is both rivalrous and excludable. It can, however, be a stimulant for inhabitants to separate their waste. To conclude, it is too early to tell whether it is a real success, especially since data on the costs versus the final performance is needed to compare this
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solution to others.
Top-down separation plant A totally different solution is under development by AEB. Together with the municipality of Amsterdam, the choice was made to build a separation plant that post-processes the residual waste. Later, another 10 municipalities joined this collaboration and will also have their residual waste processed at the AEB plant (Afvalgids, 2016). ‘With this post-separation line, household waste, plastics, beverage cans, metals, and the organic fraction wet paper/cardboard can be recovered from the residual waste’ according to the manufacturer of the installation (Banzo, n.d.). The ambition is to reintroduce 60.000 tons of resources back into the industry and produce energy from 120.000 tons of organic fraction by digestion every year. The plant should start sorting waste in the first half of 2018. The separated organic fraction can indeed be digested with this technology. However, because of cross-contamination in the residual waste, the organic fraction is too polluted to be turned into compost afterwards. Therefore, it must still be burned in the waste incinerators (Didde, n.d.). Gijs Langeveld concludes that in terms of environmental benefits, it is not better than incineration with energy recovery. According to him, the ambition should be to reintroduce organic waste into the organic chain, amongst others, to bring back the nutrients in the environment (Jansen & Wouters, 2017). Avalex, a waste processing company in The Hague, seems to agree with his conclusion stating publicly that post-processing waste is not a good technique for all waste streams. Post-processed paper, organic waste, textiles, and glass are unsuitable for high-quality reuse (Avalex, 2017). Interestingly, in their most recent waste vision, Uitvoeringsplan Afval, the municipality of Am-
sterdam leans heavily on the argument that post-processing of the organic fraction adds to the separation percentage with a whopping 19% (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2016, p. 24). Thus, it helps them achieve their 65% household waste separation goal in 2022. Almost 90% of the residual stream of the organic waste after digestion still has to go to the incinerator because it is too polluted for other use. Therefore, the question arises whether this is actual ‘separation.’ It can be considered as such but does not contribute to a more circular society. waste is created for the inhabitants of Amsterdam. However, at the same time, post-processing waste only contributes to recycling or awareness of waste production or environmental issues. In the interview with Noor Figdor from BinBang, she expressed worry that post-processing of waste could eradicate separating behaviour that took decades to build up in the first place. This is because people might think source separating is useless because of the separating plant.
Bottom-up initiatives. An interesting bottom-up approach is the initiative of Stichting Buurtcompost. Together with inhabitants, municipalities, companies, and the catering industry, they build ‘worm hotels’ to process organic waste. The process consists of composting the waste with the help of worms. Because the composting process starts immediately, there are no foul odours, and a high-quality soil improver is created (Stichting Buurtcompost, n.d.) There are about 40 worm hotels in Amsterdam (Gemeente Amsterdam, n.d.), and demand is high for more (AT5, 2017). Every worm hotel has a responsible initiator and a group of involved neighbourhood inhabitants. Access is limited to these people because not all waste is allowed (no meat, bread, or greasy food products, for example) and to keep quality high and the worms alive (Gemeente Amsterdam, n.d.). An exciting collaboration is visible here where inhabitants, facilitated by Stichting Buurtcompost, can request a worm hotel, which is placed in collaboration with the municipality. However, currently, the demand is higher than the capacity. Another initiative with its origins in the initiative from inhabitants is the urban farming project ‘I can change the world with my own two hands’. Residents can bring their organic waste to their garden to be composted and used in the garden. In terms of public goods, we see that a way of separating organic waste is provided by requesting a worm hotel with the municipality or bringing the organic
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In terms of public goods, you could say an easy way of disposing of organic
waste to a communal garden. Also, more recycling is stimulated, leading to less environmental impact, awareness is created on the use and importance of separating organic waste, and free compost is created. However, the compost is only accessible to users of the worm hotel or the garden and is, therefore, an excludable good. Another good that can be considered a public good is the openly accessible communal garden. Furthermore, a beneficial outcome of both these projects is that residents meet each other. Whether it is on the street at the worm hotel or in the garden for a stroll, they are coming together to compost waste. Neighbourhood composting spots have also improved social cohesion in The Hague (Jansen & Wouters, 2017). So, as Jane Jacobs said in ‘Death and Life of Great American Cities’: “The trust of
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a city street is formed over time from many, many little public sidewalk contacts... Most of it is ostensibly trivial, but the sum is not trivial at all.” (Jacobs, 1962, p. 56)
The Waste Transformers The Waste Transformers company creates decentralised ‘nutrient and energy hubs’. These are digestors that fit into a shipping container and can easily be placed somewhere. They look for opportunities where individual companies or a collection of companies have a decent organic waste stream currently going to the incinerator. They then place a decentralised digestor and process the waste on-site to biogas, providing 15 homes with gas. The digestate can be used as compost in the park (van Zoelen, 2016). This way, value is created, making the digestor an economically viable product. An example of this process can be found in the Westerpark in Amsterdam, where they process the waste of local businesses. Currently, they only cater to the commercial waste market and, therefore, do not process organic household waste. However, it is not hard to imagine a high-rise building with commercial occupants and households using a similar decentralised digestor together. Therefore, it is a noteworthy project. In terms of public goods, we see that a way of separating organic waste is provided, with local waste processing. Besides that, the local use of the resources allows for much less transport and, according to the company, better social cohesion between collaborating businesses (van Zoelen, 2016).
Separating garden waste
In 2016 AEB agreed with SUEZ to let them process the organic waste from gardens and public parks in Amsterdam; this waste stream exists of grass, wood cuttings, sods, plants, etcetera. Suez composts 70% of this waste, while the other 30% goes to a bio-energy plant (Afval et al., 2016). This way, many of these nutrients are brought back into the natural cycle, a circular solution. No public goods are cre-
High-level policies Changing policy is an important aspect of achieving more circular solutions for organic household waste. As mentioned before, the goal of the EU is to achieve a 65% separation rate for household waste, which forces its member states to work towards this goal. The Dutch Government raised the stakes by setting a goal of 75% separation of household waste. The municipality of Amsterdam aims for the same 65% as the EU in 2020. These are very coarse-grained policy measures but can have a considerable impact. There are, however, also more fine-grained measures; two of the most effective ones are explained below. ‘Omgekeerd inzamelen’ or reversed collection is a well-known practice. It involves changing the normal collection scheme where residual waste is generally picked up at home and separated waste must be brought away by inhabitants to centrally placed containers. This way, separating waste involves an extra effort, whereas disposing of residual waste is actually easier. The idea of reversed collection is to pick up the separated stream at home and let people bring their residual waste to centrally placed containers themselves (ROVA, n.d.). That way separating waste becomes more convenient. This pickup policy is often combined with a variable rate pricing policy. Essentially this is a change in waste taxation. In most cities in the Netherlands, there is a flat-rate tax for waste processing, the so called ‘afvalstoffenheffing’(waste material tax). In Amsterdam this is 235 euro for a single person household and 313 euro for a household with multiple persons (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2018). With this taxation, it doesn’t matter if you produce more or less waste; you pay the same amount of waste. With a variable waste tax, also aptly named the ‘polluter pays’ system, you pay for the quantity of waste you produce. Different prices can also be applied to different waste streams; often, residual waste has a certain price
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ated except for more recycling and a decreased impact on the climate.
per bag, and separated waste is free from further taxes. Though these systems have been spoken of in Amsterdam, currently they are not implemented. An example of such a system is in the Horst aan de Maas municipality. Here PMD and kitchen waste are collected at each address, just as residual waste is. However, PMD and kitchen waste can be placed by the road in cheap translucent bags, where residual waste bags are €1,20, - per piece (Gemeente Horst aan de Maas, n.d.). This way, residual waste is taxed extra, and separating it is made easier and cheaper. Garden waste, paper and glass can be brought to containers spread throughout the neighbourhood. Besides that, people still pay an ‘afvalstoffenheffing’ or flat tax rate of around €130,00, - per year compared to a Dutch average of €250,00,- (Buitelaar, 2017). According to the responsible alderman, people end
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up paying around €165,00, - per year for their waste processing. The amount of residual waste has decreased from 171 to 21 kilograms per person per year, and the recycling percentage has increased from 69 to 91 percent. (Buitelaar, 2017). On average, municipalities with a variable rate pricing policy produce 100 kg less, and it is also done in large cities such as Maastricht, Nijmegen, Arnhem and Zoetemeer. However, some municipalities, such as Amsterdam, are afraid of creating inequality or expect an increase in illegal waste dumping (VANG, n.d.). Public goods that arise from a combination of these two measures are an easy way to separate waste, possibly a decrease in waste processing taxes and a higher recycling rate. A ‘public bad’ might be the illegal dumping of waste.
4.4 Synthesis of urban factors and separation solutions Through the lens of the ecosystem approach, we identified specific factors that determine waste separation behaviour in dense urban areas. In the previous chapter, we saw what solutions are currently being realised in Amsterdam. So, do these current solutions provide an answer to the identified factors?
Change the norm. Organic waste separation is currently not the norm and therefore the facilities need to be there. One of the recommendations from a workshop with experts in
business and municipality circles about past experiences with organic waste separation was “to start large-scale serious experiments”. Because they ad: “If executed properly, people get excited about it and want to separate more waste” (Jansen & Wouters, 2017). In Amsterdam, we can see that a variety of experiments are being executed. That way, organic waste separating is becoming more routine. This is thanks to the large variety of stakeholders that concern themselves with the topic. Whether it is the park and garden waste processed to compost by Suez, the experthroughout the city. However, implementing city-wide policy to motivate organic waste separation is still lacking. Another big step forward could be achieved if Amsterdam switched to the reversed collection, possibly combined with variable tariffs to give an extra financial incentive for separating organic material.
Placement of separating facilities in the urban fabric The lack of storage space in the urban fabric is being tackled by finding places where we can store and process organic waste locally, such as the garden of ‘I can change the world with my own two hands’ or the containers of ‘The Waste Transformers’. Buurtcompost also creates places for stench-free storage in the urban fabric with its worm hotels. Except for the Balkonton, however, solutions to problems of storage and smell inside new or existing houses are not currently being tested in Amsterdam. However, as we have seen, possible solutions are out there, such as the bio-digestor system combined with food grinders in Sneek or the obligatory built-in waste storage in Adelaide. So municipal policy, combined with clever use of technology and design, could also help out here. For existing houses, it is often too complicated or expensive, and other solutions have to be found; this is an exciting opportunity for innovative businesses such as BinBang or Balkonton.
Communication The only factor negatively influencing organic waste separation that needs to be explicitly addressed is the large number of people needing help understanding or speaking the Dutch language. If large cities and metropolitan areas are diverse,
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iments with organic waste separation on Java Eiland or the bottom-up initiatives
proper, and accessible, communication is all the more critical. Moreover, this can be the solution to tackle this issue. Experiments in Nuenen with separate organic waste collection in high-rises were successful, thanks largely to intensive communication with the target group (Vereniging Afvalbedrijven Afdeling Bioconversie, 2015; Langeveld, 2014). Conveying the message to all inhabitants is a point that needs the attention of all stakeholders, from municipality to local initiatives.
5. Conclusion As we have seen, large cities like Amsterdam need to catch up in the separate
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collection and processing of organic household waste. Organic waste that is not appropriately processed can be a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, as we move from a linear fossil fuel-based economy towards a circular bio-based economy, organic waste can be a significant reserve of resources. As cities are growing at massive rates, this poses urgent questions as to why specifically large cities seem to be deficient in reusing their organic waste, what is being done about it, and what measures can help to prevent this. In this essay, we looked through a sociotechnical lens at the history of (organic) household waste to find out how we came to the current situation. We then looked at the urban system, with an ecosystem approach, to understand the current situation and see what factors discourage separating organic household waste. Next, we applied a spatial justice framework and looked at the stakeholders and proposed solutions for this challenge. Finally, we tried to see whether the proposed solutions successfully overcome the identified factors that impede organic waste separation in a synthesis. History taught us that cultural values and the economic situation have an essential influence on what we do with our waste and how we do it. The hygienic revolution pushed us towards incineration and landfilling and in times of scarcity, as during the world wars, society has been very adept at recycling organic waste, whereas during periods of rapid growth, landfilling reigned supreme. We currently live in a time of increasing environmental awareness and it is clear that to protect essential public goods such as a clean and healthy environment and to prevent scarcity we need to find and implement circular ways of dealing with all our waste, including our organic household waste.
Currently, large cities in the Netherlands burn most of their organic waste, producing energy but at the same time losing nutrients and other resources in the process. Multiple factors explain the difficulty large cities have in separating their organic waste. First of all, the dense urban fabric with high levels of high rise leaves little space in and around houses for organic waste storage. Moreover, it is vital that organic waste can be disposed of on central locations where most residents are and filthy and are therefore deterred to store it in their homes. This is exacerbated by the fact that people in areas with a lot of high rises have little space outside to store the waste. Besides that, the high amount of people that do not understand or speak the Dutch language in our largest cities makes successfully implementing organic waste separation policies harder. Two final factors identified were the fact that facilities to separate organic waste are not available, and that separating is not the dominant social norm, these factors are related to one another. On the one hand, a positive development is taking place in Amsterdam. Many different stakeholders from civil society and the private and public sectors are coming up with a wide variety of measures. There are partnerships between private and public parties such as SUEZ and AEB to process organic garden waste to compost. The municipality is also cooperating with small private companies and civil society and stimulates experiments such as organic waste separating pilot on Java Eiland with ‘BinBang’ or the decentralized waste processing in Westerpark by ‘The Waste Transformers’. Furthermore, many concerned inhabitants of Amsterdam are actively participating in possible measures such as local composting facilities or worm hotels. This way, the lack of storage in the urban fabric is being countered, and organ waste separation is promoted. On the other hand, incineration is still the dominant technique for processing organic waste in Amsterdam. Moreover, the municipality and AEB agreed on building a post processing facility despite opinions of experts in the field of organic waste, that this plant might work well for certain waste streams such as metals and plastics, but it does not create a circular system for organic waste, nor for glass, paper, and textiles (Avalex, 2017). After separating the organic part in a post processing facility, it can be digested for energy production but the remaining digestate, almost 90% of the original input, is heavily polluted by other waste streams. In practice this means it still has to be incinerated. The amazing 19% increase in the separation rate of Amsterdam
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likely to pass regularly. Furthermore, people perceive organic waste to be smelly
by separating the organic fraction in a post processing plant, is claimed by the municipality as a major success (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2016). But it is a false claim to fame, because in reality only 2% of the organic waste is saved from the incinerator. This shows us that policy such as the goal to reach a 65% separating rate in 2020 is open to interpretation and is not a silver bullet. Furthermore, experts warn for the effect post processing might have on the motivation of inhabitants to partake in source separating of their waste. As opposed to post processing, source separating offers a much higher quality organic waste that has true circular potential. Source separated organic waste can also be digested to produce biogas, but afterwards it can still be composted to create valuable soil improver which brings the nutrients back into the earth. Furthermore,
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source separating offers possibilities for making bio-based resources such as bio plastics and bio aromatics. We learned from history that large investments and long-term contracts in existing waste processing infrastructure can discourage new investments in recycling (Cooper, 2008). With this risk in mind, it is important for the municipality to continue experimenting with ways to improve source separating of organic household waste despite the post-processing facility. To motivate people to increase source separation, the municipality should also seriously consider giving a financial incentive through variable pricing and facilitating source separation through reversed collection. As good results have been achieved internationally with these policies, these are options that deserve a serious experiment in Amsterdam. Another policy measure that could have a large impact is obligating new real estate to include organic waste processing or storage solutions such as food grinders or trash chutes. It is equally important to communicate very well about what the post-processing plant can do and what it cannot, to make sure people are not demotivated in their current source-separating practices. Of course, this requires proper communication about organic waste separation, which is also important for reaching a large number of inhabitants with a migration background and a different language. Finally, the multidimensional character of this article revealed that especially the bottom-up approaches, such as the concept of ‘Buurtcompost’ to facilitate Wormhotels for eager inhabitants and the collective garden of ‘I can change the world with my own two hands’ have the tendency to create other beneficial outcomes and public goods. The co-evolution of organic household separation with awareness for environmental themes, the creation of a public garden or simply
contact between neighbours is something beautiful that should be embraced and encouraged to create a clean and vibrant city.
6. Final remarks & further research There are some clear points for discussion. First of all, as concluded, there is and the rural areas and smaller cities, with low in terms of the collection of organic waste. However, it is not completely clear to what extent this really has to do with better separation of kitchen waste or the fact that rural areas produce much more garden waste. In the city, many people do not have a garden because of the large number of high rises. Research by CREM and the Verening Afvalbedrijven showed that the amount of kitchen waste in organic waste is only between 2 to 20 percent (Brethouwer, 2016). So even in rural areas and smaller cities, a large part of the kitchen waste goes into the residual waste, therefore there is also a large opportunity and a necessity to improve the separation of organic waste here. However, there a much fewer examples of successful interventions for organic waste separation in high-rise buildings (apartments) than in normal residences (houses on ground level). Furthermore, high rise can still be seen as more urgently in need of a change because proportionally most residual waste is produced there (Langeveld, 2014). Another point that deserves mentioning is the fact that household waste, in general, only covers 14 per cent of the total waste stream in cities (van Wechem, 2015). Therefore, it deserves further research to dive into the complete topic of organic waste in the city, as well as all organic waste produced by other parties than households. This can also reveal interesting opportunities for collaboration, such as the containers of The Waste Transformers. This article does not go into the topic of food waste. With an average amount of 41 kg avoidable food waste per person per year for the Netherlands this also greatly adds to the organic waste challenge (Milieucentraal, 2016). Means for reducing food waste and the share this has in the total picture of organic household waste are questions for further research. Finally, it can be said that, although these views do provide a multidimensional view, the three perspectives, the socio-technical approach, the ecosystem approach, and the spatial justice approach, do not guarantee a complete picture. Other approaches can be imagined, such as an economical or purely technical perspective,.
