Integrated Urban Services
Integrated Urban Services is a program under the United States-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (US-ASEAN) Smart Cities Partnership helping ASEAN cities build resilience in their food, energy, and water systems.
The work is funded by the U.S. State Department and led by NREL.
This program demonstrates the socio-economic value and urban benefits of resource recovery and reuse through integrated systems (e.g., water, waste, energy, food) that promote greater efficiency, improve water and energy security, and mitigate public health concerns.
ASEAN cities are experiencing some of the fastest rates of urbanization in the world, creating new demands and stresses on energy, water, and food systems. Many cities in the ASEAN region are struggling to provide adequate drinking water, sanitation, waste management, flood control, electricity, and food security while demand for these basic services from industry and residents only increases.
These challenges are driving the need for urban planners and operators, service users, and cross-scale/cross-sector actors to inclusively rethink, reimagine, and redesign the infrastructure of urban environments with a renewed focus on affordability, reliability, resilience, and health. The availability of reliable and clean water and renewable energy, affordable fresh food, and safe sanitation services is key to ensuring environmental sustainability, public health, economic opportunity, and an improved quality of life.
Learn more about Integrated Urban Services by reading the program fact sheet.
Project Goals
The Integrated Urban Services program launched in January 2021 and concluded in June 2024. Its objectives included:
- Educating stakeholders on circular economy approaches to enhance resource recovery and reuse and on opportunities to develop integrated models of basic urban services and food provision
- Providing technical assistance to two ASEAN cities to aid them in implementing circular, regenerative energy, water, and food system pilot projects
- Engaging the private sector to promote sustainable market-based approaches in support of pilot project implementation.
Project Approach
This program used a three-phased approach to engage public and private sector experts to work with two self-selected US-ASEAN Smart Cities Program cities on a pilot effort to increase their food, energy, and water system security and resilience.
The first year of the project included regional workshops and informational events that introduced the Integrated Urban Services program and pilot projects to regional stakeholders and engaged interested cities to understand their energy, water, and food system needs, priorities, and barriers to project implementation.
Integrated Urban Services Kickoff Workshop – Day 1
Integrated Urban Services Kickoff Workshop – Day 2
Integrated Urban Services Kickoff Workshop – Presentation Deck
Integrated Urban Services Pilot City Application Information Session
Following these events, cities submitted their interest to participate in the pilot program. Two cities were selected to implement a pilot project where targeted technical assistance, capacity building, and private sector partnerships could help catalyze investment and implementation of integrated food, energy, and water solutions.
Engagement with international, regional, and local private sector organizations is a critical part of program success. An Experts Group and Community of Practice served as key resources to support this effort and to provide ongoing feedback and guidance on current research, best practices, and outreach. Dialogue with the U.S. and ASEAN business communities and regional stakeholders were convened from the onset to broaden understanding of circular economy principles and to bring additional investment and technological innovation to the pilot projects and the region.
In its second year, the project initiated capacity building and technical assistance for key public and private sector stakeholders for the two selected pilot cities—Iskandar, Malaysia and Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. Through a series of workshops, webinars, and collaborative discussions, the Integrated Urban Services program provided opportunities to all participants, both public and private sector, to co-design solutions to address the cities' energy, water, and food system needs.
Assistance focused on a variety of topics, including:
- Technological and nature-based solutions
- Planning and design
- Modeling and analysis
- Government policy and procurement
- Business planning and project finance
- Implementation strategies.
These efforts resulted in the development of business plans that can generate investment interest and outline actionable next steps for pilot project implementation.
The program shares experiences and case studies to help decision makers in the broader ASEAN Smart Cities Network promote and overcome obstacles to integrated food, energy, and water systems. Regional information dissemination is aimed at helping scale implementation of integrated, regenerative energy, water, and food solutions through public-private and multi-sectoral partnerships.
Where To Start: Integrated Urban Services Planning on YouTube
The Integrated Urban Services program, in partnership with ICLEI, showcases lessons learned from implemented projects in the ASEAN region. Experts from ICLEI’s Urban Nexus program and city officials involved in the implementation of Urban Nexus pilot projects discuss best practices related to kick-starting integrated urban service projects. This peer learning event was hosted on Nov. 28, 2022.
Governance and Policy for Integrated Urban Solutions on YouTube
Panelists from across the Integrated Urban Services program and pilot cities discuss common policy challenges and barriers to integrated urban services projects, identify experiences and tactics project implementers can use to overcome these common policy challenges and barriers, and share policy and governance learnings from the Integrated Urban Services Program pilot projects. This peer learning event was hosted on March 28, 2023.
Project Impact
Integrated Urban Services was designed to help local city leaders, the private sector, financial institutions, and other stakeholders identify, design, and implement more integrated models that can sustainably secure energy, water, and food services in a resource-efficient, environmentally friendly manner.
Learn more about the Integrated Urban Service program’s technical assistance and impact:
Integrated Urban Services: Program Impact and Business Plan Summary, NREL Brochure (2024).
Contact
Jennifer Daw
Senior Researcher
Helen Santiago Fink
U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership Program Manager
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