Browse
You are viewing all publications with the tag: Urban.
Go back to the publications overview.
| Title | Author(s) | Type | Year | Tags | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incorporating Metabolic Thinking into Regional Planning: The Case of the Sierra Calderona Strategic Plan A metabolic study of the South-Eastern part of the Calderona Mountain Range (Sierra Calderona) was developed in 2014 as a part of the Sierra Calderona Strategic Plan (SCSP). The goal of the study was to define strategies to optimise materials and energy flows in the region and, thereby, enhance the sustainability of the entire regional system. Due to its location on the outskirts of the Metropolitan Area of Valencia, Sierra Calderona presents most of the metabolic challenges and potentials that characterise peri-urban areas, giving the SCSP case a wider and transferable interest. After introducing the scope, rationale, and research questions, the article first summarises the main theoretical and methodological frameworks underpinning the integration of metabolic studies in regional and urban planning. Following our literature review, the article focuses on the way in which the metabolic analyses were inputted and informed the different phases and outcomes of the SCSP: analysis and diagnosis, regional objectives and strategies, landscape and land-use plan, sectoral plans and pilot projects. This approach was based on the combination of complementary analytical methods such as material and energy flow accounting and Ecological Footprint Analysis. Additionally, the article reflects on how new conceptual tools such as the Functional Metabolic Areas were used in the SCSP in order to operate in a complex spatial system and to generate a regional metabolic model. Subsequently, the main contributions and shortcomings of the use of metabolic inputs in the SCSP are discussed by comparing the metabolic assessment approach adopted in the SCSP with available models and methods. Finally, our conclusions suggest potential improvements and future lines of research on a two-way implication between urban metabolism research and regional and urban planning practice. | Incorporating Metabolic Thinking into Regional Planning: The Case of the ... | Juanjo Galan, Daniela Perrotti | Journal Article | 2019 |
Ecological Footprint Analysis
Regional
Spain
Urban
|
| Energy Report Municipality of The Hague The Energy Report is an automatically generated report with a snapshot of data from the Local Energy Showcase about the municipality of The Hague. This report can be used as an independent document or as a source in its own reports, provided it includes source and date reporting. Within the framework of the VNG program Energy, the VNG, KING municipalities, VNG International, Rijkswaterstaat and Klimaatverbond Nederland have the Local Energy Showcase (LEE) developed. The LEE provides an accessible and inspiring insight into the energy consumption, generation of renewable energy and energy policy of the 388 municipalities in the Netherlands. The information concerns a conscious selection section on five themes: housing, services, social real estate, renewable energy and mobility. Het Energierapport is een automatisch gegenereerd rapport met een momentopname van gegevens uit deLokale Energie Etalage over de gemeente Den Haag. Dit rapport kan als zelfstandig document gebruiktworden of als bron in eigen rapportages, mits voorzien van bron- en datumvermelding.In het kader van het VNG programma Energie hebben de VNG, KING-gemeenten, VNG-International,Rijkswaterstaat en Klimaatverbond Nederland de Lokale Energie Etalage (LEE) ontwikkeld. De LEE geeft opeen laagdrempelige en inspirerende manier inzicht in het energieverbruik, opwekking van hernieuwbareenergie en energiebeleid van de 388 gemeenten in Nederland. De informatie betreft een bewuste selectieverdeeld over vijf thema’s: wonen, diensten, maatschappelijk vastgoed, hernieuwbare energie en mobiliteit. | Energy Report Municipality of The Hague | Lokale Energie Etalage | Report | 2019 |
Energy
The Hague
Urban
|
| State of the Environment Report 2018 Table of contents: FOREWORD 01 OVERVIEW 08 CHAPTER 1: BIODIVERSITY 11 CHAPTER 2: INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES 23 CHAPTER 3: NATURAL PUBLIC GREEN SPACE 30 CHAPTER 4: FRESHWATER QUALITY 35 CHAPTER 5: COASTAL WATER QUALITY 43 CHAPTER 6: WATER USE 50 CHAPTER 7: WASTEWATER 56 CHAPTER 8: CLIMATE CHANGE 70 CHAPTER 9: AIR QUALITY 76 CHAPTER 10: SOLID WASTE 83 CONCLUSION 90 REFERENCES 92 APPENDIX | State of the Environment Report 2018 | City of Cape Town | Report | 2018 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| Waste Market Intelligence Report 2018 Table of contents: Executive summary What’s new? Introduction and purpose Sector overview Industry structure South African market size Cost of landfilling in South Africa Western Cape market size Cost of landfilling in Cape Town Market size according to recycling industry associations Key highlights in 2017/2018 Operation Phakisa Industry waste management plans Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme National Minimum Wage Bill Legislation and regulations The legislative framework for waste management in South Africa New regulatory updates Draft regulations Anticipated legislation Opportunities Organics Market size Opportunities Barriers Recent developments Electronic waste Plastics Market size Opportunity Barriers Recent developments | Waste Market Intelligence Report 2018 | GreenCape | Report | 2018 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| Water services and the Cape Town urban water cycle TABLE OF CONTENTS WATER SERVICES AND THE CAPE TOWN URBAN WATER CYCLE .................................................3 1. EVAPORATION ..................................................................................................................6 2. CONDENSATION ...............................................................................................................7 3. PRECIPITATION .................................................................................................................8 4. OUR CATCHMENT AREAS ..................................................................................................9 5. CAPE TOWN’S DAMS ....................................................................................................... 12 6. WHAT IS GROUNDWATER? ............................................................................................. 21 7. SURFACE RUNOFFS ......................................................................................................... 22 8. CAPE TOWN’S WATER TREATMENT WORKS .................................................................... 23 9. CAPE TOWN’S RESERVOIRS ............................................................................................. 28 10. OUR RETICULATION SYSTEMS...................................................................................... 32 11. CONSUMERS ............................................................................................................... 35 12. HOW WE TREAT WASTEWATER ................................................................................... 38 13. RE-USING TREATED WASTEWATER .............................................................................. 43 14. MARINE OUTFALLS ...................................................................................................... 45 | Water services and the Cape Town urban water cycle | City of Cape Town | Report | 2018 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| The Weight of Cities: Resource Requirements of Future Urbanization The proportion of the global population living in cities and towns is expected to rise from 54 per cent in 2015 to 66 per cent by 2050, which will result in a significant expansion of existing cities, as well as the construction of new cities. Without a new approach to urbanization, material consumption by the world's cities will grow from 40 billion tonnes in 2010 to about 90 billion tonnes by 2050. Therefore, the resource use implications and environmental impacts of urbanization are significant. Resources should now become a central policy concern, in addition to concerns about climate change. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shift this expected urbanization on to a more environmentally sustainable and socially just path. Decisions made today on urbanization and land-use models, as well as on critical infrastructure, will determine whether our investments are future-proof, or whether they lock us on to an unsustainable path. This report calls for a new strategy for 21st Century urbanization, and presents the parallel actions on urban planning, sustainable design, resource-efficient components, and infrastructure for cross-sector efficiency that are required for a transition towards low-carbon, resource-efficient and socially just cities, It also presents the new governance model and the politics of the new imaginative business propositions and experimentation that will make the transition possible. | The Weight of Cities: Resource Requirements of Future Urbanization | Swilling, M. and Hajer, M. and Baynes, T. and Bergesen, J. and Labbé, F. and Musango, J.K. and Ramaswami, A. and Robinson, B. and Salat, S. and Suh, S. and Currie, P. and Fang, A. and Hanson, A and Kruit, K. and Reiner, M. and Smit, S. and Tabory, S. | Report | 2018 |
Urban
|
| Social MFA: Scrap Metal in the Context of Cape Town Materials are all around us. In many ways, they structure our world; economically, socially, and physically impacting the places they move through. In this paper, I approach material flows from a sociological perspective. I am interested in how material flows are sustained (Wallsten, 2015). To do this, I use Cape Town’s scrap metal material flow as a boundary object to study it quantitatively, through urban metabolism’s material flow analysis, and qualitatively, through a sociological case study. I call this a social material flow analysis, which I define as an analysis of a material’s flow in a human system , delimited by space and time . I place it within sociourban metabolism instead of urban metabolism. I have three major findings. (1) My design for a social material flow analysis works and is useful. (2) Capetonian scrap metal exports were twice as large as previously thought. (3) Describing the flow of scrap metal as a social structure highlights the systemic exploitation and extreme insecurity of Capetonian waste pickers. I establish that the social MFA is useful for three reasons. (1) I t allows me to understand the scrap metal fl ow not in economic or environmental terms , but as part of the structure that is Cape Town. (2) It uncovers the relationships that move scrap metal through its value chain. (3) I t provides a foundation for future research. | Social MFA: Scrap Metal in the Context of Cape Town | Logan Gardner | Thesis | 2018 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| A geospatial approach of downscaling urban energy consumption density in mega-city Dhaka, Bangladesh Lack of energy consumption data limits resource optimized urban structure and energy planning in developing countries like Bangladesh. Focusing on mega-city Dhaka as a case, this study applies a geospatial approach of using multi-source national and regional datasets and visual analytics to downscale and estimate energy consumption at a local scale (such as ward and gridcell). The energy consumption density (ECD), as a measure of end energy use in a unit area, was estimated and mapped by linking building floorspace data with residents’ energy use indicators such as per capita energy consumption, household energy expenditure, and mobility (transportation) pattern. This study also evaluated the ECD modelling outputs, and their sensitivity to distance from central business district (CBD) and total building floorspace. Results found a positive correlation between the residential building floorspace and estimated ECD. Regression and sensitivity analysis also identified and mapped significant spatial clusters and outliers in estimated ECD pattern of Dhaka city. This approach and methodology could help similar cities in other developing countries adopt and implement energy focused urban development. | A geospatial approach of downscaling urban energy consumption density in ... | Sikder, SK and Nagarajan, M and Kar, S and Koetter, T | Journal Article | 2018 |
Energy
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Urban
|
| Global scenarios of urban density and its impacts on building energy use through 2050 Although the scale of impending urbanization is well-acknowledged, we have a limited understanding of how urban forms will change and what their impact will be on building energy use. Using both top-down and bottom-up approaches and scenarios, we examine building energy use for heating and cooling. Globally, the energy use for heating and cooling by the middle of the century will be between 45 and 59 exajoules per year (corresponding to an increase of 7-40% since 2010). Most of this variability is due to the uncertainty in future urban densities of rapidly growing cities in Asia and particularly China. Dense urban development leads to less urban energy use overall. Waiting to retrofit the existing built environment until markets are ready in about 5 years to widely deploy the most advanced renovation technologies leads to more savings in building energy use. Potential for savings in energy use is greatest in China when coupled with efficiency gains. Advanced efficiency makes the least difference compared with the business-as-usual scenario in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa but significantly contributes to energy savings in North America and Europe. Systemic efforts that focus on both urban form, of which urban density is an indicator, and energy-efficient technologies, but that also account for potential co-benefits and trade-offs with human well-being can contribute to both local and global sustainability. Particularly in growing cities in the developing world, such efforts can improve the well-being of billions of urban residents and contribute to mitigating climate change by reducing energy use in urban areas. | Global scenarios of urban density and its impacts on building ... | Güneralp, Burak and Zhou, Yuyu and Ürge-Vorsatz, Diana and Gupta, Mukesh and Yu, Sha and Patel, Pralit L. and Fragkias, Michail and Li, Xiaoma and Seto, Karen C. | Journal Article | 2017 |
All cities
All countries
City
Construction Materials
Energy
Future Scenario
Global
Multi-scale
N/A
National
Regional
Research and Analysis
Scenario analysis
Urban
|
| Using Web‐Based Technology to Bring Hands‐On Urban Material Flow Analysis to the Classroom The main objective of this article is to introduce an open‐source, online software tool called OMAT as a teaching tool for performing economy wide‐material flow analysis (EW‐MFA) at urban or regional level in industrial ecology curricula. To that intent, we present a classroom and project activity that was developed for a masters‐level industrial ecology course offered by the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Insights are provided with regards to the outcome of the classroom exercise as well as lessons learned from both an academic and a software development point of view. The OMAT software provides users with a specialized tool to enter and process MFA data in a simple, intuitive way. The usefulness of OMAT as a teaching tool was tested by engaging students in a classroom activity that entailed using OMAT as a tool to perform an EW‐MFA applied to the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona for the years 2005‐2011. The aim of this exercise was to teach students specific skills required in performing an EW‐MFA, not through theory classes, but hands‐on through a learn‐as‐you‐go approach. The exercise not only equipped the students with knowledge about MFA, but also introduced them to solving problems as a team, meeting project deadlines, and communicating effectively with colleagues from different disciplines and backgrounds. Even though there is room for further improvements, this exercise showed that OMAT provided a useful addition to traditional methods that allowed students to get a more practical and thorough understanding of the MFA methodology. | Using Web‐Based Technology to Bring Hands‐On Urban Material Flow Analysis ... | Gara Villalba and Paul Hoekman | Journal Article | 2017 |
Barcelona
Case Study
Methodology
Spain
Urban
|
| The Nexus of Carbon, Nitrogen, and Biodiversity Impacts from Urban Metabolism Methodology is developed for linking the urban metabolism (UM) to global environmental stresses on the carbon (C) cycle, nitrogen (N) cycle, and biodiversity loss. UM variables are systematically mapped to the drivers of carbon, nitrogen, and biodiversity impacts. Change in mean species abundance is used as metric of biodiversity loss, by adopting the dose-response relationships from the GLOBIO model. The main biodiversity drivers related to UM included here are land-use change (LUC) and atmospheric N deposition. The methodology is demonstrated by studying the nexus for Shanghai in 2006, based on energy and soybean consumption. Results for Shanghai show a strong nexus between C, N, and biodiversity impact due to electricity consumption and energy used in manufacturing industries and construction. Prioritization of the shift away from coal energy will therefore lead to lowering the urban growth impact on all three dimensions. Road transportation, domestic aviation, and the metal industry impact only the C footprint highly, whereas district energy impacts only biodiversity loss highly, showing a weak nexus. Among the global impacts of soybean consumption in Shanghai on biodiversity loss (due to LUC only), the highest impact occurs in Uruguay (0.52%) followed by Brazil (0.05%) and Argentina (0.02%). The local impact on biodiversity loss (i.e., within China) of soybean consumption in Shanghai is 1.03%. However, the methodology and results are limited due to the partial inclusion of drivers, a carbon footprint based on carbon dioxide emissions only, and limitations of biodiversity loss models. Potential to overcome methodological limitations is discussed. | The Nexus of Carbon, Nitrogen, and Biodiversity Impacts from Urban ... | Singh, Shweta and Kennedy, Christopher | Journal Article | 2017 |
Carbon
Case Study
China
Nitrogen
Shanghai
