Comparative analysis of local adaptation processes in the future across peri-urban India to support transformations to sustainability

Peri-urban transformations in emerging economies like India demand scientific attention given their impact on global environmental change processes. Some studies examine past or ongoing peri-urban adaptation processes, but insight into future adaptation needs and aspirations of peri-urban communities is lacking. Also, it is unknown how the high...

The evolution of public participation GIS (PPGIS) barriers in spatial planning practice

Over the last three decades, PPGIS practices have shifted from a paper to digital format and have become cheaper, more user-friendly, and more versatile. The literature recognizes the potential of PPGIS, but researchers also note that the impact of PPGIS in practice is not yet pronounced. This study seeks to identify the barriers that hinder...

Institutional modelling: Adding social backbone to agent-based models

Institutional modelling is a branch of agent-based modelling and simulation (ABMS) that pays special attention to the social structure by incorporating institutions into these models. Institutions, in this regard, are the rules of the system that shape individual behaviour and interaction. Institutional modelling can make use of the...

Endogeneity in water use behaviour across case studies of household water treatment adoption in developing countries

Endogeneity or reverse causality in regression analysis results in biased estimation of the effects of independent variables on the dependent variable and leads to inaccurate interpretations. However, the biased estimation of the effects of psychological factors on water–related behaviours are rarely discussed. This study investigated the...

Changing hydrosocial cycles in Periurban India

India’s urbanisation results in the physical and societal transformation of the areas sur-rounding cities. These periurban interfaces are spaces of flows, shaped by an exchange of matter, people and ideas between urban and rural spaces—and currently they are zones in transition. Periur-banisation processes result inter alia in changing water...

Diversity and Challenges of the Urban Commons: A Comprehensive Review

This study is a comprehensive literature review about the field of the urban commons and its diversity, which we investigate through the lens of the new commons. Acknowledging a potential for adaptive capacity in the urban commons, we classify its traits into ecosystem, socio-economic and institutional factors. To make our work more practical,...

The role of participation in the responsible innovation framework for biofuels projects: Can it be assessed?

The growth in biofuels’ investment brings with it concerns about the social and environmental impacts of the sector. Several tools and frameworks have been used to address these concerns, including the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) framework. This paper analyzes whether this framework can be applied in contexts where local culture...

Institutional lens upon industrial symbiosis dynamics: The case of Persian gulf mining and metal industries special economic zone

Industrial Symbiosis (IS) is a collaboration between nearby industrial plants to exchange waste material and energy and achieve economic and environmental benefits that cannot be obtained individually. IS emergence in a cluster requires both technical potentials for material and energy exchange and social readiness for collaboration. In this...

Watt rules? Assessing decision-making practices on smart energy systems in Dutch city districts

This article analyzes ‘rules of the game’ that influence decision-making concerning the introduction of smart energy systems. Smart energy systems are considered as a solution to optimize and make energy systems ‘future-proof’. Their introduction, however, is challenged by a complex multi-stakeholder configuration, and by ‘rules of the game’ ...

A coupled flood-agent-institution modelling (CLAIM) framework for urban flood risk management

In this paper, we describe a modelling framework that allows the integration of human and physical components of flood risk. Within this framework, flood risk management is conceptualized as a coupled human-flood system. The human subsystem includes individuals and their behaviour and institutions that shape human-flood interaction. The...

PETRA: Governance as a key success factor for big data solutions in mobility

The promise of big data in the field of mobility is great, for example for mobility-as-a-service solutions. Having a better sense of the existing flows over the network would allow for much improved modelling of future flows and nudging users into behaviours targeting collectively better outcomes. Because of this promise the interest that...

Automated multi-level governance compliance checking

An institution typically comprises constitutive rules, which give shape and meaning to social interactions and regulative rules, which prescribe agent behaviour in the society. Regulative rules guide social interaction, in particular when they are coupled with reward and punishment regulations that are enforced for (non-)compliance. Institution...

Institutional challenges caused by the integration of renewable energy sources in the European electricity sector

The integration of large amounts of variable renewable energy poses fundamental challenges to the operation and governance of the energy system. In this article we address the main institutional challenges that are caused by the integration of variable renewable energy sources like solar and wind energy in the European power system. We first...

Why infrastructure still matters: Unravelling water reform processes in an uneven waterscape in rural Kenya

Since the 1980s, a major change took place in public policies for water resources management. Whereas before governments primarily invested in the development, operation and maintenance of water infrastructure and were mainly concerned with the distribution of water, in the new approach they mainly focus on managing water resources systems by...

Managing the commons: A simple model of the emergence of institutions through collective action

In this paper we present an abstract replication of institutional emergence patterns observed in common pool resource (CPR) problems. We used the ADICO grammar of institutions as the basic structure to model both users’ strategies and institutions. Through an evolutionary process, users modify their behaviours and eventually establish a...

Adaptive governance: Towards a stable, accountable and responsive government

Organizations are expected to adapt within a short time to deal with changes that might become disruptive if not adequately dealt with. Yet many organizations are unable to adapt effectively or quickly due to the established institutional arrangements and patterns of decision-making and governance. Adaptive governance should enhance the...