Robert Newell

Royal Roads University | RRU · School of Environment and Sustainability

Novel agri-food technologies such as cellular agriculture present strong economic opportunities, with potential to reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture, improve animal welfare, and feed the world. A rich body of literature has emerged in the past five years that evaluates those claims, and illuminates the diverse food system futures fr...

The need to transition toward a sustainable food and agriculture system is critical, and cellular agriculture could potentially contribute to this transition. However, depending on how the technology is implemented and the industry develops, cellular agriculture could be highly beneficial to communities or societies, or it could reproduce a number...

Integrated approaches to planning and policy are important for making progress toward sustainability. A variety of frameworks have been developed for facilitating such approaches to planning and policy, such as the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus. However, the WEF nexus has been criticized for a lack of clarity in how to apply the framework, whereas...

This report presents findings of a survey (n=504) delivered to residents in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia. The survey study examined demographic, dietary, and values-based factors that affect willingness to try cellular agriculture products, as well as public perceptions, hopes, and concerns around futures for the cellular agricult...

Published in Amplify, the researchers in this project produced an article that explores vertical farming as a pathway to biodiversity conservation. The article provides three guiding principles for how vertical agriculture can conserve biodiversity: (1) diversification in produce, (2) localized, decentralized farming, and (3) integration with other...

Link: https://rdcu.be/c8x03 The future of the food system is often framed as a choice between a ‘conventional’ and an ‘alternative’ system of agriculture. This framing reflects a decades-long debate between opposing worldviews around agricultural paradigms, and it has constrained conversations regarding the creation of a sustainable global food sy...

The role that municipal and regional governments play in food and agricultural systems in British Columbia is increasing. Historically, food and agricultural considerations and responsibilities have been within the purview of higher levels of government (e.g., extension, agricultural development, land policy implementation, enforcement/compliance)....

Cellular agriculture refers to a broad set of emerging technologies that draw upon research in genomics and synthetic biology to produce biological compounds. Much of the interest in cellular agriculture stems from its potential as a way of producing high-quality proteins and other nutrients with reduced environmental impact. Cellular agriculture t...

Community agriculture is being advanced in localities across the province of British Columbia, Canada, with unequal degrees of implementation. Some local governments have been able to create stronger, more integrated food systems and climate change policies and practices than others. This is due to having and applying more financial, human, and phy...

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted multiple vulnerabilities and issues around local and regional food systems, presenting valuable opportunities to reflect on these issues and lessons on how to increase local/regional resilience. Using the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) in Canada as a case study, this research employs integrated planning...

The Climate-Biodiversity-Health (CBH) Nexus research project aims to improve integrated community sustainability planning in British Columbia and beyond. This report provides early insights from the interview work done in project, which illuminate how CBH strategies and objectives are interconnected with one another, food systems, and other communi...

The Food and Agriculture Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley conducted a community-based participatory research effort in collaboration with the Fraser Valley Regional District and Royal Roads University, which reflected on impacts from COVID-19 and explored potential impacts from other shocks to better understand food systems vulnerab...

No “one size fits all” approach exists for local sustainability and food systems planning. Such planning must balance needs for being both comprehensive and place-based. The current study explores this tension by examining Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSP) developed by municipalities in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The research exa...

Drawing from the professional/expert knowledge and lived experiences of stakeholders and community members in the Fraser Valley this summary report presents the outcomes of the third workshop in the three-workshop series on local and regional food systems vulnerability and resilience. The first workshop (summer, 2021) reflected on what COVID-19 has...

This report presents a summary of a focus group activity done as part of the research project: The Potential Role of Vertical Agriculture in Sustainable and Resilient Community Food Systems. Researchers facilitated a taste test exercise and online focus group with government, NGOs, community organizations, and industry stakeholders associated with...

Planning and policy are best done through integrated approaches that holistically address multiple sustainability issues. Climate change and biodiversity loss are two of the most significant issues facing our planet. Accordingly, advancements in integrated sustainability planning and policy require a means for examining how certain strategies and a...

The application of technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, cellular agriculture, and big data analytics to food systems has been described as a digital agricultural revolution with the potential to increase food security and reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint. Yet, the scientific evidence informing how these te...

In 2021, the University of Fraser Valley (UFV) and the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD), in collaboration with Royal Roads University (RRU), began a communitybased participatory research effort1,2 to explore food systems vulnerabilities, resiliency, and approaches to integrated planning in the Fraser Valley. The FVRD identified a need for lon...

Background There is recognition that a reduction of consumer demand for foods that have large environmental footprints is necessary. Recent innovations in food production technologies (“food frontiers”) claim to offer gains in ecological sustainability and global food security, thereby transitioning our food system toward a more sustainable future....

The fourth agricultural revolution has resulted in technologies that could significantly support global efforts toward food security and environmental sustainability. A potential means for accelerating the development of these technologies is through business accelerator and incubator (BAI) programs. Using Canada as a case study, this study examine...

This research project explores the use of realistic visualizations as tools for climate change adaptation planning, environmental management, and other activities related to protecting ecological, social, and cultural values in protected areas. The project developed an interactive visualization of Mitlenatch Island, and it tested it through two wor...

