Nexus for Urban Resilience in the Face of Climate Change: Policies and Synergies in the Context of a Macrometropolis

The water–energy–food (w–e–f) nexus is a debate that has emerged to seek alternatives for the governance of resources in a synergetic and efficient manner. By considering multiple levels and scales, the nexus is a perspective that can contribute to the reduction of social vulnerabilities, increasing resilience in urban environments threatened by resource scarcity and mismanagement in the context of intensifying global climate change. In this chapter, we explore the w–e–f nexus thinking applied to the São Paulo Macrometropolis (SPMM), looking for situations carrying synergies to mitigate trade-offs in the urban context, investigating the possibilities of integrated actions with the potential to contribute critically and reflexively in innovative multisectoral governance situations. We reviewed some nexus concepts applied to urban resilience and analyzed adaptation and mitigation strategies through nexus flows on an intermunicipal plan for climate change. We conclude by realizing the nexus as a flow of positive interactions through policies that are conventionally siloed and sometimes seem contradictory. For the complexity of a (macro)metropolitan area, we argue that the nexus can be a very useful tool for enhancing social-ecological dynamics and the establishment of transversal benefits and convergences.