The platform for open and practice-oriented research

product

The potential of light electric vehicles for specific freight flows

The number of light commercial vehicles in cities is growing, which puts increasing pressure on the liveability of cities. Light electric freight vehicles (LEFV) and cargo bikes can offer a solution, as they occupy less space, can be manoeuvred easily and does not emit tailpipe pollutants. This paper presents the results of the first half-year of the LEVV-LOGIC project (2016-2018), aimed at exploring the potential of LEFVs for various urban freight flows. Delivery characteristics, trends, practical examples and the judgement of experts are combined to assess the potential of LEFVs for seven major urban freight flows. The preliminary analysis concludes that every urban freight flow has a certain level of potential for using LEFV. In particular parcel and food deliveries have high potential; however, deliveries related to services and the last phase of construction work can also be switched to LEFV. In comparison, non-food deliveries to retail establishments and the collection of waste collection have less potential. Though the latter can change when recycling standards become higher.

DOCUMENT

The potential of light electric vehicles for specific freight flows

product

Evidence-based Food System Design (EFSD)

Final report of the Evidence-based Food System Design project (EFSD). This research project aimed at building a data-driven mapping of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Food System, as an evidence base for vision and scenario development, policymaking and other initiatives aimed at transitioning to a more sustainable regional food system.

MULTIFILE

product

Monitor 2019; the regional food chain

This publication follows and analysis the proces in the region Westerkwartier in the Netherlands in their effort to built a whole new regionale food chain. In this report there is a remarkeble role for the knowledge instutions on vocational and applied level.

DOCUMENT

product

City of Flows: The Need for Design-Led Research to Urban Metabolism

The design of cities has long ignored the flows that shape the city. Water has been the most visible one, but energy and materials were invisible and/or taken for granted. A little over 50 years ago, Abel Wolman was the first to illuminate the role of water flows in the urban fabric. It has long been a search for quantitative data while the flows were mostly seen as separated entities. The fact they invisibly formed the way the city appears has been neglected for many years. In this thematic issue the “city of flows” is seen as a design task. It aims to bring to the fore the role flows can play to be consciously used to make spatial decisions in how and where certain uses and infrastructure is located. Efficient and sustainable

DOCUMENT

product

Advancing the evidence base for sustainable city-region food systems [Meeting the growing appetite of cities - delivering an evidence base for urban food policy]

The growing appetite of cities is one of the greatest future challenges. There is no set menu for meeting this appetite, but a trend is observed in which city authorities focus on region-based food provision. Regionalism is motivated by the importance of increased self-reliance. Besides, regional food systems, are associated with more sustainable production and reduced carbon footprints, the reconnection of consumers with production, and the increased uptake of whole foods in urban diets. However, the question remains to what extend region based food systems may become self-reliant? How may they contribute to improved sustainability and healthy lifestyles? With the Dutch city of Almere as a case in point this paper provides a food flow data-based analysis of the opportunities and limitations of regional based food system approaches. The paper sets off with defining the concepts of sustainable self-reliance and regionalism. Next, it describes the methodology of measuring and mapping the actual food flows. We combined secondary, publicly available, with primary quantitative and qualitative datasets, involving regional businesses, urban policymakers, and residents. Our study uncovers the coinciding disconnect and interconnectedness of local, regional and global food systems. The regional scale offers opportunities for tackling many food related challenges, however, sustainable urban food security demands connections beyond the regional sphere and beyond the food domain. To assess the effects of the policy options available at the local and regional level, a solid evidence base is essential. This paper advances the development of evidence-based methodologies to monitor and inform food system policies.

DOCUMENT

Advancing the evidence base for sustainable city-region food systems [Meeting the growing appetite of cities - delivering an evidence base for urban food policy]

product

A consumer behavioural approach to food waste.

Purpose: Food waste occurs in every stage of the supply chain, but the value-added lost to waste is the highest when consumers waste food. The purpose of this paper is to understand the food waste behaviour of consumers to support policies for minimising food waste. Design/methodology/approach: Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as a theoretical lens, the authors design a questionnaire that incorporates contextual factors to explain food waste behaviour. The authors test two models: base (four constructs of TPB) and extended (four constructs of TPB plus six contextual factors). The authors build partial least squares structural equation models to test the hypotheses. Findings: The data confirm significant relationships between food waste and contextual factors such as motives, financial attitudes, planning routines, food surplus, social relationships and Ramadan. Research limitations/implications: The data comes from an agriculturally resource-constrained country: Qatar. Practical implications: Food waste originating from various causes means more food should flow through the supply chains to reach consumers’ homes. Contextual factors identified in this work increase the explanatory power of the base model by 75 per cent. Social implications: Changing eating habits during certain periods of the year and food surplus have a strong impact on food waste behaviour. Originality/value: A country is considered to be food secure if it can provide its citizens with stable access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. The findings and conclusions inform and impact upon the development of food waste and food security policies.

