Developing and Understanding Design Interventions in Relation to Industrial Symbiosis Dynamics

Kasper P.H. Lange, Gijsbert Korevaar, Inge F. Oskam and Paulien M. Herder
Additional contact information
Kasper P.H. Lange: Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5, 2600 AA Delft, The Netherlands
Gijsbert Korevaar: Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5, 2600 AA Delft, The Netherlands
Inge F. Oskam: Faculty of Technology, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 1025, 1000 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Paulien M. Herder: Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5, 2600 AA Delft, The Netherlands

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Symbiotic Urban Agriculture Networks (SUANs) are a specific class of symbiotic networks that intend to close material and energy loops from cities and urban agriculture. Private and public stakeholders in SUANs face difficulties in the implementation of technological and organisational design interventions due to the complex nature of the agricultural and urban environment. Current research on the dynamics of symbiotic networks, especially Industrial Symbiosis (IS), is based on historical data from practice, and provides only partly for an understanding of symbiotic networks as a sociotechnical complex adaptive system. By adding theory and methodology from Design Science, participatory methods, and by using agent-based modelling as a tool, prescriptive knowledge is developed in the form of grounded and tested design rules for SUANs. In this paper, we propose a conceptual Design Science method with the aim to develop an empirically validated participatory agent-based modelling strategy that guides sociotechnical design interventions in SUANs. In addition, we present a research agenda for further strategy, design intervention, and model development through case studies regarding SUANs. The research agenda complements the existing analytical work by adding a necessary Design Science approach, which contributes to bridging the gap between IS dynamics theory and practical complex design issues.

Keywords: industrial symbiosis dynamics; participatory agent-based modelling; network evolution; Symbiotic Urban Agriculture Networks; design research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/5/826/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/5/826/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:5:p:826-:d:98763

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().