The global environmental impact of rising consumption of animal products presents significant challenges to sustainable land use. One alternative to the production of animal products is a set of technologies for culturing meat and dairy alternatives referred to as ‘cellular agriculture’; in the case of dairy, cellular dairy. Optimism around the ben...

Models that capture relationships between a variety of social, economic, and environmental factors are useful tools for community planning; however, they are often complex and difficult for diverse audiences to understand. This creates challenges for participatory planning and community engagement. Conducted in the community of Squamish (British Co...

This research explores the potential hydroponic systems have for contributing to climate mitigation in fodder agriculture. Using British Columbia (BC) and Alberta as case studies, the study compares greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon sequestration potential of hydroponically grown sprouted barley fodder to conventional barley grain fodder. G...

Currently, the need for transdisciplinary approaches and collaboration, to reduce the gap between science and practice, is continuously rising along with the need for sustainable development. An increase in knowledge transfer, meetings and overall communication among researchers and practitioners is a logical consequence of the previous. However, t...

Climate change has resulted in the need for adaptation tools to provide stakeholders with the ability to respond to a broad range of potential impacts. Geovisualizations serve as powerful engagement tools due to their capacity in communicating complex climate data to various audiences. Studies have also shown a preference towards conveying climate...

This paper applied a recently developed Local Government Climate Action Assessment Framework to identify whether small municipalities in British Columbia are on track to meet their climate targets and to better understand the effectiveness of their climate-related actions. The aim of this paper was (1) to further test the assessment framework by ev...

To transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon economy, a series of local governments in British Columbia, Canada, are implementing climate action and innovation. This is largely in response to a need for societal changes in current development paths. However, there has been a lack of studies assessing the effectiveness of these actions and whe...

The COVID-19 outbreak has revealed multiple vulnerabilities in community systems. Effectively addressing these vulnerabilities and increasing local resilience requires thinking beyond solely pandemic responses and taking more holistic perspectives that integrate sustainability objectives. Pandemic preparedness and climate action in particular share...

Integrated models can support community planning efforts because they have the ability to elucidate social, economic, and environmental relationships and outcomes associated with different local development plans and strategies. However, deciding what to include in an integrated model presents a significant challenge, as including all aspects of a...

Systems models can support community planning, and by engaging local government and community stakeholders, these models can be designed to capture a comprehensive but manageable range of key interests, concerns, and values. This study explores a participatory approach for designing a community systems mod-eling exercise. The research involved conv...

The wildlife crossing database platform (WCDP) is online tool that can be used to upload, access, and explore data on wildlife crossings in North America. The WCDP website is currently in a beta phase, and the beta version is only accessible to registered users; however, the intention for the next version of WCDP is to have some aspects open to the...

This report details the development and evaluation of tools for communicating the outcomes of the Spaces, Places and Possibilities community scenario modelling exercise, namely an interactive model explorer and scenario visualizations. The report begins with a summary of the community-based approach used for modelling potential social, economic, an...

Since the aspirational goal of COP21 to limit global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius, it is clear that cumulative Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) fall short of achieving this goal. Local governments have a key role to play in implementing climate innovations as they have jurisdiction over a significant portion of GHG...

This presentation discusses the Spaces, Places and Possibilities research project. conducted in Squamish (BC, Canada). The project employed a community-based participatory approach, and it consisted of three phases: (1) developing a community systems model and scenarios, (2) modelling potential outcomes of the community scenarios, and (3) creating...

Integrated models can support community planning efforts because they have the ability to elucidate social, economic and environmental relationships and outcomes associated with local development plans and strategies. However, deciding what to include in an integrated model presents a significant challenge, as including all aspects of a community a...

Local governments have a key role to play in implementing climate innovations as they have jurisdiction over a significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions. Meeting the Climate Change Challenge (MC³) is the first longitudinal study exploring climate innovation in Canadian municipalities. A tri-university research collaborative, it focuses on Bri...

This report discusses the refinement of the systems model and community development scenarios used in the scenario modelling process for the Spaces, Places and Possibilities research project. The report begins with a brief summary of the processes used for developing the systems model and scenarios and modelling the scenarios (more detailed discuss...

In our post-truth society, mobilizing “facts” and “evidence” has never been more important. We live in an age that is paradoxically information rich due to the proliferation of Internet Communication Technologies (ICTs) and information poor due to the spread of misinformation. Academic research outcomes are traditionally disseminated via peer-revie...

ABSTRACT: Engaging in climate action through integrated sustainability strategies and planning is more effective than compartmentalized approaches. Systems modelling exercises can support such integrated planning efforts because they have the ability to elucidate relationships and outcomes of social and physical infrastructure decisions. However, t...

This report discusses the community development scenario modelling process done in the Spaces, Places and Possibilities research project. The report begins with a brief summary of the systems model and community scenario development process (a more detailed discussion on this can be found in the previous project report). It then discusses the scena...

This presentation shares research involving a participatory approach to a community systems and scenario modelling exercise. Local government and community stakeholder focus groups were assembled to discuss local issues and possible futures for Squamish. The outcomes of the focus groups were used to development a systems model and a series of commu...