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a clear divide between the large cities in the Netherlands, with a lot of high rises,
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7. References Afval Energie Bedrijf. (2016, July 5). Amsterdams organisch tuin- en plantsoenafval naar SUEZ. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from http://www.aebamsterdam.nl/over-aeb/nieuws/2016/amsterdams-organisch-tuin-en-plantsoenafval-naar-suez/ Afval Energie Bedrijf Amsterdam [AEB]. (2017, June 28). Jaarverslag 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2018, from http://www.aebamsterdam.nl/over-aeb/nieuws/2017/jaarverslag-2016/ Afvalgids. (2016, December 7). Tien gemeenten tekenen voor deelname nascheidingsinstallatie AEB Amsterdam. Retrieved February 14, 2018, from http://www.afvalgids.nl/ tien-gemeenten-tekenen-deelname-nascheidingsinstallatie-aeb-amsterdam/ AT5. (2017, December 19). Wormenhotel in opkomst: ‘Het loopt uit de hand’ [Dataset]. Retrieved February 4, 2018, from https://www.amsterdam.nl/wonen-leefomgeving/ zelfbeheer/compost-maken-buurt/ Avalex. (2017, April 1). Reactie op uitzending: Kassa over bron- en nascheiding. Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://www.avalex.nl/nieuws/reactie-op-uitzending-kassa/ Banzo. (n.d.). Separation plant household waste - AEB Amsterdam. Retrieved February 14, 2018, from http://www.banzo.nl/reference/nascheidingsinstallatie-huishoudelijk-restafval?lang=en Barles, S. (2014). History of waste management and the social and cultural representations of waste. In Agnoletti, M., Neri Serneri, S. (eds), The Basic Environmental History (pp. 199-226). Springer International. Bezemer, M. (2018, May 5). Animo voor apart ophalen gft neemt af. Retrieved February 15, 2018, from https://www.trouw.nl/home/animo-voor-apart-ophalen-gft-neemtaf~a2633315/ Brethouwer, T. (2016, March 31). Integraal GFT of tuin - en keukenafval apart? [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved February 12, 2018, from https://www.vngcongressen.nl/media/289104/GFT%20of%20GF%20en%20T%20apart_Tim%20Brethouwer.pdf. Buitelaar, S. (2017, February 21). Horst aan de Maas op weg naar 8 kilo restafval per persoon. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from http://www.binnenlandsbestuur.nl/ruimte-en-milieu/nieuws/horst-aan-de-maas-op-weg-naar-8-kilo-restafval.8859738.lynkx Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, & Rijkswaterstaat. (2017, July 1). Samenstelling van huishoudelijk restafval, 1940-2014 [Dataset]. Retrieved January 12, 2018, from http:// www.clo.nl/indicatoren/nl0141-samenstelling-restafval-huishoudens Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. (2016, November 21). Bevolking naar migratieachtergrond. Retrieved February 4, 2018, from https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/achtergrond/2016/47/ bevolking-naar-migratieachtergrond Cointreau-Levine, S. (1994). Private sector participation in municipal solid waste services in developing countries (Vol. 1). World Bank. Cooper, T. (2010). Recycling modernity: waste and environmental history. History Compass,
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8(9), 1114-1125. Cooper, T. (2008). Challenging the ‘refuse revolution’: war, waste and the rediscovery of recycling, 1900–50. Historical research, 81(214), 710-731. Cordell, D., & White, S. (2011). Peak phosphorus: clarifying the key issues of a vigorous debate about long-term phosphorus security. Sustainability, 3(10), 2027-2049. Cowen, T. (2008). Public goods. The Concise Encyclopaedia of Economics. Library of Economics and Liberty. https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PublicGoods.html Winter, D. B. de (2015). Duurzaam Groente-, Fruit-, en Tuinafval Een interdisciplinair onderzoek naar een duurzamere verwerking van GFT in Nederland Duurzaam Groente-, Fruit-, en Tuinafval Een interdisciplinair onderzoek naar een duurzamere verwerking van GFT in Nederland (Bachelor’s thesis). https://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/22888 Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. (2016). UK Statistics on Waste. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_ data/file/593040/UK_statsonwaste_statsnotice_Dec2016_FINALv2_2.pdf Didde, R. (n.d.). Vergisting verwerkt klein deel van huishoudelijk gft. Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://www.vang-hha.nl/nieuws-achtergronden/2017/vergisting-verwerkt/ European Environment Agency. (2016, November 14). Municipal waste management across European countries. Retrieved January 13, 2018, from https://www.eea.europa.eu/ themes/waste/municipal-waste/municipal-waste-management-across-european-countries Geels, F. W. (2005). The dynamics of transitions in socio-technical systems: a multi-level analysis of the transition pathway from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles (1860–1930). Technology analysis & strategic management, 17(4), 445-476. Gemeente Amsterdam. (n.d.). Compost maken met de buurt [Dataset]. Retrieved February 4, 2018, from https://www.amsterdam.nl/wonen-leefomgeving/zelfbeheer/compost-maken-buurt/ Gemeente Amsterdam. (2015, October 1). Afvalketen in Beeld, grondstoffen uit Amsterdam [Report]. Retrieved February 11, 2018, from https://www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/volg-beleid/agenda-duurzaamheid/publicaties-duurzaam/afvalketen/ Gemeente Amsterdam. (2016). Uitvoeringsplan Afval, Grondstoffen uit Amsterdam. Retrieved from https://www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/volg-beleid/afval-schoon/ afval/ Gemeente Amsterdam. (2017, January 1). Kerncijfers buurten, 1 januari 2017 [Dataset]. Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://www.ois.amsterdam.nl/feiten-en-cijfers/ Gemeente Amsterdam. (2018). Afvalstoffenheffing. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https:// www.amsterdam.nl/veelgevraagd/?productid=%7BE66066A5-DB51-4B5C-9405-C2E 06BD56B3F%7D#case_%7B3598DACE-D4FD-408D-A761-EB9A31C34E21%7D Gemeente Horst aan de Maas. (n.d.). Restafval. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://
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Harvey, D. (2008). The right to the city. The City Reader, 6, 23-40. Hillier, B. (2012). The City as a Socio-technical System: A Spatial Reformulation in the Light of the Levels Problem and the Parallel Problem. In: Arisona, S.M., Aschwanden, G., Halatsch, J., Wonka, P. (eds) Digital Urban Modelling and Simulation. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 242. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https:// doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29758-8_3 Hughes, T. P. (1986). The seamless web: technology, science, etcetera, etcetera. Social studies of science, 16(2), 281-292. Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great American cities. Vintage. Jansen, L., & Wouters, R. (2017, May 19). Gescheiden inzameling van gft, ook in de hoogbouw. Retrieved February 8, 2018, from https://bureaudehelling.nl/artikel/gescheiden-inzameling-van-gft-ook-in-de-hoogbouw Langeveld, G. (2014). Gft - inzameling omhoog: meer inzamelen in de hoogbouw (In opdracht van Vereniging Afvalbedrijven). Retrieved from https://www.verenigingafvalbedrijven.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/Documenten/PDF2014/VA_Meer_gft-inzameling_ in_hoogbouw_oktober_2014.pdf Lansink, A. (n.d.). Ladder van Lansink. Retrieved February 2, 2018, from http://www.adlansink. nl/?page_id=2 Loorbach, D. (2010). Transition management for sustainable development: a prescriptive, complexity-based governance framework. Governance, 23(1), 161-183. Meadows, D. H., Meadows, D. L., Randers, J., & Behrens, W. W. (1972). The limits to growth. New York, 102, 27. Midden, C. (2015). Verbetering afvalscheiding en inzameling hoogbouw. Retrieved from https://www.vang-hha.nl/nieuws-achtergronden/2015/gemeenten/@148641/literatuurstudie/ Milieucentraal. (2016, May). Feiten en cijfers over verspillen van voedsel door consumenten in 201 6. Retrieved February 12, 2018, from https://www.milieucentraal.nl/media/3725/ factsheet-voedselverspilling-huishoudens-mei-2017.pdf Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat. (2008, November 25). Gescheiden inzameling gft-afval: gemeenten krijgen meer vrijheid. Retrieved February 15, 2018, from https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2008/11/25/gescheiden-inzameling-gft-afval-gemeenten-krijgen-meer-vrijheid Odum, E. P. (1953). Fundamentals of ecology. Philadelphia, United States: W.B. Saunders Company. Ostrom, E. (2005). Understanding Institutional Diversity, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press. Papadopoulos, Y. (2007). Problems of democratic accountability in network and multilevel governance. European law journal, 13(4), 469-486. PBL, CBS. (2016, September 12). PBL/CBS prognose: Groei steden zet door. Retrieved January 11, 2018, from https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2016/37/pbl-cbs-prognose-groeisteden-zet-door
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Regionaal Archief Dordrecht. (2017, February 16). Gemeenschappelijke Vuilverbranding Dordrecht en Omstreken. Retrieved January 3, 2018, from https://www.archieven.nl/nl/ zoeken?mivast=0&mizig=210&miadt=46&miaet=1&micode=1173&minr=3451654&miview=inv2 Rijksoverheid. (n.d.). Huishoudelijk afval scheiden en recyclen. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/afval/huishoudelijk-afval Rocco, R. (2013a, June 14). What is governance and what’s it for? [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://www.slideshare.net/robrocco/what-is-governanceand-whats-it-for Rocco, R. (2013b, October 30). Issues of Governance in Spatial Planning [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://www.slideshare.net/robrocco/issues-of-governance-in-spatial-planning Rocco, R. (2014, January 1). Why should we discuss spatial justice in Urbanism studies? Retrieved February 5, 2018, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269930459_ Why_should_we_discuss_spatial_justice_in_Urbanism_studies Rocco, R. (2017, October 31). Spatial Justice and the Right to the City [Powerpoint Slides]. Retrieved February 2, 2018, from https://www.slideshare.net/robrocco/spatial-justice-and-the-right-to-the-city Rocco, R. (n.d.). Why governance will make urban design and planning better: Dealing with the communicative turn in urban planning and design. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from http://www.worldurbancampaign.org/roberto-rocco#_ftn1 Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Richardson, K., Cornell, S. E., Fetzer, I., Bennett, E. M., ... & Folke, C. (2015). Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Science, 347(6223), 1259855. ROVA. (n.d.). Wat is omgekeerd inzamelen? Retrieved February 4, 2018, from https://www. rova.nl/over-rova/pagina/3838/wat-is-omgekeerd-inzamelen Scholtens, B. (2004, August 26). Milieuvoordeel gft-bak onderschat. Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://www.volkskrant.nl/archief/milieuvoordeel-gft-bak-onderschat~a692814/ Stichting Buurtcompost. (n.d.). wormen. Retrieved February 4, 2018, from http://buurtcompost.nl/wormen/ Talbot, F.A. (1919). Millions from Waste, J. B. Lippincott. The Economist. (2013, September 13). Did living standards improve during the Industrial Revolution? Retrieved January 14, 2018, from https://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2013/09/economic-history-0 Trist, E. (1981). The evolution of socio-technical systems. Occasional paper, 2, 1981. Tuominen, L. (2010, March 20). Reductionism And Systems Thinking: Complementary Scientific Lenses. Retrieved February 11, 2018, from http://www.science20.com/knocking_lignocellulosic_biomass/reductionism_and_systems_thinking_complementary_scientific_lenses
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United Nations Human Settlements Program, (2010). Solid Waste Management in the World’s Cities: Water and Sanitation in the World’s Cities 2010, 30. Routledge Vang. (n.d.). Omgekeerd inzamelen: de verlossing uit de diftar-houdgreep? Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://www.vang-hha.nl/nieuws-achtergronden/2015/blog-samuel-stollman/omgekeerd-inzamelen/ Vang. (n.d.). Rotterdam, stad van uitersten in beweging. Retrieved February 8, 2018, from https://www.vang-hha.nl/nieuws-achtergronden/2016/blog/rotterdam-stad/ Van Bueren, E., van Bohemen, H., & Visscher, H. (2012). Sustainable urban environments. An Ecosystems Approach. Springer. Van Wechem, R. (2015, May 8). Afval scheiden behelst meer dan een handige prullenbak. Retrieved February 4, 2018, from https://www.trouw.nl/home/afval-scheiden-behelst-meer-dan-een-handige-prullenbak~aa392f35/ Van Zoelen, B. (2016, 29 December). Groen gas in Westerpark: van etensresten naar stroom. Geraadpleegd op 2 februari 2018, van https://www.parool.nl/amsterdam/groen-gasin-westerpark-van-etensresten-naar-stroom~a4441249/ Velis, C. A., Wilson, D. C., & Cheeseman, C. R. (2009). 19th century London dust-yards: A case study in closed-loop resource efficiency. Waste Management, 29(4), 1282-1290. Vereniging Afvalbedrijven Afdeling Bioconversie. (2015). Made by GFT (Tekst en productie: Addo van der Eijck). Retrieved from https://www.verenigingafvalbedrijven.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/Documenten/PDF2015/Made_by_gft_2015__WEB_.pdf Vis, G. N. M. (1996). Van” vulliscuyl” tot huisvuilcentrale: vuilnis en afval en hun verwerking in Alkmaar en omgeving van de middeleeuwen tot heden. Uitgeverij Verloren. Von Bertalanffy, L. (1968). General system theory. New York, 41973(1968), 40. https://monoskop.org/images/7/77/Von_Bertalanffy_Ludwig_General_System_Theory_1968.pdf WaterSchoon. (2011). Het Project. Retrieved February 3, 2018, from http://www.waterschoon. nl/project.htm West, K. (2015, February 27). Waste not, want not: how the rubbish industry learned to look beyond landfill. Retrieved January 14, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/ environment/2015/feb/27/waste-rubbish-industry-landfill-recycling-dumps-incineration Wiegman, M. (2016, July 15). Vliegenplaag helpt gft-proef Oosterdokseiland om zeep. Retrieved February 3, 2018, from https://www.parool.nl/amsterdam/vliegenplaag-helpt-gft-proef-oosterdokseiland-om-zeep~a4340360/ Wilson, D. C. (2007). Development drivers for waste management. Waste Management & Research, 25(3), 198-207. Williams, P. T. (2005). Waste treatment and disposal. John Wiley & Sons.
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ANDAE VOL ESSUMQUI ET ENDIGNI
LUPTA REM DIAM IS John Doe
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METROPOLITAN TECHNOLOGIES
In this examination of technology from a socio-technical perspective, we acknowledge the dialectic relationship between technology, actors, and institutions. The design, implementation, and utilisation of technology are influenced by social actors and their relationships with the state, the market, urban space and each other through formal and informal institutions, including cultural norms, political structures, and market forces. The introduction of innovative technologies, such as digital mapping apps or smart city systems, can profoundly influence how people navigate and experience the city, reshape their relationships with urban spaces, and impact their interactions with fellow citizens. Urban technologies, which encompass transportation systems, communication networks, and infrastructure, to cite a few examples, are intricately interconnected with other (sub)systems such as planning, governance and the economy. This interconnectivity means that technological innovations can have far-reaching effects on various aspects of urban life. Concerning spatial justice, technology has the potential to either exacerbate or alleviate spatial inequalities. The distributive dimension of spatial justice necessitates an examination of how the distribution of technological infrastructure and benefits, such as broadband access, transportation modes, energy production, or healthcare technologies, affects diverse urban communities. Policies and technology investments must be thoughtfully designed to foster equitable access and outcomes. The procedural
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dimension underscores the importance of fair decisionmaking processes. In the context of technology, procedural justice involves creating inclusive governance structures for technology planning and implementation. Engaging a diverse array of stakeholders and communities in technological decision-making ensures that their voices are heard and their needs considered. Moreover, recognising the unique trajectories, histories, aspirations, and needs of subaltern groups is paramount when implementing technology in urban spaces. Technology should be thoughtfully designed with sensitivity to the cultural and social significance of spaces, guaranteeing that it respects and bolsters the identity and heritage of communities, while catering to their specific needs. For example, facial recognition technologies can enhance safety in certain areas, yet they also have the potential to suppress dissent and unfairly target racial or cultural minorities. In essence, technology is not autonomous or neutral but rather deeply integrated within society and urban spaces. The dialectic relationship between technology, actors, and institutions in urban contexts demands a cautious approach to technological innovations, considering their potential impacts on the various dimensions of urban life. This approach requires acknowledging power dynamics, social values, and ethical considerations that shape the deployment and use of technology in cities, with the ultimate goal of creating more equitable and just urban environments.
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Facial Recognition in Public Spaces
Titus Venverloo
DEC 2019
Abstract: This article delves into the contentious realm of facial recognition technology in public spaces, highlighting its socio-technical complexities and governance challenges. Beginning with an overview of AI, particularly facial recognition, the article explores its intricacies, vulnerabilities, and ethical dilemmas. One critical vulnerability lies in data biases and system opacity, raising concerns about false identifications and privacy infringements. The discussion emphasises the ethical issues tied to error rates, function creep, and privacy expectations, echoing calls for stricter governance. However, the governance landscape is fragmented, with governments, private entities, and individuals wielding substantial power. The article adopts a socio-technical perspective, integrating ecosystem and spatial justice approaches to unravel the intertwined relationship between society and facial recognition. It scrutinises the technology’s impact on public spaces, where freedom and surveillance clash. Striking a balance between anonymity and identification becomes a governance challenge. Ultimately, this article underscores the urgency of transparent, inclusive governance frameworks to address the societal implications of facial recognition. It calls for critical reflection and responsible decision-making in the digital transformation era, echoing the need to navigate these socio-technical complexities with care. Keywords: Facial Recognition, Socio-Technical Challenges , Governance, Privacy, Ethical Dilemmas
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METROPOLITAN TECHNOLOGY: FACIAL RECOGNITION
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1. Introduction Imagine your daily commute. Whether you travel by bike, car, or public transit to your place of work, you have a specific routine. You grab a coffee to go before hopping onto the train; you know the traffic light ahead and when to take the red light as a suggestion, and you park your car at your usual spot. You also smile at the person next to you on the train, wave to an acquittance on the bike and shout angrily at another car with a German license plate that does not know how to drive among cyclists coming from all directions. Imagine that daily commute, every day, every week, for years. What if I told you that every move you made in those commutes was tracked for six years without you knowing or consenting to it? Do you immediately recall that one time that you got angry at the German driver, and are you ashamed of being watched when you let yourself go? This has happened to some people in New Orleans since 2012 (Stein, 2019), where they experimented with predictive policing. Artificial Intelligence (AI) empowered the police department to track suspects digitally, using computer vision for facial recognition. Even more shockingly, these practices might continue unhindered, and the power resulting from those massive amounts of data belongs to diffuse private companies and secretive governments. Facial recognition systems (FGS) use in public spaces, and events have been growing steadily, yet experts are urging the parties governing this technology to halt its implementation. Surprisingly, these experts are the same experts that developed the technology in the first place. San Francisco, the home of Silicon Valley and the technology revolution, has banned using facial recognition by the government and police. So, what changed their minds, what do we stand to lose, and what are the social and technical consequences of using this technology? In this essay, I will first dive into the technology itself, its workings, and its vulnerabilities. This is followed by a social contextualisation of its implementation. This is then synthesised using three approaches to illustrate challenges and governance issues related to using facial recognition in public spaces. The sociotechnical perspective is taken in which the ecosystems and spatial justice approaches will be integrated. This way, the linkages between society and facial recognition are discussed, subsystems are analysed, and the inequalities it creates are investigated.
The machine that thinks. It was an elusive concept when John McCarthy coined the term Artificial Intelligence in 1956. A few years before the term AI was first introduced, research was ongoing into whether it could simulate human behaviour with computers. AI pioneer Alan Turing further developed this notion in his paper on the ability of computers to behave like an intelligent agent (Turing, 1950). Coming from a mathematical background, Turing developed many of the foundations for the modern field of AI. Knowing this, it is unsurprising that the long-term goal of AI research is to pass the Turing test. In which the machine cannot be differentiated from a human by a third observer. This seems like a straightforward test, but its implications are enormous. From perception to understanding language, building a machine capable of imitating a human has kept researchers busy for over 70 years, and the field is far from done. To focus the discussion, I will only debate the use of AI for facial recognition.
3. Facial Recognition One of the significant challenges in AI research is detecting and localising objects in images. One of the state-of-the-art approaches is using Convolutional Neural Networks, or CNNs for short. CNNs are a subsection of deep neural networks (DNN), where deep indicates the depth of the neural layers used within the network. This all sounds quite abstract, which, inherently, it is. However, a brief technological overview is provided to contribute to an informed debate. Each neural network (Fig. 1) has five components: the input, layers of nodes, weights attached to these nodes, relations between layers, and the output. A neural network does not work by itself. It needs to be trained. This training assigns weights to the nodes in the network. This uses complex mathematics, and several approaches can be taken. For the purpose of this discussion, we will look at an example. Figure 1. Neural network, image by Shukla (2019). The input layer for training a facial recognition network is often a big data set containing images of faces. One image is fed into the model. Here, the number of pixels in that image represents the different nodes in the input layer. Each pixel has values attached to it to indicate the colour of that pixel. The first nodes in the network take the value of these pixels. These values, representing pixels, are passed
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to the next layer of nodes. Here, it becomes more complex. A considerable amount of training images is fed into the neural network. These images are processed, and the results are evaluated based on the resulting output layer. If these results are inaccurate, the weights of nodes and the relation between layers are adjusted. This simply means that if the output layer says it is a face, while there is no face, backpropagation is used to change the values of the nodes and layers. This process is repeated until the fail rate for the task at hand becomes acceptably small. When this training determines the weights and relationships, the model is considered trained. These models are very complex, as images often have thousands of pixels. Unsurprisingly, processing these pixels requires a lot of computing power. To illustrate, the picture below (Fig. 2) depicts a fully connected network with three layers on a simple image. After this model is trained, another image can be passed through the neural network. This image is broken down into individual pixels and passed through the layers of nodes. Each layer has its function in the network. However, what a layer precisely does is often unknown. This is the result of the training, as the weights are determined by the network itself. A hypothetical scenario could look like Figure 3. Figure 2. Fully connected neural network, image by Shukla (2019). Figure 3. Neural network processing image, image by Shukla (2019).
4.Vulnerabilities Now that we have some understanding of the technology itself, we can have a look at where it falls short. Networks are trained by data, and data is never perfect. Sometimes, data can even purposely be distorted or simply not representative. This can cause certain demographic groups to be under-represented in the data. The data and network can also merely be biased and detect people belonging to minorities less or more depending on the situation. This is not only against our moral understanding but also illegal by definition. Additionally, AI systems are essentially a black box. We do not know why the system makes a choice. Similar to humans, guessing is about as close as we can get. This results in little transparency, and non-recurring errors are nearly impossible to detect. However, with all their flaws, these systems are becoming more ubiquitous without transparency and governance.
5. Ethics and Facial Recognition Philip Brey (2004) analysed the ethical aspects of facial recognition in public spaces. From the synthesis of arguments, he derives three problems: The problem of error The problem of function creep The problem of privacy
As aforementioned, error occurs when biases are programmed or represented in the data. Another reason is that the system simply cannot differentiate two individuals, which could lead to wrongful identification. Therefore, ordinary citizens could face police harassment. Brey argues that this could outweigh the potential benefit of increased security. However, this depends on the ratio between false and true positives. Function creep is the result of the expansion of the technology or abuse of the system. This can occur through database expansion, in which images of offenders are stored, but also with other databases not collected for that purpose, such as driver's licenses. This can also occur through purpose broadening, user shifts, and domain shifts. Purpose broadening, for example, could assure public safety and then shift to monitoring minorities. The user shift is that the technology is developed for one user. However, these technologies are consequently adopted by users without access to them. Domain shifts can move FGS from the public space to, e.g. the private domain or war zones. The problem of privacy has two expectations. One can either expect privacy in public or one cannot. Reasonably, I would argue that people expect some anonymity in public, which is supported by the research of Nissenbaum (1998). These three problems form the foundation of the argument for stricter governance, as the uncontrolled sprawling of FGS grants vast powers to governments, companies, and individuals.
6. Socio-technical Technological developments shape society by performing needed societal functions (Geels, 2005). The intertwined nature of society and technology is inherently visible within AI systems. Society wants to optimise securing public spaces; technology drives this toward using AI to track people. Systems are adopted when they offer significant benefits over what is available, and AI systems definitely
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1. 2. 3.
offer significant benefits. However, this omits the want in society for privacy and civil liberties. In this section, we will critically examine the landscape developments, sociotechnical regimes, and niche developments regarding the socio-technical system of facial recognition technology using the framework (Fig. 4) proposed by Geels (2004). Figure 4. The multi-scalar framework for socio-technical regime transitions. Geels (2004)
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Landscape Developments On the technological side, computers have become increasingly influential. This computation power enabled the third revival of the field of AI, which was previously hampered by such limitations. Technological development is always political (Winner, 1980). Post-9/11 surveillance systems have exploded in capability and effectiveness. As noted by Introna and Wood (2004), surveillance technologies have been promoted through shock, neglecting their broader implications. This emphasis on securing borders, counterterrorism, and increased threats from rogue groups and nations leads to the political belief that other critical facets can be ignored. This landscape development resulted in an equal and opposite reaction from privacy and freedom advocates, who represent the more prominent focus on data privacy.
