The climate emergency and population growth are challenging water security and sustainable urban design in cities worldwide. Sustainable urban development is crucial to minimise pressures on the natural environment and on existing urban infrastructure systems, including water, energy, and land. These pressures are particularly evident in London, which is considered highly vulnerable to water shortages and floods and where there has been a historical shortage of housing. However, the impacts of urban growth on environmental management and protection are complex and difficult to evaluate.
The process of decision making can be critical in various ways. In particular, because it determines the path towards or away from sustainable development. In this context, the present study examined the relationship between rationalities for decisions making processes and sustainable development in order to gain a better understanding of how to promote a more sustainable development model.
Urban source separation infrastructure systems have a promising potential for a more sustainable management of household food waste and wastewaters. A renewed trend of larger implementations of pilot areas with such systems is currently emerging in Northern Europe. This study investigates the drivers behind the decision of stakeholders to implement source separation systems as well as the importance of the previously existing pilot areas in the decision-making process. By means of semi-structured expert interviews, five areas with source separation were characterized and compared.
