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The dynamics of urban ecosystem governance in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

ABSTRACT: We explore whether Rotterdam city has the governance capacity in terms of processes at place, and the attention in terms of vision and strategy to take up an integrated approach toward urban resilience. We adopt an interpretative policy analysis approach to assess the dynamics of urban ecosystem governance considering interviews, gray literature, and facilitated dialogues with policy practitioners. We show the inner workings of local government across strategic, operational, tactical, and reflective governance processes about the way urban ecosystems are regulated. Despite the existing capacity to steer such processes, a number of underlying challenges exist: need for coordination between planning departments; need to ease the integration of new policy objectives into established adaptive policy cycles; and need to assess the lessons learnt from pilots and emerging green initiatives. Regulating and provisioning ecosystem services receive heightened policy attention. Focus on regulating services is maintained by a policy renewal cycle that limits and delays consideration of other ecosystem services in policy and planning.

SUBMITTER: Frantzeskaki N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3989510 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The dynamics of urban ecosystem governance in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Frantzeskaki Niki N Tilie Nico N

Ambio 20140501 4

We explore whether Rotterdam city has the governance capacity in terms of processes at place, and the attention in terms of vision and strategy to take up an integrated approach toward urban resilience. We adopt an interpretative policy analysis approach to assess the dynamics of urban ecosystem governance considering interviews, gray literature, and facilitated dialogues with policy practitioners. We show the inner workings of local government across strategic, operational, tactical, and reflec ...[more]

PMID: 24740624

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Project description:OBJECTIVES:To study the effect of an urban perinatal health programme in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on perinatal outcomes. DESIGN:A retrospective cohort study with difference-in-differences analysis using individual-level perinatal outcome data from the Dutch Perinatal Registry 2003-2014 linked to Central Bureau of Statistics data of migration background and individual disposable household income. INTERVENTION:The programme consisted of perinatal health promotion, risk selection and risk-guided pregnancy care, and a new primary care child birth centre. The programme was implemented during 2009-2012. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES:We compared trends in perinatal mortality, preterm delivery and small-for-gestational-age births between targeted urban neighbourhoods in Rotterdam (n=61 415) and all other urban neighbourhoods in the Netherlands (n=881 202). The effect of the programme was modelled as a change in trend of each perinatal outcome in the treatment group post intervention compared with the control population from January 2010 onwards. All analyses were adjusted for maternal age, parity, ethnicity and individual-level low socioeconomic status (SES). We also conducted a stratified analysis by SES. RESULTS:During 2003-2014, downward trends in perinatal mortality (adjusted OR (aOR) 0.9439 per year, 95% CI 0.9362 to 0.9517), preterm birth (aOR 0.9970 per year, 95% CI 0.9944 to 0.9997) and small-for-gestational-age births (aOR 0.9809 per year, 95% CI 0.9787 to 0.9831) in the entire study population were observed. No demonstrable changes in these trends were found in the intervention group after the programme had started. The stratified analyses by SES showed no changes in trends post intervention in both strata either. CONCLUSIONS:The programme had no demonstrable effects on perinatal outcomes. The intervention may not have reached a sufficient proportion of the population or has provided too little contrast to the widespread attention for inequalities in pregnancy outcomes occurring simultaneously in the Netherlands.

Project description:The North American Monsoon season (June-September) in the Sonoran Desert brings thunderstorms and heavy rainfall. These rains bring cooler temperature and account for roughly half of the annual precipitation making them important for biogeochemical processes. The intensity of the monsoon rains also increase flooding in urban areas and rely on green infrastructure (GI) stormwater management techniques such as water harvesting and urban rain gardens to capture runoff. The combination of increased water availability during the monsoon and water management provide a broad moisture regime for testing responses in microbial metabolism to natural and managed soil moisture pulses in drylands. Soil microbes rely on atmospheric hydrogen (H2) as an important energy source in arid and semiarid landscapes with low soil moisture and carbon availability. Unlike mesic ecosystems, transient water availability in arid and semiarid ecosystems has been identified as a key limiting driver of microbe-mediated H2 uptake. We measured soil H2 uptake in rain gardens exposed to three commonly used water harvesting practices during the monsoon season in Tucson AZ, USA. In situ static chamber measurements were used to calculate H2 uptake in each of the three water harvesting treatments passive (stormwater runoff), active (stored rooftop runoff), and greywater (used laundry water) compared to an unaltered control treatment to assess the effects of water management practices on soil microbial activity. In addition, soils were collected from each treatment and brought to the lab for an incubation experiment manipulating the soil moisture to three levels capturing the range observed from field samples. H2 fluxes from all treatments ranged between -0.72 nmol m-2 s-1 and -3.98 nmol m-2 s-1 over the monsoon season. Soil H2 uptake in the greywater treatment was on average 53% greater than the other treatments during pre-monsoon, suggesting that the increased frequency and availability of water in the greywater treatment resulted in higher H2 uptake during the dry season. H2 uptake was significantly correlated with soil moisture (r = -0.393, p = 0.001, df = 62) and temperature (r = 0.345, p = 0.005, df = 62). Our findings suggest that GI managed residential soils can maintain low levels of H2 uptake during dry periods, unlike unmanaged systems. The more continuous H2 uptake associated with GI may help reduce the impacts of drought on H2 cycling in semiarid urban ecosystems.

Dataset Information

The dynamics of urban ecosystem governance in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Publications

The dynamics of urban ecosystem governance in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

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