Granted projects from the Ultuna Hub: Urban Food-Energy-Water nexus

The urban Food-Water-Energy nexus refers to the complex ways food, energy and water systems are intricately connected through urban places and/or processes of urbanization. How food-energy-water systems are used, managed, governed and transformed are integrally connected to whether urban areas achieve their sustainability and climate goals. Research looking into the interconnection and interaction of FEW systems therefore requires inter- and/or transdisciplinary approaches; and approaches that apply critical perspectives to the current use, planning and visions for FEW systems.

The Air Closet

The project aims to co-develop a novel toilet that separately collects and passively evaporates human urine using solar-thermal energy and pilot-test it at a demonstration site within an informal settlement in Windhoek, Namibia. Working with partners from SLU and the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST), the interdisciplinary team will evaluate the technical feasibility of a urine-separating and dehydrating toilet, as well as its socio-cultural acceptance in informal settlements in Windhoek.

Prithvi Simha, Researcher at the Department of Energy and Technology

From regenerative food-energy-water islands to circular cities and regions

As part of a transdisciplinary team including researchers from SLU and the research and design think tank, Lablab, the project will explore the driving factors in the community of Samsö in Stockholm for moving towards an energy island with the goal of securing relevant infrastructure for everyday life on the island. Through a series of study visits and workshops, the project will explore how interventions can be scaled up to city and region scales.

Lisa Norfall, University lecturer at the Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management

The effect of war on ecosystem service provision in urban and peri-urban areas and community perception of these effects: the case of Kyiv 2022-2023

The interdisciplinary project will study the impacts of the Ukrainian war on the interplay and trade-offs among ecosystem services vital for sustaining food, energy, and water within urban settings, with a focus on the perspectives of citizens. Building upon previous collaboration between SLU and Ukrainian universities, the project aims to collect and analyse data to identify, map, and assess changes in ecosystem service supply resulting from the war, taking into consideration the perspectives of private, public, and civil stakeholders, and host workshops with Ukrainian counterparts to further develop research collaboration.

Brian Kuns, Associate Senior Lecturer at the Department of Urban and Rural Development