(Socio)-Technical Regime Facial recognition systems are being used by governments, companies and ordinary citizens. The use of policing, of which China might be the most prominent proponent, has been scrutinised. New privacy legislation, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, 2016), might cover these technologies in Europe. Implicitly, there is a mention of it: Personal data must be processed lawfully and transparently, ensuring fairness towards the individuals whose personal data is being processed (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency, Article 5.1) (GDPR, 2019). Mainly, the statement “processed transparently” is the issue here. AI systems process personal data: your biometrics. However, they do this in an automated process in which decisions cannot be explained. Additionally, as Buolamwini and
Gebru (2018) demonstrated, fairness within AI systems cannot be guaranteed. This research sparked a significant controversy regarding facial recognition, leading several companies to alter and retract certain FGS. However, the use of these systems continues (Wolf & Dastin, 2019).
FGS are already very accurate, but the technology is still far from fully developed. Significant investments are being made into the field of AI with the aim of sparking innovation. Not all without controversy. Stephen A. Schwarzman, CEO of the private equity group that made its fortune in the financial crisis of 2007, invested a little over 300 million into the new MIT Schwarzman College of Computing. Although these investments have led to considerable improvements in computation, accuracy and functionality, the money driving the niches is often as ambiguous as the technology itself. FGS now aim to use facial recognition to tell how you feel and what the intent might be of your behaviour. The optimised systems run faster, and as more security cameras equipped with these technologies enter the system, tracking abilities also increase. The governance system also finds itself in this niche.
Intertwined nature of FGS and society The intriguing thing about AI, and therefore facial recognition, is that it is developed by researchers who do not aim to empower a police state. Instead, they want to produce the best convolutional neural networks to classify and localise objects and features in images. The applications of such technologies range from autonomous driving to advertising. As such, the technology does not aim to solve a particular problem; instead, it aims to excel in research to be able to pass the Turing test. Therefore, when talking about AI, it is necessary to define the use of the technology and investigate how and why it is designed as it is. This approach then identifies a problem for which, consequently, AI has a solution. FGS was developed for monitoring public spaces to increase societal accountability and control. By being able to track and trace individuals of interest, or the general public for that matter, flows can be optimised, areas can be secured, and law violations can be fined or prevented. On the flip side of this argument, technology can be used to limit freedom and civic disobedient acts of ordinary citizens. Who would want to live in a fully monitored and controlled world? Moreover, who has the power to govern such a technology?
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As with all technologies, it can be used for good and evil. Enabling safer public spaces or enabling a police state to track citizens, the sole difference is the user's intent. In this case, the governance systems of these intents are light-years behind the system's adoption. The niches in which governments and public institutions believe the technology to be have long been replaced by technological regimes. This indicates that only the social niche exists, in which laws are being formed, processes described, and urgency neglected. A powerful technology like FGS cannot function with moral constraints without governance that represents the citizens' concerns. However, this is the situation we find ourselves in. To investigate this social niche, we will look at two problem definitions. These definitions consequently lead to two positions from which the solution is approached. One problem definition acknowledges public space as an urban place where freedom and anonymity of movement are seen as a fundamental right. Therefore, the definition could be formulated as follows: Public space is increasingly a place of surveillance rather than freedom; this traceability deteriorates our notion of privacy and civil liberties. In this definition, the solution needs to include assurances of anonymity of movement. The other problem definition sees public space as an urban commodity in which traceability for safety purposes is a fundamental right. This leads to the following definition: Monitoring crime in public spaces is necessary to ensure the safety of all citizens. The solution, in this case, requires a means of identifying threats. I find two opposites when synthesising these two solution requirements: anonymity and identifying. The question becomes: How do you effectively govern a system in which two opposites define success?
7. Governance and Spatial Justice Gasser and Almeida (2017) propose a layered model for AI governance. This layered model essentially covers the governance challenges related to the shortcomings mentioned above of FGS. The principles in the model rely on the notions of information asymmetries, normative consensus and government mismatches.
Information Asymmetries "Only a few experts really understand the underlying techniques. AI-based systems are often inscrutable, sometimes resulting in massive information asymmetries between the developers of such systems and other stakeholders,
including consumers and policymakers.” (Gasser & Almeida, 2017, p3)
Normative Consensus
Government Mismatches “Even where we have a shared understanding of AI technologies, the underlying techniques, and societal consensus about what is or is not desirable, the design of effective, efficient, and legitimate means (strategies, approaches, tools, and so forth) to resolve the aforementioned substantive issues is challenging, given the conditions of uncertainty and complexity in the AI ecosystem.” (Gasser & Almeida, 2017, p3) These notions lead to the need for a blended approach, away from traditional legislative singular regulators (as argued by Hardin (1968)) and towards decentralised, adaptable, and transformative frameworks (as argued by Dietz, Ostrom & Stern (2003)) (Gasser & Almeida, 2017). They propose the following layered approach to governance, in which ethical, social, and technical governance systems are positioned between AI applications and society (Fig. 5). Figure 5. Proposed governance systems by Gasser & Almeida (2017). I would argue that although this layered approach is comprehensive, it simplifies the transition needed from the current legislative regime. It also emphasises expert stakeholders, which could neglect citizens' knowledge (Lawhon & Murphy, 2011). Furthermore, as noted earlier, the societal niche in which this framework exists lags behind the technical AI regime. The added complexity of this model, in contrast to the linear model where a central legislative body filters AI applications before entering society, adds to this transitional gap. Hence, considering FGS's urgency and potential harm to society, the responsibility to govern is currently in the hands of unequipped governmental institutes or profit-oriented self-governing bodies.
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“A governance model must open up spaces for cost-benefit analyses and normative consensus building among different stakeholders, particularly where tradeoffs are involved in the design of AI systems.” (Gasser & Almeida, 2017, p3)
8. Conclusion
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Kitchin (2014) urges for critical reflection regarding the digital transformation and its resulting socio-technical systems. In this essay, I argue for the same, specifically in the field of AI and FGS. In the book “Seeing Like a State” (1998), Scott accuses the visionary intellectuals of being guilty of hubris and acting like gods. Similar to that conclusion, believing that FGS is only driven by a genuine desire to improve the lives of citizens is a fatal flaw. The intellectuals behind its implementation have engaged in a race to develop the best technology. However, they omitted to think about where that race would lead them. In many ways, hubris is persistent.
9. References Brey, P. (2004). Ethical Aspects of Face Recognition Systems in Public Places, Journal of Information, Communication & Ethics in Society, 2(2), 97–109. Buolamwini, J. & Gebru, T. (2018). Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial Gender Classification. Proceedings of the 1st Conference on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency, in Proceedings of Machine Learning Research 81, 77-91 Available from https://proceedings.mlr.press/v81/buolamwini18a.html. Diets, T., Ostrom, E., Stern, P. C. (2003). The Struggle to Govern the Commons. Science, 302(5652), 1907-1912 Gasser, U., and Almeida, V. (2017). A Layered Model for AI Governance. IEEE Internet Computing, 21(6) (November), 58–62. doi:10.1109/mic.2017.4180835. GDPR. (2016). The European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016: on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation). https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/reform/rules-businessand- organisations/principles-gdpr/what-data-can-we-process-and-under-whichconditions_en Geels, F. (2004). Understanding system innovations: A critical literature review and a conceptual synthesis. in Elzen, B. and Geels, F. (eds.), System innovation and the transition to sustainability: Theory, evidence, and policy, 19–47. Geels, F. W. (2005). The dynamics of transitions in socio-technical systems: A multi-level analysis of the transition pathway from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles (1860–1930), Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 17(4), 445–476, DOI: 10.1080/09537320500357319
Hardin, G. (1968). The Tragedy of the Commons. Science, 162(3859), 1243-1248 Introna, L., & Wood, D. (2004). Picturing algorithmic surveillance: the politics of facial recognition systems. Surveillance & Society, 2(2/3), 177–198. https://nbn-resolving.org/ urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar- 200675 Kitchin, R. (2014). Big Data, New Epistemologies and Paradigm Shifts. Big data & Society, 1(1), 2053951714528481. Lawhon, M., & Murphy, J. T. Socio-technical regimes and sustainability transitions: Insights from
public, Law and Philosophy, 17, 559-596. Scott, J. C. (1998). Seeing like a state: How certain schemes to improve the human condition have faile. Yale University Press. Shukla, L. (2019). Designing Your Neural Networks. Retrieved 20 December 2019, from https:// towardsdatascience.com/designing-your-neural-networks-a5e4617027ed. Stein, M. (2019). New Orleans Surveillance Program Gives Powerful Tools to a Police Department With a History of Racism and Abuse. Retrieved 20 December 2019, from https:// theintercept.com/2018/03/06/new-orleans-surveillance-cameras-nopd-police Winner, L. (1980). Do Artifacts Have Politics? Daedalus, 109(1), 121-126. Wolfe, J. & Dastin, J. (2019). U.S. government study finds racial bias in facial recognition tools. Reuters.com. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-crime-face/us-government-study-finds-racial-bias-in-facial-recognition-tools-idUSKBN1YN2V1 [Accessed 20 Dec. 2019].
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political ecology. Progress in Human Geography, 36(3), 354-378. Nissenbaum, H., (1998). Protecting Privacy in an information age: The problem of privacy in
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Food delivery systems: a lonely road
Brian van Laar DEC 2019
Abstract: This essay explores the impact of food delivery systems on the rising issue of loneliness in the context of Amsterdam as a case study. The rapid growth of food delivery companies like UberEats and Thuisbezorgd has transformed how people access food, leading to a paradigm shift in eating habits. This shift is marked by increased eating alone and prioritising convenience over communal dining. The essay investigates the hypothesis that food delivery systems contribute to loneliness in Amsterdam. The study employs Frank Geels’ Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) on socio-technical transitions to analyse the evolution of food delivery services from a technological niche to a new socio-technical regime. This transition has been driven by technological breakthroughs, market acceptance, and changing cultural norms surrounding food consumption. The paper also discusses the socio-technical landscape, including macro-level developments such as the rising number of one-person households, which have been facilitated by technological advancements and the convenience of food delivery apps. It argues that the ease and acceptability of living alone are influenced by the new socio-technical regime shaped by food delivery systems, which may contribute to the growing problem of loneliness in Amsterdam. While the study provides a compelling framework for understanding the relationship between food delivery systems and loneliness, it acknowledges that the direct causation between technology and societal problems like loneliness is complex and multifaceted. The research highlights the need to investigate further this evolving socio-technical landscape and its impact on societal well-being. Keywords: Food Delivery Systems, Loneliness, Amsterdam, Socio-technical Transition, Cultural Shift
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METROPOLITAN TECHNOLOGIES: FOOD DELIVERY SYSTEMS
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1. Introduction The total revenue from food delivery services in the World is approaching the 200-billion-dollar mark (Singh, 2019). This news article from Forbes describes the rapid rise of food delivery companies over the last couple of years. The Amsterdambased company Takeaway collected over 300 million dollars when entering the stock market in 2016 and has been growing ever since (NOS, 2016). Other big companies like UberEats and Deliveroo also bought into the magic formula, contributing to over 150 million dollars of economic activity in Amsterdam alone. UberEats operates in over 200 cities and employs about 5000 employees worldwide, making it the world’s most significant food delivery company in revenue (Owler, 2019). These last-mile food delivery companies have taken the food industry by storm, creating a new business model. The green, orange, and red cubicles on the backs of teenage meal deliverers on bikes have become a regular occurrence in Amsterdam and other cities around the world. The rise of these companies can be explained through a broader paradigm shift that is going on in society: the rise of eating alone. The investment bank UBS reports that there could be a scenario where by 2030, most meals currently cooked at home are instead ordered online and delivered from either restaurants or central kitchens (UBS, 2018). This cultural shift has been going on since the decades after World War 2 and can be blamed on several trends (The Hartman Group, 2016). The increase in single-parent and single-person households has had a negative effect on the importance of eating together. Eating is increasingly seen as a pragmatic occurrence instead of a communal celebration. People take less time-consuming food and prioritise non-ritual snacking. The “snackification” of food has spurred the eating culture away from the traditional 3-meal day towards eating smaller meals more frequently (The Hartman Group, 2016). Although most people can multi-task as the most important reason to eat alone, just being alone is also a big reason for eating alone (The Hartman Group, 2013). One-person households are growing steadily in the Netherlands (CBS, 2018). This is an important trend for food delivery companies as this group is most likely to order food online (Driessen, 2017). Eating alone might be profitable for companies like UberEats, but this cultural shift can have a negative effect on your physical and mental health. Studies show that eating alone can be linked to depression, a blockage of blood supply to the heart, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. Eating alone is also linked to feelings of loneliness (Tani et al., 2015). Although dining alone is often seen as a symptom of loneliness, it can also play a role in causing loneliness, as it can exacerbate your negative thoughts and feelings (Way, 2019). Loneliness in Amsterdam
2. Problem Definition Food delivery services have become quite ordinary in the modern world. The combination of professionally made food and the convenience of home delivery has resulted in a boost in the popularity of food delivery. A study done by Business Insiders reports that 86 per cent of consumers use food delivery at least monthly (Williams-Grut, 2018). Although food delivery might be at an all-time high, the concept of delivering food has been around for thousands of years. Both the Roman and Aztec civilisations showed signs of food delivery systems being in place in the form of thermopoliums and street vendors (Harvey, 2019). The first recorded food delivery occurred in Naples; however, King Umberto and Queen Margherita of Italy showed signs of 21st-century laziness as they ordered local businessman Raffaele Esposito to bring them a pizza (Harvey, 2019). Back then, the delivery was probably done by horse and carriage and was not influenced by route-optimization systems that are in place today. As more and more people order food with their mobile phones, and fast delivery is expected, new challenges arise. The rise in food delivery services has been blamed for many societal issues like environmental degradation, exploitation of young people, obesity, and increased traffic accidents (Meltzer, 2019). Socio-technical innovations like food delivery systems often leave out the sustainability factor in developing their system (Lawhon, 2012). The rise in
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has been on the rise in the last couple of years, as 47 per cent of Amsterdammers felt lonely in 2018 compared to 40 per cent in 2008 (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2018). Researchers say that maintaining meaningful and close relationships and a “diverse set of social connections” can help reduce feelings of loneliness (Worland, 2015). Food delivery, however, reduces social contact and might, therefore, even contribute to increasing loneliness. This paper, therefore, addresses the relationship between food delivery services and loneliness in Amsterdam. By exploring the literature, this essay hopes to prove the following hypothesis: Food delivery systems contribute to loneliness in Amsterdam. Firstly, I will describe the problem of loneliness in Amsterdam in connection to food delivery systems. Then, I will describe the methods I use to test my hypothesis. After that, I will present the theoretical framework to describe the concepts of food delivery systems and loneliness. I will also connect the problems regarding the food delivery system and loneliness to the three given perspectives. Furthermore, I will critically reflect on the discussed literature by formulating my ideas on the topic. In the final section of this paper, I will present my conclusions.
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food delivery has had a harmful impact on the environment. Plastic and Styrofoam are often used in food delivery services, and even though they might be used to deliver ethically farmed cauliflower, they still take up to a million years to biodegrade (Meltzer, 2019). Although the issue of sustainability can be seen as a challenge related to last-mile food delivery, this essay will focus on another critical challenge: Social Isolation. Dr Ernest Baskin, an assistant professor of food marketing at Saint Joseph’s University, believes online food delivery is part of a broader social shift. “Now, consumers have a definite preference for getting the human out of the equation as much as possible; People would much prefer to click a few buttons rather than go up to a human and make an order” (Mazza & Schmitt, 2019). Eating alone and diminishing social contact through online food delivery contributes to social Isolation. Studies have shown that social isolation significantly contributes to loneliness (Holt & Smith, 2015). A problem that by some is seen as the next public health crisis (Worland, 2015). The growing problem of loneliness in Amsterdam and the probable link to food delivery systems are therefore used as a starting point in this essay. This essay will try to prove the hypothesis that food delivery systems contribute to loneliness in Amsterdam by approaching the topic from the three given perspectives. The rise of food delivery systems in Amsterdam will be described through the multilevel perspective on transitions by Frank Geels. The socio-technical perspective will play a central role in this essay. However, both the ecosystem and the spatial justice perspectives help explain the journey of food delivery systems when put through the multi-level perspective of Geels. This same transition model is used to understand the possible correlation with loneliness.
3. Theoretical Framework Frank Geels describes socio-technical systems as systems that fulfil societal functions through technology (Geels, 2005). Currently, technology is seen as physical artefacts that can only fulfil functions if they are associated with human agency and social structures. Socio-technical systems, therefore, consist of a cluster of elements such as technology, regulation, user practices and markets, cultural meaning, infrastructure, maintenance networks and supply networks. The concept of online food delivery services like UberEats and Thuisbezorgd can be classified as sociotechnical systems, with the technology being the online portal where the companies serve as an intermediary between customers and restaurants. Also, delivery modes, like bikes and mopeds, can be included in this technology box. The primary societal functions these food delivery systems fulfil are the provision of food and the
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provision of labour. However, one could argue that food delivery services can be crime prevention. The deployment of hundreds of delivery boys across the city can be seen as a mobile “panopticon” (Foucault, 1977). Through their “public gaze,” they can contribute to a form of social control in neighbourhoods with high crime rates. Merely describing Food delivery services as socio-technical functions is insufficient to explain the correlation with loneliness. To do this, we must look into the sociotechnical transitions these food delivery systems have undergone. The literature surrounding socio-technical systems mainly focuses on large technical systems like electricity networks or railroads and is often only approached sectorally, on one level (Geels, 2005). However, if we want to look at the link between food delivery services and loneliness, we must look at the change between one system and another. As stated in the introduction, the paradigm shift in food consumption is a presumable cause for social isolation. A shift in cultural notions like this can be seen as a logical continuation of a socio-technical system in transition. A theory that focuses on the transitions in technology is the technological substitution process by Grubler and Nakicenovic. They state that a replacement of an old technology happens when the new technology “wins” the competitive struggle (Grubler, 1998) (Nakicenovic, 1986). The old technology gets substituted for the new one. This theory assumes that new technology goes at the expense of the old and only considers the technology and the market in which it operates. Aspects like policies, user preferences and cultural and symbolic meanings are neglected while often being essential aspects in a sociotechnical transition. Thuisbezorgd, for example, did not grow into the company it is today merely by developing better technology but by winning over user preferences (Verdonk, 2010). The Multi-level Perspective of Frank Geels is a more elaborate way of approaching the socio-technical transition. This approach uses three conceptual levels: “(i) socio-technical systems, i.e. the tangible elements needed for fulfilling societal functions; (ii) social groups who maintain and reproduce the elements and linkages of socio-technical systems; (iii) Social-technical regimes rules (understood as regimes) that guide and orient activities of actors and social groups “(Geels, 2005). These three levels form the basis for the multi-level perspective. This section will describe the transition of the food delivery system into a new socio-technical regime. First, the three conceptual levels will be translated to the case of food delivery systems. Then, the journey of the food delivery systems will be described step by step. Starting at the technological niche and ending at the influences the new socio-technical regime (changes in eating habits) has on the cultural landscape development. (Increasing attention to social loneliness.)
Socio-technical systems As stated before, the social-technical systems in the case of food delivery services include all tangible elements needed to fulfil their societal function. This includes the online portal, bike delivery, and mobile application.
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Social groups The elements of the social-technical systems are strongly related to the social groups that create and define them. The subject in this case study can be seen as the consumers willing to pay for food to be delivered. These social groups can change along with the transitions, according to social and technical systems changes. An example of this can be found with Thuisbezorgd. The social group using this food delivery system somewhat changed after the creation of the mobile app (Verdonk, 2010). Another significant influence on the social group of a socio-technical system is the social-technical regime.
Socio-technical regime The socio-technical regime can best be described as the normative and cognitive rules that guide and orient action. Rip, and Kemp expanded this concept to: a “wider sociological category of ‘rules,’ which involve problem agendas, guiding principles, rules of thumb, search heuristics, standards, relevant government regulations and representations of user preferences” (Geels, 2005). This socio-technical regime is known for its relative stability, as specific rules and beliefs have existed for centuries. This can make the social group blind to developments outside their focus as they have been looking in a particular direction for years. This socio-technical regime is hard to change as many people have invested interest in the status quo. Cultural beliefs and habits can also be considered part of the socio-technical regime. An example of this regime is the practices and habits surrounding food consumption. As I will explain later in this essay, a part of the socio-technical regime can change due to the rise of a new socio-technical system.
