Autonomous Oosterwold
Exploring the land-use, environmental impact and environmental risks of local essential service provision on different levels of autonomy
C.W. von Meijenfeldt (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
Essential service systems, such as energy provision and wastewater treatment, are important elements within spatial planning as they cater the most fundamental needs of the built environment. The recent rise in decentralized or local systems compared to the common centralized approach have left spatial planners with a dilemma: on which scale level should systems be integrated to develop (partial) autonomy? A similar dilemma is visible in the developing neighbourhood Oosterwold near Almere where inhabitants develop their own wastewater treatment and energy provision systems following an unusual form of bottom-up urban planning. At the moment most inhabitants choose to develop these systems individually. Using the land-use, environmental impact and environmental risks associated with these essential service systems, a case is made for the potential of communal wastewater treatment, the exchange of electricity through a communal smart grid and the implementation of seasonal heat storage. The research highlights the importance of integrated spatial planning when working with local essential service provision.