Metabolism of Cities
  • About

    About Us

    • Our Story
    • Mission & Values
    • Team
    • Task Forces
    • Services

    Connect With Us

    • ContributeJoin Us
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
  • Community

    Research

    • Projects
    • Theses
    • ContributeAdd Research
    • People

    Updates

    • Events
    • News
  • Resources

    Getting Started

    • About Urban Metabolism
    • Starter Kit

    Multimedia

    • Photos
    • Videos

    Publications

    • Library
    • Journals
    • ContributeAdd Publication

    Data

    • Datasets
    • Data Visualisations

    Tools

    • Online Material Flow Analysis Tool (OMAT)
    • MOOC
  • Cities

    MultipliCity - Data Portals

    • Introduction
    • Video
    • Add DataContribute
    • Data Collection Events
    • Development Roadmap
    • Datasets

    Existing Data Portals

    • Prototype: Cape Town, South Africa
    • Prototype: The Hague, Netherlands
    • Prototype: Beijing, China
    • Overview page

    Upcoming Data Portals

    • Apeldoorn, Netherlands Coming soon
    • Bødo, Norway Coming soon
    • Brussels, Belgium Coming soon
    • Høje Taastrup, Denmark Coming soon
    • Mikkeli, Finland Coming soon
    • Porto, Portugal Coming soon
    • Sevilla, Spain Coming soon
    • Toronto, Canada Coming soon
    • Your city?
    • Orange Theme
    • Blue Theme
    • Metabolism of Cities
    • Metabolism of Islands

Publications

  1. Resources
  2. Publications
  3. Publication #710

Bibtex

@article{reference_tag,
  author = "Lih Wei Yeow, Lynette Cheah",
  title = "Using spatially explicit commodity flow and truck activity data to map urban material flows",
  journal = "Journal of Industrial Ecology",
  year = 2019,
  abstract = "To analyze and promote resource efficiency in urban areas, it is important to characterize urban metabolism and particularly, material flows. Material flow analysis (MFA) offers a means to capture the dynamism of cities and their activities. Urban‐scale MFAs have been conducted in many cities, usually employing variants of the Eurostat methodology. However, current methodologies generally reduce the study area into a “black box,” masking details of the complex processes within the city's metabolism. Therefore, besides the aggregated stocks and flows of materials, the movement of materials—often embedded in goods or commodities—should also be highlighted. Understanding the movement and dispersion of goods and commodities can allow for more detailed analysis of material flows. We highlight the potential benefits of using high‐resolution urban commodity flows in the context of understanding material resource use and opportunities for conservation. Through the use of geographic information systems and visualizations, we analyze two spatially explicit datasets: (1) commodity flow data in the United States, and (2) Global Positioning System‐based commercial vehicle (truck) driver activity data in Singapore. In the age of “big data,” we bring advancements in freight data collection to the field of urban metabolism, uncovering the secondary sourcing of materials that would otherwise have been masked in typical MFA studies. This brings us closer to a consumption‐based, finer‐resolution approach to MFA, which more effectively captures human activities and its impact on urban environments.",
  doi = "10.1111/jiec.12849",
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
T1 - Using spatially explicit commodity flow and truck activity data to map urban material flows
AU - Lih Wei Yeow, Lynette Cheah
Y1 - 2019
DO - 10.1111/jiec.12849
N2 - To analyze and promote resource efficiency in urban areas, it is important to characterize urban metabolism and particularly, material flows. Material flow analysis (MFA) offers a means to capture the dynamism of cities and their activities. Urban‐scale MFAs have been conducted in many cities, usually employing variants of the Eurostat methodology. However, current methodologies generally reduce the study area into a “black box,” masking details of the complex processes within the city's metabolism. Therefore, besides the aggregated stocks and flows of materials, the movement of materials—often embedded in goods or commodities—should also be highlighted. Understanding the movement and dispersion of goods and commodities can allow for more detailed analysis of material flows. We highlight the potential benefits of using high‐resolution urban commodity flows in the context of understanding material resource use and opportunities for conservation. Through the use of geographic information systems and visualizations, we analyze two spatially explicit datasets: (1) commodity flow data in the United States, and (2) Global Positioning System‐based commercial vehicle (truck) driver activity data in Singapore. In the age of “big data,” we bring advancements in freight data collection to the field of urban metabolism, uncovering the secondary sourcing of materials that would otherwise have been masked in typical MFA studies. This brings us closer to a consumption‐based, finer‐resolution approach to MFA, which more effectively captures human activities and its impact on urban environments.
ER - 

Journal Article

2019

Author(s)

  • Lih Wei Yeow
  • Lynette Cheah

Reference

  • Bibtex
  • RIS
  • RefWorks

Search

  • Google Scholar
  • Google

More options

Add a publication

Report error

Using spatially explicit commodity flow and truck activity data to map urban material flows

Journal of Industrial Ecology

Journal of Industrial Ecology

To analyze and promote resource efficiency in urban areas, it is important to characterize urban metabolism and particularly, material flows. Material flow analysis (MFA) offers a means to capture the dynamism of cities and their activities. Urban‐scale MFAs have been conducted in many cities, usually employing variants of the Eurostat methodology. However, current methodologies generally reduce the study area into a “black box,” masking details of the complex processes within the city's metabolism. Therefore, besides the aggregated stocks and flows of materials, the movement of materials—often embedded in goods or commodities—should also be highlighted. Understanding the movement and dispersion of goods and commodities can allow for more detailed analysis of material flows. We highlight the potential benefits of using high‐resolution urban commodity flows in the context of understanding material resource use and opportunities for conservation. Through the use of geographic information systems and visualizations, we analyze two spatially explicit datasets: (1) commodity flow data in the United States, and (2) Global Positioning System‐based commercial vehicle (truck) driver activity data in Singapore. In the age of “big data,” we bring advancements in freight data collection to the field of urban metabolism, uncovering the secondary sourcing of materials that would otherwise have been masked in typical MFA studies. This brings us closer to a consumption‐based, finer‐resolution approach to MFA, which more effectively captures human activities and its impact on urban environments.

Tags

  • Geographic Information System (GIS)
  • National
  • Transportation
  • Urban

More information

10.1111/jiec.12849

  • Literature
  • Publications
  • Journals
  • Events
  • Publishers

Latest news

Urban metabolism seminar in Brussels - update
Sept. 20, 2019

Read more

Do you have data on resource flows?

Share data

We can use your help

Join us

Upcoming event

W12 Congress: First International Meeting of Cities Facing a “Day Zero” Water Scenario
Cape Town, South Africa
Jan 27, 2020 - Jan 31, 2020

View event

Metabolism of Cities

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

Our source code is available on
Gitlab

Contact us

Follow Us

Metabolism of Islands

Visit our twin site:
Metabolism of Islands