Because socio-technical regimes are characterised by their stability, radical innovations are complex to develop. Sociology literature, therefore, stresses the importance of niche innovation. The first phase of this transition is the emergence of an innovation in a niche. Niches are categorised as incubation rooms for innovations that do not immediately threaten existing markets, as they cannot compete immediately. In contrast to the socio-technical regime, the technological niche has little stability and uncertainty. This, however, means that the technological niche provides space for learning processes and experimentation. This technological niche forms the starting point for the socio-technological transition. There are no stable rules or dominant designs yet, as the system is still being experimented on. An example of this can be found in the early days of Thuisbezorgd as the dominant “design” of food delivery was not in place yet, and other things like CDs and phones were also delivered by Thuisbezorgd (Verdonk, 2010). The second phase of the socio-technical transition happens when a dominant design is chosen, and a more precise trajectory appears. The innovation started to be implemented in a small market but does not yet form a significant threat to the existing regime. The social group gets used to the technology and establishes a stable user experience. New technologies can remain stuck in this phase for a long when not aligned with the current regime. If the current regime remains completely intact, the spread of technology has little to no chance. The third phase of the Geel transition models sees the technological niche becoming part of the socio-technicalregime. The system is finally able to compete with the current regime. This happens if the window of opportunity is taken advantage of. This can happen in a couple of ways. There is a breakthrough in technology that makes specific scenarios suddenly possible and profitable. Powerful actors begin to support the new system, helping to overcome resistance from other groups. Another reason for a breakthrough in socio-technical systems is the rise of tensions within elements of the socio-technical regime. Social groups or cultural notions get misaligned due to changes in the landscape level or internal problems in the socio-technical regime. However, these drivers of technology breakthroughs are not mutually exclusive, as they often happen simultaneously, even reinforcing each other at times. This is what happened with the rise in food delivery systems. The improvement of the internet caused the online portal of Thuisbezorgd to take off. This technological breakthrough caused investors to invest in internet-
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4. Multi-Level Perspective on socio-technical transitions
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backed companies like Thuisbezorgd, which in turn caused a misalignment in the socio-technical regime. This breakthrough happens in steps, which can also be called niche accumulation. Through niche development, the technology will compete with the existing regime until it reaches phase 4: Replacement of the socio-technical regime. The replacement of elements within the regime happens gradually and takes time. When regime elements get replaced, this can reinforce the replacement of other elements within the regime. This happened to the food delivery services as ordering food online became easier. This, in turn, caused a social shift in people’s eating and drinking habits. The convenience of food delivery made it socially acceptable to order food instead of cooking together. One could say that the shift from cooking to ordering diminished the importance of the communal meal. This created a new socio-technical regime where it was customary to order food and where food was just seen as a pragmatic necessity. Ordering food and eating by yourself, therefore, becomes the new norm. A new socio-technical regime is formed. We have seen the socio-technical system transition from the technological niche (Thuisbezorgd delivering Phones and CDs) to the replacement of the socio-technical regime (new cultural standards for eating). However, to see the link between food delivery services and loneliness, we have to look at the last phase of the transition. The top level of the socio-technical transition model is called the socio-technical landscape. This landscape refers to the broader environment of socio-technical developments which actors do not directly influence. This landscape consists of elements that are not easily changed but can impact the socio-technical regime. This includes overarching trends like urbanisation, climate change, infrastructure, and other spatial arrangements. The technical landscape, however, also consists of cultural landscape developments. Geels describes the increasing attention in public debates for health and hygiene as an essential macro landscape development in explaining the rise of automobiles (Geels, 2005). In the case of food delivery services, another cultural landscape development plays a role: the increase in the number of people living on their own. Amsterdam has seen a rapid increase in one-person households over the last few years (CBS, 2018). Studies have shown that living on your own reduces the average rating of well-being and can have a negative impact on the feeling of loneliness (Tani et al., 2015). This could help explain the difference in the rise of loneliness in Amsterdam compared to other Dutch cities, as the number of one-person households in Amsterdam far exceeds other cities (CBS, 2018). Many reasons are given for the rise of one-person households, but for the sake of my explanation, I will focus on the following: Technology makes it easier to live alone. Because of technological advancements, you can live your whole life without needing
5. Conclusion Through the food delivery systems case study, I tried to explain Geels’ model of a socio-technical transition. The example I used can serve as a guiding model for understanding the socio-technical transition and newly formed regimes’ influence on the technical landscape. However, the cultural shift I mentioned is still going on, and the replacement of the old socio-technical regime has not been fully established. Signs of changes in eating habits are becoming more visible, but the direct link with loneliness is not proven. Although this essay focused on Amsterdam to explain the food delivery service case, the actual setting does not matter. Amsterdam has a high percentage of loneliness, one-person households, and food delivery services, making it a more straightforward case. However, the food delivery service ecosystem’s boundaries are rigid to set. As Van Bueren states: “in many cases, there is a mismatch between spatial or physical scales and administrative ones” (Van Bueren, 2012). This is also the case as boundaries for the food delivery systems are often determined by mathematical algorithms that calculate how far their bikes can go before losing money. In this case, Amsterdam’s boundaries reach as far as the capitalistic profit margins take them. I wanted to use this case to sketch a possible path forward through explaining the MLP model. The socio-technical transition is a non-linear process in which interactions between the different levels are barely predictable and in which there can never be a direct causation between technology and a societal problem like loneliness. Although I believe that the current socio-technical regime regarding food consumption will never entirely be replaced, I think that this case study of food delivery services gives a good explanation of the effect technology can have on society as a whole.
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anyone else. Through Skype, you can talk to people without physically being in the same room. With Tinder, you can meet people without going to the bar. And with food delivery apps, you can order pizza without having to talk to anyone. The socio-technical innovation of food delivery apps makes living alone easier and more socially acceptable. This new socio-technical regime creates an optimal environment for living alone, positively influencing the cultural landscape development of the rise of one-person households. It can, therefore, be argued that the rise of food delivery services and the cultural shift in eating norms influence the rise of loneliness in Amsterdam.
6. References CBS. (2018). Huishoudensprognose 2018-2060. Den Haag: CBS. Driessen, S. (2017). Update Maaltijdbezorging. Amsterdam: ABN Amro. Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and Punish, Panopticism.” In Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: New York: Vintage Books. Geels, F. (2005). The dynamics of transitions in socio-technical systems: A multi-level analysis of the transition pathway from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 445–476. Gemeente Amsterdam. (2018). Eenzaamheid in Amsterdam. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam.
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Grubler, A. (1998). Technology and Global Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harvey, I. (2019, January 8). Food Delivery: The Epic History of Humanity’s Greatest Convenience. The Vintage News. Holt, L. J., & Smith, T. (2015). Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 227–237. Lawhon, M. &. (2012). Socio-technical regimes and sustainability transitions: Insights from political ecology. Progress in Human Geography, 354–378. Mazza, S., & Schmitt, B. (2019, June 27). Watch out, uber Uber Eaters: Online food delivery can lead to overspending and isolation. Nashville Tennessean. Meltzer, M. (2019, april 11). Food delivery is ruining the world, one lukewarm, overpriced dinner at a time. Matador network. Nakicenovic, N. (1986). The automobile road to technological change: diffusion of the automobile as a process. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 309-340. NOS. (2016, september 30). Thuisbezorgd haalt ruim 300 miljoen op met beursgang. NOS. Owler. (2019). Uber Eats’s Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions. Opgeroepen op december 20, 2019, van owler.com: https://www.owler. com/company/ubereats Singh, S. (2019, September 9). The Soon-to-be $200B Online Food Delivery Is Rapidly Changing the Global Food Industry. Forbes, p. 1. Tani, Y., Sasaki, Y., Haseda, M. K., & Kondo, N. (2015). Eating alone and depression in older men and women by cohabitation status: The JAGES longitudinal survey. Age & Ageing, 1019-1026. The Hartman Group. (2013). Modern Eating: Cultural Roots, Daily Behaviours. Bellevue, Washington: The Hartman Group. The Hartman Group. (2016). Table For One: Why We Are Increasingly Eating Alone. Jersey City, US: Forbes. UBS. (2018). Is the kitchen dead? Zürich: UBS In Focus.
Van Bueren, E. v. (2012). An Ecosystems Approach. Dordrecht: Springer. Verdonk, M. (2010, march 15). Interview met Jitse Groen van Thuisbezorgd.nl. Twinkle. Way, K. (2019, November 4). More People Than Ever Are Eating Alone, and It is Making Everyone Nervous. Vice. Williams-Grut, O. (2018, juli 2). UBS: Online food delivery could be a $365 billion industry by 2030 — here are the winners and losers from that ‘mega trend’. Business Insider.
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Worland, J. (2015, March 18). Why Loneliness May Be the Next Big Public-Health Issue. Time.
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The Political Power of Digital Nature in Urban Areas
Hanna Winters
DEC 2019
Abstract: As digitalisation and urbanisation form modern society, climate change threatens the environment. Scientific research has shown that to achieve sustainability, cities must be resilient, which is achieved through solid and adaptive ecosystems. Urban ecosystems are interconnected and interdependent social, economic, political, and ecological systems. To maintain the environmental and socio-ecological systems, the Internet of Nature is introduced to create a digital representation of urban nature. The digital representation of nature is expected to impact policy and management strategies on sustainable city development. This paper explores the extent to which it can influence the political arena of urban governance. It concludes that the Internet of Nature can launch a social transition through evidence-based knowledge accumulation of the influence of high-quality urban ecosystems on city resilience. However, the success rate of policies based on the data depends on the maps’ and policies’ legibility, validity, and legitimacy. A successful policy implementation can be reached through inclusive democracy, which requires equal knowledge of all parties. Therefore, this paper suggests that to succeed as a facilitator of sustainable cities, the Internet of Nature needs to give open access to its data. Keywords: Urban Resilience, Internet of Nature, Sustainable Urban Development, Ecosystem Intelligence, Inclusive Democracy
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METROPOLITAN TECHNOLOGIES: THE INTERNET OF NATURE
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1. Introduction Several societal processes have changed our way of living in the last few decades. Two are the development of the Internet and the increased migration to cities. The modern default narrative of human life is dominated by digital and urban dimensions. Except for one element, one within the general discourse is presumed to be incompatible with the other two: the element of nature. Nature is seen as the opposite biotope of those digital and urban environments and is usually not associated with the development of either of them. However, another process that has had its impact on our lives only very recently is climate change. This process has forced us to return to nature and improve the sustainability of our biotope. The general scientific argumentation is that we need nature, green spaces, and ecosystems to survive and, therefore, have to implement them within our modern style of life. In this regard, most recently, the ultimate combination of the three elements of modern life, nature, digitalisation, and the urban area, has been presented: the ‘Internet of Nature’. This term defines how to take nature online by monitoring urban nature using emerging technologies. Technologies such as high-quality satellite imagery and remote sensing will map the urban ecological ecosystem and monitor its quality and quantity status. The combined data of those technologies results in the digital representation of ecosystems and facilitates the analysis of the interaction with socio-ecological systems, leading to so-called ‘ecosystem intelligence’ (Galle et al., 2019). Ecosystem intelligence will thus provide the opportunity to investigate the interaction between humans and nature and the effects of this interaction on the urban ecosystem. Why do we need this information, and what is the expected benefit from this? From the view that cities need to become more sustainable, it is beneficial to use its ecosystem quality as an index of resilience (Beatley & Newman, 2013). In order to measure this index and explore how it can be improved, we need to become knowledgeable of the current status and the system interactions around it. When the information is interpreted, it can be a seed that can grow into city developmental policies and change how our cities are designed (Galle et al., 2019). This statement is based on preliminary assumptions and is a desirable outcome. However, before we accept the Internet of Nature as a fundament of future urban developmental governance, it is essential to consider the potential effects of this influence. Therefore, this paper will look into the effects of digital ecosystem monitoring on sustainable city development governance.
2.The urban ecosystem Sustainable, resilient, and safe cities are goal number 11 of the UN sustainable development goals. The goal includes reducing the environmental impact of cities in terms of waste and air quality, but also universal access to green and public spaces (UN, n.d.). This goal is stated to create cities that can adapt to climate change and improve the livelihood of citizens. Since they have grown, cities have become more vulnerable to changes or shocks, socially, economically, or environmentally (Banzhaf & Kollai, 2015). Rapid growth rates and climate change influences have pushed urban areas beyond their environmental boundaries and decreased their ability to bounce back (Banzhaf & Kollai, 2015). Research has shown that healthy ecosystems increase the adaptive capacity to respond to these changes and enforce resilient outcomes in urban areas (Beatley & Newman, 2013). This gave the incentive to include urban ecosystem quality as a significant component in scientific research in sustainable city development (Beatley & Newman, 2013; Ives, 2017; Cooke et al., 2016). The urban ecosystem consists of trees and plants, buildings, infrastructure, and people living within the urban environment. According to ecosystem theory, ecosystems are interconnected and dependent on one another (Yigitcanlar & Dizdaroglu, 2015). Sustainable and resilient cities entail adapting to changes because all aspects of the ecosystem are in balance, and all exist to their full potential. In this story, humans also take part in the urban ecosystem, and it is the only part we can actively influence, as all the other systems evolve as a consequence of our direct action (Meadows, 2015). Therefore, active human ecosystem protection is essential to develop sustainable and resilient cities.
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It will start by outlining the ecosystem interactions within the city and the potential shift of discourse on the value of those urban ecosystems. Then, it will consider the possible implementation strategies and the effect on the socio-political dynamics based on various theories on practical implementation. Then, it will suggest increasing the potential success of policies constructed under the influence of the Internet of Nature. The conclusion gives an overview of the arguments to support this suggestion.
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3. The evolution of the social system It is known that people strive better when they live in some connection with nature. Mentally and physically, people benefit from interaction with nature; we are, for example, more resistant to illnesses and experience less stress, which is related to reducing obesity rates (Brown & Grant, 2005). Happier and healthier citizens can adapt to changes and thus are more resilient (Beatley & Newman, 2013). More resilient citizens are associated with more sociological stability, which results in more economic and political stability and, therefore, facilitates further city development (Vale, 2014). Therefore, not only humans should facilitate the ecological ecosystem, but the ecological ecosystem facilitates people’s livelihoods and, thereby, the city’s economic development. This understanding could drastically change the perception of nature within policy development as the ecological ecosystem becomes increasingly valuable (Galle et al., 2019). However, this requires a clear definition statement of the quality of ecosystems (Galle, TedEx, 2019). As the ideology behind the Internet of Nature is supported by scientific research on the essence of urban ecosystems in developing sustainable cities, it adds to the general consent. The knowledge accumulated through real-life case experiences can contribute to a shift in the overarching discourse on city development (Foucault, 1977). When the general discourse on urban development changes, the total consent regarding sustainable urban development within the social system of society can change. Which can be called a social transition (Geels, 2005). Within this transition, the quality of nature will be a central component of the discourse, and a general definition is expected to be developed.
4. Power of morality Through a change in discourse, the perception of the essence of high-quality urban ecosystems to human well-being and resilience is acknowledged in the socio-technical systems, and it trickles down into the social regime. From the social government, rules and regulations are formulated and implemented in society, completing the transition (Geels, 2005). Institutional rules directly relate to social rules of morality; rules form codes and perceptions of morality, and vice versa (Geels, 2005). Thereby, it is expected that through the transition, the moral incentive to ensure high-quality ecosystems to create a sustainable living environment in cities impacts the governance act. When it is accepted and regulated that cities should
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enhance ecosystems, governmental organisations are rationally expected to involve this in developmental policies. Based on the theory of Immanuel Kant, when the moral imperative of the regime states that improving city resilience is expected to be protected by city governance, it translates into an implicit right of city inhabitants (Curle, 2010). Under the universal understanding within the social regime that urban ecosystem quality is needed to protect their livelihoods, citizens can hold the government accountable for inadequate action to ensure quality of life. When governments do not act according to what is morally expected of them, citizens have the right to demand justice and a policy change (Curle, 2010). This process has been proved in practice in the lawsuit of the non-governmental organisation of Urgenda against the Dutch government. In this process, Urgenda accused the state of inadequate acting regarding the protection of the Dutch citizens against climate change. They argued that, as the risks of increased climate change are well known, the state must do its best to limit environmental damage. According to Urgenda, the state has failed in this morally established duty and won with this argument in the highest Dutch court on the 20th of December 2019 (NOS, 2019). This shows that the expected duty of the government, as defined by the discourse on climate change, can be lawfully expressed as a positive right of citizens. Concluding from this argumentation, through a transition of the socio-technical system of the Internet of Nature, high-quality urban nature can become a right of urban inhabitants. The information to facilitate the right to high-quality nature is mainly provided by the companies that own the technological advancements to feed the Internet of Nature and create ecosystem intelligence. The data is assembled in maps confined within city boundaries and sold to the cities they regard. The continuous monitoring and analysing of this data is then sold as a service by those same companies (Galle, personal communication, 2019). Making the data a prized commodity, whereas the high quality of urban nature can be perceived as a public good. Which puts the rationale behind the ownership of this information into question. As defined by Foucault (1977), knowledge provides power, and the ownership of that power determines what can be done with the information. In the United States, there is a rising crisis in rationality over this ownership of knowledge and, thus, the power over the truth (Kavanagh & Rich, 2018). It is called ‘truth decay’ and states a decline in trust in sources of factual information and an increase in disagreement on facts and data as a consequence of changes in the information system (Kavanagh & Rich, 2018). This does not insinuate that the companies that collect the information on the Internet of Nature provide untruthful information or that the facts they state
are not to be trusted. However, it underpins the essence of transparent information provision within the digitalisation process and society’s internet dependency. Due to the power that the information gives, the low variety in sources and paid accessibility can create vulnerability to suspicion of information bias and overruling by alternative judgements or opinions. In order to sustain its legitimacy and validity, the accumulation and implementation of information should be considered carefully, primarily when it will support a social transition in global urban sustainable development and serve as the foundation for governmental policies.
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5. Political implementation In extension, when the information provided by the Internet of Nature is perceived as the truth, this could also strongly influence the outcomes of governmental policies. By accumulating the data with technologies and combining it with scientific research on urban ecosystems, the maps of ecosystem intelligence elaborate on the distribution and quality of nature in relation to the socio-economic system (Galle et al., 2019). These maps create a legible and measurable dimension of nature, which can be used in rational policy and decision-making (Scott, 1998). The controversial theory of high modernism, as described by Scott (1998), can be put to question whether or not this development benefits democratic governance. Scott argues that creating a metric is invaluable, as it only provides a standardised scale to which all citizens are aligned. However, citizens are not as homogenous as the standardised scales suggest. Following Scott’s reasoning, using the standardised scale in policymaking will lead to implementations that numb developed characteristics that differentiate people from one another. By regarding people as one homogenous population and adapting policy to this standardised metric, people will adapt to this framework and disregard the development of resourceful skills and knowledge. By suppressing the motivation to develop these assets, citizens will eventually become the homogenous population that they are perceived as in the first place. Within a mapped and narrow rational, planned society, there is little to no modification to develop the skills to adapt to a changing natural and human environment, also known as Metis (Scott, 1998). Regarding the Internet of Nature, the discourse that can develop through the social transition of adapted sustainable development defines the quality of urban ecosystems based on the measurable features of those ecosystems about the socio-ecological system—standardising the connection between humans and nature in cities. Implementations based on this definition intend to increase sustainable
6. Open access data? The Internet of Nature can be seen as a valuable feature to facilitate a definition of the quality of nature, but how can this information be used without obstructing the engagement of citizens in the sustainable development process? Scott (1998) suggests that every policy development should entail, to some degree, the enhancement of skills, knowledge, and responsibility of those subject to it. In this regard, also relating to the earlier statement of the legitimacy of the information provider, it is argued here that providing open access to the data could be beneficial for everyone. When all people, specifically citizens, have access to the data on the status of the quality of nature in their city, people can become more involved and have the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of the status of the ecosystem. By facilitating the accumulation of knowledge and with full transparency on the information, the Internet of Nature can potentially become a powerful asset to bind governments and citizens to nature preservation. With accurate data on the development of the ecosystem, the information can function as direct feedback on human action within the ecosystem and thereby increase the feeling of responsibility of the citizens (Gabrielsen & Bosch, 2003). If citizens become more engaged, responsible, and knowledgeable about the ecosystem’s status, they can respond to the ecosystem’s status themselves. In order to do so, they need to develop the skills for that and enhance their resilience. The skills mentioned here refer to skills to limit the human impact on the environmental ecosystem and cope with changes in that environmental ecosystem.
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development and thereby improve the resilience of those cities. However, while policies are improving people’s resilience by connecting them with nature, it is questionable to what extent the resilience of those citizens is sustainable. When nature is provided and maintained to entirely conform to the measured and planned needs, people have no incentive to develop their adaptive skills and responsibility to prevent low environmental quality. People become less engaged and do not feel responsible for protecting the ecosystem as it is narrowly planned to be high quality anyway. In the case of unexpected changes in the environment or social shocks, which are pretty reasonable to expect, those people cannot adapt. Scott argues that information on future scenarios is always incomplete and that it is impossible to predict future changes. Therefore, as stated by Beatley and Newman (2013), creating resilience between people and nature is only possible when both can adapt to emerging changes.
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However, political participation is another set of skills that can be developed through increased engagement and knowledge on the subject. The numb standardised people described in the book by Scott also refer to citizens who do not have to participate politically because the political policies give them precisely what is measured that they need. Therefore, when stepping away from this standardised framework in policymaking, people can potentially develop an opinion and, thereby, requirements for the created policy. In order to adapt the policy to their requirements, they need to get involved in the decision-making. Democracy, in this respect, through information availability and therefore the feasibility of interactive discussions, is argued by Amartya Sen to increase governance efficiency (Chotiner, 2019). Another scholar who supports this line of reasoning is Patsey Healey. She introduced inclusive democracy through communicative planning and inclusionary argumentation (Healey, 1996). This process includes citizens in the conversation on planning policies by recognising their perception of the problem in their way of giving meaning to the issue and giving all members of society a voice, even though they cannot all be ‘present’. According to Healey, the way to do this is by facilitating the conversation in a neutral place and using everyday language for the storyline. Healey argues that a standard policy discourse must be created to create inclusionary spatial strategies, which gives attention to all different ways of perceiving the problem and can build interrelations between the differences. Based on the reasoning by Habermas, the consensus we create is developed through our connection with others and, therefore, not a result of individual preferences (Habermas, 1984). We thus construct our ideas through conversations with others. Therefore, inclusive argumentation, including all members, could produce a public realm recognising how the problem is perceived. This public realm respect can overcome the power of the government, as their argument and perception are integrated into the public realm (Healey, 1996). Although Healey underlines that this process is complicated, it can enhance governance efficiency and successful policy implementation. It does so by increasing governance legitimacy and providing knowledge to both parties. Again, referring back to Scott’s argument, it directly increases people’s resilience and, therefore, the city’s, thus increasing political stability. Regarding the Internet of Nature, people engaged with policy development regarding urban nature will experience more benefits from the connection with nature as it is in response to their needs. According to ecosystem theory, the total urban ecosystem will be more resilient if people experience more benefits from the ecological environment.