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Impact of the Economic Structure of Cities on Urban Scaling Factors: Implications for Urban Material and Energy Flows in China We explore the population-scaling and gross domestic product (GDP)-scaling relationships of material and energy flow (MEF) parameters in different city types based on economic structure. Using migration-corrected population data, we classify 233 Chinese city propers (Shiqu) as 'highly industrial' (share of secondary GDP exceeds 63.9%), 'highly commercial' (share of tertiary GDP exceeds 52.6%), and 'mixed-economy' (the remaining cities). We find that, first, the GDP population-scaling factors differ in the different city types. Highly commercial and mixed-economy cities exhibit superlinear GDP population-scaling factors greater than 1, whereas highly industrial cities are sublinear. Second, GDP scaling better correlates with city-wide MEF parameters in Chinese cities; these scaling relationships also show differences by city typology. Third, highly commercial cities are significantly different from others in demonstrating greater average per capita household income creation relative to per capita GDP. Further, highly industrial cities show an apparent cap in population. This also translates to lower densities in highly industrial cities compared to other types, showing a size effect on urban population density. Finally, a multiple variable regression of total household electricity showed significant and positive correlation with population, income effect, and urban form effect. With such multivariate modeling, the apparent superlinearity of household electricity use with respect to population is no longer observed. Our study enhances understanding of MEFs associated with Chinese cities and provides new insights into the patterns of scaling observed in different city types by economic structure. Results recommend dual scaling by GDP and by population for MEF parameters and suggest caution in applying universal scaling factors to all cities in a country. | Impact of the Economic Structure of Cities on Urban Scaling ... | Ramaswami, Anu and Jiang, Daqian and Tong, Kangkang and Zhao, Jerry | Journal Article | 2017 |
Case Study
China
Methodology
Scaling
Urban
|
| Quantifying and mapping embodied environmental requirements of urban building stocks Cities and their building stocks result in huge environmental impacts which are critical to reduce. However, the majority of existing studies focus on operational requirements or on material stocks. To date, very few studies have quantified embodied environmental requirements of building stocks and spatialised them. This study describes a bottom-up approach to spatially model building stocks and quantify their embodied environmental requirements. It uses a highly disaggregated approach where each building's geometry is modelled and used to derive a bill of quantities. Construction assemblies relevant to each building archetype (derived based on land-use, age and height) are defined using expert knowledge in construction. The initial and recurrent embodied energy, water and greenhouse gas emissions associated with each material within each assembly are calculated using a comprehensive hybrid analysis technique. This model is applied to all buildings of the City of Melbourne, Australia. Results show that rebuilding the City of Melbourne's building stock today would require 904 kt of materials/km2 (total: 32 725 kt), 10 PJ/km2 (total: 362 PJ), 17.7 Million m3 of embodied water/km2 (total: 640.74 Million m3) and would emit 605 ktCO2e/km2 (total: 23 530 ktCO2e). This study demonstrates the breadth of the model outputs, including material stocks maps and breakdowns of life cycle embodied requirements by material, construction assembly, building and building typology at the city level. Using such model, city councils can better manage building stocks in terms of waste processing, urban mining and circular economy, as well as reducing embodied environmental requirements over time. | Quantifying and mapping embodied environmental requirements of urban building stocks | Stephan, André and Athanassiadis, Aristide | Journal Article | 2017 |
Australia
Case Study
Construction Materials
Material Stock Analysis
Melbourne
Single point in time
Urban
|
| A Hybrid Approach for Assessing the Multi-Scale Impacts of Urban Resource Use: Transportation in Phoenix, Arizona Life cycle assessment (LCA) and urban metabolism (UM) are popular approaches for urban system environmental assessment. However, both approaches have challenges when used across spatial scales. LCA tends to decompose systemic information into micro-level functional units that mask complexity and purpose, whereas UM typically equates aggregated material and energy flows with impacts and is not ideal for revealing the mechanisms or alternatives available to reduce systemic environmental risks. This study explores the value of integrating UM with LCA, using vehicle transportation in the Phoenix metropolitan area as an illustrative case study. Where other studies have focused on the use of LCA providing upstream supply-chain impacts for UM, we assert that the broader value of the integrated approach is in (1) the ability to cross scales (from micro to macro) in environmental assessment and (2) establishing an analysis that captures function and complexity in urban systems. The results for Phoenix show the complexity in resource supply chains and critical infrastructure services, how impacts accrue well beyond geopolitical boundaries where activities occur, and potential system vulnerabilities. | A Hybrid Approach for Assessing the Multi-Scale Impacts of Urban ... | Clark, Susan Spierre and Chester, Mikhail V. | Journal Article | 2017 |
Case Study
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Phoenix
Single point in time
Transportation
United States
Urban
|
| Prospecting the Urban Mine of Amsterdam The buildings of Amsterdam contain tons of steel, copper, aluminum and lead. Amsterdam can be seen as an urban mine. In a circular economy, under conditions, the metals of Amsterdam can be mined. Leiden University will write scenarios of urban mining. TU Delft will develop methods to deduce metal content of buildings. The Waag Society will make a geological map of the built environment of Amsterdam. Metabolic will do a ground truth check. Finally, Leiden University will write a draft mining plan. Together, in the AMS project PUMA, we will find out under what conditions Amsterdam as urban mine is viable. Amsterdam is an urban mine. Amsterdam is a wealth of metals. Amsterdam is tons of steel, copper, aluminum, gold. Steel in high-rise buildings, copper in the cables, aluminum in window frames, gold in the telephones. Tons. If you need metals, go prospecting Amsterdam. Obviously, the metals are in use and not free to process yet. It will take time before you can get them out. But in the mining industry this is business as usual - getting any mine running takes decades. Traditionally, mines are underground. There is iron, copper and aluminum in the earth. Ore concentrations are going down, and it takes ever more energy to get the metals out. Worldwide, 7-8% of all energy consumption is now used to producing metals. It takes far less energy to take the metals from urban mines. Still, we have to ask: can it be done? Is it worthwhile? The first step in any mining process is prospecting: the first stage of the geological analysis by physical search for minerals and precious metals. To start, we need to make a geological map of the built environment. Where are the metals, how much, what is the quality, when will these metals become available? We teach the principles of this in a two-year master course, called industrial ecology, run in cooperation between Leiden University and the Technical University of Delft. We participate in a European project, MICA, a consortium involving the European geological bureaus, to develop the methodology of urban prospecting. This project, Prospecting the Urban Mines of Amsterdam (PUMA) will deliver two products. The first is a geological map of the built environment. The results will be shared as open data and visualized in an interactive geological map, giving an overview of available resources, their quality and ‘time to mine'. The second is an outline for an urban mining plan, indicating the steps needed to actually exploit the urban mine. We intend to take this idea further in other, larger projects, funded for example by the EU Horizon 2020 program or the KIC Raw Materials. The project is a joint research of TU Delft, Waag Society, CML Leiden University, and Metabolic. | Prospecting the Urban Mine of Amsterdam | Ester van der Voet, Ruben Huele, Alexander Koutamanis, Boukje van Reijn, Ellen van Bueren, Job Spiering,Tom Demeyer, Gerard Roemers, Merlijn Blok | Report | 2017 |
Amsterdam
Case Study
Copper
Material Stock Analysis
Metals
Single point in time
Steel
The Netherlands
Urban
|
| Urban Metabolism for Resource-Efficient Cities: from Theory to Implementation This report is a review of urban resource assessment tools that can guide a city-level resource efficiency transition, using urban metabolism assessment as the guiding framework. This study was the outcome of a collaboration between the Sustainability Institute (www.sustainabilityinstitute.net) and UN Environment (www.unep.org) under the framework of the Global Initiative for Resource Efficient Cities (www.resourceefficientcities.org). | Urban Metabolism for Resource-Efficient Cities: from Theory to Implementation | Josephine Kaviti Musango and Paul Currie and Blake Robinson | Report | 2017 |
Ecological Footprint Analysis
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Report
Urban
|
| The contribution of the informal economy to urban sustainability - case study of waste management in Tepito, Mexico City This thesis explores the role of the informal economy in urban environmental management. Cities' relation with the environment is mediated by the urban infrastructure, which provides services such as transport or waste management. Beyond the implementation of plans by local governments, the daily operation of such infrastructure is also the result of informal work. Yet, little is known about the nature and impacts of informal work in urban service provision. This thesis tackles this research gap by documenting the everyday operation of domestic waste collection and management in a neighbourhood of Mexico City. The aim of this research is twofold. Firstly, it aims to critically analyse the concept of 'informality' in the case of urban waste management, and to document how informality operates in that context. Secondly, it assesses the contribution of the informal economy to the waste management system, by contrasting it to the key components of urban sustainability. The research presents primary data collected through qualitative fieldwork. Using an urban metabolism framework, it documents waste flows through the urban infrastructure, identifying the role of formal and informal waste handlers along the way. In parallel, it explores the normative discourses of informality that are mobilised in the production of Mexico City's urban sustainability policies. The thesis argues that it is necessary to re-consider the role of informal workers in urban sustainability. In Mexico City, informal and formal waste workers' relationship is symbiotic. Formal waste collection services are sustained by informal work and cash flows. In parallel, informal waste handlers provide the main input (recyclable materials) to the formal recycling industry - this is achieved through the reliance on local solidarity networks and techniques of experimentation and innovation which are characteristic of the informal economy. The informal economy appears to contribute positively to the environmental and social components of urban sustainability. Yet, informal workers are not recognised as legitimate actors in policy making. Instead, the concept of informality is mobilised by civil servants to exclude informal workers from the policy process. This challenges the potential for inclusive governance, a key component of urban sustainability. | The contribution of the informal economy to urban sustainability - ... | Louise Guibrunet | Thesis | 2017 |
Case Study
Mexico
Mexico City
Single point in time
Urban
Waste
|
| Conceptualising slum in an urban African context Increasing urbanisation and the proliferation of slums require a holistic understanding of the urban metabolism of cities. However, existing urban metabolic analyses exclude a detailed understanding of how urban slums function and contribute to biophysical, including energy, flows. This paper aims at filling this gap by critically investigating the notion of the urban slum in general, the extent to which it differs in the African context, specifically in South Africa, and broadening the understanding of urban slum based on the concept of urban metabolism, using the multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach, which was applied to the Enkanini informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The analysis shows that South Africa has a more nuanced typology of the notion of urban slums categorised as: (i) townships; (ii) housing-turned-slum; (iii) squatter camps; (iv) site and service settlements; (v) transit camps; and (vi) hybrid multi-structured settlements. Beyond these definitions, the case study illustrates that urban slums, however defined, are complex systems with their own internal flows and processes that are connected in a myriad of ways to the larger urban system. The investigation into the use of Time, Money and Energy in the Enkanini case further revealed the productive (hypercyclic) and consumptive (dissipative) nature of the components of the urban informal settlement. This type of analysis reveals new insights into the linkages between urban informal settlements and the city. | Conceptualising slum in an urban African context | Suzanne Smit and Josephine Musango and Zora Kovacic and Alan Brent | Journal Article | 2017 |
Case Study
Slums and informal settlements
South Africa
Stellenbosch
Urban
|
| Local Material and Energy Flow Analysis for the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada To address global environmental challenges, resource use patterns at local and sub-national scales can provide relevant insights into drivers and how these link to local policy and decision-making. The Region of Waterloo is often referred to as “Canada’s Silicon Valley” consists of the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries and the tri-cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo. Close to Toronto, and reputation of being the tech hub, Waterloo’s population (mainly from immigration) is on the rise and region is under rapid transition from a rural to an increasingly urban system being connected by rapid transit systems. To better understand the region from a systems perspective and to provide input into sustainability policies of the region, the concept of social metabolism is applied. Society’s metabolism measures pressures on the environment where increasing throughput can have negative impacts on ecosystem and human health in the short and long term. Material and Energy Flow Analysis (MEFA) is conducted to calculate derived indicators of biomass and energy use for the Region of Waterloo in accordance with established conventions. Using a number of MEFA indicators, the paper will outline some of the major sustainability challenges in resource use patterns in the region since 2006. This study is the first to conduct a material and energy flow analysis for the Region of Waterloo in three points in time. Data on extraction, consumption, imports, and exports of various biomass and energy flow indicators will be presented. Results from MFA show that the Region of Waterloo has a high import dependency for food crops and high domestic extraction of feed crops mainly fodder corn And results observed from Energy Flow Analysis indicates that the Region of Waterloo imports 100% of its technical energy and is highly dependent on outside markets. This study will encourage discussions on food and energy security in the region and help the policymakers in the region to make informed decisions. This research adds to the growing data points of research on Material and Energy flow analysis and social metabolism and serves as a starting point for more related research in sub-national socio-metabolic studies. None | Local Material and Energy Flow Analysis for the Region of ... | Arunkumar Senthilnayagam | Thesis | 2017 |
Regional
Urban
|
| Evaluation Approaches for Advancing Urban Water Goals Urban areas (especially cities) are challenged in meeting their direct water needs from local sources. They also exert strain on global water resources through their indirect (virtual) water use. Agencies concerned with urban water management have visions and goals for managing direct water use, but indirect use is only inferred in more global visions for sustainable consumption. There is limited quantification of 'urban water performance' at the macro urban scale (whole of city) to monitor progress toward these goals. It is constrained by a lack of clarity about the evaluation approaches that best serve them. We ask, How can the evaluation approaches described in literature advance urban water management goals? We reviewed the utility of eight evaluation approaches, including urban water system modeling, urban metabolism (territorial and mass balance), consumption (life cycle assessment, water footprinting, and input-output analysis), and complex systems (ecological network analysis and systems dynamics) approaches. We found that urban metabolism based on water mass balance is a core method for generating information to inform current goals for direct urban water use, with potential for being 'coupled' with the other approaches. Consumption approaches inform the management of indirect water use. We describe this in a framework for urban water evaluation to give greater clarity to this field and flag the further research that would be needed to progress this. It includes the recommendation to differentiate the evaluation of direct and indirect urban water, but to also interpret them together. | Evaluation Approaches for Advancing Urban Water Goals | Renouf, Marguerite A. and Kenway, Steven J. | Journal Article | 2017 |
Methodology
Research and Analysis
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Urban
Water
|
| Bomen CSV Den Haag | Bomen CSV Den Haag | Gemeente Den Haag | Dataset | 2017 |
Urban
|
| Sustainable urban systems: Co-design and framing for transformation Rapid urbanisation generates risks and opportunities for sustainable development. Urban policy and decision makers are challenged by the complexity of cities as social-ecological-technical systems. Consequently there is an increasing need for collaborative knowledge development that supports a whole-of-system view, and transformational change at multiple scales. Such holistic urban approaches are rare in practice. A co-design process involving researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders, has progressed such an approach in the Australian context, aiming to also contribute to international knowledge development and sharing. This process has generated three outputs: (1) a shared framework to support more systematic knowledge development and use, (2) identification of barriers that create a gap between stated urban goals and actual practice, and (3) identification of strategic focal areas to address this gap. Developing integrated strategies at broader urban scales is seen as the most pressing need. The knowledge framework adopts a systems perspective that incorporates the many urban trade-offs and synergies revealed by a systems view. Broader implications are drawn for policy and decision makers, for researchers and for a shared forward agenda. | Sustainable urban systems: Co-design and framing for transformation | Webb, Robert and Bai, Xuemei and Smith, Mark Stafford and Costanza, Robert and Griggs, David and Moglia, Magnus and Neuman, Michael and Newman, Peter and Newton, Peter and Norman, Barbara and Ryan, Chris and Schandl, Heinz and Steffen, Will and Tapper, Nigel and Thomson, Giles | Journal Article | 2017 |
