A participatory system dynamics model to investigate sustainable urban water management in Ebbsfleet Garden City. (April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pluchinotta, Irene; Pagano, Alessandro; Vilcan, Tudorel; Ahilan, Sangaralingam; Kapetas, Leon; Maskrey, Shaun; Krivtsov, Vladimir; Thorne, Colin; O'Donnell, Emily
• Is Part Of: Sustainable cities and society. Volume 67(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-04
• Subjects: System Dynamics -- Ebbsfleet Garden City -- Participatory Modelling -- Sustainable Urban Water Management -- Sustainability -- Stakeholders; Sustainable urban development -- Periodicals; Sustainable buildings -- Periodicals; Urban ecology (Sociology) -- Periodicals; 307.76
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2021.102709
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2210-6707

Abstract

Highlights: Garden Cities are key for sustainable urban growth and water resource management. Ebbsfleet stakeholders co-produced a participatory System Dynamics Model. The model investigated different policies for sustainable Urban Water Management. The participatory nature of the modelling supported a collective learning process. System Dynamics modelling allowed stakeholders to explore multiple future scenarios. Abstract: Growing urban populations, changes in rainfall patterns and ageing infrastructure represent significant challenges for urban water management (UWM). There is a critical need for research into how cities should adapt to become resilient to these impacts under uncertain futures. UWM challenges in the Ebbsfleet Garden City (UK) were investigated via a participatory process and potential sustainable solutions were explored using a System Dynamics Model (SDM). Collaborative development of the SDM by the Ebbsfleet Learning and Action Alliance developed stakeholders' understanding of future UWM options and enabled a structured exploration of interdependencies within the current UWM system. Discussion by stakeholders resulted in a focus on potable water use and the development of the SDM to investigate how residential potable water consumption in the Ebbsfleet Garden City might be reduced through a range of interventions, e.g., socio-environmental and economic policy incentives. The SDM approach supports decision-making at a strategic, system-wide level, and facilitates exploration of the long-term consequences of alternative strategies, particularly those that are difficult to include in quantitative models. While an SDM can be developed by experts alone, building it collaboratively allows the process to benefit from local knowledge, resulting in a collective learning process and increased potential for adoption.