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Applying service niche indicators to London's energy system

James Keirstead (Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College, London, UK)

Management of Environmental Quality

ISSN: 1477-7835

Article publication date: 5 January 2010

625

Abstract

Purpose

The use of cross‐cutting urban services (e.g. energy or water) has been proposed as a way of improving the performance of urban sustainability indicators. The purpose of this paper is to consider how this service niche approach might be applied to London's energy system.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi‐structured interviews with stakeholders from London's energy policy community are presented. A diffusion of innovation framework is then used to assess how the service niche approach fits with existing practice and consequently whether it is likely to be adopted in practice.

Findings

The service niche approach resonates with current indicator practice but it cannot overcome barriers such as a lack of political will or resources alone. While the method is therefore unlikely to be adopted as a wholesale replacement for existing strategies, it could be beneficial for complementary assessments.

Research limitations/implications

A limited sample of six interviewees is presented but, by examining other service niches and performing a comparative analysis, the paper's conclusions could be extended.

Practical implications

To leverage the full potential of the technique, two expansion strategies are proposed: replication (creating multiple service niche assessments in complementary urban systems) and extrapolation (extending the niche activities of a local policy maker to regional or national level). Experts could play a central role in coordinating these efforts, collecting relevant data and analysing the aggregate results with policy makers.

Originality/value

The paper presents a new practical analysis of the service niche approach that should be of interest to both urban managers and urban sustainability researchers.

Keywords

Citation

Keirstead, J. (2010), "Applying service niche indicators to London's energy system", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 6-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777831011010829

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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