Urban
|
| Waste Market Intelligence Report 2017 Table of contents: List of figures List of tables List of acronyms and abbreviations Executive Summary Introduction and purpose Industry overview Industry structure Market size for South Africa Market size for the Western Cape Policy and regulation Waste management policy and legislation in South Africa Recent legislative changes Opportunities Recyclables Organics e-Waste Construction and demolition waste Untapped opportunities Funding and incentives The Western Cape: Africa’s green economy hub GreenCape’s support to businesses and investors References Annexure A – Western Cape Tonnages Annexure B – Producer Responsibility Organisations | Waste Market Intelligence Report 2017 | GreenCape | Report | 2017 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| Circular economy. The Municipality of The Hague Circular construction pilot in The Hague. Results and conclusions. | Circular economy. The Municipality of The Hague | The Municipality of The Hague | Report | 2017 |
Circular Economy
The Hague
Urban
|
| Material flow analysis of the residential building stock at the city of Rio de Janeiro The extensive use of materials in building stocks contributes to the scarcity of natural resources and impacts from construction and demolition waste (CDW). Therefore, the concern with the efficient use of materials and CDW management made several countries conducted mapping, analysis and performance improvement in activities related to CDW using Material Flow Analysis (MFA). The city of Rio de Janeiro had a high urban development and building stock growth from the beginning of the last century, in which the amount of material consumed has not been documented. This study presents an MFA approach to assess the materials in-use and further flows of CDW from the residential building stock in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The material in-use was estimated from the extrapolation of the Material Intensities (MI) per different building types to the total constructed area in this city considering land occupation. The building types were modelled from the designs of typical buildings in Brazil. An analysis of urban development supported the estimation of buildings age and their remaining lifetime while national standards supported the time of replacement of building elements during the use phase. Results show that the stock in 2010 had about 78,828,770t of building material with MI between 2.58 and 0.74 t/m2; concrete and aggregates have the higher MI. The Use phase of the buildings will move about 9,807,690t of materials until 2090. These findings support further environmental impacts assessments and decision-making for planning CDW management and strategies for the efficient use of materials. | Material flow analysis of the residential building stock at the ... | Condeixa, Karina and Haddad, Assed and Boer, Dieter | Journal Article | 2017 |
Brazil
Case Study
Construction Materials
Material Stock Analysis
Rio de Janeiro
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Transforming the Cement Industry into a Key Environmental Infrastructure for Urban Ecosystem: A Case Study of an Industrial City in China Under the dual pressure of environmental constraints and increasingly thin profit margins, the cement industry in China is in a predicament. To alleviate the environmental and the economic pressure of the cement industry and to tackle the problem of delayed environmental infrastructure construction, this article introduced an urban ecosystem in which the cement industry was transformed into an effective complement to environmental infrastructure. The Xinfeng Cement Industrial Park in China, which has a production capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum (Mt/a) of clinker, was chosen as a case study. Our methodology involved proposing technologies to develop an efficient cement plant-centered urban ecosystem; evaluating its environmental and economic performance; identifying barriers in its promotion; and proposing supportive policies. Results showed that the city's waste recycling ratio rose from about 50% to 70%, saving 0.6 Mt/a of coal equivalent and reducing about 3.0 Mt/a of resulting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The life span of the city's landfill site was extended by about 30 years. The total investment was 3.2 billion yuan (about US$480 million),1 with an average payback period of 3 years. The Xinfeng Cement Industrial Park was transformed from an energy-intensive consumer and a significant CO2 emitter to a key industrial waste recycler, a crucial municipal waste co-processor, an important new building material supplier, and a potential energy producer. Last, the 'not-in-my-back-yard' (NIMBY) effect from constructing new environmental infrastructure was also avoided. | Transforming the Cement Industry into a Key Environmental Infrastructure for ... | Cao, Xin and Wen, Zongguo and Tian, Haikui and De Clercq, Djavan and Qu, Lili | Journal Article | 2017 |
Case Study
China
Construction Materials
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Contributions of Local Farming to Urban Sustainability in the Northeast United States Food consumption is an important contributor to a city's environmental impacts (carbon emissions, land occupation, water use, etc.) Urban farming (UF) has been advocated as a means to increase urban sustainability by reducing food-related transport and tapping into local resources. Taking Boston as an illustrative Northeast U.S. city, we developed a novel method to estimate sub-urban, food-borne carbon and land footprints using multiregion-input-output modeling and nutritional surveys. Computer simulations utilizing primary data explored UF's ability to reduce these footprints using select farming technologies, building on previous city-scale UF assessments which have hitherto been dependent on proxy data for UF. We found that UF generated meagre food-related carbon footprint reductions (1.1-2.9% of baseline 2211 kg CO2 equivalents/capita/annum) and land occupation increases ( | Contributions of Local Farming to Urban Sustainability in the Northeast ... | Goldstein, Benjamin P. and Hauschild, Michael Z. and Fernández, John E. and Birkved, Morten | Journal Article | 2017 |
Case Study
Ecological Footprint Analysis
Food
United States
Urban
|
| Urban metabolism: A review with reference to Cape Town Improved sustainability of cities requires equitably distributed and ecologically safe, if not restorative, infrastructure systems, as well as reduced reliance on resources from beyond urban boundaries. To shape infrastructure systems in a sustainable and equitable manner, knowledge about the sources and demands of the resources they convey is necessary, as well as the technologies which ensure their efficient use and safe return to the environment. This paper undertakes a basic urban metabolism assessment to examine resource consumption in the City of Cape Town. It examines the type and quantity of resources which fuel the city and its people, in order to highlight prospects for the sustainability of Cape Town. Key findings from resource profiles of Cape Town show that annual energy and water consumption, which are feared to be approaching system limits, have actually shown decline in consumption since 2007 and 2011 respectively. The key intervention to reduce energy consumption and resultant carbon emissions lies in reducing low-occupancy private car usage, while the key limitations to reducing raw water abstraction through wastewater reuse is the limited ability to store and redistribute it. Comparing maps of resource access to maps of material stocks shows that while the city periphery experiences low resource access, resource stocks are potentially quite dense. The spatial location of resource stock, flow and consumption represents a useful tool for detailed urban planning and service delivery, and is a gap in need of researching. Although flows of food are difficult to track, estimates suggest that 11.6% of the food processed in Cape Town is grown within municipal boundaries and interventions for keeping nutrients in the system should be explored. Examining the flow of people between suburbs over time shows that migration dynamics are entrenching poverty in already high poverty suburbs, as people with economic means are more likely to move to better serviced suburbs than invest in their current ones. This presents a need for the city to invest in these underserviced areas, so as to retain personal investment. Key recommendations for urban and resource planning are the integrated analysis of resource nexuses using system dynamics modelling, as well as integrating departments within the municipality, to enable more holistic intervention strategies. To aid this, research into a baseline examination of differential spatial and temporal flows of resources at suburb level is currently underway. | Urban metabolism: A review with reference to Cape Town | Paul Klugman Currie and Josephine Kaviti Musango and Nhlanhla Desire May | Journal Article | 2017 |
Cape Town
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Single point in time
South Africa
Urban
|
| Resource management in peri-urban areas (REPAiR): D3.1 Introduction to methodology for integrated spatial, material flow and social analyses The role of Work Package 3 within the REPAiR project is to develop and implement territorial metabolism models. The aim is to analyse, describe and model the case study areas with their subsystems and processes that define the area’s current metabolic patterns, from the vantage point of waste production and waste management. The interrelated domains place, flow & stocks, and behaviour & governance are taken into account with regard to spatial (where?),contextual (what, why, who and how?) and temporal (when?) dimensions. This deliverable – D3.1 – provides an introduction to the methodology for integrated spatial (Task 3.1), material flows (Task 3.2) and social (Task 3.3) analyses. It explains methodological considerations and choices, whilst laying out the approach, developed in close conjunction with the two main pilot case studies Amsterdam and Naples. Subsequently, this handbook provides guidelines for application in the four other case study areas. Task 3.1, concerning the spatial analysis, is located between the investigation of the flows that cross, and are processed within, our urban and peri-urban territories on the one hand, and the study of the spatial effects that these ‘metabolisms’ have on the territory, on the other. A core aspect of Task 3.1 is related to the identification of what REPAiR defines as ‘Wastescapes’. In Task 3.2 of WP3, Material Flow Analysis is used as a tool to study the material flows and stocks of the subsystems of the six case studies, based on consumption patterns and waste production. By introducing a new method for MFA, “Activity-based Spatial Material Flow Analysis” (AS-MFA), specific activities relating to material flows and stocks from waste production in subsystems, the involved actors and their interrelations can be identified. The AS-MFA aims to connect the spatial, material and social analyses in REPAiR. Task 3.3, on social analysis, is dealing with the linkages between sociocultural features and social sensitiveness about general environmental issues, and particularly about waste and resource management. Task 3.3 has a multilevel scope: secondary sociocultural inquiries are focusing on national level specificities, while the primer sociocultural stage of the research and the socioeconomic investigation is done on a local level. The representation and process models developed in WP3 have strong ties with WP4, regarding sustainability impact assessment and evaluation models, and with WP5 concerning eco-innovative solutions and change strategies. Moreover, the models are used as input to the GDSE (WP2) and inform –and are informed by –WP6 with regard to decision models. These interrelations accentuate the importance of common agreements regarding e.g. delineations, data sourcing and processing. Such issues are dealt with in this handbook, whilst underlining the necessity for continuing alignment between work packages of the REPAiR project. | Resource management in peri-urban areas (REPAiR): D3.1 Introduction to methodology ... | Bob Geldermans, Carolin Bellstedt, Enrico Formato, Viktor Varju, Zoltan Grunhut, Maria Cerreta Libera Amenta, Pasquale Inglese, Janneke van der Leer, Alexander Wandl | Report | 2017 |
Methodologies
Urban
|
| An Urban Metabolism and Carbon Footprint Analysis of the Jing-Jin-Ji Regional Agglomeration Urban energy metabolism includes processes for exploiting, transforming, and consuming energy, as well as processes for recycling by-products and wastes. Embodied energy is the energy consumed during all of these activities, both directly and indirectly. Multiregional input-output (MRIO) analysis can calculate the energy consumption embodied in flows among sectors for multiple cities or regions. Our goal was to address a problem apparent in previous research, which was insufficient attention to indirect energy flows. We combined MRIO analysis with ecological network analysis to calculate the embodied energy consumption and the energy-related carbon footprints of five sectors in three regions that comprise the Jing-Jin-Ji agglomeration, using data from 2002 and 2007. Our analysis traced metabolic processes of sectors from the perspective of final consumption. Based on the embodied energy analysis, we quantified the indirect energy consumption implied in exchanges of sectors and its distribution and identified the relationships formed through the indirect consumption to analyze the roles of providers and receivers in the system. Results showed that the embodied energy consumption for the Jing-Jin-Ji region increased from 2002 to 2007 as a result of increased energy consumption in Tianjin and Hebei. Overall, consumption of Beijing decreased likely attributable to the fact that government policies relocated industries during this time in anticipation of the Olympic Games. The relationships among sectors changed: Beijing changed from a net exporter to an importer, whereas Hebei changed from a net importer of energy from Beijing to an exporter to Beijing, and Tianjin served as an importer in both years. | An Urban Metabolism and Carbon Footprint Analysis of the Jing-Jin-Ji ... | Zheng, Hongmei and Fath, Brian D. and Zhang, Yan | Journal Article | 2017 |
Beijing
Case Study
China
Energy/Emergy
Multi-region Input-Output Analysis (MRIO)
Tianjin
Urban
|
| Downscaling Aggregate Urban Metabolism Accounts to Local Districts Urban metabolism accounts of total annual energy, water, and other resource flows are increasingly available for a variety of world cities. For local decision makers, however, it may be important to understand the variations of resource consumption within the city. Given the difficulty of gathering suburban resource consumption data for many cities, this article investigates the potential of statistical downscaling methods to estimate local resource consumption using socioeconomic or other data sources. We evaluate six classes of downscaling methods: ratio-based normalization; linear regression (both internally and externally calibrated); linear regression with spatial autocorrelation; multilevel linear regression; and a basic Bayesian analysis. The methods were applied to domestic energy consumption in London, UK, and our results show that it is possible to downscale aggregate resource consumption to smaller geographies with an average absolute prediction error of around 20%; however, performance varies widely by method, geography size, and fuel type. We also show how mapping these results can quickly identify districts with noteworthy resource consumption profiles. Further work should explore the design of local data collection strategies to enhance these methods and apply the techniques to other urban resources such as water or waste. | Downscaling Aggregate Urban Metabolism Accounts to Local Districts | Horta, Isabel M. and Keirstead, James | Journal Article | 2017 |
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
London
Methodology
Scaling
United Kingdom
Urban
|
| A Database to Facilitate a Process-Oriented Approach to Urban Metabolism In view of urbanization trends coupled with climate-change challenges, it is increasingly important to establish less-harmful means of urban living. To date, urban metabolism (UM) studies have quantified the aggregate material and energy flows into and out of cities and, further, have identified how consumer activity causes these flows. However, little attention has been paid to the networks of conversion processes that link consumer end-use demands to aggregate metabolic flows. Here, we conduct a systematic literature search to assemble a database of 202 urban energy, water, and waste management processes. We show how the database can help planners and policy makers choose the preferred process to meet a specific resource management need; identify synergies between energy, water, and waste management processes; and compute optimal networks of processes to meet an area's consumer demand at minimum environmental cost. We make our database publicly available under an open-source license and discuss the possibilities for how it might be used alongside other industrial ecology data sets to enhance research opportunities. This will encourage more holistic UM analyses, which appreciate how both consumer activity and the engineered urban system work together to influence aggregate metabolic flows and thus support efforts to make cities more sustainable. | A Database to Facilitate a Process-Oriented Approach to Urban Metabolism | Ravalde, Tom and Keirstead, James | Journal Article | 2017 |
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Methodology
Urban
|