The Internet of Nature has entered the science of sustainable urban development. It has been represented to change the city government’s perspective on urban nature. However, as it is a relatively new term, the outcome of this impact on global policy development is uncertain. This paper has explored this new technological approach’s potential impacts and processes. It is concluded that the Internet of Nature can impact urban governance because of the socio-technological transition it can potentially launch. As the discourse develops with the transition, it creates the moral expectation to strive for high-quality urban ecosystems. It affects the rational expectations of the government’s performance and makes high-quality urban nature a positive right of urban citizens. Maps on the status of nature, provided by the Internet of Nature, serve as the foundation for the policies that ensure this right, which demands that the legitimacy of these information systems should be safeguarded. In the current situation, there is no opportunity to validate the data; therefore, it could quickly be overruled by other judgment and mistrust. Next, is there a considerable risk when implementing the standardised metric of the maps that policies execute in one-dimensional legibility? The assumption of complete knowledge of the development of these maps can result in overly standardised policy development. Citizens do not get the opportunity to develop skills, knowledge, and responsibility to adapt to unexpected changes. Therefore, it is suggested that the data of the Internet of Nature becomes open and accessible information. It can provide citizens with knowledge and insights, stimulating the feeling of responsibility and engagement. This engagement is, in return, essential to creating a solid inclusionary democratic system, which improves the chances of successful policy implementation. Through inclusionary communicative argumentation, all members are included, and perceptions are considered. Also, will it provide more opportunity for information validation and a sense of authority in the system? Through this, the Internet of Nature can facilitate the transition towards more sustainable, resilient cities where people can live in close connection with nature. As was the ideology of the inventor Nadine Galle. However, this argument still has a lot of uncertainty and unpredictability. Evidence shows that it is always difficult to include everyone and understand all perceptions on the issue in policy implementation. This is also because not all members develop an opinion on the issue. Making the data open and accessible might allow people to become knowledgeable, but they do not always do so. The system described above might work in case there is a strong incentive for the average
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7. Conclusion
citizen to become more acquainted with the development of the quality of nature within a city. Further research could look into how this incentive can be created.
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8. Acknowledgements The Internet of Nature is defined by Nadine Galle, among others. She is also the co-founder of the Green City Watch, one of the first companies to put the Internet of Nature in practice. I had the opportunity to talk to her about the concept before I started writing this paper. The conversation with her inspired me to look into the idea, resulting in this paper’s problem statement. I want to thank her for sharing her knowledge and giving me the resources to start this research.
9. References Allan, B., Nimmo, D. Ierodiaconou, D., VanDerWal, J., Koh, L., & Ritchie, E. (2018). Futurecasting ecological research: the rise of technoecology. Ecosphere, 9(5), e02163 Beatley, T., & Newman, P. (2013). Biophilic cities are sustainable, resilient cities. Sustainability, 5(8), 3328–3345. Banzhaf, E., & Kollai, H. (2015). Monitoring the Urban Tree Cover for Urban Ecosystem Services - The Case of Leipzig, Germany. Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XL-7/W3, 301-305. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprsarchives-XL-7-W3-301-2015 Brown, C., &. Grant, M. (2005). Biodiversity and human health: What role for nature in healthy urban planning? Built Environment, 31(4), 326–338. Chotiner, I. (2019). Amartya Sen’s Hopes and Fears for Indian Democracy. The New Yorker, October 6, 2019. https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/ amartya-sens-hopes-and-fears-for-indian-democracy Cooke, B., West, S., & Boonstra, W. (2016). Dwelling in the biosphere: exploring an embodied human–environment connection in resilience thinking. Sustainability Science, 11(5), 831–843. Curle, C. (2010). International Human Rights and the Intuition of Justice, Bergson v. Kant. Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and Punish, Panopticism. In Sheridan, A., Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison, 195–228. Vintage Books. Gabrielsen, P., Bosch, P. (2003). Environmental indicators: Typology and use in reporting, European Environment Agency, Copenhagen. Galle, N. J., Nitoslawski, S. A., & Pilla, F. (2019). The Internet of Nature: How taking nature
online can shape urban ecosystems. The Anthropocene Review, 6(3), 279–287. Galle, N.J. (2019). TedEx talk: Cities and the Internet of Nature. March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbZkqSukAwc Geels, F. (2005). The dynamics of transitions in socio-technical systems: A multi-level analysis of the transition pathway from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles (1860 –1930), Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 17(4), 445-476 Habermas, J. (1984). The Theory of Communicative Action, Volume 1: Reason and the
strategy formation. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 23,217–234. Ives CD, Giusti M, Fischer J et al. (2017). Human–nature connection: A multidisciplinary review. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 26-27, 106–113. Kavanagh, J. & Rich, M. (2018). Truth Decay. An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts and Analysis in American Public Life, RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/ pubs/research_reports/RR2314.html Meadows, D. (2015). Thinking in Systems: A Primer. Chelsea Green Publishing Co. Woods, R. (2003). Urban-Rural Mortality Differentials: An Unresolved Debate. Population and Development Review, 29(1), 29–46. www.jstor.org/stable/3092733 NOS (2019). Hoge Raad houdt Urgenda-vonnis in stand: kabinet moet uitstoot terugdringen. 20/12/2019. https://nos.nl/artikel/2315562-hoge-raad-houdt-urgenda-vonnis-in-standkabinet-moet-uitstoot-terugdringen.html Scott, J. (1998). Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed, Yale University Press. United Nations (n.d.) on the Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Retrieved from: https://www.un.org/ sustainabledevelopment/cities/ Vale, L. J. (2014). The politics of resilient cities: Whose resilience and whose city? Building Research & Information, 42(2), 191–201. Yigitcanlar, T., & Dizdaroglu, D. (2014). Ecological approaches in planning for sustainable cities: A review of the literature. Global journal of environmental science and management, 1(2), 159-188.
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Rationalization of Society, Polity Press. Healey, P. (1996). The communicative turn in planning theory and its implications for spatial
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METROPOLITAN PUBLIC GOODS
The interconnections between the social construction of space and cities understood as systems of systems, with a spatial justice approach that considers the distributive, procedural, and recognition dimensions of justice in space are significant. When these concepts are integrated, they provide a comprehensive framework for addressing urban development challenges in a way that promotes fairness, equity, and social sustainability. The distributive dimension of spatial justice focuses on the equitable distribution of resources, benefits, and public goods within a city. Recognising cities as systems of systems allows for a more nuanced understanding of how resources are distributed across different urban subsystems. It highlights the importance of ensuring that public goods, such as mobility, green spaces, and affordable housing, are accessible to all residents regardless of their location within the city. The procedural dimension of spatial justice highlights the importance of fair and inclusive decision-making processes in urban planning and governance. Cities as systems of systems involve a multitude of stakeholders and decision-makers across various subsystems. Ensuring just procedures means that these stakeholders have a voice in shaping the urban environment and that decision-making is transparent and inclusive. The recognition dimension of spatial justice emphasises acknowledging and respecting the specific trajectories, histories, aspirations, and needs
of subaltern groups in society. Understanding the social construction of space allows for the recognition of how certain spaces may be historically marginalised or disenfranchised, and how these spaces can be revitalised to meet the needs of marginalised communities. The Lefebvrian conception of space as socially constructed, the (eco)systems approach and the recognition dimension of spatial justice take into account the cultural and social significance of urban spaces. For example, the (eco)systems approach may consider the importance of green spaces for the well-being of communities, while the recognition dimension emphasises the importance of acknowledging that subaltern groups are historically exposed to more environmental hazards and their pleas deserve attention. The integration of these concepts recognises that cities are complex systems where issues of distributive fairness, procedural justice, and the recognition of diverse communities’ needs and histories are interwoven with the physical, social, and ecological aspects of urban life. This provides a robust framework for addressing the multifaceted challenges of urbanisation while promoting spatial justice in all its dimensions.
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Dike improvements Dikes: a common good or a minority’s burden? Sem Joshua Bons DEC 2019
Abstract: This essay critically evaluates approaches to dyke improvement in the Netherlands based on a case study in the polder Watergraafsmeer, Amsterdam, viewed from three perspectives, socio-technical, ecosystems and spatial justice. Water safety is considered a common good in the Netherlands, but due to rising sea levels, every few decades dykes need to be improved. The negative consequences of these modifications are only felt by the residents living on or next to the dykes. Furthermore, the policy for maintaining the dykes is outdated. The improvements should be executed in an eco-friendly way, and the wishes of stakeholders should be considered as much as possible. In cases where these requirements are not feasible, there is room for technological innovations or, in other cases, compensation for the disadvantaged in the context of spatial justice. Keywords: Dike improvement, Stakeholders, Climate adaptation, Unevenly spread burdens, Common goods, Socio-technical, Spatial Justice, Ecosystems approach
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METROPOLITAN PUBLIC GOODS: DIKES
1. Introduction The metropolitan environment is increasingly complex. It involves a large variety of stakeholders, with portions having conflicting interests. Climate change is also a sensitive topic for the metropolitan area. More pollution in the air, water and soil is an increasingly tough challenge; resources are getting scarcer with the year, and in the meantime, the global population is still growing rapidly. In short, our society needs a comprehensive transition towards sustainability. In the context of water safety, dyke maintenance is a big issue in the Netherlands. Since the con-
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struction of the first dikes in the Middle Ages, it has been a constant battle of man versus water. Although the water system is already in place, recently, the battle has become more pressing because of the faster-than-anticipated rising sea levels, resulting in forced dike improvement throughout the Netherlands. In this essay, the issue of dyke improvement will be discussed through three perspectives: socio-technical, ecosystems and spatial justice. The three interpretations of the approach will be explained in the theoretical framework. Furthermore, the three theories are tried and applied in a thought experiment on a case study in Watergraafsmeer, Amsterdam. The findings will be generalised for application in the rest of the Netherlands and, in some cases, globally. Ethical questions raised from the proposed solution are discussed, and a personal reflection is given on my entrepreneurial role in the solutions.
2. Lack of space around dykes Since the construction of dykes in the Netherlands, there is a threefold problem that influences the safety of residents in the polder. Firstly, the sea levels are rising. Secondly, the soil oxidises because of water extraction in the polder, resulting in land subsidence; and thirdly, due to climate change, extreme weather conditions occur more frequently, resulting in peak discharges of rivers and storm surges at sea. The standard solution for the problem is levelling up the dykes. However, historically building alongside the dike has been widespread, firstly because of the appreciated view over the river and floodplain and secondly because building alongside a dyke gives a sense of security. Furthermore, the Netherlands is a densely populated country meaning uncul-
tured space is scarce, especially in the polder areas where dykes are numerous. Heightening the dykes in these cases would imply the destruction of (often historical) dyke houses or houses at the foot of the dyke. For these reasons. The Dutch government has looked at several solutions for coping with rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions due to climate change. The ‘Room for the River’ programme is an excellent example of this. As the name suggests, the project aims to give the rivers in the Netherlands more space to manage rising water levels. For or a whole dyke can be relocated, creating a bigger floodplain. These measures are preferable because of their appliance outside of population centres, making the heightening of dykes at a different location unnecessary (Rijkswaterstaat, 2016). Room for the River was a national programme focused solely on the main rivers in the delta and the coastline. There are still numerous locations where dyke improvement must be done at the municipal level.
3. Literature review The three points of view towards the transition of a sustainable society are discussed in this section: socio-technical, ecosystems and spatial justice approach. Each theory will be briefly introduced and reviewed based on the literature.
3.1. Socio-technical perspective In this perspective, transition can be accomplished by looking for synergy between technology or technological innovation and society. From a socio-technical point of view, either of the two cannot be understood in an isolated manner. As van Geels argued, “Technology plays an important role in fulfilling societal functions, but artefacts only fulfil functions in association with human agency and social structures” (Geels, 2005, p.445). A workable model for transition is adopting a multi-level perspective. It distinguishes a ‘technological niche,’ ‘socio-technical regime’, and ‘socio-technical landscape firstly.’ Transitions occur through the alignment and interaction of the dynamics at the three levels mentioned. The dynamics of these levels are not linear or mechanical but evolve through interactions of social groups with different interests, creating a heterogeneous landscape (Geels, 2005). Latour emphasizes the same argument that technology is always embedded in a social and
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instance, at bottlenecks, a bypass can be created as was done close to Nijmegen,
cultural context, and that the technology does not bring itself to life, but requires real people to invest in it, both fiscally and emotionally (Latour, 1996). In the article ‘Seeing Like a State’ James Scott argues that the state fails despite high modernist approaches. The problem is that many state-led actions were immoral because governments acted as if they were gods despite the free market. Scott emphasises that governments should be multifunctional, diverse, and adaptable. Or they are shaped by ‘Métis’ as he calls it.
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3.2. Ecosystems perspective From the ecosystem perspective, the combination of human society and our built environment is seen as a (new) ecosystem. In this way, it becomes possible to model urban areas and differentiate subsystems in the ecosystem. “Humanity must service the biosphere if we expect to continue to receive high-quality life support goods and services” (Van Bueren, 2012, p.21). This means we should, just as an ecosystem, strive towards a circular system instead of a resource-depleting system. The Ecodevice Model (three-step strategy) can be adopted. In short, this means we must reduce our need for resources, start reusing and recycling and minimise the impact of used resources or use resources more efficiently for its task (Van Bueren, 2012). Another way of implementing the ecosystems approach is adopting political ecology in the transition theory, as it can better provide the social processes and power relations through which knowledge and technologies are created. Most socio-technical transition theorists focus on elite actors. Political ecologists, on the other hand, take a more holistic view and consider which parties should be involved and to what extent (M. Lawhon, 2011). Lastly “Enthusiasm of individuals at key positions are considered a crucial factor for success” (Pesch, 2017 p..1922). Transition is always a matter of aligning discursive, material, and institutional resources. To be able to create an ongoing willingness to make deals between conflicting demands, enthusiastic niche entrepreneurs are needed. Methods to create this willingness are a) drawing attention to an issue, b) creating and preserving a coalition of actors that possesses relevant values and c) connecting problems to policy given the existing political context (Pesch, 2017).
3.3. Spatial justice perspective The spatial justice perspective sees the transition from a political point of view. It comprehends “the fair and equitable distribution in the space of socially valued resources and opportunities to use them” (Soja, 2009, p.2). However, an environindividuals, namely ‘the tragedy of the commons’; this phenomenon occurs when individuals neglect the well-being of society in the pursuit of personal gain, and the result is the depletion of resources because of overconsumption (Hardin, 1968). The common goods should be managed so that they do not become a burden for a minority group. Forester, in his article, emphasises the role of deliberative practitioners. They are multi-modal, investigative, and practically oriented rather than only argumentative. Different cases that serve as an example of what these ‘practitioners’ are described. For instance, in the case of Sherman, multiple subtle things gave way to success; Sherman was direct, leaving no room for ambiguity. In the case of Sclavi, workshops were organised for different kinds of actors so they could (re)search for new solutions for the problem. The result was that the deliberative approach improved the original solutions proposed.
4. Discussion The three theories are discussed through a case study in Watergraafsmeer, Ams terdam, and complementing examples. The project’s components that align with one or more of the theories are discoursed and opportunities for improvement are pointed out.
4.1. Socio-technical approach The Ringdijk in the eastern part of Amsterdam is on the southern shore of a canal. The dyke protects the polder from water. Watergraafsmeer is the lowest
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mental and spatial problem can occur when resources are readily available to all
part of Amsterdam, with depths up to five meters below sea-level (AHN, 2019). The dyke is a green body with a lane of trees and a footpath at the crest. Parallel, at the foot of the dyke is a road and adjacent to the road, the neighbourhood starts with rows of houses, leaving no space for traditional levelling up. Due to an innovation named ‘dyke nailing technology,’ the maintenance can be done from within the dyke without having to heighten the dyke or chop trees. The developer, together with the municipality, gave a demonstration to residents and interested people (Waternet, 2019). The ‘dyke nailing technology’ is a clear example of working with a multi-level
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perspective van Geels described. Dyke nailing technology was first tested in an empty field and therefore functioned as the ‘technological niche.’ The first real application at Watergraafsmeer functions as the ‘socio-technical regime.’ And because the project is financed by a consortium of stakeholders, they now have access to the technology and can apply in other parts of the Netherlands making the technology part of the ‘socio-technical landscape.’ But the project Ringdijk also shows signs of a socio-technical approach because of the strong involvement of stakeholders in the choice of maintenance and the creation of technological innovation because of their will to preserve their homes and the lane of trees. Watergraafsmeer shows the adaptability of the local government in their project approach and thereby does not act as a ‘god’ that does not need to change.
4.2.Ecosystems approach It is, of course, ironic to suggest water management should be conducted with an ecosystems approach. In a natural delta, rivers typically inundate one or multiple times a year, giving way to sedimentation. The natural increment of land makes the construction of dykes redundant. However, dyke maintenance at Watergraafsmeer also shows signs of the ecosystem approach. For instance, preserving the lane of trees is positive from an ecological point of view. However, there is more ground to be won. Dykes can be essential for developing a higher biodiversity. Because of the sloped nature of the structure sun-loving plants, for instance, can grow on the southern slope, which would typically only thrive in the middle and North of France. Plants that need less moisture grow higher on the slope or on top of the dyke, and vice versa for plants that can manage a moisture (Meerburg, 2009). Dykes
can also function as a corridor, a connection between two or multiple habitats. A requirement is that the dyke is maintained eco-friendly, with a policy of structurally less mowing. This type of maintenance has an additional benefit; most dykes have a sandy core and a top layer of clay because of its impermeability and erosion resistance. Eco-friendly maintenance creates a more robust top layer due to the (deeper) rooting of plants (Meerburg, 2009). Maintaining dykes in an eco-friendly way services the biosphere, the requirement van Bueren advised. Instead of focusing solely residents regarding the lane of trees into account. However, the concept of political ecology can be adopted more effectively; in a lot of municipalities, eco-friendly maintenance is not executed because of limitations like road safety (high grass on the roadside is considered less safe) and the wish to recreate in the grass.
4.3. Spatial justice approach Everybody living or conducting business in the polder benefits of the safety a dyke provides; it is a common good. Dykes makes sure residents do not have floating furniture and that the bread of the local bakery is not soaking wet. Although it is true that in the Netherlands, every citizen is obliged to pay taxes to the federal government as well as the water boards that build and maintain the water system, including dikes, only the businesses and residents at or near the dyke experience nuisance during maintenance, in some extreme cases even eviction. A minority now carries the burden of ensuring the majority’s water safety. In the Netherlands, the different governments are obliged by law to hire an area manager, a project employee in charge of accommodating the requests and answering stakeholders’ questions. However, even then, the burden is unevenly spread. An example is a case from the tribunal of Gelderland, a resident on a dyke demanded compensation for damage to his farm due to dyke maintenance over five decades. The claim was rejected because no evidence could be retrieved of the earlier executed maintenance (Rechtbank Gelderland, 2016). Improvements can be made in the management of stakeholders. Different methods are available for achieving this goal, Forester in his article argues the role of deliberative practitioners, people who consider three concerns: “how to involve appropriate expertise, how to represent values, interests or concerns that matter, and, not least of all, how to shape commitments to action” (Forester, 1999, p.1). An example of how to
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on elite actors in this approach, a more holistic view is taken, taking the wishes of
achieve consideration of stakeholders is Giezeman’s project; he emphasises the necessity of building a relationship with the actors of a project. He proposes to throw a party and to use a “multi-modal deliberative strategy of bringing together people who care about their community’s issues – urban renewal, health and education – and care too how they treat one another” (Forester, 1999, p.9). This means we view deliberation as exploratory and action-orientated, not as argumentative. Another example is that of Sclavi, who proposes to use communal intelligence for shared exploration, learning, and discovery. Process design is encouraged by challenging different actors to develop new ideas, making the final project result more pleasing
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for the actors.
5. Conclusion Dyke improvement seems a subject where the three interpretations can be combined in the project approach, and from each theory, elements are relevant. In the case study and with dyke improvement in the Netherlands, in general, aspects are already in practice. For instance, stakeholders are already involved, and innovation leads to happier stakeholders. However, improvements can be made in managing stakeholders; building a relationship with the project’s actors is necessary. The role of deliberative practitioners should be increased; they involve suitable knowledge, represent value, interests or concerns that matter and know how to make things happen. In order to prevent the derogation of residents and businesses, their wishes should be taken seriously. During the maintenance works, extra attention must be given to their property’s safety. Because, in the end, it is not reasonable to let everyone profit from the sacrifices a minority makes. In cases where these requirements are not feasible, there is room for technological innovations or, in other cases, compensation for the disadvantaged in the context of spatial justice. A study on the eco-friendly maintenance of dykes shows room for improvement; a policy of structurally less mowing should be adopted to optimise the erosion resistance of the top layer and to increase biodiversity. Implementing a multi-level perspective for innovation in dyke construction and maintenance can be a suitable method for achieving higher satisfaction of residents in the polder and, at the same time, maintaining water safety; the case of Watergraafsmeer shows how a multi-level perspective can be implemented.
6. Recommendations and limitations To be able to give a more precise and complete vision of the approach to dyke improvements in the Netherlands, it is recommended to conduct interviews with relevant actors. These actors can be residents or businesses, the area manager, and the technological innovators in the field of study, such as the firm that invented the where water management is highly advanced compared to other countries. The investment needed to finance innovation like the dyke nailing technology might not be present in developing nations, making the proposed approach not feasible for application in every nation. Lastly, every project is unique and requires a custom-tailored solution.
