Governing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: What it Is and Why it Matters

The term “water-energy-food nexus” describes the ways the three resources are heavily dependent on each other. The science of the water-energy-food nexus suggests that these resources need to be managed and governed together. But, few people know much about what nexus governance is or why it matters. This brief addresses the governance of these resources as reflected in research of the Institute for Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Sustainable Cities and Healthy Cities: Are They the Same?

There is robust literature examining the wide array of public policies and programs cities pursue in order to try to become more sustainable. Whether the focus of such programs is explicitly on improving the bio-physical environment, climate protection and adaptation, energy efficiency, land use regulation, or any of a number of other targets, such programs often carry with them an expectation that the programs will contribute to improve the health of populations. While there is significant attention to asserting that such a relationship exists, or ought to exist, there have been no efforts to explicitly and empirically link city policies to health outcomes. This paper tackles this issue head-on, investigating the extent to which cities in the US that have the most aggressive sustainability initiatives exhibit better health outcomes than cities with less aggressive sustainability initiatives. Using data from the largest cities in the US, this paper presents evidence concerning the strength of this relationship, discusses the foundations for the relationship, and provides a discussion of the implications for urban planning, sustainability policies and for improving the health of populations

Governing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: What it Is and Why it Matters

The term “water-energy-food nexus” describes the ways the three resources are heavily dependent on each other. The science of the water-energy-food nexus suggests that these resources need to be managed and governed together. But, few people know much about what nexus governance is or why it matters. This brief addresses the governance of these resources as reflected in research of the Institute for Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Teaching the Three E’s of Sustainability Through Service‐Learning in a Professional Program

Using seven established course design principles for effective service‐learning, this chapter discusses the lessons learned in teaching the three E’s of sustainability: environmental; economic; and (social) equity, in a professional program at an American Midwestern public university.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154652/1/tl20374_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154652/2/tl20374.pd

Planning for Sustainability in Small Municipalities: The Influence of Interest Groups, Growth Patterns, and Institutional Characteristics

How and why small municipalities promote sustainability through planning efforts is poorly understood. We analyzed ordinances in 451 Maine municipalities and tested theories of policy adoption using regression analysis.We found that smaller communities do adopt programs that contribute to sustainability relevant to their scale and context. In line with the political market theory, we found that municipalities with strong environmental interests, higher growth, and more formal governments were more likely to adopt these policies. Consideration of context and capacity in planning for sustainability will help planners better identify and benefit from collaboration, training, and outreach opportunities

Environmental Justice and Sustainability: Is There a Critical Nexus in the Case of Waste Disposal or Treatment Facility Siting?

Over the past ten years, two environmental movements, have evolved and gained rapidly in both stature and import. One of these, the environmental justice or equity movement, has sensitized Americans to its contention that minority populations and people of lower socio-economic status have disproportionately borne the risks of environmentally impacting events. The other movement, advocating sustainability, focuses on fostering behavior and policies that contribute to economic growth in environmentally responsible ways. In actuality, as will be elaborated later, sustainability has several meaning, which can be categorized in at least three distinct and sometimes even contradictory ways. Any connection between the two “movements” has been given little consideration, especially consideration of the ways in which they are incompatible with each other. That is the purpose of this Essay: to speculate on ways that environmental justice activities, especially those associated with efforts to prevent the siting of unwanted local waste facilities, are consistent with sustainability and to investigate whether these two movements are consistent with each other. More specifically, this Essay examines the ways that the pursuit of environmental justice may, at least conceptually, undermine goals of sustainability

Education and Smart Growth Policies in U.S. Cities: A Response to Lenahan O'Connell

This response to Lenahan O'Connell's article "Exploring the Social Roots of Smart Growth Policy Adoption by Cities" examines whether the relationship between education and the adoption of smart growth programs in U.S. cities is reflective of the new political culture and rooted in postmaterial values or, perhaps, just reflective of a slightly different way of thinking about traditional economic development. Copyright (c) 2008 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.

Sustainability and Interest Group Participation in City Politics

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