| Comparing a territorial-based and a consumption-based approach to assess the local and global environmental performance of cities In the framework of pressing local and global environmental challenges it is essential to understand that cities are complex systems dependent on and linked to the rest of the world through global supply chains that embody an array of environmental flows. Cities are thus a complex articulation that intertwine local and global challenges which rely at their extended hinterland for their resource use and pollution emission. To assess the environmental sustainability of an urban area in a comprehensive manner, it is not only necessary to measure its local and direct environmental performance but also to understand and take into account its global and indirect environmental counterparts. This paper presents a comparative analysis of a territorial-based and a consumption-based approach to estimate both direct and embodied resource use and pollution flows for the case of Brussels Capital Region (Belgium). The territorial-based approach is based on local energy, water and material consumption measured data as well as measured data on waste generation and pollution emissions. The estimation of indirect resource use and pollution emissions (or consumption-based approach) is based on the regional IO-tables of the city-region of Brussels extended with multi-region input-output tables, taking into account the global flows of consumption. The comparison of these two approaches is particularly relevant in the case of cities that have limited productive activities and limited or no extraction of materials as the impact on the hinterland is often underestimated or neglected by local (environmental) policies which are only based on territorial-based figures. The results show that the indirect primary energy use, \{GHG\} emissions and material use estimated by the consumption-based approach is more than three times higher than local measures indicate. The embodied water use, estimated via IOA, was over 40 times higher than the local water consumption. These results show that territorial-based approach using local data underestimate the resource needs and pollution emissions of a city and can therefore be insufficient or even be misguiding. By mapping the origin of embodied flows it is in fact possible to illustrate the open character of an urban economy and its dependence on the global hinterland. Finally, this paper discusses the possibility and relevance to combine these two approaches to create a hybrid framework that measures the full environmental performance of cities both accurately and comprehensively. | Comparing a territorial-based and a consumption-based approach to assess the ... | Aristide Athanassiadis and Maarten Christis and Philippe Bouillard and An Vercalsteren and Robert H. Crawford and Ahmed Z. Khan | Journal Article | 2016 |
Brussels
Direct Material Consumption (DMC)
Domestic extraction
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Global
Multi-region Input-Output Analysis (MRIO)
Multi-scale
Raw Materials Equivalent (RME)
Urban
|
| Assessing urban sustainability of Chinese megacities: 35 years after the economic reform and open-door policy Driven by unprecedented economic development for more than three decades, China's urbanization level rose from 17.9% in 1978 to 54.8% in 2014. This breakneck speed of urbanization has resulted in myriad environmental problems and social inequities. To gauge the urban sustainability of China, our study focused on ten megacities which are socioeconomic centers of the country. We evaluated the three dimensions of sustainability using a set of sustainability indicators, including Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), Ecological Footprint (EF), Biocapacity, Environmental Performance Index (EPI), City Development Index (CDI), Human Development Index (HDI), Gini coefficient, and Urban-rural income ratio. Based on time-series data from 1978 to 2012, our study has produced the following findings: (1) The values of GPI for the ten megacities started to increase since 2006 after a relatively constant period between 1994 and 2005; (2) The pressures of economic growth on the environment (EF) increased while biocapacity decreased for the ten megacities, with smaller biocapacity deficits for western cities; (3) The overall level of human wellbeing (HDI) increased; (4) Socioeconomic inequality (Gini and urban-rural income ratio) widened, but the widening trend seemed to have ceased in recent years for most of the ten megacities; and (5) Certain aspects of urban environment and city development (EPI and CDI) improved gradually, particularly in waste treatment and infrastructure development. Our findings suggest that, to achieve overall urban sustainability, China must move away from maximizing economic development and focus on improving environmental quality of its megacities. | Assessing urban sustainability of Chinese megacities: 35 years after the ... | Lu Huang and Lijiao Yan and Jianguo Wu | Journal Article | 2016 |
Beijing
China
Shanghai
Urban
|
| Towards more comprehensive urban environmental assessments: exploring the complex relationship between urban and metabolic profiles Urban areas cover 2% of the Earth's land surface, host more than 50% of global population and are estimated to account for around 75% of CO2 emissions from global energy use. In order to mitigate existing and future direct and indirect environmental pressures resulting from urban resource use, it is necessary to investigate and better understand resource and pollution flows associated with urban systems. Current urban environmental assessment methodologies enable the quantification of resource use and pollution emissions flows entering, becoming stocked and exiting urban areas. While these methodologies enable to estimate the environmental effect of cities, they often consider urban areas as being static and homogeneous systems. This partial and simplistic representation shadows the complex spatio-temporal interrelationships between the local context and its associated local and global environmental pressures. This characterisation of urban systems is a significant limitation, not only for the urban environmental assessments, but also for the identification of their drivers as it may lead to inadequate urban environmental policies. To overcome this limitation and effectively reduce glocal urban environmental pressures, it is necessary to better understand the complex functioning of cities and identify their drivers. This research developed a comprehensive urban environmental assessment framework that helps to better explicit and understand the complex relationship between an urban system and its environmental profile in a systemic and systematic way. This framework was applied to the case study of Brussels Capital Region (BCR). Results from the application of this framework show that urban systems are neither static nor homogeneous. In fact, different relationships between the urban and metabolic profiles appear when considering different spatial scales and temporal intervals as well as different urban and metabolic metrics. The establishment of BCR's urban profile showed that components that shape the urban system evolve in an organic way over time. Moreover, the spatial expression of an urban system portrays its heterogeneous aspect and how different metrics of the same urban indicator can reveal distinct facets and challenges for an urban area or a neighbourhood. Finally, it was demonstrated that the relationship between urban indicators is different for each spatial scale and therefore knowledge from one spatial scale is not necessarily transferable from one scale to another. The establishment and analysis of BCR's metabolic profile also underlined the complex functioning of cities as each flow has a different temporal evolution and spatial expression. Due to the multifaceted and intertwined aspect of metabolic flows it becomes clear that no single parameter enables to explain or predict their behaviour. This leads to the conclusion that a great number of questions still need to be considered, understood and answered before effectively and coherently reducing environmental pressures from cities. The developed framework proposes a number of concrete steps that enable existing and new cities to better understand their metabolic functioning and ultimately transition towards less environmentally harmful futures. | Towards more comprehensive urban environmental assessments: exploring the complex relationship ... | Aristide Athanassiadis | Thesis | 2016 |
Belgium
Biomass
Brussels
CO
CO2
Carbon
Circular Economy
City
Construction Materials
Domestic extraction
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Electricity
Emissions
Energy
Food
Global
Greenhouse Gas
Imports and Exports
Material Stock Analysis
Metals
Minerals
Multi-scale
NOx
Natural Gas
SO2
Single point in time
Social Metabolism
Time series
Urban
Waste
Wastewater
Water
|
| Urban metabolism profiles. An empirical analysis of the material flow characteristics of three metropolitan areas in Sweden Knowledge about the characteristics and driving forces of material flows in urban areas is crucial, as the pathways towards sustainability depend on local conditions. Currently, Urban Metabolism research focuses on the analysis of trends and transitions in different stages of city development, on developing classification systems and identification of metabolism profiles for urban areas. A novel framework for characterizing cities metabolism is provided using Urban Material Flow Accounting indicators as the basis. A Material Flow Accounting study is conducted for three cities in Sweden, from 1996 until 2011: Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo. Based on the urban metabolism characteristics framework, three distinct profiles are proposed: consumer-service; industrial; and transitioning. Stockholm's material needs are mainly for final consumption. When compared with the other two cities, material flows follow a more stable trend and have lower dependency on external systems due to the marginal production and export of goods. Gothenburg has the most resource intensive metabolism. It requires several times larger material inputs than the other two cities and produces much larger outputs, for benefit of the rest of the country and the world. Consequently, \{CO2\} emissions are higher in Gothenburg. Malmo characteristics are more complex than Stockholm's with higher material needs in particular construction minerals. Its dependency on external flows is low, due to the fact that the economy and exports are based on domestically extracted Non-Metallic Minerals and Biomass. | Urban metabolism profiles. An empirical analysis of the material flow ... | Leonardo Rosado and Yuliya Kalmykova and João Patrício | Journal Article | 2016 |
Construction Materials
Direct Material Consumption (DMC)
Domestic extraction
EUROSTAT methodology
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Fossil Fuel
Gothenburg
Greenhouse Gas
Imports and Exports
Malmö
Metals
Minerals
Research and Analysis
Stockholm
Sweden
Time series
Urban
|
| Integrating Urban Heat Assessment in Urban Plans The world is increasingly concerned with sustainability issues. Climate change is not the least of these concerns. The complexity of these issues is such that data and information management form an important means of making the right decisions. Nowadays, however, the sheer quantity of data is overwhelming; large quantities of data demand means of representation that are comprehensible and effective. The above dilemma poses questions as to how one incorporates unknown climatologic parameters, such as urban heat, in future urban planning processes, and how one ensures the proposals are specific enough to actually adapt cities to climate change and flexible enough to ensure the proposed measures are combinable and compatible with other urban planning priorities. Conventional urban planning processes and mapping strategies are not adapted to this new environmental, technological and social context. In order come up with more appropriate urban planning strategies, in its first section this paper analyzes the role of the urban planner, reviews the wide variety of parameters that are starting to be integrated into the urban planners practice, and considers the parameters (mainly land surface temperature, albedo, vegetation, and imperviousness) and tools needed for the assessment of the UHI (satellite imagery and GIS). The second part of the study analyzes the potential of four catalyzing mapping categories to integrate urban heat into spatial planning processes: drift, layering, game-board, and rhizome. | Integrating Urban Heat Assessment in Urban Plans | Leyre Echevarria, Andy van den Dobbelsteen, Frank van der Hoeven | Journal Article | 2016 |
The Hague
Urban
|
| Urban carbon transformations: unravelling spatial and inter-sectoral linkages for key city industries based on multi-region input-output analysis With around 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions directly or indirectly attributed to cities, attempts to mitigate climate change impacts must seriously consider urban carbon transformations. Two challenges are currently constraining urban planning decisions around decarbonisation. Firstly, a lack of detailed knowledge about city-induced emissions occurring outside of the city boundary hampers the design of mitigation strategies that involves the city's ‘hinterland'. Secondly, the complexity of interconnections between industries and regions located upstream or downstream the supply chain of urban economic activity makes it difficult to implement specific, effective and efficient decarbonisation policies. In this study, a multi-scale, multi-region input-output model with nested regions at city, state, nation and world level is employed to study the carbon footprints and the inter-sectoral linkages in terms of embodied carbon emissions of the two largest metropolitan areas of Australia, Melbourne and Sydney. The results show that imported emissions make up more than 50% of the city carbon footprints, with most of them attributable to goods (excluding food) and services (excluding electricity). This highlights the importance of promoting mitigation measures both within and outside of the city. The energy, mining and agriculture sectors - usually located outside of city boundaries - all have significant carbon linkage multipliers associated with city demand, indicating the need of pursuing carbon mitigation measures in these sectors. The linkage analysis pinpoints to crucial sectors that need to be targeted in future investments towards urban decarbonisation to minimise emissions and to maximise positive economic effects for urban and regional economies. The study also provides an improved understanding of the differences and similarities between Australia's two main cities. It is envisaged that this type of analysis will become increasingly relevant to other cities as the spatial resolution of multi-region input-output databases continues to improve. | Urban carbon transformations: unravelling spatial and inter-sectoral linkages for key ... | Guangwu Chen and Michalis Hadjikakou and Thomas Wiedmann | Journal Article | 2016 |
Greenhouse Gas
Melbourne
Multi-region Input-Output Analysis (MRIO)
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Research and Analysis
Sydney
Urban
|
| Examining the historical and present energy metabolism of a Rust Belt City: Syracuse, NY 1840--2005 Early cities depended on local, solar-based energy resources for their metabolism. Over time, cities have become increasingly dependent on fossil fuels, both directly and indirectly, as they facilitate exploitation of solar resources from much farther away. Alternatives to fossil fuels, typically generated locally, often provide lower surplus energy to society. As cities consider the transition back to solar-based energy resources, it becomes necessary to understand the capability of the solar-based economy to provide e.g. energy (including food) from nearby lands. To do so, we compared the energy metabolism (respiration) of a typical rust-belt city, Syracuse, NY, with the net primary production in the surrounding county (production) over its development (1840-2005). We calculated the ratio of respiration to production (R:P) and examined how this ratio changed during the periods of industrialization, shifts in major fuel types, and deindustrialization. We found that from 1840 to 1950 respiration became increasingly centralized in the urban core; since then it has become more diffused. Urban respiration exceeded production in the county by 9:1 in 1930, and it remains just under 2:1 today. Respiration reached an absolute (67 PJ) and a per capita (339 GJ) maximum in 1970, then fell by 40 % and 20 % respectively, due to deindustrialization and population losses. Conversely, production increased 480 % from its lows in 1930 because of reforestation and improved agricultural yields. What this means is that to achieve a higher P:R ratio requires either increased production of food and fuels in areas surrounding the city, or decreased per capita energy consumption. | Examining the historical and present energy metabolism of a Rust ... | Balogh, Stephen and Hall, Charles AS and Gamils, Drew V and Popov, Alexander M and Rose, Ryan T | Journal Article | 2016 |
Syracuse
Time series
Urban
|
| Cape Town's Metabolism: Insights from a Material Flow Analysis This work aims to contribute to the number of urban metabolism case studies using a standardized methodology. An economy-wide material flow analysis (EW-MFA) was conducted on the Metropolitan Municipality of Cape Town (South Africa) for the year 2013, using the Eurostat framework. The study provides insights into the city's metabolism through various indicators including direct material input (DMI), domestic material consumption (DMC), and direct material output (DMO), among others. In order to report on the uncertainty of the data, a set of data quality indicators originating from the life cycle assessment literature was used.The results show that domestic extraction involves significant quantities of non-metallic minerals, and that imports consist primarily of biomass and fossil fuels. The role of the city as a regional hub is also made clear from this study and illustrated by large quantities of food and other materials flowing through the city on their way to or from international markets. The results are compared with indicators from other cities and with previous metabolism work done on Cape Town.To fully grasp the impacts of the city's metabolism, more work needs to be done. It will be necessary to understand the upstream impact of local consumption, and consumption patterns should be differentiated on a more nuanced level (taking into account large differences between household income levels as well as separating the metabolism of industry and commerce from residential consumption). | Cape Town's Metabolism: Insights from a Material Flow Analysis | Hoekman, Paul and von Blottnitz, Harro | Journal Article | 2016 |
Cape Town
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Single point in time
Urban
|