7. Personal reflection Personally, I believe that the project approach toward water management in the Netherlands is of a high standard. Firstly, because there are existing laws for intercourse with actors and because of my experience working at an engineering firm, the wishes and requests of stakeholders are taken seriously. Secondly, the Netherlands has governing and research institutions such as water boards and Deltares. These institutions receive a lot of money for creating innovative technologies in water management. However, there is always room for improvement. My role in improving projects would be tailoring innovation to the needs of the people. Currently, most research is done purely for improving technology in the context of water safety; in my opinion, more technology should be researched because of stakeholders’ requests, as Watergraafsmeer did.
8. References AHN. (2019). Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland. Retrieved from Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland. https://ahn.arcgisonline.nl/ahnviewer/ Bijl, A. (2014, April 3). Dijkverbetering Kinderdijk-Schoonhovenseveer van start met sloop woningen. Retrieved from Reformatorisch Dagblad. https://www.rd.nl/vandaag/ binnenland/dijkverbetering-kinderdijk-schoonhovenseveer-van-start-met-sloop-wo-
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dyke nailing technology. The case study used in this essay is from the Netherlands,
ningen-1.382012 Breedveld, J. (2018). POVM Eemdijkproef. POV Macro Stabiliteit. Davoudi, S., Sturzaker, J. (2017). Urban form, policy packaging and sustainable urban metabolism. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 120(1), 55-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. resconrec.2017.01.011 Dietz, T., Ostrom, E., & Stern, P. C. (2003). The Struggle to Govern the Commons. Science, 302(5652), 1907-1912. Makaske, B. (2012). K-NLP-040 Verkenning van stromingsweerstanden (BO-11-015-008). Alterra Wageningen UR.
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Forester, J. (1999). The deliberative practitioner: encouraging participatory planning processes. MIT Press. Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Vintage Books. Geels, F. (2005). The dynamics of transitions in socio-technical systems: A multi-level analysis of the transition pathway from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles (1860 –1930). Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 17(4), 445-476. Grimm, N., Grove Grove, J., Pickett, S., Redman, C. (2000). Integrated Approaches to LongTerm Studies of Urban Ecological Systems. BioScience,50(7), 571-584. https://doi. org/10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0571: IATLTO]2.0.CO;2 H20 Actueel. (2018, October). Amsterdamse Ringdijk versterkt met 700 ankers. Retrieved from H20 Waternetwerk. https://www.h2owaternetwerk.nl/index.php/h2o-actueel/amsterdamse-ringdijk-versterkt-met-700-ankers Hardin, G. (1968). The Tragedy of the Commons. Science, 162(3859), 1243-1248. Healey, P. (1996). The communicative turn in planning theory and its implications for spatial strategy formation. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 23, 217-234. Calzada, I, Cobo, C. (2015). Unplugging: Deconstructing the Smart City. Journal of Urban Technology, 22(1), 23-43. DOI: 10.1080/10630732.2014.971535. JLD International. (2016). JLD-DIJKSTABILISATIE. Retrieved from GRONDVERANKERING | GROND- EN WATERKERENDE CONSTRUCTIES | DIJKVERSTEVIGING.https:// jlddijkstabilisatie.nl/?gclid=Cj0KCQiArdLvBRCrARIsAGhB_sx-dQOXX8_FrNCo1epBjjMVIJfSNwvy20A39zs272Q-agw_8be728MaAmdoEALw_wcB Kronvang, B., Andersen, I., Hoffmann, C. (2006). Water Exchange and Deposition of Sediment and Phosphorus during Inundation of Natural and Restored Lowland Floodplains. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 181(1), 115-121. DOI: 10.1007/s11270-006-9283-y Larsen, G. L. (2012). An Inquiry into the Theoretical Basis of Sustainability. In J. Dillard, V. Dujon, & M. C. King (Eds.), Understanding the Social Dimension of Sustainability.
Routledge. Latour, B. (1996). Aramis is Ready to Go (Away); Epilogue: Aramis Unloved. In Latour, B., Aramis, or the Love of Technology (pp. 251-301). Harvard University Pres. Lawhon, M., Murphy, J. (2011). Socio-technical regimes and sustainability transitions: Insights from political ecology. Progress in Human Geography 36(3), 354-378. https://doi. org/10.1177/030913251142 Meerburg, B., Korevaar, H. (2009). Ecologisch beheer van de publieke ruimte: mogelijkHoeksche Waard. Rapport 280. Plant Research International B.V. Pesch, U., Vernay, A., van Bueren, E., Pandis Iveroth, S. (2017). Niche entrepreneurs in urban systems integration: on the role of individuals in niche formation. Environment and Planning, 49(8), 1922-1942. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X17705383 Scott, J. C. (1998). Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (pp. 342-358). Yale University Pres. Soja, E. W. (2009). The city and spatial justice. University of California. Yigitcanlar, T., Dizdaroglu, D. (2015). Ecological approaches in planning for sustainable cities: A review of the literature. Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management, 1(2), 159-188. DOI: 10.7508/gjesm.2015.02.008 Van Bueren, E., van Bohemen, H., Itard, L., Visscher, (2012). Sustainable Urban Environments: An Ecosystem Approach. Springer. Rechtbank Gelderland. (2016, January 4). Uitspraken: ECLI:NL: RBGEL: 2015:8194. Retrieved from Rechtspraak: https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2015:8194 Rijkswaterstaat. (2016, April). Factsheet Dutch water programme. Retrieved from ‘Room for the River’.
https://issuu.com/ruimtevoorderivier/docs/factsheet_dutch_wa-
ter_programme_uk__47425562a3293d?workerAddress=ec2-54-89-43-103.compute-1. amazonaws.com Waternet. (2019, March 7). Innovatieve versterking Ringdijk Watergraafsmeer. Retrieved from Waternet: https://www.waternet.nl/innovatie/schoon-water/innovatieve-versterking-ringdijk-watergraafsmeer/
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heden voor natuurtechnisch dijk-, slootkant-, en wegbermbeheer, toegespitst op de
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Data centres: local centres for sustainability? Exploring the desirability and scalability of
locally initiated Data centre-heated district heating Jelle Burger
DEC 2019
Abstract: Due to the increasing desire for more sustainable (urban) energy systems and the struggle of local governments with the implementation of the energy transition, more and more bottom-up initiatives for local energy supply systems are emerging. Still, only a few local energy provision systems initiatives have been established. In Amsterdam, one of the first district heating networks heated by residual data centre heat will be built. This paper explores the scalability and desirability of this specific network. It establishes a framework for understanding this development by applying sociotechnical transitions, spatial justice and ecosystem thinking theories. As a result, it compares this initiative’s positive and negative effects and relates it to the justness of current municipal policy and how this could be improved. Keywords: district heating, data centres, citizen action, energy governance, energy transition.
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METROPOLITAN PUBLIC GOODS: DISTRICT HEATING
1. The Middenmeer scoop An exciting development is taking place in the northern part of the local district, Middenmeer, in Amsterdam. In this area, the municipality of Amsterdam will subsidise the first district heating network powered by residual heat from a nearby data centre. This system will enable about 5000 households to get off the gas grid (Meerenergie, 2019). The construction is expected to be completed in 2024—figure 1 shows where this new district heating network will be located in more detail. In addition, this new network is not initiated nor operated by the local government or
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an energy company but by the local neighbourhood, united in the “MeerEnergie” (“More-energy”) neighbourhood cooperative, together with the owner of the nearby data centre, Equinix - who will provide the left-over heat for free. Other relevant actors, such as the grid operator and the housing associations present in this area, have been invited by MeerEnergie to participate in the project. In Figure 2, we can see the schematic layout of this system in the target area. After a period of consideration, in June 2019, the municipality of Amsterdam decided to take the risk and support this unprecedented system by subsidising the 11.2 million euro building costs of the hot water pipe network. In 2021, the municipality will decide whether it can entrust local cooperation with the rights to operate this system. (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2019a) Figure 1: The neighbourhood Middenmeer (Meerenergie, 2019) Figure 2: Schematic layout of the future district heating system (Meerenergie, 2019)
2. Complexities in the use of data centre heat residuals for district heating In this section, I will highlight the complexities of data centre residual heat use. First, I will discuss opportunities for district heating in urban areas. Second, I will describe challenges with data centre heated district heating. Finally, I will introduce the research question of this essay.
2.1 Opportunities for district heating Due to the need for more sustainable energy systems, the demand for energy independence and the many agreements on climate action, governments are trying to facilitate an energy transition. The energy transition enhances the shift from energy systems based on fossil-based to zero-carbon sources (IRENA, n.d.).
sustainable alternative for gas heating is district heating, which is heated by waste or biomass incinerators. However, these sources are sometimes only considered somewhat sustainable due to the endless streams of waste or nature they require (PBL, 2013). In some places, there are more options. One of the alternatives considered promising is using residual heat from data centres. Especially in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, there is much potential for using residual heat from data centres (Bosatlas van de Duurzaamheid, 2019, p.132). There are two reasons for this: the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area has the most significant data centre hub in Europe (DDA, 2019), and Amsterdam already has some district heating networks, which cuts down the risk for new networks. (Berenschot, 2018). Furthermore, as the most resourceful player in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, the municipality of Amsterdam sees many opportunities to invest in data centre heating networks in the built environment as a part of the energy transition (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2019b)
2.2 Challenges with data centre heated district heating However, since the Middenmeer system is a novelty that has only been implemented in small-scale areas (according to Berenschot (2018) in the Netherlands only in Eindhoven and Hengelo), many uncertainties and risks must be managed. The municipality of Amsterdam (2019b) recently identified the three main uncertainties from their perspective for data centre-based district heating: (p.33), a lack of clarity about new responsibilities, undefined local policy on data centres (p.33)
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One of the main implications of the energy transition for (Dutch) municipalities is the task of disconnecting from gas-based heating infrastructure. A widely used
and uncertainty about the security of supply due to the quick developments in the data centre technology (p.41). Other actors add to this the uncertainty about the return of the investment costs and the insatiable longing for big data, which requires increasing amounts of energy slurping data centres and increasing power of tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon (Amsterdam Smart City, 2018). These challenges will be discussed in more detail henceforth. First, the problems with new responsibilities will be discussed. Second, policies on data centres will be elaborated on. Third, the possible uncertainty of supply will be explained.
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Fourth, uncertainties about the return of investment costs will be revealed. Fifth, ethical issues with the use of data centres will be touched upon shortly. In Middenmeer, the neighbourhood cooperative is planning to operate the system. The municipality will build the network, and the residual heat will be provided for free by the nearby data centre. Since data centre companies are not experienced in being energy providers, neighbourhood cooperatives may not have the expertise to run an energy company and network, and the municipality is building a network without knowing whether it will work or be profitable. It is fair to say that all directly involved actors are inexperienced in their new roles. One of the most pressing risks of this new responsibility is the cost division. When the project fails, changes happen, or MeerEnergie will not succeed in exploiting the grid. Recently, the municipality of Amsterdam decided to temporarily put a building stop on new data centres due to the lack of fitting zoning plans, overuse of the power grid and excessive space usage (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2019c). Since the municipality has no specific planning policy on data centres yet, it is hard to steer the developments. Until the municipality has formulated a new policy, no more data centres can be built. This can limit the innovation that is happening in the sector. On the other hand, it seems that the municipality will obligate newly built data centres to connect to district heating to use their residual heat. (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2019c) An uncertainty of heat supply from data centres exists for two reasons. First, data centre technology is developing rapidly. This enables more energy-efficient data centres, which produce increasingly less residual heat (ING, 2019). Second, data centres tend to have frequent changes of ownership. This can endanger longterm heat exchange possibilities (Rijksoverheid, 2019). The municipality invests 11.2 million euros in the placement of the hot water
pipelines in Middenmeer. Still, even the most optimistic actors state that it is unclear whether the network will be economically sustainable (Meerenergie, 2019). It all depends on the number of people who voluntarily join the initiative. One of MeerEnergie’s main pursuits is finding more local participants and creating enthusiasm in the neighbourhood (MeerEnergie, 2019). Some people question the desirability of stimulating data centre development, especially in urban areas (Amsterdam Smart City, 2019). I found the following three already causing significant problems in energy grids. Using residual heat can create lock-in effects and an ever-increasing need for data centres in densely populated areas (ING, 2019). Second, data centres are often owned by powerful companies such as Google and Amazon; giving them even more power by controlling the energy supply can be dangerous (Amsterdam Smart City, 2019). Third, stimulating the development of data centres will only further stimulate the gathering of big data, which, according to some ethicists, can have undesirable outcomes (Townsend, 2013).
2.3 Research question As pointed out in the previous sections, many challenges and opportunities for using heat residual of data centres exist. With the new data centre policy of the municipality of Amsterdam, the use is expected to rise. It is unclear to what extent the bottom-up initiative in the Middenmeer is desirable and scalable. For that reason, the main aim of this paper is to analyse the benefits and costs that emerge from bottom-up sustainable energy provision initiatives like the Middenmeer initiative. This is operationalised in the following research question: “To what extent is the “Middenmeer” alternative scalable and desirable for more sustainable urban areas in other parts of the Netherlands or other parts of the world?” The remaining part of this essay is as follows. I will first expand on the chosen methodology for this research. Then, I will present different theoretical perspectives on the Middenmeer case to analyse the desirability and scalability of this project. After, I will briefly touch upon the limitations of this research. Finally, I will answer the research question and provide suggestions for further research and policy development.
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reasons most compelling. First, data centres are using too much energy and are
3. Methodology In order to answer the research question, I will analyse the case of Middenmeer, which I described in the previous sections. I will analyse the case by examining the scientific literature on socio-technical systems, ecosystems and spatial justice. I find it essential to mention that I tried to conduct interviews with local actors, such as municipality or neighbourhood cooperative representatives. However, I could not do this due to time and location constraints (I was not in the Netherlands when conducting this research). Still, due to the large amount of online material
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on this topic, I think I can comprehensively answer the research question without conducting interviews. Still, this can result in a less ‘rich’ answer.
4. Applications of theories on locally operated energy systems In this section, I will apply three theoretical viewpoints on the Middenmeer case. In the three sections that will follow, I will start by putting forward my theoretical background and apply that theory to the case. First, I will put forward the socio-technical perspective. Second, I will consider the ecosystems approach. Third, I will examine concepts related to spatial justice.
4.1 Socio-technical perspectives It is important to note that from a socio-technical perspective, the qualification of sustainability is decided by local actors as long as it improves one of the pillars of sustainable development. (Brand, 2005) As the network in the Middenmeer is fully initiated by local citizens and improves sustainability by enabling gas-free heating, it can be seen as a development that is consistent with the view of Brand (2005). While most actors agree on the problem (mitigating climate change by going more sustainable), it is unclear whether the actors perceive the measurement of success similarly. In infrastructure-related projects, problem definitions and perceptions of solving a problem can vary between actors, especially engineers and non-engineers.
In an example of a French subway innovation, the Aramis project, it was unclear whether it was a research or development project. This was one of the critical failure conditions for the project. (Latour, 1996) A parallel can be drawn to this case. It is unclear to what extent the project will be economically viable. The current alderwoman of Amsterdam has framed the 11.2-million-euro investment cost as “Leergeld” (“Learning money”) (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2019a). With this frame, she implies that the project also is a pilot. On the honest, sustainable solution that serves economic, sustainable and social interests. So, it is unclear whether this solution is fit for scalability at all. Meanwhile, Foucault (1977) stresses how three forms of disciplinary power -hierarchical observation, normalising judgment and examination -create norms and are fundamental to power development. As explained in the case description, the actors agree that most uncertainties are in the governance aspects of this project. One of the key ‘social’ factors determining its scalability and profitability will be the ability of MeerEnergie to exploit the system in a good way. To exploit the system, MeerEnergie has to have the ability to exercise power. MeerEnergie has not (yet) provided details about how they will manage the system, in other words, how they will use hierarchical observation, normalising judgement, and examination, which Foucault (1977) states are necessary. Calzada and Cobo (2015) critically stress the implications of the current technological determinist approaches to smart cities. Among their fundamental notions are the importance of open data, bottom-up planning and people-centeredness of smart city systems. When MeerEnergie develops those governing principles, they will inevitably have to develop intelligent mechanisms to manage the water temperature; when they do this, they should consider the framework provided by Calzada & Cobo (2015).
4.2 Ecosystem approaches Ecosystem approaches include a systematic approach to understanding system models, boundaries, and ways to improve systems (Van Bueren et al., 2012). This means that areas are modelled as systems with inputs and outputs. Yigitcanlar and
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other hand, the local cooperative does not perceive this project as a pilot but as an
Dizdaroglu (2015) add that ecosystem approaches are strongly related to sustainable development. According to Van Bueren et al. (2012), this means that in practice, cities should: “balance the input, output, use and extraction of resources such as materials, water, and energy” (p. 10). In the Middenmeer case, the system’s inputs and outputs are pretty straightforward, and few people doubt the sustainability of the proposed solution. It is more interesting to see how this system will relate to other parts of the urban system. The municipality accepts the risk because the system has a backup option of connecting to the Vattenfall heat network, which, according to some actors, is not
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powered by sustainable sources (Straver, 2019). So, the backup option provided by the municipality could seriously endanger the sustainability of this project. Besides that, when this project is scaled up to other areas, data centres might be needed, as they have become a vital part of the urban energy system. With data centres frequent ownership changes and data centres becoming more energy- and space-efficient, the resilience of the heat exchange network can be further endangered. Klindworth et al. (2014) add that for most municipalities, a lack of strategic steering on new local forms of governance can endanger the scalability of these processes. As described before, the municipality has no clear vision of those new emerging initiatives and instead frames them as ‘pilots’ who need ‘leergeld’.
4.3 Concepts of Spatial Justice According to governance theory, the public sector, private sector, civil society, the planet, and future generations must be considered when developing new policies and forming new institutions (Rocco, 2019). The Middenmeer case can be seen as the highest form of citizen participation as civil society entirely pushes, initiates, and manages the project (MeerEnergie). As they have involved other actors and the project can be considered sustainable, it can be considered healthy governance. In addition, Arnstein’s (1969) ladder of citizen participation would describe this project as very high on the ladder, which in most situations is more desirable. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that future generations will be served in the current system. MeerEnergie seems highly dependent on the current (large) group of enthusiastic participants. Part of this process resonates with Healey (1996);
she shows how governments find it very hard to manage initiatives; this is also shown by the fact that it took the municipality over a year to support the initiative. In addition, it is interesting to analyse the good created by this project. As a public good is a non-excludable and non-rival good, the heat network can be considered a public good. In this way, the state (the municipality) is providing a public good by subsidising the construction costs of the pipes. On the other hand, the heat itself can also be seen as a common good, as Hardin (1968) described, since network. Still, I see very few indications that a tragedy of the commons will occur since the initiative is community-based, like the fisheries example given by Dietz, Ostrom & Stern (2003). Other people are also excluded in some way from the network. As explained previously, connecting to the network will cost about 8000-9000 euros, depending on the number of people joining. Whereas most residents are greatly encouraged to join the cooperative (which resonates with notions about procedural spatial justice), some people might not be able to join since they can not bear the initial investment costs. MeerEnergie’s argument that uncoupling the gas grid will be expensive anyway is, in my opinion, not strong enough to ensure some sort of distributive spatial justice.
5. Discussion I will briefly discuss the four main limitations of this research, which should be known before interpreting the conclusion and recommendations. The first limitation is the subjectivity and overlap of the three chosen theories. This might limit the completeness of the theoretical applications. The second limitation includes a lack of information. Since the project has not been developed yet, it is harder to evaluate. The third limitation involves my lack of knowledge of the technological aspects of the systems to judge its (circular) performance. As I mentioned in the methodology section, the last limitation is the absence of stakeholder interviews. This could have clarified their perspectives on the future governance structure and the long-term stability of such a locally managed system.
6. Conclusion and recommendations
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some people might want to have the heat but are just outside the boundaries of the
The research question of this essay is: “To what extent is “Middenmeer” alternative scalable and desirable for more sustainable urban areas?”. In answering this question, I will first consider the scalability, followed by the desirability. Finally, I will put forward some policy recommendations in which I will envision my role as a future metropolitan innovator. I think this project has limited generalizability. Such a project could be a success only for clusters of data centres directly close to neighbourhoods with enthusiastic communities. Still, I think it would be increasingly complex to find finance struc-
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tures for the pipe network because the municipality is not going to pay ‘Leergeld’ forever, local cooperatives do not have the financial means and energy companies do not have anything to win in exploiting such a network without delivering and managing the energy provision. I think these kinds of initiatives are desirable because, from an ecosystem approach, they are well suited to locally close energy loops and give meaning to the social dimension of sustainable development. Still, we should be conscious of the ethical implications of boundary setting, connection costs and data centres’ power and lock-in effects. Municipalities can have a more transparent policy on local energy provision initiatives. I think this is important because, in the future, more of these initiatives might emerge. From a distributive justice point of view, municipalities should have clear criteria for why an initiative would get a substantive amount of subsidy. Furthermore, I think it is the municipality’s task to address the ethical issues described previously, which are not being done now. For me as a future metropolitan innovator, I think I could fit in multiple roles in such a project: at the municipality to develop fair policies on subsidising criteria for sustainable solutions, at energy companies or data centres to develop new strategies to fit in a more sustainable market environment (in this case Vattenfall did not jump in itself). Finally, I could support such a local cooperative by understanding the rationales of governments, utility companies, businesses, and entrepreneurship’s role.
