Zoekresultaten

Creating circular, efficient and symbiotic cities

The ‘Grand Challenges’ of our times, like climate change, resource depletion, global inequity, and the destruction of wildlife and biodiversity can only be addressed by innovating cities. Despite the options of tele-working, tele-trading and tele-amusing, that allow people to participate in ever more activities, wherever they are, people are resettling in cities at an unprecedented speed. The forecasted ‘rurification’ of society did not occur. Technological development has drained rural society from its main source of income, agriculture, as only a marginal fraction of the labour force is employed in agriculture in the rich parts of the world. Moreover, technological innovation created new jobs in the IT and service sectors in cities. Cities are potentially far more resource efficient than rural areas. In a city transport distances are shorter, infrastructures can be applied to provide for essential services in a more efficient way and symbiosis might be developed between various infrastructures. However, in practice, urban infrastructures are not more efficient than rural infrastructures. This paper explores the reasons why. It digs into the reasons why the symbiotic options that are available in cities are not (sufficiently) utilised. The main reason for this is not of an economic nature: Infrastructure organisations are run by experts who are part of a strong paradigmatic community. Dependence on other organisations is regarded as limiting the infrastructure organisation’s freedom of action to achieve its own goals. Expert cultures are transferred in education, professional associations, and institutional arrangements. By 3 concrete examples of urban systems, the paper will analyse how various paradigms of experts co-evolved with evolving systems. The paper reflects on recent studies that identified professional education as the initiation into such expert paradigms. It will thereby relate lack of urban innovation to the monodisciplinary education of experts and the strong institutionalised character of expertise. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63007-6_43 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karelmulder/

Ontwikkeling van Ontwerpregels Re-store

De mkb-ers die deelnemen aan Re-StORe willen naast het inzichtelijk maken van het circulaire waardesysteem en de daarbij behorende mogelijke financiële, sociale en ecologische impact - ook weten op welke wijze zij kunnen handelen om de beoogde impact te bereiken en te handhaven. Daarnaast blijkt uit gesprekken met verschillende afdelingen binnen de gemeente Amsterdam, dat er ook een kennisvraag is omtrent de handelingsmogelijkheden van publieke instituten om deze bottom-up transitie naar de circulaire economie te ondersteunen.In dit rapport wordt omschreven welke stappen er binnen Re-StORe gezet worden om te komen tot kennis met betrekking tot het vormgeven van circulaire composterings- en biovergistingsnetwerken. We volgen hierbij een ontwerpgerichte aanpak, met als uitgangspunt dat het composterings- of biovergistingsnetwerk te beschouwen is als een sociaal-technisch systeem. Het netwerk bestaat enerzijds uit technologieën en organisatiestructuren die inzamelings- transport-, verwerkingsstappen van afval naar productafzet mogelijk maken binnen de wet- en regelgeving. En anderzijds uit sociale actoren, die besluiten nemen en (inter)acties uitvoeren, zoals het onderling uitwisselen van materialen, energie en informatie.We richten ons binnen het onderzoek op de processen waar de mkb-bedrijven en de gemeente het meeste invloed binnen deze context op kunnen uitoefenen met als doel:• Het analyseren van de invloed van gedragsaspecten op technologieën en businessmodellen rondom composteren en biovergisten in de context van de stad Amsterdam• Aanbevelingen doen, die mkb-ers helpen bij te dragen aan een effectief en veerkrachtig waardesysteem rondom composteren en biovergisten• Aanbevelingen doen, die de gemeente helpen in het bevorderen van de effectiviteit en veerkrachtigheid van circulaire waardesystemen in de stad• Bij te dragen aan een discussie over belangen, verantwoordelijkheden, kosten en baten van compostering en biovergisting in de stad.We ontwikkelen hierbij samen met deze partijen oplossingrichtingen en verhaallijnen, die we verwerken in twee simulatiemodellen:• Model 1: inzameling. In dit model wordt het gescheiden inzamelen en transporteren van afval ten behoeve van biovergisten of composteren gemodelleerd en gesimuleerd. We onderzoeken welke technische en organisatorische ingrepen leiden tot een verhoogde afvalscheiding.• Model 2: van afval naar grondstof. Hierin wordt, na inzameling, de handel en verwerking van bedrijfsafval tot producten uit biovergisten of composteren gemodelleerd en gesimuleerd. Uiteindelijk wordt dit model gebruikt om de impact te kunnen meten van enkele voorgestelde businessmodellen.Om deze modellen op te zetten werken we samen met NDSM-werf om in een bestaande situatie, te onderzoeken welke systemen hierbinnen zouden kunnen werken. Daarnaast passen we de ontwikkelde modellen toe op een nieuw het ontwikkelen gebied Haven Stad.Op dit moment is de ontwikkeling van de twee simulatiemodellen in volle gang. In hoofdlijn worden de twee modellen ontwikkeld in de periode tot en met oktober 2019. Daarna kan er worden begonnen met experimenteren. In februari 2020 moet alle verslaglegging zijn afgerond.