MULTIFILE

product

How new food networks change the urban environment

More and more people worldwide live in urban areas, and these areas face many problems, of which a sustainable food provision is one. In this paper we aim to show that a transition towards more sustainable, regionally organized food systems strongly contributes to green, livable cities. The article describes a case study in the Dutch region of Arnhem–Nijmegen. Partners of a network on sustainable food in this region were interviewed on how they expect the food system to develop, and in design studies possible futures are explored. Both the interviews and the designs give support to the idea that indeed sustainable food systems can be developed to contribute to green livable cities. They show that the quality and meaning of existing green areas can be raised; new areas can be added to a public green system, and connections with green surroundings are enforced. They also show that inhabitants or consumers can be stimulated to become so called food citizens, highlighting that the relation of food systems and livable cities is a very close one.

MULTIFILE

How new food networks change the urban environment

product

Flying Money 2018

Being a hub and a hotspot for many people from all over the world means that new dynamics have entered Amsterdam and other cities in the last few years. Money flows pass through the city, and we often do not know anymore whose money this is, where it comes from or where it goes. At the same time, the development of cryptocurrencies and parallel money cultures all contribute to the opaqueness of the future of the financial world.To better understand the current dynamics that will affect our financial future, the City of Amsterdam has taken the initiative to organize an international conference in collaboration with the Institute of Network Cultures from the Amsterdam University of Applied Science: Flying Money – Investigating illicit Financial Flows in the City.This publication contains the results of the conference, along with relevant academic and other articles ensuing from the conference.

MULTIFILE

product

A transition approach towards a sustainable and healthy food system: the case of the South-Holland Food Family

The transition towards a sustainable and healthy food system is one of the major sustainability challenges of today, next to the energy transition and the transition from a linear to circular economy. This paper provides a timely and evidence-based contribution to better understand the complex processes of institutional change and transformative social-ecological innovation that takes place in the food transition, through a case study of an open innovation and food transition network in The Netherlands, the South-Holland Food Family (Zuid-Hollandse Voedselfamilie). This network is supported by the provincial government and many partners, with the ambition to realize more sustainable agricultural and food chains, offering healthy, sustainable and affordable food for everyone in the Province of South-Holland in five to ten years from now. This ambition cannot be achieved through optimising the current food system. A transition is needed – a fundamental change of the food system’s structure, culture and practice. The Province has adopted a transition approach in its 2016 Innovation Agenda for Sustainable Agriculture. This paper provides an institutional analysis of how the transition approach has been established and developed in practice. Our main research question is what interventions and actions have shaped the transition approach and how does the dynamic interplay between actors and institutional structures influence institutional change, by analysing a series of closely related action situations and their context, looking at 'structure' and 'agency', and at the output-outcomes-impact of these action situations. For this purpose, we use the Transformative Social-Ecological Innovation (TSEI)-framework to study the dynamic interplay between actors and institutional structures influencing institutional change. The example of TSEI-framework application in this paper shows when and how local agents change the institutional context itself, which provides relevant insights on institutional work and the mutually constitutive nature of structure and agency. Above institutional analysis also shows the pivotal role of a number of actors, such as network facilitators and provincial minister, and their capability and skills to combine formal and informal institutional environments and logics and mobilize resources, thereby legitimizing and supporting the change effort. The results are indicative of the importance of institutional structures as both facilitating (i.e., the province’s policies) and limiting (e.g. land ownership) transition dynamics.

DOCUMENT

Search results

Products 716

The potential of light electric vehicles for specific freight flows

Evidence-based Food System Design (EFSD)

Monitor 2019; the regional food chain

City of Flows: The Need for Design-Led Research to Urban Metabolism

Advancing the evidence base for sustainable city-region food systems [Meeting the growing appetite of cities - delivering an evidence base for urban food policy]

A consumer behavioural approach to food waste.

How new food networks change the urban environment

Flying Money 2018

A transition approach towards a sustainable and healthy food system: the case of the South-Holland Food Family

Navigate to

Categories

Filters

Products 716

The potential of light electric vehicles for specific freight flows

Evidence-based Food System Design (EFSD)

Monitor 2019; the regional food chain

City of Flows: The Need for Design-Led Research to Urban Metabolism

Advancing the evidence base for sustainable city-region food systems [Meeting the growing appetite of cities - delivering an evidence base for urban food policy]

A consumer behavioural approach to food waste.

How new food networks change the urban environment

Flying Money 2018

A transition approach towards a sustainable and healthy food system: the case of the South-Holland Food Family