7. References
Amsterdam Smart City (2018). Utilise residual heat of data centres Retrieved from https://amsterdamsmartcity.com/requests/residual-heat-of-datacentres Arnstein, S. R. (1969). A ladder of citizen participation. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216-224. Berenschot. (2018). Restwarmte uit data centres. Retrieved from https://www.rvo.nl/sites/ default/files/2018/03/Restwarmte-uit-datacentres.pdf [Dutch] from
https://view.publitas.com/noordhoff-atlassen-and-additionals/de-bosat-
las-van-de-duurzaamheid/page/30-31) [Dutch] Brand, R. (2005). Urban infrastructures and sustainable social practices. Journal of Urban Technology, 12(2), 1-25. Calzada, I., & Cobo, C. (2015). Unplugging: Deconstructing the Smart City. Journal of Urban Technology, 22(1), 23–43. DDA. (2019). State of the Dutch Data Centres 2019. Retrieved from https://www.dutchdatacentres.nl/publicaties/dutchdatacentres2019/ [Dutch] Dietz, T., Ostrom, E., & Stern, P. C. (2003). The struggle to govern the commons. science, 302(5652), 1907-1912. Foucault, M. (1979). Discipline and Punish. Vintage Books. Gemeente Amsterdam. (2019a). Datacentre warmtebron voor Amsterdamse woningen. Retrieved December 9, 2019, from https://www.amsterdam.nl/ bestuurorganisatie/ college/wethouder/mariekedoorninck/persberichten/datacentre-warmtebron-amsterdamse/ [Dutch] Gemeente Amsterdam. (2019b). Het Amsterdamse bronnenboek. Retrieved from https://issuu.com/gemeente amsterdam/docs/het_amsterdamse_bronnenboek_online_versie [Dutch] Gemeente Amsterdam. (2019c). Regie vestiging data centres Amsterdam. Retrieved from
https://
www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/college/wethouder/ma-
rieke-doorninck/persberichten/regie-vestiging-datacentres-amsterdam/ Hardin, G. (1968). The tragedy of the commons. science, 162(3859), 1243-1248. Healey, P. (1996). The communicative turn in planning theory and its implications for spatial strategy formation. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 23(1), 217–234. ING. (2019). Further efficiency gains vital to limit electricity use of data. Retrieved from https://think.ing.com/uploads/ reports/ING__Further_efficiency_gains_vital_to_ limit_electricity_use_of_data.pdf
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Bosatlas van de Duurzaamheid. (2019). Warmteneten en warmtepompen. Retrieved
IRENA. (n.d.). Energy transition. Retrieved December 11, 2019, from https://www.irena.org/ energytransition Klindworth, K., Djurasovic, A., Knieling, J., Säwert, K. (2014). From linear to circular–Challenges for changing urban metabolism? An analysis of local energy transition activities in four European cities.Paper presented at the international conference “Urban Regions under Change: Towards social-ecological Resilience, Hamburg, Germany. Latour, B. (1996). Aramis, or the Love of Technology. Harvard University Press. Meerenergie. (2019a). Ons plan. Retrieved December 10, 2019, from https://meerenergie.amsterdam/plannen/ [Dutch]
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PBL. (2013). Biomassa wensen en grenzen. Retrieved from https:// themasites.pbl.nl/biomassa/ [Dutch] Rijksoverheid. (2019). Ruimtelijke strategie datacentres. Retrieved from https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/binaries/rijksoverheid/documenten/rapporten/2019/03/15/ruimtelijke-strategie-datacentres/REOS+Ruimtelijke+Strategie+Datacentres.pdf Rocco, R. (2019). Spatial Justice 1: Socio-technical transitions and values [Course presentation]. Retrieved from https://brightspace.wur.nl/d2l/le/content/25109/viewContent/69152/View Straver, F. (2019, 31 October). Vattenfall opent voorlopig geen nieuwe houtstookcentrales in Nederland. Trouw. Retrieved December 19, 2019, from https://www.trouw.nl/ duurzaamheid-natuur/vattenfall-opent-voorlopig-geen-nieuwe-houtstookcentrales-in-nederland~bad9f79d/ Townsend. (2013). Smart cities: Big data, civic hackers, and the quest for a new utopia. WW Norton & Company. Van Bueren, E., van Bohemen, H., Itard, L., Visscher, H., (2012). An Ecosystems Approach. Springer, 2012 Yigitcanlar, T., Dizdaroglu, D. (2015). Ecological approaches in planning for sustainable cities: A review of the literature. Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management, 1(2), 159-188.
METROPOLITAN PUBLIC GOODS: HOUSING
An analysis of shipping container housing as a solution for the student housing shortage in Amsterdam
Carla ten Kate
DEC 2019
Abstract: For years, Amsterdam has camped with a considerable student housing shortage. A proposed solution is the construction of shipping container housing projects in the city. An example of an existing project such as this is Keetwonen in Amsterdam Zuid-Oost. This type of housing has advantages as well as disadvantages to overcome. This paper views these aspects from three perspectives: ecosystems, socio-technical and spatial justice. With these approaches, we assess whether shipping container housing can be seen as a socially and environmentally sustainable solution for the student housing shortage in Amsterdam Keywords: Shipping container housing, resilience, housing shortage, Amsterdam
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Shipping container housing in Amsterdam:
1. Introduction The student housing shortage has been and will remain a critical issue for Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands. Municipalities are obliged to take unorthodox emergency measures, such as tents to house students (see Figure 1), as a reaction to the peak influxes of students at the start of college years (NOS, 2018). The current state of this mismatch between supply and demand will not decline. The predictions are that there are around 43,000 rooms too few until the 2025-2026 academic year (ABF Research, 2019). A considerable gap needs to be filled for this
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group of society. Figure 1: Student tent camp as an emergency shelter for students in Groningen. Retrieved from: https://nos.nl/artikel/2249257-studenten-tentenkamp-groningen-niet-populair-daar-slapen-totaal-niet-fijn.html on 19-12-2019 One of the solutions that is being experimented with and implemented by different parties is that of shipping container housing. With the massive inflow of these containers, shipping them back empty to Asia is not economically viable. It is cheaper to have new containers made in Asia than to ship the empty containers back. This has resulted in a surplus of empty containers in Western countries, which can be bought for a reasonable price. We count around 17 million empty containers in good condition worldwide, suitable for re-use or upcycling (Islam et al., 2016). These shipping containers have been used as small-scale housing projects (e.g., tiny houses) and larger-scale projects (e.g., student housing, post-disaster housing). Also, they are being used as temporary amenities, like schools or office buildings. To this day, container housing is mainly known as a temporary emergency solution for many people (Zhang, 2014). However, with the capability of stacking these structures up to nine storeys high, these constructions offer many possibilities for building high-density housing, thus tackling the urban housing shortages (Islam et al., 2016). In this paper, we will investigate the possibilities of shipping container building to solve the student housing shortage in Amsterdam in a socially and environmentally adequate way. First, we will describe a case study of Keetwonen in Amsterdam Zuid-Oost. Based on this case study and a literature review of shipping container
housing worldwide, we will try to comprehend the implications of this urban intervention through the lenses of three approaches: ecosystems, socio-technical systems and spatial justice. Finally, we will conclude the viability of shipping container housing to solve the student housing shortage.
Like today, there was a significant mismatch between supply and demand for student housing in Amsterdam in 2004 (Uittenbroek & Macht, 2009). In addition to this imbalance, there was a significant mismatch between the inflow and outflow of shipping containers between Asia and Western Europe. Quinten De Gooijer, head of the design and construction company TempoHousing, saw potential in this situation and determined to fill a gap in the social housing market with the niche of container housing construction. In collaboration with the DuWo Foundation and housing association DeKey, he aimed to help students find suitable and affordable accommodation (Uittenbroek & Macht, 2009). After consultation with the municipality, De Gooijer was given permission to start the project for this temporary student accommodation. The location would follow the Bijlmerbajes on the H.J.E Wenckebachweg in the district of Amsterdam Zuid-Oost (Uittenbroek & Macht, 2009). After five years, the houses would have to make way for new developments at the same location. The container houses of 2.4 meters by 12 meters were built at a speed of around 20 containers per day. Spread over 12 different buildings, external galleries and stairs connected them. Various amenities, such as a restaurant, were also added. The complex was ready to be moved by 2005 (Uittenbroek & Macht, 2009). Figure 2: Keetwonen on the H.J.E Wenckebachweg finished result. Retrieved from https://www.keetwonenforsale.com/ on 19-12-2019 As planned, students and status holders who resided in Keetwonen had to leave their homes. However, this happened much later than initially agreed upon. In November 2019, the last residents moved out of their homes before the initial deadline of 2010. Residents with a campus contract have since been offered replacement housing. Likewise, the status holders were primarily moved to a different location. After removing the containers, the plan is for these containers to
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2. Case study: Keetwonen
be rebuilt elsewhere. However, it is not clear where (Uittenbroek & Macht, 2009). The 1,000 container homes will be replaced by 175 new-build (primarily middle-class) homes. The construction of the houses, among other things like a primary school and new bicycle infrastructure, is scheduled to start in 2022 (Uittenbroek & Macht, 2009).
3. Ecosystems Approach Container housing within urban ecosystems
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Urban areas can be regarded as multiple ecosystems of different scales functioning alongside one another. When we talk about ecosystems, we talk about relationships between different elements, where the elements always have certain boundaries. Meadows (2008) describes it as a distinctive way of thinking in which different elements enter into relationships with each other. These separate elements can be replaced without the system collapsing (Meadow, 2008). When talking about these ecosystems, it is essential that the systems are not seen as separate schemes. Though the systems have boundaries, they can be interlinked, and looking beyond them is, in some cases, more important than staying within them (Van Bueren et al., 2012). Without this way of thinking, shipping container housing would not have materialised. The link between the urban housing system and global shipping trade has only occurred by broadening the scope beyond the boundaries of these systems. In addition, human social systems have a massive impact on ecosystems. Ecosystems are influenced by different populations, psychologies and social organisations, influencing principles such as land use and urban design (Yigitcanlar & Dizdaroglu, 2014). In the case of shipping container housing, we can see a relationship between larger schemes such as (human-enforced) international capital trade and the spatial implication this has for urban housing systems.
Resilience of container housing Within ecosystems, elements possess a degree of resilience. Resilience is the extent to which a system undergoes significant changes in the inputs and context and can restore itself to its original state. Within the urban context, it is “the abil-
ity of an urban system and all its constituent socio-ecological and socio-technical networks across temporal and spatial scales to maintain or rapidly return to desired functions in the face of a disturbance” (Meerow et al., 2016, p. 39). Globally, an increasing amount of countries and their inhabitants are becoming more vulnerable to the consequences of climate change and rising sea levels. Flood risks appear to increase exponentially (Bouwer & Vellinga, 2017). It is predicted that the province of Noord-Holland, in which Amsterdam is located, will be mainly beneed for systemic change in the design process. Within all fields of design, but certainly also in the built urban environment, the design process will have to integrate both sustainable and climate-proof properties (Aleksić et al., 2016). When we relate this to the container housing systems, the inherently flexible, transportable and adjustable character of container housing gives them a higher adaptive capacity than traditional housing.
Environmental impact When we look at the entire life cycle of a container home, we can make a statement about its sustainability and environmental impact. The lifecycle assessment by Islam et al. describes that the construction of container houses is 40 to 60 per cent faster and produces 70 per cent less waste than the building of an average house (2014). A container home can be constructed from around 75 per cent recycled materials. The upcycling of these structural sound, fire, mould and rust-resistant containers means that complex and expensive building structures are not required. All in all, they require fewer resources, energy, and manufacturing processes than traditional buildings to produce a finished, habitable product. When we look at the case of Keetwonen, it can be noted that these are not even recycled containers. Although the intention was to recycle, thereby saving many materials, it was too difficult to find 1000 containers that were in comparable condition and quality (Uittenbroek & Macht, 2009). The cost of converting mismatched containers would be too expensive and inefficient. One can question if this approach defeats the purpose of container housing. However, the embodied energy of these houses is still lower than that of traditional buildings, so overall, it is still a more environmentally sustainable method.
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low flood level in 2050 (Kulp & Strauss, 2019). We can conclude that there is a great
The reuse of materials and the fact that the containers do not have to be shipped back to their country of origin makes them an energy-efficient and sustainable building method. However, the transportation of these containers is not entirely sustainable, as the transportation to the building site must also be considered (Islam et al., 2016). It is not clear where the origin of the Keetwonen containers was; neither can we find out what the future of the torn-down containers entails. This makes it difficult to assess these containers’ environmental impacts.
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4. Socio-technical Container urbanism and socio-technical systems Socio-technical systems are described as systems that can be subdivided into different layers, such as technology, regulations, cultural significance and user practices (Geels, 2005). There are continuous transitions taking place within these layers. Additionally, it is essential to realise that the transitions of socio-technical systems involve the interaction of various actors and parties. Different concepts and different levels come together (Geels, 2005). Technical, economic, and cultural developments that came with the expansion of a particular system allow for the development of a new socio-technical system. It is often not only a matter of technological change in these transitions but also a change in the entire meaning of these systems (technical, cultural, political, etc.) employed by various social groups (Geels, 2005). Although we have not seen container homes in the Netherlands as a mainstream housing form for a very long time, container urbanism is not a new concept. Since the beginning of the 20th century, when there was a socio-technical transition to steam trains and ships, these containers have played a role in urban society. In the course of the 20th century, architects began experimenting with these modular building elements, particularly in the form of mobile homes (Schwarzer, 2013). People started to discover the value of ‘re-designating technological artefacts that seemed to have come to an end of their lives. Concepts such as self-sufficiency, ecology and DIY were arising and changing how people thought about housing. The stigma of containers being ugly metal boxes that nobody would live in was dissipating (see Figure 3) (Schwarzer, 2013). This shift was necessary to bring about large-scale container housing projects like Keetwonen.
Figure 3: Redefining the meaning of shipping containers. Retrieved from: https:// www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjYqzCocPmAhXPjKQKHU_QARwQjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpopupcity.net%2Fcargotectural-futurism-new-designs-for-new-dilemmas%2F&p on 19-12-2019
These changes within and between socio-technical systems are occurrences we should anticipate as a society and its planners. Scott (1998) states the rules for development practices that should make them less prone to disaster. These are “take small steps”, “favour reversibility”, “plan on surprises” and “plan on human inventiveness”. Emphasis on flexibility is essential in a world that is changing as fast as ours (Scott, 1998). Container housing and projects such as Keetwonen have an inherently flexible appeal. Apart from the resilience that the mobility of these homes offers against the changing climate, changing housing preferences and changing population composition are examples of changes modular housing such as these can respond to. Though these containers are now suitable for people seeking independent urban living, in 20 years, they might be fulfilling a completely different purpose. This characteristic of a housing system is economically, socially and environmentally valuable.
4. Spatial justice Housing as a public good Spatial justice has everything to do with the relationships between people and the space they use. Soy (2009) describes that people shape space, but space also shapes people. He continues to define spatial justice as “the fair and equitable distribution of space or socially valued resources and opportunities to use them” (Soy, 2009, p. 2). A concept that fits within this subject is that of public goods. These public goods can be defined as products that one individual can consume without reducing their availability to another individual. Following this idea of public goods, no one should be excluded (Rocco, 2019). In welfare states like the Netherlands,
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Flexibility in design
(social) housing, much like health care and public safety, can be seen as an essential public good. Ensuring this public good is vital for groups of lower socioeconomic backgrounds, like Keetwonen’s target group of students. The city exerts a great attraction on all kinds of different people, including students. Though housing is a public good, with the current liberal nature of the housing market in Amsterdam and the fact that housing is increasingly seen as an investment object, prices are rising. These trends cause inequalities in the housing market (Hochstenbach, 2014).
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Temporary housing A feature of Keetwonen in which spatial justice plays a part is the temporary character of the project. Firstly, the temporary character of this project, and others like it, has led to favourable circumstances in which the rules and regulations regarding building codes are less strict (Islam et al., 2016). In some cases, this can lead to a decrease in housing quality. There have been complaints about the technical performance of these houses, though we do not know if this is due to a lack of investment or other factors (Uittenbroek & Macht, 2009). Apart from the quality, the temporality is something to be worried about. When we look up literature on temporary living, we quickly come across literature on temporary living in disaster areas. This is because temporary homes can be built quickly in response to natural disasters (Aleksić et al., 2016). The question is whether these types of temporary homes are suitable for permanent settings such as Amsterdam. Amsterdam is not a disaster area, and students are not people who simply need to “survive” somewhere. Combrink (2010) elaborates on the subject of temporary living. He concludes that temporary solutions such as shipping container housing ignore the well-known fact that student demand will continue to increase in the coming years instead of resolving it. The deficit is structural, so structural solutions are needed (Combrink, 2006). To a large extent, students and former students are looking for the same type of living space: a small, affordable rental home (Thomsen & Eikemo, 2010). Often, these tiny affordable rental homes, from private and social housing offerings, such as Keetwonen, are demolished or merged after a relatively short period to build new, more expensive houses. When housing is seen as a public good, per-
manent, affordable housing options must be realised to solve the student housing shortage (Combrink, 2006). The people who live in these types of homes are being pushed around. Do students live in temporary housing because they like the flexible style of living and moving around a lot, or is it because they do not have better options than living in temporary housing? Although students are often at points in their lives characterised by impermanence, I believe every person should have the right to security, A similar point can be made for the location of this type of housing and student housing in general. Most of these types of container homes are located outside the centre. Nowadays, not only are students banned outside the city centre, but location should not be ignored.
5. Conclusion In this paper, we can conclude that the seemingly ‘contained’ concept of shipping container living is not so straightforward at all. Through the three scopes of ecosystems, socio-technical systems and spatial justice, we can see that shipping container housing has pros and cons. Environmental impact is generally low when looking at this topic from the ecosystems approach. These houses are very resilient to climate change, and the relationship between different ecosystems makes for less depletion of resources. Socio-technically, we see that our current society is adjusting to the idea of shipping containers as an urban housing element. Also, the flexibility of these containers is valuable for our rapidly changing cities. Finally, regarding spatial justice, there are still some barriers to overcoming inequalities. However, these often have more to do with the implementation and regulation of these projects than the actual shipping container houses themselves. Based on this, we can conclude that shipping container housing can be a socially and environmentally sustainable solution for the student housing shortage in Amsterdam.
6. Personal Reflection Initially, I was very curious about the implications of container houses within the Amsterdam housing market. Unfortunately, I could not delve into this enough
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regardless of status.
due to a lack of time and not getting a timely response from TempoHousing and Woonstichting DeKey. However, I have gained new insights by choosing a broader approach towards the topic. Notably, the versatility of flexibility is a concept that I will take away from this as a ‘Metropolitan Innovator’. During my studies in architecture, I was partly taught the importance of flexibility. I see that it does not only have to be applied within a building but can also be used to make the built environment more resilient to elements such as climate change or socio-technical transitions. I hope to explore this notion further during the remainder of my studies.
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7. References ABF Research (2019). Rapport over aanbod studentenhuisvesting. Retrieved on 19-12-2019 from:
https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/binaries/rijksoverheid/documenten/rappor-
ten/2019/08/26/rapport-over-aanbod-studentenhuisvesting/rapport-over-aanbod-studentenhuisvesting.pdf Aleksić, J., Kosanović, S., Tomanović, D., Grbić, M., & Murgul, V. (2016). Housing and climate change-related disasters: a study on architectural typology and practice. Procedia Engineering, 165, 869-875. Bouwer, L. M., & Vellinga, P. (2007). On the flood risk in the Netherlands. In Flood risk management in Europe (pp. 469-484). Springer, Dordrecht. Combrink, T. (2006). Schuiven met studenten. AGORA Magazine, 22(2), 33–36. Geels, F. (2005). The dynamics of transitions in socio-technical systems: A multi-level analysis of the transition pathway from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles (1860 –1930), Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 17(4), 445-476. Hochstenbach, C. (2019). 14. Kansen en ongelijkheid op de Amsterdamse woningmarkt1. Gelijke kansen in de stad, 209. Islam, H., Zhang, G., Setunge, S., & Bhuiyan, M. A. (2016). Life cycle assessment of shipping container home: A sustainable construction. Energy and Buildings, 128, 673-685. Kulp, S. A., & Strauss, B. H. (2019). New elevation data triple estimates of global vulnerability to sea-level rise and coastal flooding. Nature Communications, 10(1), 1-12. Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in systems: A primer. Chelsea Green Publishing. Rocco, R. (2019). Metropolitan Analysis Design & Engineering Lecture: Spatial Justice. Retrieved on 19-12-2019 from: https://brightspace.wur.nl/d2l/le/content/25109/viewContent/69160/View
Thomsen, J., & Eikemo, T. A. (2010). Aspects of student housing satisfaction: a quantitative study. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 25(3), 273-293. Schwarzer, M. (2013). The emergence of container urbanism. Places Journal. Retrieved on 1912-2019 from: https://placesjournal.org/article/the-emergence-of-container-urbanism/?cn-reloaded=1 Scott, J. C. (1998). Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed. Yale University Press. NOS (2018). Studenten-tentenkamp Groningen niet populair, ‘daar slapen totaal niet fijn’. Retrieved on 19-12-2019 from: https://nos.nl/artikel/2249257-studenten-tentenkamp-groningen-niet-populair-daar-slapen-totaal-niet-fijn.html Van Bueren, E., van Bohemen, H., Itard, L., Visscher, H., (2012). Sustainable Urban Environments. An Ecosystems Approach. Springer. Yigitcanlar, T., & Dizdaroglu, D. (2014). Ecological approaches in planning for sustainable cities: A review of the literature. Global journal of environmental science and management, 1(2), 159-188.
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Soja, E. (2009). The city and spatial justice. Justice Spatiale/Spatial Justice, 1(1), 1-5.