Editorial: transport and tourism: a weak symbiosis. An introduction to the special issue

Agent-based modelling and simulation for circular business model experimentation

The viability of novel network-level circular business models (CBMs) is debated heavily. Many companies are hesitant to implement CBMs in their daily practice, because of the various roles, stakes and opinions and the resulting uncertainties. Testing novel CBMs prior to implementation is needed. Some scholars have used digital simulation models to test elements of business models, but this this has not yet been done systematically for CBMs. To address this knowledge gap, this paper presents a systematic iterative method to explore and improve CBMs prior to actual implementation by means of agent-based modelling and simulation. An agent-based model (ABM) was co-created with case study participants in three Industrial Symbiosis networks. The ABM was used to simulate and explore the viability effects of two CBMs in different scenarios. The simulation results show which CBM in combination with which scenario led to the highest network survival rate and highest value captured. In addition, we were able to explore the influence of design options and establish a design that is correlated to the highest CBM viability. Based on these findings, concrete proposals were made to further improve the CBM design, from company level to network level. This study thus contributes to the development of systematic CBM experimentation methods. The novel approach provided in this work shows that agent-based modelling and simulation is a powerful method to study and improve circular business models prior to implementation.

Actor Behaviour and Robustness of Industrial Symbiosis Networks: An Agent-Based Modelling Approach

Industrial Symbiosis Networks (ISNs) consist of firms that exchange residual materials and energy locally, in order to gain economic, environmental and/or social advantages. In practice, ISNs regularly fail when partners leave and the recovery of residual streams ends. Regarding the current societal need for a shift towards sustainability, it is undesirable that ISNs should fail. Failures of ISNs may be caused by actor behaviour that leads to unanticipated economic losses. In this paper, we explore the effect of these behaviours on ISN robustness by using an agent-based model (ABM). The constructed model is based on insights from both literature and participatory modelling in three real-world cases. It simulates the implementation of synergies for local waste exchange and compost production. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was used to model agent behaviour in time-dependent bilateral negotiations and synergy evaluation processes. We explored model behaviour with and without TPB logic across a range of possible TPB input variables. The simulation results show how the modelled planned behaviour affects the cash flow outcomes of the social agents and the robustness of the network. The study contributes to the theoretical development of industrial symbiosis research by providing a quantitative model of all ISN implementation stages, in which various behavioural patterns of entrepreneurs are included. It also contributes to practice by offering insights on how network dynamics and robustness outcomes are not only related to context and ISN design, but also to actor behaviour.

Developing and understanding design interventions in relation to industrial symbiosis dynamics

Symbiotic Urban Agriculture Networks (SUANs) are a specific class of symbiotic networks that intend to close material and energy loops from cities and urban agriculture. Private and public stakeholders in SUANs face difficulties in the implementation of technological and organisational design interventions due to the complex nature of the agricultural and urban environment. Current research on the dynamics of symbiotic networks, especially Industrial Symbiosis (IS), is based on historical data from practice, and provides only partly for an understanding of symbiotic networks as a sociotechnical complex adaptive system. By adding theory and methodology from Design Science, participatory methods, and by using agent-based modelling as a tool, prescriptive knowledge is developed in the form of grounded and tested design rules for SUANs. In this paper, we propose a conceptual Design Science method with the aim to develop an empirically validated participatory agent-based modelling strategy that guides sociotechnical design interventions in SUANs. In addition, we present a research agenda for further strategy, design intervention, and model development through case studies regarding SUANs. The research agenda complements the existing analytical work by adding a necessary Design Science approach, which contributes to bridging the gap between IS dynamics theory and practical complex design issues.