| The Concept of City Carbon Maps: A Case Study of Melbourne, Australia Cities are thought to be associated with most of humanity's consumption of natural resources and impacts on the environment. Cities not only constitute major centers of economic activity, knowledge, innovation, and governance—they are also said to be linked to approximately 70% to 80% of global carbon dioxide emissions. This makes cities primary agents of change in a resource- and carbon-constraint world. In order to set meaningful targets, design successful policies, and implement effective mitigation strategies, it is important that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting for cities is accurate, comparable, comprehensive, and complete. Despite recent developments in the standardization of city GHG accounting, there is still a lack of consistent guidelines regarding out-of-boundary emissions, thus hampering efforts to identify mitigation priorities and responsibilities. We introduce a new conceptual framework—based on environmental input-output analysis—that allows for a consistent and complete reconciliation of direct and indirect GHG emissions from a city. The 'city carbon map' shows local, regional, national, and global origins and destinations of flows of embodied emissions. We test the carbon map concept by applying it to the greater metropolitan area of Melbourne, Australia. We discuss the results and limitations of the approach in the light of possible mitigation strategies and policies by different urban stakeholders. | The Concept of City Carbon Maps: A Case Study of ... | Wiedmann, Thomas O. and Chen, Guangwu and Barrett, John | Journal Article | 2016 |
Melbourne
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Waste Market Intelligence Report 2016 Table of contents: List of acronyms List of figures List of tables Executive summary Introduction and purpose Industry overview Industry structure Market size South African Western Cape Policy and regulation Waste management policy and legislation in South Africa Working with municipalities Recent legislative changes Existing legislation that will have implications in 2016 Draft legislation Opportunities and barriers for alternative waste management technologies Recyclables Paper and cardboard Plastics Glass e-Waste Construction and demolition waste Waste to energy Challenges faced by waste to energy projects Existing and emerging waste to energy opportunities Opportunities in Western Cape municipalities Funding and incentives Manufacturing incentives The Western Cape: Africa’s growing greentech hub GreenCape’s support to businesses and investors References | Waste Market Intelligence Report 2016 | GreenCape | Report | 2016 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| The Efficiency of Informality: Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Reductions from Informal Recycling in Bogotá, Colombia The dual challenges of increasing urbanization and consumption are centered in cities in the Global South, where growing waste production threatens public and environmental health. Reuse and recycling are widely recognized to provide broad environmental benefits. Although most industrialized cities replaced their informal recycling sectors with municipally run recycling schemes and have had to build their recycling rates anew, most industrializing cities in the Global South remain centers of recycling and reuse through the work of informal workers. Bogotá, Colombia, is emblematic of many cities in the Global South seeking to modernize their city, in part by formalizing their recycling system. This article asks: What are the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission implications of this modernization? Using interviews and observation in combination with life cycle assessment, we compare GHG emissions resulting from the baseline case (1,200 tonnes per day [t/d] recycled through informal channels; 5,700 t/d landfilled) to three alternative scenarios that formalize the recycling sector: the prohibition of informal recycling; a reduction in informal recycling coupled with a scale-up of formalized recycling; and the replacement of informal recycling with formal recycling. We find that the baseline recycling scenario, dependent on the informal sector only, emits far fewer GHGs than do all formalization scenarios. Three processes drive the results, in order of magnitude: informal textile reuse (largest GHG savings); landfilling (largest emitter of GHGs); and metal recycling (GHG savings). A hybrid model could combine the incentives and efficiency of the informal system with the better working conditions of the municipal one. | The Efficiency of Informality: Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Reductions from Informal ... | Vergara, Sintana E. and Damgaard, Anders and Gomez, Daniel | Journal Article | 2016 |
Bogotá
Case Study
Colombia
Greenhouse Gas
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Urban Food Consumption in Metro Manila: Interdisciplinary Approaches Towards Apprehending Practices, Patterns, and Impacts Food consumption is a local activity related to environmental impacts at different scales. Yet, the link between eating food as a social and cultural practice and the global implications of food consumption has not been sufficiently explored. We adopt a multidisciplinary approach to relate social practices with the biophysical flows of food products at the household level. Focusing on middle-class households in Metro Manila, the Philippines, we conduct qualitative interviews to highlight preferences, habits, and perceptions about food consumption. In parallel, we collect quantitative information on food purchased. We relate our results to national trends by analyzing the recent evolution of national food expenditures. Finally, we review environmental impacts related to main food categories. Our research points to the significance of socioeconomic factors on food consumption, notably the presence of domestic help or the professional situation of household members. One main finding is the identification of eating out as an important and growing trend in Asian cities, which causes a shift of resource consumption and related environmental impacts from the household to the service sector. | Urban Food Consumption in Metro Manila: Interdisciplinary Approaches Towards Apprehending ... | Burger Chakraborty, Laura and Sahakian, Marlyne and Rani, Uma and Shenoy*, Megha and Erkman, Suren | Journal Article | 2016 |
Biomass
City
Food
Manila
Metropolitan
Philippines
Research and Analysis
Urban
|
| Surveying the Environmental Footprint of Urban Food Consumption Assessments of urban metabolism (UM) are well situated to identify the scale, components, and direction of urban and energy flows in cities and have been instrumental in benchmarking and monitoring the key levers of urban environmental pressure, such as transport, space conditioning, and electricity. Hitherto, urban food consumption has garnered scant attention both in UM accounting (typically lumped with 'biomass') and on the urban policy agenda, despite its relevance to local and global environmental pressures. With future growth expected in urban population and wealth, an accounting of the environmental footprint from urban food demand ('foodprint') is necessary. This article reviews 43 UM assessments including 100 cities, and a total of 132 foodprints in terms of mass, carbon footprint, and ecological footprint and situates it relative to other significant environmental drivers (transport, energy, and so on) The foodprint was typically the third largest source of mass flows (average is 0.8 tonnes per capita per annum) and carbon footprint (average is 2.1 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalents per capita per annum) in the reviewed cities, whereas it was generally the largest driver of urban ecological footprints (average is 1.2 global hectares per capita per annum), with large deviations based on wealth, culture, and urban form. Meat and dairy are the primary drivers of both global warming and ecological footprint impacts, with little relationship between their consumption and city wealth. The foodprint is primarily linear in form, producing significant organic exhaust from the urban system that has a strong, positive correlation to wealth. Though much of the foodprint is embodied within imported foodstuffs, cities can still implement design and policy interventions, such as improved nutrient recycling and food waste avoidance, to redress the foodprint. | Surveying the Environmental Footprint of Urban Food Consumption | Goldstein, Benjamin and Birkved, Morten and Fernández, John and Hauschild, Michael | Journal Article | 2016 |
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Food
Review Paper
Single point in time
Urban
|
| An Urban Approach to Planetary Boundaries The achievement of global sustainable development goals subject to planetary boundaries will mostly be determined by cities as they drive cultures, economies, material use, and waste generation. Locally relevant, applied and quantitative methodologies are critical to capture the complexity of urban infrastructure systems, global inter-connections, and to monitor local and global progress toward sustainability. An urban monitoring (and communications) tool is presented here illustrating that a city-based approach to sustainable development is possible. Following efforts to define and quantify safe planetary boundaries in areas such as climate change, biosphere integrity, and freshwater use, this paper modifies the methodology to propose boundaries from a city's perspective. Socio-economic boundaries, or targets, largely derived from the Sustainable Development Goals are added to bio-physical boundaries. Issues such as data availability, city priorities, and ease of implementation are considered. The framework is trialed for Toronto, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Mumbai, and Dakar, as well as aggregated for the world's larger cities. The methodology provides an important tool for cities to play a more fulsome and active role in global sustainable development. | An Urban Approach to Planetary Boundaries | Hoornweg, Daniel and Hosseini, Mehdi and Kennedy, Christopher and Behdadi, Azin | Journal Article | 2016 |
Brazil
Canada
China
Dakar
India
Methodology
Mumbai
Sao Paulo
Senegal
Shanghai
Toronto
Urban
|
| State of Energy Report 2015 Table of contents: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ENERGY DATA SHEETS 2.1 Cape Town energy balance 2012 2.2 Cape Town energy and emissions overview tables 2.3 Cape Town sustainable energy indicators 2.4 Global greenhouse gas emissions 2.5 Local air pollution from energy sources 2.6 Cape Town land use and population density INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 3.1 Report overview, method and data sources 3.2 Systematising the energy data collection process 3.3 ‘Spatialising’ Cape Town energy data 3.4 Energy conversion factors 3.5 Emission coefficients and the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting (GPC) . 25 THE ENERGY POLICY ENVIRONMENT 4.1 National policy and legislative context 4.2 Energy-related local government mandates and functions emanating from national policy CAPE TOWN ENERGY SUPPLY AND DEMAND OVERVIEW 5.1 The current picture 5.2 Trends and developments: demand and supply overview 5.3 Energy and greenhouse gas emissions 5.4 Electricity distribution business overview 5.5 Cape Town benchmarked CAPE TOWN ENERGY DEMAND 6.1 Residential sector 6.1.1 Household energy sources and related demand trends 6.1.2 End-use energy applications 6.1.3 Energy services for sustainable development 6.1.4 Energy poverty and relative cost of household fuels 6.2 Commercial and industrial sectors 6.2.1 Commercial and industrial fuels and related demand trends 6.3 Transport and mobility 6.3.1 Transport-sector energy overview 6.3.2 Road-based private transport 6.3.3 Transport modal split 6.3.4 Public transport 6.3.5 Commuter trip length 6.4 Local government 6.4.1 Local-government sector energy overview 6.4.2 Data and comparability of data over time 6.4.3 Buildings and municipal operations using electricity, and efficiency projects 6.4.4 Vehicle fleet 6.4.5 Solid waste sector CAPE TOWN ENERGY SUPPLY 7.1. Supply overview 7.2. Energy supply sources 7.2.1 Coal 7.2.2 Liquid fuels and natural gas 7.2.3 Electricity 7.2.4 Demand-side measures and energy efficiency interventions 7.2.5 Renewable and sustainable electricity and energy 7.2.6 Impact of renewable energy and energy efficiency on City of Cape Town revenue 7.2.7 Wood REFERENCES APPENDICES 9.1 Method notes 9.2 Sector demand 9.3 Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories (GPC) 9.4 Supplier survey of grid-connected solar photovoltaic systems in Cape Town, May 2014 | State of Energy Report 2015 | City of Cape Town | Report | 2016 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| Urban Food Consumption in Metro Manila: Interdisciplinary Approaches Towards Apprehending Practices, Patterns, and Impacts Food consumption is a local activity related to environmental impacts at different scales. Yet, the link between eating food as a social and cultural practice and the global implications of food consumption has not been sufficiently explored. We adopt a multidisciplinary approach to relate social practices with the biophysical flows of food products at the household level. Focusing on middle-class households in Metro Manila, the Philippines, we conduct qualitative interviews to highlight preferences, habits, and perceptions about food consumption. In parallel, we collect quantitative information on food purchased. We relate our results to national trends by analyzing the recent evolution of national food expenditures. Finally, we review environmental impacts related to main food categories. Our research points to the significance of socioeconomic factors on food consumption, notably the presence of domestic help or the professional situation of household members. One main finding is the identification of eating out as an important and growing trend in Asian cities, which causes a shift of resource consumption and related environmental impacts from the household to the service sector. | Urban Food Consumption in Metro Manila: Interdisciplinary Approaches Towards Apprehending ... | Burger Chakraborty, Laura and Sahakian, Marlyne and Rani, Uma and Shenoy, Megha and Erkman, Suren | Journal Article | 2016 |
Food
Manila
Philippines
Research and Analysis
Urban
|
| Uncovering driving forces on urban metabolism—A case of Shenyang Exploring the sustainability of urban ecosystem is becoming a key area in global sustainable development. Urban metabolism is an effective analysis tool for the study of urban ecosystem. In this regard, how to evaluate the level of urban sustainable development and identify the key factors that affect urban metabolism is critical. Many studies on urban metabolism have been explored during the past half century, but few concerns about the key factors that affect urban metabolism. Therefore, this paper fills such a gap by combining emergy and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) methods in order to analyze the sustainable development level and identify the driving forces of emergy utilization, respectively. A typical industrial city, Shenyang in northeast China, was chosen as a case study city in this paper. Results show that renewable resource utilization in Shenyang was very limited from 2000 to 2010, while nonrenewable resources and the imported resources increased rapidly. During this period, total emergy utilization of Shenyang increased from 8.52 × 1022 sej to 21.53 × 1022 sej, and emergy density increased with annual increasing rate of 10.34%, demonstrating a fast development of the economy and high level of resident's consumption. \{LMDI\} method was employed to analyze the driving forces of emergy consumption from the aspects of scale, structure and intensity. Results show that the rapid increase of emergy utilization in Shenyang was mainly caused by the expansion of economic scale, while emergy intensity greatly contributed to offset total consumption, and industry structure played a marginal role, with a minor value for its growth. Based upon these results, several policy recommendations were raised, including the use of more renewable and clean energy sources, a regenerative and preventative eco-industrial development approach, and capacity-building efforts, so that the overall environment pressure on urban development can be reduced. | Uncovering driving forces on urban metabolism—A case of Shenyang | Lu Sun and Huijuan Dong and Yong Geng and Zhaoling Li and Zhe Liu and Tsuyoshi Fujita and Satoshi Ohnishi and Minoru Fujii | Journal Article | 2016 |
China
Energy/Emergy
Research and Analysis
Shenyang
Urban
Urban Ecology
|
| Lisbon's womb: an approach to the city metabolism in the turn to the twentieth century The consumption and production of food products in the municipality of Lisbon in the 1890-1900 decade is assessed with the support of historical cartography and statistical resources. For the first time, food production in a municipality in the turn to the twentieth century is accounted and simultaneously subject of a visual analysis of the land used for agriculture and of the water infrastructures that supported such uses. Agriculture occupied at least 40 % of the territory of the city, while the built environment occupied no more than 16 % of the territory. However, local production of food was far from supplying most of the citizens' needs, and substantial food imports were needed. In this context, the municipality behaved like a heterotrophic system, highly dependent on the external supply of resources. Moreover, comparing to other European cities at the time Lisbon was facing in the end of the nineteenth century a late and slow transition from an agrarian social metabolism to an industrial one, suggesting that Lisbon was still relatively high-solar-powered as compared to other European cities at the time that were already highly fossil-fuel-powered. | Lisbon's womb: an approach to the city metabolism in the ... | Niza, Samuel and Ferreira, Daniela and Mourão, Joana and d'Almeida, Patrícia Bento and Marat-Mendes, Teresa | Journal Article | 2016 |
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Lisbon
Portugal
Time series
Urban
|
| The greening of neoliberal urbanism in Santiago de Chile: urbanisation by green enclaves and the production of a new socio-nature in Chicureo This study analyses the linkages between neoliberal urbanism and urban greening in the making, maintaining and living of urban enclaves in Chicureo, in Santiago's metropolitan countryside. Anchored on Urban Political Ecology proposals, this research examines the role of a new urban metabolism of material flows and subjectivity driven by the urban enclaves in the production of a new socio-nature in Chicureo. The findings suggest that the assemblage of innovations in neoliberal planning, market environmentalism and elitist utopianism is generating green enclaves that reproduce social privilege and environmental inequality. Nevertheless, tensions and conflicts account for possibilities of alternative directions in Chicureo's development. | The greening of neoliberal urbanism in Santiago de Chile: urbanisation ... | Martin Sanzana Calvet | Thesis | 2016 |
