SUNEX (Sustainable Urban Food-Energy-Water Nexus)
As a result of the increasing complexity of urban governance, deep understanding of the interconnectedness of food, energy water (FEW) as key factors in urban decision-making is central to long-term urban sustainability. The SUNEX (Sustainable Urban Food-Energy-Water Nexus) project aims to develop an advanced modelling framework to assess the supply of these resources in cities and their surrounding areas, and on this basis provide policy guidelines to support urban decision-making.
Focusing on a varied selection of four case studies in Austria (Vienna), Germany (Berlin), Qatar (Doha) and the UK (Bristol), the research will engage local stakeholders and urban policy makers in each city to co-design the development of a range of potential future FEW scenarios.
The findings will assist cities in the design and implementation of more sustainable resource management strategies, engaging a nexus approach to their use of food, energy and water.
David Ludlow (Principal Investigator, Associate Professor: European Smart Cities)
Chad Staddon (Professor of Resource Economics and Policy)
• Multidisciplinary collaboration between scientific, governance, and business stakeholders in FEW sectors.
• Co-production and testing of collaborative scenarios, tailored to each city-region.
• Development of policy guidelines supporting the integration of FEW nexus considerations into the urban planning decision-making process at city regional scale.
• Dissemination of lessons and best practice through an interactive dashboard and broader metropolitan platforms such as the Peri-urban Regions Platform Europe (PURPLE) and Covenant of Mayors.