Open Seminar Talk – Maximiliaan Menten (UvA)

On December 10, Maximiliaan Menten, research assistant with the University of Amsterdam, gave a presentation as part of our SEICA Open Seminar Series, titled: History of Dutch Water Management: Lessons for Societal Challenges.

He introduced his research on 17th-century Dutch water management, linking stakeholder theory with participation and representation. With examples of dike projects in Bunschoten and along the Lek River, he examines cooperation in Dutch water boards by identifying the different stakeholders and stakeholder relationships.

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Paper on the emergence of citizen collectives for care

How does social cohesion foster the development of care collectives in the Netherlands?

This question is answered in the paper ‘The Emergence of Citizen Collectives for Care: The Role of Social Cohesion‘ (BMC Public Health, vol. 24) by Kevin Wittenberg, Rense Corten, Tanja van der Lippe, and Tine De Moor. Using Dutch data from 2020, they find that stronger community ties correlate with the emergence of care collectives, particularly in areas with greater care needs, though longitudinal evidence is less conclusive. These findings highlight the potential for care collectives to address healthcare gaps.

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Community spirit in the neighborhood

Communities are the foundation of liveable neighbourhoods. On November 26, residents, experts and housing corporations came together in Pakhuis de Zwijger (Amsterdam) to discuss how strong neighbourhood communities are formed.

The program included seminars by Tine De Moor and Teun Gautier. Four initiators of citizen collectives discussed their role as an ‘active resident’ within their local community, their current challenges are how they can be better supported by housing corporations.

Learning to participate: involving citizens in decision-making and implementation

On November 14, The Flemish Association of Village Interests (Vlaamse Vereniging Dorpsbelangen) organized an online meeting and invited professor Tine De Moor to give a seminar on current types of citizen participation. First, she discussed four social trends in the relationship between citizens and the government. Then, she shared an overview of instruments for citizen involvement and zoomed in on citizen collectives as a ‘new’ form of citizen involvement, particularly in villages.

Open Seminar Talk – Federico Savini (UvA)

Dr. Federico Savini, Associate Professor of Environmental Planning, Institutions and Politics at the University of Amsterdam, gave an enlightening presentation as part of our SEICA Open Seminar Series.

During his presentation ‘Strategic planning for degrowth: what, who, how’ he first unpacked the so called ‘strategic thought’ in degrowth research. This is a research field of degrowth that is particularly concerned with the tactics and processes that bring about degrowth as a wider socio-ecological transition. What are the key challenges? Second, he argued why and how strategic spatial planning can be an important tool in this transition. Dr. Savini illustrated his arguments with the example of the so called ‘doughnut vision’ in Amsterdam. His presentation sparked an inspired conversation between attendees. Is it realistic to believe that ideological change resulting in systems of degrowth can happen?

You can find the presented paper here. The paper incited a response from dr. Yvonne Rydin, which can be found here. Dr. Savini then replied with an article that is available here.

Paper explores the evolution of common lands in 19th century Spain

Affiliate researcher José-Miguel Lana Berasain, Professor of Economic History and Institutions in Public University of Navarre, has published a paper where he dives into the transformations of common lands in Spain during the 19th century.

‘Between a rock and a hard place: the privatization or preservation of the commons in Spain in the 19th century’ was published in the Zeitschrift für Rechtssoziologie. The study reveals the complexity of the processes of change in property rights and the need to approach property rights as a bundle of rights and powers that could be vested in different players.

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Study reveals paradoxes in energy commons literature and provides pathways

In an open-access study, Thomas Bauwens (Rotterdam School of Management), Robert Wade (Eindhoven University of Technology) and Matthew Burke (University of Vermont) argue that while renewable energy sources are crucial, more systemic changes are needed.

“Energy commons offer a more democratic and sustainable pathway, moving beyond market and state-led models.”

The paper, published in the journal Energy Research and Social Science, takes as a starting point the failure of market-driven approaches to tackle the climate crisis at the necessary scale and speed.

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Paper on the value of social bonding capital for renewable energy cooperatives

A study published in the Journal of Economic Geography suggests that fostering strong local networks could be a strategic focus for municipalities looking to encourage the emergence of renewable energy cooperatives.

Thomas Bauwens, Stefan Geskus, Matthijs Punt, Rense Corten and Koen Frenken published their study, titled ‘Does social capital foster renewable energy cooperatives?’ They measured social capital from social media data within and across municipalities, overcoming the usual limitations of using proxies. They also used data on Dutch energy cooperatives from the Lokale Energie Monitor by HIER .

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