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Accepted Paper:
Jonas van der Straeten (Eindhoven University of Technology)
Paper short abstract:
We present insights from a project that pilots approaches of an ‘actionable historiography’, using the case of wastewater treatment in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. Can mapping and discussing different actors’ past-present-future narratives help developing more inclusive transition pathways?
Paper long abstract:
The reintroduction of wastewater recycling is seen as critical pathway to (re-)establish or strengthen the nexus between energy, water and food systems and between cities and their hinterland. The Amsterdam city-region, for example, has committed to re-introducing circular wastewater management, which was abandoned in the 1920s, and use the ensuing urban nutrient and water surplus for regional farming initiatives and heat or biogas generation. This endeavor is less a question of technological fixes. To ‘re-invent’ wastewater, users, farmers, engineers, policymakers and many other groups needs to reach a fundamental agreement on possible ways forward. But how do different actors frame the problem and embed it in wider narratives of change spanning the past, present and future? Do they associate wastewater with urban-rural relations, ideas about hygiene, regional or professional identities, right to infrastructure – or entirely different aspects?
This paper presents insights from an upcoming project by three Dutch universities that pilots ways of integrating multi-disciplinary sustainability research with historical research into an ‘actionable historiography’. Based on oral history interviews and other sources (e.g. academic articles, promotional videos), we explore and map different narratives associated with wastewater treatment. We analyze such narratives’ historical context, characters and events, emplotments, and temporal dynamics. Such an approach helps us, first, to revisit our own narratives and preconceptions when doing historical research. Second, in a stakeholder workshop we explore what happens when different historical narratives are brought in conversation with each other. Can historical knowledge inform the development of more inclusive sustainable future imageries?
Perspectives from the past to inform the present: Using insights from oral histories in informing just transitions
Session 2 Monday 19 August, 2024, -