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Characterisation of the Shock Forest Group and its Research on the Cultural Heritage of the Hembrug Area
Diederik van Hasselt DEC 2019
Abstract: This essay delves into the research conducted by the Shock Forest Group (SFG) concerning the cultural heritage of the Hembrug area in Zaanstad, the Netherlands. The Hembrug area has a complex history, initially serving as an ammunition factory for the Dutch military industry. SFG’s research reveals the darker aspects of this history, including controversial trades and the sale of weapons to questionable regimes. The essay characterises SFG’s research within the theoretical framework of sociotechnical systems, ecosystems, and spatial justice. It highlights the need to revise the valuation of cultural heritage, which currently portrays the Hembrug area positively. SFG advocates for a change in the sociotechnical system, emphasising the importance of acknowledging the harm caused by Eurometaal, the former ammunition factory. The essay also discusses how SFG broadens the boundaries of their research by considering the global impact of Eurometaal’s actions. It explores the challenges of shifting cognitive routines and the importance of including the stories of those affected by Eurometaal’s trades in the area’s development. In conclusion, SFG’s research aims to change societal perspectives on cultural heritage, calling for a sociotechnical system transition and emphasising the need to broaden boundaries to include the global impact of the Hembrug area’s history. This essay provides valuable insights into SFG’s work and its implications for cultural heritage valuation and urban development. Keywords: Cultural Heritage, Shock Forest Group (SFG), Sociotechnical Systems, Spatial Justice, Hembrug Area
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METROPOLITAN PUBLIC GOODS: HERITAGE
1. Introduction In 1895, the Artillerie Inrichtingen [Artillery Installations] was established in the Hembrug area in Zaanstad (Hembrugterrein.com, z.d.). Artillerie Inrichtingen was a Dutch state company which made firearms, artillery, and ammunition. The site was strategically chosen just behind the Stelling van Amsterdam defence line. From there, they could easily supply the Dutch army with weapons. In 1973, Artillerie Inrichtingen was split into two companies: NV Gereedschapswerktuigenindustrie ‘Hembrug’ and Eurometaal. Eurometaal remained ow-
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ned by the Dutch state for 70 per cent and was still supplying the Dutch army with ammunition and weapons (Steenhuismeurs, 2010). In 2003, Eurometaal closed its doors, and the Hembrug area became unused for almost a decade. Since the beginning of the establishment of Artillerie Inrichtingen, the area had been closed off to unauthorised people: only those working for the ammunition factory were allowed in. Nevertheless, after Eurometaal’s closing, the Hembrug area stayed secluded, and nature took over. Only in 2012, when the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf (the owner of the area), the province of North Holland, and the municipality of Zaanstad agreed to uplift the area, did the terrain get attention again. Thus, in 2014, it opened up to the public for the first time. The Hembrug area became an area for creative entrepreneurs, festivals, and events. Since then, there have been plans to uplift the area towards a shared working/living area (Raad van State, 2019) (although Raad van State stopped the latest house-building plans). In one of the old monumental Eurometaal buildings, the former 0.50 bullet factory, the Hem, has been situated since June 2019 as a culture and art centre (Ribbens, 2019; Shock Forest Group, 2019c). Each season, or ‘chapter’, a new curator- an artist in residence, is invited to move into the building and create an exhibition for the upcoming few months. Chilean artist and composer Nicolas Jaar is currently the curator of (the second chapter of) the Hem. As a person and in his music, Nicolas Jaar is very much politically engaged, and subjects of justice and racism keep him busy (Het Hem, 2019). When he came to the Hem, he was intrigued by the history of the terrain and the factory in which the Hem is situated. For him, it was essential to dive into this history and to unravel all the stories that have come forth of this place. In a conversation with him, he explained that he felt how the building was used and promoted was wrong. It is seen as this ‘beautiful’ monument in which art can flourish, and we
all can enjoy exhibitions and be entertained. However, the history is double since it used to be a building creating bullets and objects made to kill. That is why Jaar decided to research the history to discover what is behind this building and the surrounding area. He wants to create awareness and justice for what happened here and come forth from this factory. Because of this, Nicolas Jaar invited a group of 12 multidisciplinary researchers for an open investigation of the history and heritage of the area (Het Hem, 2019). graphic designers, and engineers are among the team. Together, they form the Shock Forest Group (SFG), named after the equally named Shockforest situated on the terrain. In their research, SFG found out that there have been some very controversial trades within the history of the weapon factories. Many bullets were produced but never used during the Cold War, so they eventually expired. Eurometaal sold them at a lower price to questionable regimes under the Guatemalan dictatorship (Spaan, 2019). Furthermore, after 1974, they bypassed export bans and sold to other controversial countries, for example, Indonesia, Pakistan, Israel, and Argentina. Moreover, in the 70s, ammunition was sold to South Africa. Furthermore, explosive charges, grenade shells and grenades were shipped to countries like Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Then, during the Iraq-Iran war in 1982, Eurometaal even sold weapons and ammunition to both parties in conflict. Due to some of these transports that turned out to be illegal, Eurometaal was convicted by the United Nations. However, it did not bother their controversial actions much later on. As a last example, the mines made by Eurometaal caused at least eight Dutch citizens to die because of their unreliable design (Shock Forest Group, 2019a; Shock Forest Group, 2019b). These are just some of the stories that SFG collected, but the list goes on (Shock Forest Group, 2019b; Shock Forest Group, 2019d; Slijper, 1997). Because of questionable actions like the above, SFG wants to revise how we value heritage. They told me that the end goal of their research is to write a book as a proposal to change our perception of heritage in transitions of areas, like the Hembrug area, that have a controversial past. In this essay, I will characterise how SFG is researching and trying to establish this shift in cultural valuation. The first section will explain how their idea to shift the valuation can be explained. The second section will review how they manage to include the heritage into the area’s perspective by broadening the boundaries. After that, the conclusion and
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Architects, cartographers, linguists, coders, sound creators, biologists, geneticists,
a discussion will follow. The essay is coming forth with a literature review and empirical research, including visits to the Hembrug area and conversations with members of SFG.
2. Understanding the heritage transition
According to SFG, the valuation of cultural heritage needs to change. Right now, the history of the ammunition factory is only seen as a unique selling point of the area, as is to be read in the Culture Historical Analysis of the Hembrug area (Steenhuismeurs,
2010). It is mentioned how the terrain has a ‘unique history as the heart of the Dutch
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Military Industry’, how ‘the factory had grown to be an unparalleled military production
area’ and that the ‘heritage of the Artillerie Inrichtingen is diverse and surprising: tens of monuments, a Shockforest, etc., each having their unique characters.’ (Steenhuismeurs, 2010). So, the factory’s history is glorified, and there is no acknowledgement of the other side of its history.
SFG has unravelled this dark side and feels it should be included in the area analysis
and eventually in its transition and reuse. They believe the cultural notion of heritage (in area development) should change. Another striking example of how its heritage is com-
pletely misunderstood was the review of Het Parool on the exhibition in the Hem titling:
‘After the bombs and grenades, finally, there is peace’- which is precisely what SFG wants
to address as not being the case (Shock Forest Group, 2019b). Meanwhile, Het Parool has changed the article’s title (Ekker, 2019).
In my view, SFG calls for a change in the sociotechnical system of area development. According to Geels (2005), sociotechnical systems comprise a bundle of elements: technology, regulation, user practises and markets, cultural meaning, infrastructure, mainte-
nance networks and supply networks. SFG especially is fond of the change of the element
of cultural meaning. In their view, loaded heritage is more than only places where physical impact has been (e.g. colonial forts or concentration camps). Places like the Hem, where bullets used to be manufactured that have been shipped all across the world and caused
casualties and despair, indirectly caused impact. These places seem innocent initially, but
as we dive more into their history, newfound insights make it possible to view them as guilty. To establish a transition in viewing places as such, SFG wants a change in the socio-technical landscape.
What is interesting in their fight is that in area development and building transitions,
it is very much a race against the clock. Brand (2005) remarks that what we build today
matters a lot because it will be part of the current regime and can influence people’s social
behaviour for as long as the building might last. So, in this sense, SFG ideally wants to change the landscape before the area transition is too far in progress. However, transitions are long-term processes (Klindworth et al., 2014). The socio-technical landscape, or macro-level, is one of the three levels of the multi-level perspective on transitions, with the other levels being niches and the socio-technical regime (Geels, 2005). The SFG is a niche trying to force the transition to happen. What is interesting in their case is that they are trying to influence the ly by the influence of individual actors because the system landscape lies beyond their scope. In the land-based road transportation transition Geels discusses, the different car niches did not come up to change the socio-technical landscape; they were just new inventions. However, in the case of SFG, they specifically want to make a landscape change. As the SFG wants to write a proposal for policymakers (Spaan, 2019), eventually, they will try to influence the regime as well. However, by doing this through an art exhibition and thus with different channels than policymakers usually would do, they directly try to influence the way people think about these subjects. They are hoping this will create a different socio-technical landscape. The regime could take over their view if their exhibition and, later, their proposition resonates enough. Thus, SFG as the niche is first influencing landscape developments, only after which they address the regime- which is the other way around is proposed in the multi-level perspective (figure 1) (Geels, 2005). There, niche developments influence the regimes directly. It is interesting to review this from the point of view of Brand (2005). He argues that the design of cities can influence the social practices of people, but to do this sustainably, it should be done by including its inhabitants: participatory design. To do so, he concludes, what qualifies as “sustainable” should be decided locally, not top-down, as long as economic viability, ecological integrity, and social equity are considered. Thus, in his view, SFG should listen to Zaandams’ inhabitants to decide how to transform the Hembrug area sustainably. However, in that way, they will not be able to include the ambiguous history the ammunition factory has, which mostly took place in other parts of the world. In their view, they have to work the other way around: change the sociotechnical landscape to influence what people view as a “sustainable” way of the Hembrug area transition. So, in a way, they must mall the inhabitants by creating awareness and changing their views. SFG did this
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landscape. According to Geels (2005), the macro-level cannot be changed direct-
by inviting the Zaandam residents to the Hem for a tour of their exhibition. Afterwards, they cooked lunch together to bond and went into a conversation about the Eurometaal Heritage (Shock Forest Group, 2019b). This is in view of Forester’s (1999) propositions on participatory planning. He suggests that deliberators should get to know each other- and share meals to better listen to each other’s opinions. Thus, Brands’ theory might still be valid because SFG wants to listen to what people think about justice on heritage by inviting them for a conversation. However, SFG intends to broaden the boundaries: they do not want to include just local communities. They want to include the stories of people who have been (or are
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still) taunted by Eurometaal - all across the planet (Spaan, 2019). The people behind these stories need justice. The harm done has to be acknowledged. This is just as Healy (1996) proposes on how planning should be revised: what stakeholders need to be considered has to be discussed. Furthermore, he stresses the importance of respecting those absent from the discussion. Often, they are outnumbered but do need to be included. To SFG, the missing stakeholders are those being harmed by Eurometaal. They are not present in the Hembrug area; thus, according to the current system, they will not be considered in the planning process. Unless the system changes. Figure 1: The multi-level perspective on transitions of socio-technical regimes. (Geels, 2005)
3. Changing perspectives broadening boundaries Sociotechnical systems are stable and, thus, not easy to reject (Geels, 2005). This is due to the existing regulations, user practices, lifestyles and cognitive routines. However, social relationships and a system’s material aspects also provide stability. In the case of SFG, a change in cognitive routines is especially needed. When talking with them, we discussed that a transition for valuing cultural heritage is challenging since the harm Eurometaal caused is indirect. Thus, People do not feel the impacted history, which mostly has taken place far from the Netherlands. Thus, it seems complicated to change the valuation of cultural heritage. So, how is SFG trying to accomplish this goal? For them to succeed, the system’s boundaries need to be enlarged. When considering the social aspects of urban development, the system should be more significant than the city itself. Reviewing this ecosystem approach makes it easier to
understand the impact different spatial scales, flows, and time zones can have (van Bueren, 2012). Even so, it can help me know how SFG does research and how their ideas of changing the system can be understood. According to the ecosystems approach, we can divide different subsystems from a more extensive system. Van Bueren (2012) describes how this makes it easier to analyse a system within the proper context. Due to the use of subsystems, we can mark in-, and outcome flows and define what to consider while evaluating the to choose the proper boundaries. SFG started their research by staying at a tiny scale- the Hembrug area. They invited old employees of the Eurometaal factory to talk about their work experiences. What came out were many positive stories about their memories of their time in the factory and the strong bond among employees. When the employees came to work for Eurometaal, they had to sign a contract which told them to remain silent about the work they were doing. They could not talk to outsiders, friends, and family about their jobs. However, this pact of silence made their bond very strong and familiar (Spaan, 2019). The employees told them how they were singing together- there was a yearly Eurometaal song celebrating the company (Shock Forest Group, 2019e). Moreover, during weekends leading up to Christmas, they would use the factory machines to make gifts for their families. So, looking back, the employees who talked with SFG had positive memories of their time in Eurometal (Spaan, 2019). Furthermore, the former employees were told they were manufacturing test bullets, which were not supposed to be used in combat. All in all, when analysing the heritage of the Hembrug area on a small-scale level, it seems like a positive story. Then, SFG decided to broaden its systems’ boundaries. This can be done in several ways, among which through spatial scales (buildings, cities, countries, etc.), life cycle stages (mapping the life span of different structures) or by mapping all input, throughput, and output flows of a system (van Bueren, 2012). In ecosystem and urban metabolism theories, sustainability is usually defined as environmental impact, with the boundaries also usually defined upon this (Klindworth et al., 2014; Davoudi & Sturzaker, 2017; Yigitacanlar & Dizdaroglu, 2015). However, it is interesting to review the research of SFG with these theories as well, where boundaries are mapped on an impact scale, and sustainability is defined from a social perspective. In their search to map the impact of the Hembrug
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system: the ecosystems approach creates order in the chaos. For this, it is necessary
area, they follow the flows in the form of ammunition and weapon shipment (see figure 2) that have been coming out of Eurometaal. As mentioned in the introduction, some of these are very questionable: bullets were shipped to regimes with a bad reputation from a human-rights perspective (Spaan, 2019; Slijper, 1997). These stories give a different perspective compared to the stories of the former workers, marking the impact that shifting your system’s boundaries can have. For SFG, these flows define the boundaries of the system that should be considered to deal with the cultural heritage of the Hembrug area development. According to SFG, the relevant system should thus be on a global scale.
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Baker (2007) describes sustainability as the ability of an ecosystem to sustain itself over time. Yigitacanlar and Dizdaroglu (2015) add that sustainable development should focus on careful resource use and the viability of the next generations. This can be translated to our social sustainability approach to ecosystem thinking, where I would argue that the resource use in our case is the neglect of the acknowledgement of those being harmed. Although Eurometaal is closed now, and for part of the factories’ buildings, new purposes have already been found; in conversation with Bert Spaan from SFG, I was told that it is hard to know if Eurometaals’ worldwide flows of ammunition are still in process although he thought it could very well be. This makes it an interesting case for the life cycle stages as well. As SFG wants to acknowledge this cultural heritage, I believe it can draw a figure parallel to the cradle-to-cradle (C2C) approach. C2C focuses on making material flows circular (Itard, 2011). Although it is impossible to physically get rid of all the bullets still travelling the world or to erase/make up for all the harm they have already done, SFG wants to acknowledge the harm and memorialise it. In this sense, they bring the flows back to the Hembrug Area and try to integrate them into the area’s transition: the stories of those being harmed become part of the area development process, which makes the circle round.
4. Conclusion As SFG unravelled more and more of the history of the Hembrug area and Eurometaal, it became clear that the ammunition factory has a past of ambiguous trades. Being in the middle of an area in transition and within one of the factories’ monuments, which is now promoting art as if nothing ever happened, they felt the responsibility to try and make a change in the way society values the cultural
heritage of buildings that have a history of indirect impact. This change can be seen as a call for a sociotechnical system transition, where SFG, as a niche, tries to impact the sociotechnical landscape by creating awareness. They do this according to the ecosystems approach by broadening the system’s boundaries in which cultural heritage is valued. The boundaries are defined by the flows of ammunition shipments that have come out of the Hembrug area. Within these boundaries, the harm that Eurometaal has done is exposed. In this way, it is by Eurometaal in the area’s development to serve them justice. In the global scale system, the old factory area that initially seemed innocent can be viewed as guilty. This makes it possible to acknowledge its cultural heritage and take it into account while planning the development of the area.
5. Discussion and Limitations The partly unscientific usage of references I included must be considered while reading this essay. The information found on the SFG project and the history of Eurometaal partly in conversations with SFG members while listening to (unpublished) presentations they hosted by visiting their exhibition in the Hem and through their online research log. Both the exhibition and the research log are very formal, making it challenging to validate the sources. Furthermore, I am aware that as a research group, they are working on an art project, which could potentially blur the borders of scientific research and art. All in all, considering all of the above, the historical truth has to be seen. However, purely from a theoretical point of view, the essay is still relevant as a characterisation of the research within the different metropolitan perspectives- sociotechnical, ecosystems and spatial justice. The proposal of SFG on how to deal with cultural heritage has still to be written, so the content is yet unclear. Their research started in September 2019 and is supposed to be ongoing. However, their exposition in the Hem ends by December 2019. Whereafter, as they told me, they will not be on the payroll of the Hem anymore. This makes the future of their research proposal uncertain.
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possible to include the stories of people who have been (or are still being) harmed
Figure 2: Illegal shipments of Eurometaal to the Perian Gulf Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia) between 1982 and 1987 (Shock Forest Group, 2019b)
6. References Baker, S. (2007). Sustainable development as symbolic commitment: Declaratory politics and the seductive appeal of ecological modernisation in the European Union. Environmental Politics, 16(2), 297–317. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644010701211874
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Brand, R. (2005). Urban infrastructures and sustainable social practices. Journal of Urban Technology, 12(2), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/10630730500307128 Davoudi, S., & Sturzaker, J. (2017). Urban form, policy packaging and sustainable urban metabolism. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 120, 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. resconrec.2017.01.011 Ekker, J. (2019, 24 november). Nicolás Jaar verwerkt de geschiedenis van het Schokbos in Het HEM. Het Parool. Geraadpleegd van https://www.parool.nl/kunst-media/nicolas-jaar-verwerkt-de-geschiedenis-van-het-schokbos-i n-het-hem~b2ce55d6/ Geels, F. (2005). The dynamics of transitions in socio-technical systems: A multi-level analysis of the transition pathway from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles (1860– 1930). Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 17(4), 445–476. https://doi. org/10.1080/09537320500357319 Hembrugterrein.com. (z.d.). Geschiedenis. Geraadpleegd, 16 December 2019, https://www. hembrugterrein.com/terrein-info/geschiedenis/ Het Hem. (2019). Chapter 2WO: Exhibition folder. Het Hem. Healey, P. (1996). The communicative turn in planning theory and its implications for spatial strategy formation. Environment and Planning B: Planning and design, 23(2), 217–234. Itard, L. (2011). Environmental Strategies and Tools for Integrated Design. Sustainable Urban Environments, 285–311. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1294-2_11 Klindworth, K., Djurasovic, A., Knieling, J., & Säwert, K. (2017). From Linear to Circular—Challenges for Changing Urban Metabolism? An Analysis of Local Energy Transition Activities in Four European Cities. Urban Regions Now & Tomorrow, 255–276. https:// doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-16759-2_11 Raad van State. (2019, 30 April). Herontwikkeling voormalig defensieterrein Hembrug in Zaandam kan niet van start. Geraadpleegd op 16 december 2019, van https://www.raad-
vanstate.nl/@115183/herontwikkeling/ Ribbens, A. (2019b, 19 juni). Spectaculaire kunstruimte Het Hem opent met tentoonstelling vol hiphopcultuur. NRC. Geraadpleegd van https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2019/06/19/ het-hem-spectaculaire-kunstruimte-van-bijna-200-met er-lang-a3964340 Shock Forest Group. (2019a, 14 October). Chapter 2WO: Shock Forest Log. Geraadpleegd op 17 december 2019, van https://hethem.nl/nl/Chapter-Two Shock Forest Group. (2019b). https://shockforest.group/#/?type=images [Blogpost]. Geraa-
Shock Forest Group. (2019d). Exhibition Chapter 2WO: Infinite Responsibility. Shock Forest Group. (2019e). Exhibition Chapter 2WO: No Camouflage: Archive. Spaan, B. (2019, 8 dec). Presentation: Findings of Shock Forest Group, 8 December in Het Hem, Zaandam Slijper, F. (1997, 19 March). Nederland houdt zich niet aan eigen principes wapenexport. Trouw. https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/nederland-houdt-zich-niet-aan-eigen-principes-wapenexport~b186b951/?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.nl%2F Steenhuismeurs. (2010). Hembrugterrein - Zaanstad: cultuurhistorische analyse.https://www. hembrugterrein.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Historie-Hembrugterrein-web. pdf Van Bueren, E. (2012). Introduction. In: Van Bueren, E., Van Bohemen, H., Itard, L., & Visscher, H. (eds.) (2012). Sustainable urban environments: an ecosystem approach, Dordrecht: Springer, 1-13. Yigitcanlar, T. & Dizdaroglu, D. (2014). Ecological approaches in planning for sustainable cities: a review of the literature. Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management, 1(2), pp. 159-188.
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dpleegd op 19 december 2019, van https://shockforest.group/#/?type=images Shock Forest Group. (2019c). Shock Forest Group: No Camouflage. Zaandam: Het.
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This book gathers essays produced by students from the course ‘Metropolitan Innovators’ of the master’s programme Metropolitan Analysis, Design and Engineering (MADE) of the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS) between 2017 and 2023. The course ‘Metropolitan Innovators’ is led by Clemens Driessen (WUR) & Roberto Rocco (TU Delft) and addresses the complex challenges faced by contemporary metropolitan regions, having the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA) as a paradigmatic case. The course delves into the socio-technical, (eco)systems, and spatial justice perspectives to analyse and evaluate competing claims by a variety of stakeholders, while equipping participants with theoretical and conceptual tools to tackle metropolitan challenges and assess potential solutions, considering environmental impacts, transdisciplinary knowledge, and the intersection of technological solutions with political questions of justice and democracy.