Case Study
Chile
Santiago de Chile
Urban
|
| Changes of human time and land use pattern in one mega city's urban metabolism: a multi-scale integrated analysis of Shanghai Human time and land use are important elements in terms of one mega city's urban metabolism, thus, it is critical to find an integrated approach to evaluate their contributions. In this paper a dual-fund analytical framework has been developed by employing the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach to analyze the metabolic pattern of one mega city from economic, social and ecological dimensions. A case study of Shanghai was undertaken to study its historical pattern changes and evaluate the possible results with the implementation of the 13th Five Year Plan. Research results show that shanghai relied on the extraneous labor force to fulfill the need of working hours and economic transition in Shanghai occurred with the booming development of tertiary sector. Shanghai's land resource is very scarce to meet its need of development, leading to a need of adopting integrated efforts to. In order to achieve the proposed targets, economic labor productivity and land use performance should be improved through the application of various measures, including industrial and energy structure optimization, energy saving, capacity building and circular economy. | Changes of human time and land use pattern in one ... | Lu, Yangsiyu and Geng, Yong and Qian, Yiying and Han, Wenyi and McDowall, Will and Bleischwitz, Raimund | Journal Article | 2016 |
China
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Methodology
Shanghai
Urban
|
| Global Sustainable City-Regions: Mumbai, Shenzhen, Reykjavik, Portland, Budapest, Glasgow and Rotterdam This policy report, entitled ‘Global Sustainable City-Regions,' covers the work developed by the lecturer, Dr Igor Calzada, MBA, as the editor of the publication and students/participants of the first edition of the New Masters course MSc in Leadership for Global Sustainable Cities from September to December 2015 at the Institute for Future Cities in the Business Faculty at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow (Scotland - UK). Specifically, this policy report follows a two-sequential-module structure: • The first module, entitled ‘Global Cities: Sustainability and Society,' consists of six methodological units. • Thereafter, the second module, entitled ‘Public Policy, Governance and Strategic Change in Cities,' consists of five methodological units. The policy report focuses on three urban global issues in a comparative basis. The MSc was developed in a team-based dynamic by applying qualitative action research methodologies to understand and interpret each case and to benchmark and contrast with other cases that addressed the same global urban issue. As a result, the following three global urban issues and seven Global Sustainable City-Region case studies were selected. Each student/participant worked on each of them, as follows: Global Southerners · Mumbai (Kirsten MacDonald) · Shenzhen (Ning Qiu) Resilient Contradictors · Reykjavik/Iceland (Christopher Dynes) · Portland/Oregon (Gemma Murray) · Budapest (Nikolett Watson-Puskás) Regional Networkers · Glasgow/Scotland (Gavin McAdam) · Rotterdam/Randstad (Frankie Barrett) Download the policy report: www.translokal.com/publishing More information: igor.calzada@compas.ox.ac.uk Reference: Calzada I. et al. (Ed) (2016), Global Sustainable City-Regions: Mumbai, Shenzhen, Reykjavik, Portland, Budapest, Glasgow and Rotterdam, Translokal - Academic Entrepreneurship for Policy Making - Publishing, Donostia in collaboration with City Protocol Society & Institute for Future Cities, University of Strathclyde. Calzada I. (Ed) [MacDonald, K., Qiu, N., Dynes, C., Murray, G., Watson-Puskas, N., McAdam, G., & Barrett, F.] (2016), Global Sustainable City-Regions: Mumbai, Shenzhen, Reykjavik, Portland, Budapest, Glasgow and Rotterdam, Translokal - Academic Entrepreneurship for Policy Making - Publishing, Donostia in collaboration with City Protocol Society & Institute for Future Cities, University of Strathclyde. ISBN (e-book): 978-84-942752-7-2. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3053.1609. | Global Sustainable City-Regions: Mumbai, Shenzhen, Reykjavik, Portland, Budapest, Glasgow and ... | Calzada, Igor | Book | 2016 |
Budapest
Case Study
Glasgow
Mumbai
Policy
Portland
Reykjavik
Rotterdam
Shenzhen
Urban
|
| African Urbanization: Assimilating Urban Metabolism into Sustainability Discourse and Practice Shaping sustainable, equitable African cities requires strengthened investigations into the cities' current resource flows, infrastructure systems, and future resource requirements. The field of urban metabolism (UM) offers multiple forms of analysis with which to map, analyse, and visualize urban resource profiles. Challenges in assessing UM in African cities include data scarcity at the city level, difficulty in tracking informal flows, lack of standardized methods, and the open nature of cities. However, such analyses are needed at the local level, given that city practitioners cannot rely purely on urban planning traditions of the global North or the typically broad studies about urban Africa, for supporting strategies toward sustainable urban development. This article aims to draw together the concepts of sustainable development and UM and explore their application in the African context. Further, the article estimated resource profiles for 120 African cities, including consumption of biomass, fossil fuels, electricity, construction materials, and water, as well as emissions of carbon dioxide. These resource profiles serve as a baseline from which to begin assessing the current and future resource intensity of these cities. It also provides insights into the cities' relative resource impact, future consumption trends, and potential options for sustainability interventions. | African Urbanization: Assimilating Urban Metabolism into Sustainability Discourse and Practice | Currie, Paul Klugman and Musango, Josephine Kaviti | Journal Article | 2016 |
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Regional
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Using change detection data to assess amount and composition of demolition waste from buildings in Vienna Major waste streams in urban areas result from the demolition of buildings. In the case of lack of data ondemolition waste generation at the municipal level, the quantity and composition of demolition wastesfrom buildings can be estimated by multiplying the volume of demolished buildings, which is takenfrom statistical data sets, by their material composition. However, statistical data sets about the numberand thus total volume of buildings demolished are often incomplete. This paper presents an alternativeapproach to validating demolition statistics (number and volume of buildings demolished) and subse-quently demolition waste generation by applying change detection based on image matching to the casestudy of the city of Vienna, Austria. Based on this technique, building demolition activities not reportedto statistical municipal departments can be identified. Results show that in the city of Vienna, demolitionstatistics yield a total volume of 1.7 M m3/a demolished building volume, while change detection basedon image matching yields a total volume of 2.8 M m3/a. Consequently, demolition waste generation fig-ures solely based on statistical data probably underestimate the total waste generation, which can havesignificant consequences for the estimation of landfill space and recycling plant capacity required. Forthis reason, the approach presented is not only a useful tool for validating existing data on demolitionwaste generation and demolition statistics, but can also be used when these data sets are not existent atall. | Using change detection data to assess amount and composition of ... | Fritz Kleemann; Hubert Lehner; Anna Szczypińska; Jakob Lederer; Johann Fellner | Journal Article | 2016 |
Austria
Case Study
Construction Materials
Single point in time
Urban
Vienna
Waste
|
| Metabolic heat production by human and animal populations in cities Anthropogenic heating from building energy use, vehicle fuel consumption, and human metabolism is a key term in the urban energy budget equation. Heating from human metabolism, however, is often excluded from urban energy budgets because it is widely observed to be negligible. Few reports for low-latitude cities are available to support this observation, and no reports exist on the contribution of domestic animals to urban heat budgets. To provide a more comprehensive view of metabolic heating in cities, we quantified all terms of the anthropogenic heat budget at metropolitan scale for the world's 26 largest cities, using a top-down statistical approach. Results show that metabolic heat release from human populations in mid-latitude cities (e.g. London, Tokyo, New York) accounts for 4-8% of annual anthropogenic heating, compared to 10-45% in high-density tropical cities (e.g. Cairo, Dhaka, Kolkata). Heat release from animal populations amounts to | Metabolic heat production by human and animal populations in cities | Iain Stewart; Chris Kennedy | Journal Article | 2016 |
Case Study
Electricity
Heat
Urban
|
| Resource consumption drivers and pathways to reduction: economy, policy and lifestyle impact on material flows at the national and urban scale An analysis of material flows that also considers economic and social indicators has been performed at the national (Sweden) and urban scale (Stockholm and Gothenburg) to study the dynamics of resource use during the last two decades. A summary of policies related to resource consumption implemented at the EU, national and local scale is presented and their probable effects discussed based on empirical evidence. The resource consumption trends indicate that the implemented policies have failed to bring significant reductions in resource and energy throughput. Resource consumption has increased both in Sweden as a whole and in the studied cities. Moreover, the consumption of construction materials and electronics has grown exponentially, even when normalized by population. The few success stories are the absolute reduction in fossil fuel consumption achieved in Stockholm, building energy reduction by halve and complete abolishment of oil as the heating fuel in Sweden. The lifestyle characteristics that have an impact on resource consumption include high income, car ownership, large residential floor space, social movements and trends related to dietary choices. The consumption of electronics, textiles and cosmetic products was shown to have increased considerably. The same quantities of food are consumed, but the diet has changed. Waste generation by far outpaces improvements in recycling. In recycling, waste-to-energy is growing faster than material recycling, which impedes the development of a circular economy. The main limitation of the policies implemented to-date is that they only address efficiency of use, but do nothing to reduce the demand for resources. In addition, efforts have so far been restricted to energy consumption. The reality is that we must urgently reduce the consumption of all resources, not just fossil fuels. We call for greater concern and more action towards reducing nonfuel resource consumption. | Resource consumption drivers and pathways to reduction: economy, policy and ... | Yuliya Kalmykova and Leonardo Rosado and João Patrício | Journal Article | 2016 |
Case Study
Gothenburg
National
Policy
Stockholm
Sweden
Urban
|
| Toward a Political Ecology of Biosocial Relations. Rethinking the Urban Water Metabolism beyond the City This working paper examines the concept of metabolism and its potential as a critical analytical lens to study the contemporary city from a political perspective. The paper illustrates how the metabolism concept has been used historically, both as a metaphor to describe the technological, social, political and economic dimensions of human-environment relations, and as a concrete analytical tool to quantify and better understand how flows of matter and energy shape the territorial and spatial configurations of cityscapes. Drawing on the example of the urban water metabolism of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), it is argued that contemporary approaches to metabolic analysis should be extended in two ways to increase the integrative potential of the urban water metabolism concept. On the one hand, the paper demonstrates that a political ecology approach is particularly well-suited to illuminate the contested production of urban environments and move beyond a narrow technical, managerial and state-centric focus in research on urban metabolic relations. On the other hand, the paper advocates for an approach to metabolic analysis that views the urban environment not simply as a relatively static exteriority that is produced by dynamic flows of matter, energy and information, but rather as a dynamic, nested and co-evolutionary network of complex biosocial and material relations, which in itself shapes how various metabolisms interact across scales. The paper then concludes by briefly discussing how a combination of metabolic analysis and political ecology research can inform urban water governance. In sum, the paper emphasizes the need for metabolic analysis to remain open to a plurality of different knowledge forms and perspectives, and to remain attentive to the inherently political nature of material and technological phenomena in order to allow for mutually beneficial exchanges between various scholarly communities. | Toward a Political Ecology of Biosocial Relations. Rethinking the Urban ... | Schulz, Karsten; Bruns, Antje | Report | 2016 |
Accra
Case Study
Ghana
Political ecology
Single point in time
Urban
Water
|
| The ferrous find: Counting iron and steel stocks in China's economy A detailed understanding of material stocks in use is essential for anticipating future scrap availability, identifying critical drivers for material use, and developing strategies for resource efficiency. Here, we present a bottom-up assessment of iron and steel stocks in use in urban and rural China for the years 2000 and 2010, including >250 subcategories of products and components, and grouping them into five main end-use categories (i.e., buildings, infrastructure, domestic appliances, machinery, and transport equipment). The uncertainty range of the steel content per type of stock, a determinant of the accuracy and usefulness of the stock accounting, is probed by multiple means, including sample analysis. Important findings are that (1) iron and steel stocks in China have climbed to 2.4 tonnes/capita (t/cap) in 2010, up from 0.9 t/cap in 2000. The use of reinforced concrete in construction of the urban built environment was the major driver for stock growth; (2) a rural-urban difference was uncovered, with rural iron and steel stocks of approximately 1.1 t/cap and the urban iron and steel stocks of approximately 3.7 t/cap in 2010. Both are, nevertheless, far below the level of 10 to 16 t/cap observed in highly industrialized and urbanized countries. For this reason, further stock increase is foreseeable as urbanization and industrialization proceeds and quality of life improves; (3) nearly half of the steel stocks were embedded in concrete structures, and 23% were located in the countryside. Only a fraction of these stocks are currently recovered at end of life | The ferrous find: Counting iron and steel stocks in China's ... | Wang, Tao, and Müller, Daniel B., and Hashimoto, Senji | Journal Article | 2015 |
China
Material Stock Analysis
Metals
Rural
Single point in time
Uncertainty
Urban
|
| Implementing Smart Urban Metabolism in the Stockholm Royal Seaport: Smart City SRS For half a century, system scientists have relied on urban metabolism (UM) as a pragmatic framework to support the needed transition toward sustainable urban development. It has been suggested that information and communication technology (ICT) and, more specifically, smart cities can be leveraged in this transition. Given the recent advances in smart cities, smart urban metabolism (SUM) is considered a technology-enabled evolution of the UM framework, overcoming some of its current limitations. Most significantly, the SUM framework works at high temporal (up to real-time) and spatial (down to household/individual) resolutions. This article presents the first implementation of SUM in the Smart City Stockholm Royal Seaport R&D project; it further analyzes barriers and discusses the potential long-term implications of the findings. Four key performance indicators (KPIs) are generated in real time based on the integration of heterogeneous, real-time data sources. These are kilowatt-hours per square meter, carbon dioxide equivalents per capita, kilowatt-hours of primary energy per capita, and share of renewables percentage. These KPIs are fed back on three levels (household, building, and district) on four interfaces, developed for different audiences. The most challenging barrier identified was accessing and integrating siloed data from the different data owners (utilities, building owners, and so forth). It is hard to overcome unless a significant value is perceived. A number of long-term opportunities were described in the SUM context; among those, it is envisioned that SUM could enable a new understanding of the causalities that govern urbanism and allow citizens and city officials to receive feedback on the system consequences of their choices. | Implementing Smart Urban Metabolism in the Stockholm Royal Seaport: Smart ... | Shahrokni, Hossein and Årman, Louise and Lazarevic, David and Nilsson, Anders and Brandt, Nils | Journal Article | 2015 |
Case Study
Stockholm
Sweden
Urban
|
| Mercury emissions by Beijing׳s fossil energy consumption: Based on environmentally extended input-output analysis Fossil energy burning is one of the most important sources of atmospheric mercury emissions, which poses great threats to both environment and human health. Urban regions are dominant energy consumers; however, the information on the resultant mercury emissions in urban regions has been lacking. Therefore, in light of environmentally extended input-output analysis, this study used Beijing as a case to investigate embodied (direct plus indirect) mercury emissions induced by fossil energy consumption in urban regions. The results show that embodied mercury emissions caused by Beijing׳s fossil energy consumption amounted to 5.86 tonnes, which is over 1.5 times the direct emissions, indicating that the conventional direct emission accounting method will lead to significant emission leakage. Coal combustion takes the major responsibility for energy-related mercury emissions. As a net importer of embodied mercury emissions, Beijing avoided a considerable amount of mercury emissions. Sectors like construction which play key role in embodied mercury emissions are also identified in this study. To comprehensively reduce mercury emissions from energy consumption the Beijing government should devote efforts to develop clean coal technology and high efficiency mercury removal devices, shift investment from infrastructure construction to tertiary industries and optimize green consumption among the residents, especially the urban residents. The method and findings may be useful for compilation of overall urban mercury emissions inventory as well as have important policy implications for global cities to control mercury emissions. | Mercury emissions by Beijing׳s fossil energy consumption: Based on environmentally ... | J.S. Li and G.Q. Chen and T. Hayat and A. Alsaedi | Journal Article | 2015 |
