Journal Article
2014
Urban Metabolism: A Tool for the Sustainability of Cities
The population dynamics and urban patterns gleaned from medium and big cities in Latin America are determining critical operations that brake economic growth, undermine development, damage the environment, affect human health and reduce goods and services supply from environmental ecosystems. They are pressure scenarios that involve the risk of exceeding permissible homeostatic limits and adaptability; and therefore, exacerbate their vulnerability when climate change decreases the survival probability of human systems. For this reason, in order to achieve the sustainability and competitiveness of cities, the study of Urban Metabolism becomes a technical, political and economic endeavor that facilitates our understanding of their materials and energy supply networks, seeking the efficiency and effectiveness of transformation processes, as well as reducing the environmental impact of their waste, enabling policy makers to anticipate unwanted events based on present signals.
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