Abstract
Urbanization has created some of the world's greatest development challenges. At the same time, cities present an opportunity to tackle these challenges comprehensively. For this, an integrated urban development approach is needed. The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus approach offers cities an integrated urban planning framework to devise sustainability pathways. However, so far there exist no comprehensive guidelines to aid municipal government decision-making on how to apply the Nexus approach in an urban context. This paper highlights the origins of the WEF Nexus approach within the integrated urban planning discourse. It explains the method to introduce Nexus with special emphasis on Nexus training supporting the implementation of the Nexus approach. The “Urban Nexus Development Cycle” as part of the Nexus training, guiding urban practitioners to overcome “silo thinking” is the innovative element as well as the pro-active involvement of universities in the Nexus process.
Highlights
TO THE CONCEPT OF INTEGRATED URBAN PLANNINGUrbanization has created some of the world’s greatest development challenges
Metropolises in developing economy countries are often characterized by extreme poverty, unemployment and socio-economic disparities, unsustainable patterns of consumption and production, and are key contributors to climate change and environmental degradation
City leaders must move quickly to plan for growth and provide the basic services, infrastructure, and affordable housing for their expanding populations
Summary
Urbanization has created some of the world’s greatest development challenges. the world’s cities occupy only 3% of the global land mass, they are responsible for 60–80% of the global energy consumption and 75% of global carbon emissions (UN, 2021). In the Asia-Pacific region, GIZ in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in collaboration with ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) (ESCAP et al, 2019) envisaged to introduce holistic, integrated resource management for Asian cities through the joint project “Integrated resource management in Asian Cities: the Urban Nexus,” financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ This project was implemented in two phases between 2013 and 2019 and sought to promote and institutionalize the Urban Nexus approach through the provision of Nexus training and related technical advice to municipal administrations for the design, planning and implementation of practical nexus initiatives in up to 12 selected Asian cities in seven countries (China, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam). Between local and national levels of government, have laid the groundwork to introduce the required policy shifts needed to advance integrated resource management in cities, including to mainstream the Nexus approach into national initiatives for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the New Urban Agenda, and the Paris Climate Agreement. Improved coordination and collaboration that is based on the untapped interdependencies between the water, energy and food/land sectors can result in substantial resource and financial benefits, making the business case for Nexus projects
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