Beijing
China
Emissions
Urban
|
| Urban energy consumption: Different insights from energy flow analysis, input-output analysis and ecological network analysis Energy consumption has always been a central issue for sustainable urban assessment and planning. Different forms of energy analysis can provide various insights for energy policy making. This paper brought together three approaches for energy consumption accounting, i.e., energy flow analysis (EFA), input-output analysis (IOA) and ecological network analysis (ENA), and compared their different perspectives and the policy implications for urban energy use. Beijing was used to exemplify the different energy analysis processes, and the 42 economic sectors of the city were aggregated into seven components. It was determined that \{EFA\} quantifies both the primary and final energy consumption of the urban components by tracking the different types of fuel used by the urban economy. \{IOA\} accounts for the embodied energy consumption (direct and indirect) used to produce goods and services in the city, whereas the control analysis of \{ENA\} quantifies the specific embodied energy that is regulated by the activities within the city's boundary. The network control analysis can also be applied to determining which economic sectors drive the energy consumption and to what extent these sectors are dependent on each other for energy. So-called 'controlled energy' is a new concept that adds to the analysis of urban energy consumption, indicating the adjustable energy consumed by sectors. The integration of insights from all three accounting perspectives further our understanding of sustainable energy use in cities. | Urban energy consumption: Different insights from energy flow analysis, input-output ... | Shaoqing Chen and Bin Chen | Journal Article | 2015 |
Energy
Methodology
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Urban
|
| Urban Metabolism of Recycling and Reusing Food Waste: A Case Study in Taipei City The purpose of this study is to adopt the urban metabolism method to compare bio-waste scenarios of reuse and landfills. The study focuses on food waste (FW) generated from Taipei City to determine what outcomes will result if bio-waste is transformed into energy or material resources. The results show that under the scenario of bio-waste reuse, metabolic efficiency in Taipei increases, e.g., the same amount of resources can be used to produce more products. However, the urban impact also increases due to the bio-waste conversion process. Applying the life cycle assessment method of quantifying the environmental burden for bio-waste conversion technology selection enhances the urban metabolism efficiency of resources in Taipei and reduces the urban impact on the environment. The most environmentally friendly FW conversion technology is composting after pre-treatment of high-temperature cooking. The next most environmentally friendly method is direct composting treatment. This is followed by anaerobic co-digestion with sewage sludge, and the worst option is transforming FW into bio-ethanol. | Urban Metabolism of Recycling and Reusing Food Waste: A Case ... | Tseng, Wei-Lun and Chiueh, Pei-Te | Journal Article | 2015 |
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Food
Single point in time
Taipei
Taiwan
Urban
|
| Urban metabolism: Measuring the city's contribution to sustainable development Urban metabolism refers to the assessment of the amount of resources produced and consumed by urban ecosystems. It has become an important tool to understand how the development of one city causes impacts to the local and regional environment and to support a more sustainable urban design and planning. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to measure the changes in material and energy use occurred in the city of Curitiba (Brazil) between the years of 2000 and 2010. Results reveal better living conditions and socioeconomic improvements derived from higher resource throughput but without complete disregard to environmental issues. Food intake, water consumption and air emissions remained at similar levels; energy use, construction materials and recycled waste were increased. The paper helps illustrate why it seems more adequate to assess the contribution a city makes to sustainable development than to evaluate if one single city is sustainable or not. | Urban metabolism: Measuring the city's contribution to sustainable development | Leonardo S. Conke and Tainá L. Ferreira | Journal Article | 2015 |
Brazil
Case Study
Curitiba
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Single point in time
Urban
|
| The Baltimore School of Urban Ecology: Space, Scale and Time for the Study of Cities The first “urban century” in history has arrived: a majority of the world's population now resides in cities and their surrounding suburbs. Urban expansion marches on, and the planning and design of future cities requires attention to such diverse issues as human migration, public health, economic restructuring, water supply, climate and sea-level change, and much more. This book draws on two decades of pioneering social and ecological studies in Baltimore to propose a new way to think about cities and their social, political, and ecological complexity that will apply in many different parts of the world. The aim is to give fresh perspectives on how to study, build, and manage cities in innovative and sustainable ways. | The Baltimore School of Urban Ecology: Space, Scale and Time ... | Grove, J.M. and Cadenasso, M. and Pickett, S.T.A. and Burch, W.R., Jr. and Machlis, G.E. | Book | 2015 |
Urban
Urban Ecology
|
| Fluxes of urban pollution from the city of Naples (IT) A super-site for the measurement of atmospheric pollutants from urban sources has been established in Naples where the complex layout of the coasts and surrounding mountains favours the development of combined sea breeze upslope winds and the evolution of return flows with several layers of pollutants and subsidence. The metropolitan area of Naples has one of the highest population densities in Europe with an important impact in terms of emissions associated with diesel/gasoline exhaust, industrial emissions, agricultural burning and waste disposal problem. In the super-site, located at the meteorological observatory of San Marcellino, an eddy covariance tower has been installed recently on the rooftop of the building: a fast response ultrasonic anemometer (Gill WindMaster) has been mounted on a 10-m mast, alongside three insulated inlet lines through which the air is sampled for reactive, non reactive gases and particulate. The height of the terrace is on average 35 m above the irregular street level, resulting in an overall measuring height of 45 m. Mixing ratios of CO2, CH4 and H2O are measured by an infrared spectrometer (10 Hz, Los Gatos Research); O3 mixing ratios are measured by a fast analyser (10Hz, FOS Sextant) for the calculation of fluxes, and referred to concentrations measured by a slower analyser (2B-Technologies, 205). NO and NOx are continuously quantified (1 Hz) using a NOx analyzer Eco Physics model (CLD 88p) associated with a photolytic converter (PLC 860). Size segregated aerosol are measured by gravimetric method at an hourly/daily frequency through a SWAM 5A Dual Channel (PM10 and PM2.5, FAI Instruments). A faster optical particle counter (4 Hz, FAI Instruments) allows the estimate of fluxes - as well as concentrations - of 22 classes of particles diameter. All analysers outputs are synchronised with the sonic anemometer through a common acquisition at 10 Hz using a CR3000 datalogger (Campbell Scientific). A full weather station is also available as ancillary measurements at the site including two webcams to record exceptional events to aid interpretation of the results. The fluxes are representative of varying footprint source areas, covering the historical centre of Naples, the harbour, and some main traffic arteries of the city. Preliminary results show that, during a stable event in the month of November, the mean urban levels of CO2 are between 420-520 ppm; the mean levels of CH4 span between 1.85-2.48 ppm, and the O3 levels are extremely variable, between 2 and 62 ppb. These follow NOx abundance, with values ranging between 0.5 and 84 ppb for NO, and 5 and 29 ppb for NO2, with an average NO2/NO ratio around 30%. Daily PM10 levels vary between 18 and 55 ?g/m3, and PM2.5 between 12 and 47 ?g/m3. The largest concentrations were measured from air coming from the harbour, coinciding with the presence of cruise ships. The year-long planned measurements will allow to establish relationships between the fluxes of greenhouse gases and the other pollutant species measured, to investigate the controls of the emission and provide relative emission factors for the urban sources. | Fluxes of urban pollution from the city of Naples (IT) | D. Famulari, I. Russo, R. Vuolo, G. Tirimberio, P. Di Tommasi, A. Esposito, G. Agrillo, M. Tosca, B. Gioli, E. Magliulo, A. Mazzarella, R. Viola, A. Riccio, A. Zaldei, P. Toscano | Presentation | 2015 |
Naples
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Analysis of High-Resolution Utility Data for Understanding Energy Use in Urban Systems: The Case of Los Angeles, California Urban metabolism provides a framework to understand resource flows into cities and waste flows out. Its potential has been hampered by the lack of good disaggregated data. This article presents energy-use findings for the residential sector for the city of Los Angeles based on census-block-level aggregation of address-level electricity use obtained from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. City or county billing data by customer class over time can enable empirical tracking of energy conservation and efficiency programs by different customer classes, and matched to census information and county tax assessor data about building vintage, size, and type can provide information important for rate setting, for example, or energy conservation and efficiency program investments. We report on median electricity demand and corresponding greenhouse gas emissions and expenditures at three geographical aggregations: city council district (15 in total); neighborhood (114 in total); and census block group (2,538 in total). We find that the ratio of median annual demand between highest- and lowest-tier users is 26 at the census-block group level, but only 2.2 at the city council district level, demonstrating that spatial aggregation significantly masks the degree of variation that may be observed. We also show how such data can enable the description of energy to develop energy disclosure thresholds that reflect a city's morphology. In contrast to New York City's 50,000-square-foot reporting threshold, to capture half of Los Angeles' electricity consumption, the threshold for reporting would have to be 5,000 square feet. | Analysis of High-Resolution Utility Data for Understanding Energy Use in ... | Pincetl, Stephanie and Graham, Robert and Murphy, Sinnott and Sivaraman, Deepak | Journal Article | 2015 |
Case Study
Data Quality
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Electricity
Infra-urban
Los Angeles
Multi-scale
Research and Analysis
Single point in time
United States
Urban
|
| Urban-Scale Material Flow Analysis in a South African Context: A Cape Town Feasibility Study Urban-scale Material Flow Analyses (MFAs) in the global south provide unique challenges compared to national MFAs and to urban MFAs in the north. In order to determine the feasibility of undertaking an urban-scale MFA in the global south, this dissertation sets out to undertake an MFA on Cape Town, and thoroughly analyze the data collection process, document the challenges, and interpret data quantity and quality. Data were found for nearly all flows defined in the Eurostat methodology, but only for the most recent of three consecutive years under study. Data quality is challenged by high variance in reliability of sources, difficulty in obtaining documents, additional work required to process the data, lack of data on informal or illegal flows, and the scattered distribution of sources. Data collection took 345 hours during a period of 22 and involved interaction with a total of 325 contacts and 86 documents. The principal activities were related to contacting and interacting with people. Most time was spent on e-mailing and meeting people, and significant time was furthermore spent on transportation to and from meetings. Not all time was spent effectively and efficiently. Chasing unreliable data and unproductive cross-checking were the principal culprits. Despite the challenges, the quantity and quality of data are of a sufficient level to provide interesting insights into the urban metabolism for Cape Town, and undertaking this kind of urban-scale MFA is thus deemed feasible. Once a time-consuming, initial MFA has identified valuable and reliable sources, periodic repetition should be relatively uncomplicated. Through government involvement or industry cooperation, data collection and data sharing with a few key stakeholders can make regular urban MFA reporting a feasible reality. This work shows who those key stakeholders are and how researchers and government can undertake and improve future urban MFA studies - not only on Cape Town but also on other regions and cities in South Africa. | Urban-Scale Material Flow Analysis in a South African Context: A ... | Paul Hoekman | Thesis | 2015 |
Cape Town
EUROSTAT methodology
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Single point in time
South Africa
Urban
|
| Intensive measurements of PM above the city of Naples (Southern Italy) A super-site for the measurement of atmospheric pollutants from urban sources has been established in Naples (Campania, Southern Italy), where the complex layout of the coast and surrounding mountains favours the development of combined sea breeze upslope winds and the evolution of return flows with several layers of pollutants and subsidence. With a population of circa 4 million (around 1 million within the city), the metropolitan area of Naples has one of the highest densities in Europe, with consequent impacts in terms of emissions associated with diesel/gasoline exhaust, industrial emissions, agricultural burning and waste disposal problem. At the super-site, an eddy covariance tower has been installed on the rooftop of the Meteorological Observatory of Largo San Marcellino, situated in the historical city centre: a fast response ultrasonic anemometer (Gill WindMaster) has been mounted on a 10-m mast, alongside three insulated inlet lines through which the air is sampled for gaseous pollutants and particulate matter. The height of the terrace is on average 35 m above the irregular street level, resulting in an overall measuring height of 45 m. Size segregated aerosol are measured by gravimetric method at low frequency (hourly to daily) through a SWAM 5A Dual Channel (PM10 and PM2.5, FAI Instruments). A faster optical particle counter (4 Hz, FAI Instruments) allows the estimate of particle numbers of 22 classes of particles diameter, from 0.28 to 10?m; it also provides continuous concentration of fine and coarse fractions through an internal algorhythm, tuned with the gravimetric measurements. The fast analyser outputs are synchronised with the sonic anemometer through a common acquisition at 10 Hz using a CR3000 datalogger (Campbell Scientific). A full weather station is also available as ancillary measurements at the site including two webcams to record exceptional events to aid interpretation of the results. The fluxes are representative of varying footprint areas, covering the historical centre of Naples, the harbour, and some main traffic arteries of the city. Preliminary results show that in the period between 8 December 2014 and 8 January 2015, daily PM10 and PM2.5 levels kept below 59 ?g/m3 and 48 ?g/m3 respectively, with the maximum reached on Christmas day, during stable conditions characterised by a high pressure, lack of rain and weak winds. The eddy covariance system proved able to detect fluxes of particle numbers above the city: during the same month, the measured PM fluxes revealed a strong emission peak on New Year's Eve, in correspondence of the traditional fireworks display, coupled with a strong, short concentration pulse (lasting about one hour), that dispersed quickly due to the windy conditions. The year-long planned measurements will allow establishing relationships between the fluxes of PM and the other pollutant species measured, to investigate the controls of the exchange, and provide relative emission factors for the urban sources according to seasonality. | Intensive measurements of PM above the city of Naples (Southern ... | D. Famulari , I. Russo, R. Vuolo , D. Piscitelli, P. DiTommasi, A. Esposito, M. Tosca, G. Agrillo, D. Gasbarra, L. Schindler, B. Gioli , E. Magliulo, A. Zaldei , A. Mazzarella, R. Viola , N. Scafetta, G. Tirimberio, E. Chianese, A. Riccio, P. Toscano | Report | 2015 |
Case Study
Emissions
Italy
Naples
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Mass, energy, and emergy analysis of the metabolism of Macao Urban metabolism analysis has become an important tool for the study of urban ecosystems. The metabolism of a city can be seen as the processes by which the city transforms the materials and energy it requires to sustain its socioeconomic activity. In the present study, we analyzed the anabolic and catabolic flows that occur during Macao's urbanization processes. Macao is a tourist city with a dense population, but is short on natural resources; thus, most of its life-support services depend on resource imports from outside its system. We used mass, energy, and emergy analysis to quantify the metabolic processes that occurred in Macao in 2013. Macao's anabolic and catabolic density both increased to high levels due to a tremendous influx of visitors in 2013. By employing systems ecology based on mass, energy, and emergy metrics, we were able to quantitatively describe the city's resource metabolism. We found that by relying on a large amount of inflows to support anabolism compared with catabolic flows, Macao was able to absorb large amounts of negative-entropy materials, and that these flows of resources supported both its survival and its booming development. We also found tremendously high heat dissipation, and that after accounting for catabolism, the city retained less than 10% of the total input for anabolism. | Mass, energy, and emergy analysis of the metabolism of Macao | Kampeng Lei and Lu Liu and Dan Hu and Inchio Lou | Journal Article | 2015 |