Systems models can support community planning, and by engaging local government and community stakeholders, these models can be designed to capture a comprehensive but manageable range of key interests, concerns and values. This study explores a participatory approach for designing a community systems modeling exercise. The research involved conven...

Engaging in climate action through integrated sustainability strategies can yield benefits for communities in more effective ways than through compartmentalized approaches. Such strategies can result in co-benefits, that is, community benefits that occur from acting on climate change that extend beyond mitigation and adaptation. For example, creati...

Refer to book web page: https://www.routledge.com/Climate-Change-Communication-and-the-Internet-1st-Edition/Koteyko-Nerlich-Hellsten/p/book/9780367075828

Citation: Newell, R. and Picketts, I.M. (2018). A participatory approach for integrated community planning: Stakeholder-driven community systems models and development scenarios.

Despite decades of debate and policy interventions, the wicked social-ecological problem of anthropogenic climate change continues to threaten the sustainability of local communities. Impacts resulting from a rapidly changing climate are now inevitable yet variable in their nature and timing, depending on the extent to which local communities can r...

Decomposition analysis provides a potentially powerful means for analyzing community greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data. However, this form of analysis is typically conducted at larger geographical scales (i.e., national and state/provincial levels), which leaves questions around how to apply this methodology to local and regional contexts. This s...

This report discusses the process employed in the Spaces, Places and Possibilities research project for developing a systems model and defining a series of community development scenarios. It begins by identifying the major themes that emerged from the discussion and describing how these themes present considerations for scenario development. It th...

Engaging in climate action through integrated sustainability strategies can yield benefits for communities in a more effective way than through compartmentalized approaches. Such strategies can result in co-benefits, that is, community benefits that occur from acting on climate change that extend beyond mitigation and adaptation. For example, creat...

Effective resource planning incorporates people-place relationships, allowing these efforts to be inclusive of the different local beliefs, interests, activities and needs. ‘Geovisualizations’ can serve as potentially powerful tools for facilitating ‘place-conscious’ resource planning, as they can be developed with high degrees of realism and accur...

This report provides a two-page summary of the Spaces, Places and Possibilities research project and plan. The research involves a series of three focus group sessions, which convene local government and community stakeholders in Squamish. The first session informed the community development scenarios that are explored in the modelling and visualiz...

Engaging in climate action through integrated sustainability strategies can yield benefits for communities in more effective ways than through compartmentalized approaches. Such strategies can result in co-benefits, that is, community benefits that occur from acting on climate change that extend beyond mitigation and adaptation. For example, creati...

Effective coastal planning is inclusive and incorporates the variety of user needs, values and interests associated with coastal environments. Realistic, immersive geographic visualizations, i.e., geovisualizations, can serve as potentially powerful tools for facilitating such planning because they can provide diverse groups with vivid understandin...

Effective coastal management is integrative and aims to incorporate the wide variety of user needs, values and interests associated with coastal environments. This requires understanding how different user groups relate to coastal environments as ‘places’, imbued with values and meanings, rather than simply ‘spaces’. Accordingly, tools and techniqu...

Effective coastal planning incorporates the variety of user needs, values, and interests associated with coastal environments. This requires understanding how people relate to coastal environments as “places,” imbued with values and meanings, and accordingly, tools that can capture place and connect with people's “sense of place” have the potential...

Data visualizations can serve as an integral component of online climate change research dissemination strategies, as they are effective and efficient ways for attracting diverse public audiences and delivering research information in a timely fashion. However, these visualizations can be highly varied in terms of form and ways of interaction, and...

Previous research has positioned realistic geographical visualizations, i.e., geovisualizations, as potentially powerful tools for facilitating collaboration among diverse stakeholders in management and planning efforts. However, much of this research has been conducted in the terrestrial context, leaving a dearth of knowledge in coastal and marine...

Advancements in GIS and media technologies have created opportunities for developing realistic and geographically-accurate representations of the environment that can be recognized and related to as “real places.” In turn, these “geovisualizations” can connect with the meanings, values, beliefs, and/or feelings people associate with places, i.e., t...

Previous research has positioned realistic geographical visualizations, i.e., geovisualizations, as potentially powerful tools for facilitating collaboration among diverse stakeholders in management and planning efforts. However, much of this research has been conducted in the terrestrial context, leaving a dearth of knowledge in coastal and marine...

This paper explores the role that Internet and online technologies played in research dissemination and knowledge mobilization in a recent climate change research project, MC3. In addition, the team looked at the potential of on-line expert-practitioner research collaborations for these purposes. Electronic communication was seen as a key element f...

This article details novel research methodology developed through a researcher-practitioner partnership and employed in a three-phase research effort that explored relationships between the co-operative model and sustainable development. Firstly, a basic understanding of the characteristics of the co-operative model was established using the co-ope...

The e-Dialogue platform was developed in 2001 to explore the potential of using the Internet for engaging diverse groups of people and multiple perspectives in substantive dialogue on sustainability. The system is online, text-based, and serves as a transdisciplinary space for bringing together researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and communit...