IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jworld/v4y2023i1p2-36d1032734.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

‘Nexus’ Narratives in Urban Vulnerable Places: Pathways to Sustainability via Municipal Health Programs in Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • Alberto Matenhauer Urbinatti

    (School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-904, Brazil)

  • Simone Ley Omori-Honda

    (School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-904, Brazil)

  • Carolina Monteiro de Carvalho

    (Institute of Energy and Environment, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-010, Brazil)

  • Klaus Frey

    (Center for Engineering, Modeling and Applied Social Sciences (CECS), Federal University of ABC, São Bernardo do Campo 09210-580, Brazil)

  • Pedro Roberto Jacobi

    (Institute of Energy and Environment, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-010, Brazil)

  • Leandro Luiz Giatti

    (School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-904, Brazil
    Instituto Leônidas e Maria Deane, Fiocruz, Manaus 69057-70, Brazil)

Abstract

In recent years, the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus approach has been widely used as a framework in the context of urban Sustainability. However, some elements of the approach are normative, leading to a technical view of resources and technocratic policy implementation. To avoid such tendencies, this study uses the framework of ‘nexus of humility’. We used insights from the Science and Technology Studies to better assess the interactions between water, energy, and food, and consider the social construction aspects of the nexus itself. The approach of Pathways to Sustainability is combined with this framework to analyze two government programs in the cities of São Paulo and Guarulhos, Brazil; namely, the Green and Healthy Environments Program and the Environmental Health Program, respectively. We interviewed 20 individuals linked to these policies and analyzed narratives inductively and deductively. The results showed six groups of narratives, namely: environmental and social determinants of health , health prevention and promotion , intersectorality , politics and economy , territory , learning, and participation . Moreover, we concluded that narratives related to the WEF nexus, even if not explicitly part of the government guidelines, are present within the existing axes of action. Public health was understood as an important support pillar for the development of synergies related to Sustainability in urban areas. Finally, we sought to contribute to the literature by showing how this new framework can ‘open up’ avenues for sustainability within the contexts of high urban vulnerability and social inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Alberto Matenhauer Urbinatti & Simone Ley Omori-Honda & Carolina Monteiro de Carvalho & Klaus Frey & Pedro Roberto Jacobi & Leandro Luiz Giatti, 2023. "‘Nexus’ Narratives in Urban Vulnerable Places: Pathways to Sustainability via Municipal Health Programs in Brazil," World, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-16, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jworld:v:4:y:2023:i:1:p:2-36:d:1032734
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/4/1/2/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/4/1/2/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sheila Jasanoff, 2007. "Technologies of humility," Nature, Nature, vol. 450(7166), pages 33-33, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Arora-Jonsson, Seema, 2016. "Does resilience have a culture? Ecocultures and the politics of knowledge production," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 98-107.
    2. Paul Mkandawire & Isaac Luginaah & Rachel Bezner-Kerr, 2011. "Deadly divide: Malawi’s policy debate on HIV/AIDS and condoms," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 44(1), pages 81-102, March.
    3. Melo, Ana Teixeira & Caves, Leo Simon Dominic, 2018. "Complex systems of knowledge integration: A pragmatic proposal for coordinating and enhancing inter/transdisciplinarity," OSF Preprints 7v49b, Center for Open Science.
    4. Green, Sara & Carusi, Annamaria & Hoeyer, Klaus, 2022. "Plastic diagnostics: The remaking of disease and evidence in personalized medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    5. Andrea Saltelli & Monica Fiore, 2020. "From sociology of quantification to ethics of quantification," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-8, December.
    6. Pellizzone, Anna & Allansdottir, Agnes & De Franco, Roberto & Muttoni, Giovanni & Manzella, Adele, 2015. "Exploring public engagement with geothermal energy in southern Italy: A case study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1-11.
    7. Holland, Claire & McCarthy, Adam & Ferri, Priscila & Shapira, Philip, 2024. "Innovation intermediaries at the convergence of digital technologies, sustainability, and governance: A case study of AI-enabled engineering biology," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    8. Ana Delgado & Heidrun Åm, 2018. "Experiments in interdisciplinarity: Responsible research and innovation and the public good," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-8, March.
    9. Timo Y. Maas & Annet Pauwelussen & Esther Turnhout, 2022. "Co-producing the science–policy interface: towards common but differentiated responsibilities," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
    10. Hallberg-Sramek, Isabella & Nordström, Eva-Maria & Priebe, Janina & Reimerson, Elsa & Mårald, Erland & Nordin, Annika, 2023. "Combining scientific and local knowledge improves evaluating future scenarios of forest ecosystem services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    11. Pangbourne, Kate & Mladenović, Miloš N. & Stead, Dominic & Milakis, Dimitris, 2020. "Questioning mobility as a service: Unanticipated implications for society and governance," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 35-49.
    12. Karl Dudman & Sara Wit, 2021. "An IPCC that listens: introducing reciprocity to climate change communication," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 1-12, September.
    13. Alexandra Albert, 2021. "Citizen social science in practice: the case of the Empty Houses Project," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-11, December.
    14. Monika Büscher & Cronan Cronshaw & Alistair Kirkbride & Nicola Spurling, 2023. "Making Response-Ability: Societal Readiness Assessment for Sustainability Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-23, March.
    15. Di Felice, Louisa Jane & Pérez-Sánchez, Laura & Manfroni, Michele & Giampietro, Mario, 2024. "Towards nexus thinking in energy systems modelling: A multi-scale, embodied perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    16. Gritsenko, Daria, 2024. "Advancing UN digital cooperation: Lessons from environmental policy and governance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    17. Sarah Mason‐Renton & Marco Vazquez & Connor Robinson & Gunilla Oberg, 2019. "Science for Policy: A Case Study of Scientific Polarization, Values, and the Framing of Risk and Uncertainty," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(6), pages 1229-1242, June.
    18. Correa, Carmen & Laine, Matias & Larrinaga, Carlos, 2023. "Taking the world seriously: Autonomy, reflexivity and engagement research in social and environmental accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    19. Ruha Benjamin, 2015. "The Emperor’s New Genes," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 661(1), pages 130-142, September.
    20. Bebbington, Jan & Larrinaga, Carlos, 2014. "Accounting and sustainable development: An exploration," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 395-413.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jworld:v:4:y:2023:i:1:p:2-36:d:1032734. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.