Case Study
China
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Electricity
Energy/Emergy
Macao
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Energy and material flows of megacities Understanding the drivers of energy and material flows of cities is important for addressing global environmental challenges. Accessing, sharing, and managing energy and material resources is particularly critical for megacities, which face enormous social stresses because of their sheer size and complexity. Here we quantify the energy and material flows through the world's 27 megacities with populations greater than 10 million people as of 2010. Collectively the resource flows through megacities are largely consistent with scaling laws established in the emerging science of cities. Correlations are established for electricity consumption, heating and industrial fuel use, ground transportation energy use, water consumption, waste generation, and steel production in terms of heating-degree-days, urban form, economic activity, and population growth. The results help identify megacities exhibiting high and low levels of consumption and those making efficient use of resources. The correlation between per capita electricity use and urbanized area per capita is shown to be a consequence of gross building floor area per capita, which is found to increase for lower-density cities. Many of the megacities are growing rapidly in population but are growing even faster in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and energy use. In the decade from 2001-2011, electricity use and ground transportation fuel use in megacities grew at approximately half the rate of GDP growth. | Energy and material flows of megacities | Kennedy, Christopher A. and Stewart, Iain and Facchini, Angelo and Cersosimo, Igor and Mele, Renata and Chen, Bin and Uda, Mariko and Kansal, Arun and Chiu, Anthony and Kim, Kwi-gon and Dubeux, Carolina and Lebre La Rovere, Emilio and Cunha, Bruno and Pin | Conference Paper | 2015 |
Bangkok
Beijing
Buenos Aires
Delhi
Dhaka
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Guangzhou
Istanbul
Jakarta
Karachi
Kolkata
Lagos
London
Los Angeles
Manila
Mexico City
Moscow
New York
Osaka
Paris
Rio de Janeiro
Sao Paulo
Seoul
Shanghai
Shenzhen
Single point in time
Tehran
Tokyo
Urban
|
| A Cities Approach to Sustainability This paper provides a response to the question of how we might achieve greater sustainability, and from that sustainable development. An engineering approach, or applied science (physical and social), integrated within a multi-stakeholder partnership, is proposed. A road map to a partial, or 'shadow agreement' is proposed, that would hopefully serve as the start of a global process leading to comprehensive sustainable development. An argument is made why cities are the most likely actors to design and bring about such an agreement. An agreement among the world's larger cities (those urban areas with 5 million or more residents by 2050) is possible, and is likely a necessary, but not sufficient condition to achieve sustainable development. Each city is viewed as a unique system as well as collectively within a 'system-of-systems,' and more broadly within local and global ecosystems and economies. Global boundaries and objectives such as the Sustainable Development Goals are down-scaled and applied at a metro-city level.Population projections are provided for the world's larger cities (in 2025, 2050, 2075 and 2100). Along with the hierarchy of sustainable cities and urban metabolism, two new tools are developed: (i) a cities approach to physical and socio-economic boundaries, and: (ii) sustainability costs curves. These two tools underpin the shadow agreement and are powerful planning and engineering tools in their own right. Case study application of the tools is provided for Dakar, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, and Toronto. | A Cities Approach to Sustainability | Daniel Hoornweg | Thesis | 2015 |
Brazil
Canada
Case Study
China
Dakar
India
Methodology
Mumbai
Sao Paulo
Senegal
Shanghai
Toronto
Urban
|
| Urban Metabolism and Quality of Life in Informal Areas The 21st century is known as the century of urbanization. Numerous debates are currently taking place to define cities and what they should aspire to be. A number of terms have appeared in this arena,such as sustainable city, eco-city and green city to name a few. However, the main question remains how to measure the performance of a city in regards to these aims. In addition, it is vital to note that major urbanization activities take part in cities of the developing world, where informalization is synonym to urbanization, thus necessitating a profound study of informal areas and their potential role in achieving sustainable cities. This paper studies how a city performs in terms of consuming and producing resources and how they flow through its various systems, described as urban metabolism. The paper particularly discusses how informal areas perform regarding their metabolism, focusing on water flow through these areas as a priority identified by the residents. Imbaba district, one of the largest informal areas in Cairo, is investigated as a case study to determine the actual quality of life of local residents and their ecological footprint and to provide practical insights. The whole process depends on a multidisciplinary participatory research where the citizens and local community based organization are the focal point. In addition, the process depends on open source data and data sharing as a way to empower local communities to identify their needs and issues and hence their appropriate interventions. This is conducted through questionnaires and interviews to identify what the current conditions and processes in informal areas provide for the residents. The paper concludes with identifying points of leakages in the resources flows and the possible interventions to improve the quality of life in the area while maintaining an efficient use of local resources and minimizing the impact of urbanization of the ecological footprint of cities. This will assist cities to become more resilient in the face of water scarcity, and provide a more vibrant life for its residents. | Urban Metabolism and Quality of Life in Informal Areas | Attia, Sahar; Khalil, Heba Allah E. | Conference Paper | 2015 |
Cairo
Case Study
Egypt
Informal
Urban
Water
|
| Understanding Urban Metabolism: A Tool for Urban Planning About the Book Understanding Urban Metabolism addresses the gap between the bio-physical sciences and urban planning and illustrates the advantages of accounting for urban metabolism issues in urban design decisions. Urban metabolism considers a city as a system, and distinguishes between energy and material flows as its components. Based on research from the BRIDGE project, this book deals with how the urban surface exchanges and transforms energy, water, carbon and pollutants in cities. This book also introduces a new method for evaluating how planning alternatives can modify the physical flows of urban metabolism components and how environmental and socioeconomic components interact. The inclusion of sustainability principles into urban planning provides an opportunity to place the new knowledge provided by bio-physical sciences at the centre of the planning process, but there is a strong need to bridge knowledge and practice, as well as for a better dissemination of research results and exchange of best practice. This book meets that need and provides the reader with the necessary tools to integrate an understanding of urban metabolism into urban planning practice. Table of Contents Part 1: Introduction 1. Urban Metabolism 2. Decision Support Tools for Urban Planning 3. The BRIDGE Approach Part 2: Measurements and Modelling of Physical Flows 4. Physical Fluxes in the Urban Environment 5. Environmental Measurements in BRIDGE Case Studies 6. Use of Earth Observation to support Urban Modelling Parameterization in BRIDGE 7. Meso-scale Meteorological Models in the Urban Context 8. Urban Air Quality Models 9. Urban Energy Budget Models 10. Urban Water Balance and Hydrology Models 11. Urban Carbon Budget Modelling Part 3: The Socioeconomic Components 12. The Use of Communities of Practice to Involve Stakeholders in the DSS Design 13. Collection of Socioeconomic Data and Indicators for Urban Integrated Modelling 14. Combining Environmental and Socioeconomic Data Part 4: The BRIDGE DSS 15. The BRIDGE Impact Assessment Framework 16. The BRIDGE DSS 17. Decision Making under Certainty: Use of Foresight for Assessing Planning Alternatives 18. Guidelines for Urban Sustainable Development Part 5: Conclusions 19. Conclusions | Understanding Urban Metabolism: A Tool for Urban Planning | Chrysoulakis, N. and Castro, E. A. and Moors, E. J. | Book | 2015 |
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Methodology
Urban
|
| Toward Social Material Flow Analysis: On the Usefulness of Boundary Objects in Urban Mining Research Material flow analysis (MFA) has been an effective tool to identify the scale of physical activity, the allocation of materials across economic sectors for different purposes, and to identify inefficiencies in production systems or in urban contexts. However, MFA relies on ignoring the social drivers of those flows to be able to perform its calculations. In many cases therefore, it remains detached from the processes (e.g., urban) that underpin them. This becomes a problem when the purpose of research is to inform the design of detailed recycling schemes, for which micro-level practice knowledge on how material flows are mediated by human agency is needed. The aim of this article is to demonstrate how a particular social science approach, namely, infrastructure studies (IS), can be combined with MFA to enhance the latter's potential as a decision support tool. To achieve a successful combination between IS and MFA, the object of inquiry must be carefully defined to function as a ‘boundary object,' which allows academic approaches to work together without the need for consensus. This approach is illustrated with a case study example in urban mining research that assesses the hibernating stock of subsurface urban infrastructure in Norrköping, Sweden. It provides an example of how a well-calibrated MFA and a complementary social science approach can provide hands-on advice for private as well as public actors in a local and place-specific context. The article aims to advance the integration of social science and the study of the physical economy to contribute to the emerging field of social industrial ecology. | Toward Social Material Flow Analysis: On the Usefulness of Boundary ... | Wallsten, Björn | Journal Article | 2015 |
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Norrköping
Single point in time
Sweden
Urban
|
| Urban Economies Resource Productivity and Decoupling: Metabolism Trends of 1996--2011 in Sweden, Stockholm, and Gothenburg Resource productivity and evidence of economic decoupling were investigated on the basis of the time series in 1996-2011 of material flow analysis for Sweden, Stockholm, and Gothenburg. In the three cases, absolute reductions in CO2 emissions by about 20% were observed, energy consumption per capita decreased, while gross domestic product (GDP) per capita grew. The energy consumption of the residential and public sectors decreased drastically, while the transport energy consumption is still growing steadily. Decoupling of the economy as a whole (i.e., including materials) is not yet happening at any scale. The domestic material consumption (DMC) continues to increase, in parallel with the GDP. The rate of increase for DMC is slower than that for GDP in both Stockholm and Sweden as a whole (i.e., relative decoupling). The metabolism of the cities does not replicate the national metabolism, and the two cities each have their own distinct metabolism profiles. As a consequence, policy implications for each of the case studies were suggested. In general, because of the necessarily different roles of the two cities in the national economy, generic resource productivity benchmarks, such as CO2 per capita, should be avoided in favor of sectorial benchmarks, such as industry, transport, or residential CO2 per capita. In addition, the share of the city impacts caused by the provision of a service for the rest of the country, such as a port, could be allocated to the national economy. | Urban Economies Resource Productivity and Decoupling: Metabolism Trends of 1996--2011 ... | Kalmykova, Yuliya and Rosado, Leonardo and Patrício, João | Journal Article | 2015 |
Case Study
Decoupling
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Gothenburg
National
Stockholm
Sweden
Time series
Urban
|
| A political-industrial ecology of water supply infrastructure for Los Angeles This paper develops a political-industrial ecology approach to explore the urban water metabolism of Los Angeles, which sprawls for thousands of miles across the American West. Conventional approaches to quantify urban carbon footprints rely on global, national, or regional averages and focus narrowly on improving the efficiency of flows of resources moving into and out of the city. These approaches tend to 'black box' the methodologies that guide the carbon emissions calculus and the social, political, ecological, and economic processes that perpetually reshape nature-society metabolisms. To more fully delineate the water supply metabolism of Los Angeles, this paper combines theory and method from urban political ecology and industrial ecology. Specifically, we infuse spatiality into the traditional life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach by coupling it with GIS. By illustrating how decisions about system boundaries, emissions factors, and other building blocks fundamentally shape the end result, this intervention at once destabilizes and advances the LCA enterprise. Then, using interviews and historical analysis, we provide a critical analysis of how LA's various water supply infrastructures came to be and illustrate how a sustainable transition based on a narrow carbon calculus is problematized by historical circumstances and strategic (and often conflicting) new paradigms to secure water resources. The political-industrial ecology approach offers valuable insights into the spatiality of material metabolisms and the socio-political processes (re)shaping the relations between nature and society. | A political-industrial ecology of water supply infrastructure for Los Angeles | Cousins, Joshua J. and Newell, Joshua P. | Journal Article | 2015 |
Case Study
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Los Angeles
Single point in time
United States
Urban
Water
|
| Material Flow Analysis for a Circular Economy Development: A Material Stock Quantification Method of Urban Civil Infrastructures with a Case Study of PVC in an Amsterdam Neighbourhood Massive material flows that are mostly originating from the lithosphere are entering the cities, adding to and shaping the stock of the built environment. Due to concerns with material resource scarcity and the finiteness of virgin materials, resources will have to be measured and tracked. As a result of insufficient data on (average) civil infrastructure material usage and a lack of appropriate means for its determination, a four step methodology, termed Citymass, was created to fill this gap. By analysing the urban tissue, the quantity of different civil infrastructure typologies (buildings, water networks etc.) and their material composition and amounts can be assessed (with technical drawings, if necessary). Thereby, it enables the quantification and localisation of built environment stocks with a bottom-up model. The methodology was applied for a first validation or more so an illustration of its application to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) stock as a building material in Merkelbach, an Amsterdam neighbourhood of 0.013 km². It showed that the assessable stock consisted of underground water pipes and data cable protection pipes and totalled in 3,618 kg PVC, or 0.28 kg/m². In order to address the resource scarcity issue, it was further examined if the PVC outflows could be predicted, applied in the three circular economy loops and eventually connected with the inflows in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA). It was concluded that PVC outflows can be predicted with a calculation method based on the (material) lifetime of the object or with an estimation from the share of PVC of C&D waste. Based on best practices and the principles of the circular economy (CE) it was found that even though the material can be reused and recycled within the AMA, PVC products in their current state do not have a place in the circular economy. By analysing the stock and predicting the outflows, the material flow analysis (MFA) is complemented and provided with a smart way of data generation. This method is facilitated over time as more case studies and validations aid in building up a database for average material usages per typologies. Moreover, it creates a bridge between MFA and CE where the latter provides a sense of purpose and direction to the analysis, which in turn generates transformational knowledge for a transition to a restorative future. | Material Flow Analysis for a Circular Economy Development: A Material ... | Carolin Bellstedt | Thesis | 2015 |
Amsterdam
Case Study
Circular Economy
PVC
Single point in time
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
The Netherlands
Urban
|
| Towards Urban Resource Flow Estimates in Data Scarce Environments: The Case of African Cities Data sourcing challenges in African nations have led many African urban infrastructure developments to be implemented with minimal scientific backing to support their success. In some cases this may directly impact a city ' s ability to reach service delivery, economic growth and human development goals , let alone the city's ability to protect ecosystem services upon which it relies. As an attempt to fill this gap, this paper describes an exploratory process used to determine city - level demographic, economic and resource flow data for African nations. The approach makes use of scaling and clustering techniques to form acceptable and utilizable representations of selected African cities. Variables that may serve as the strongest predictors for resource consumption i n- tensity in African nations and cities were explored, in particular, the aspects of the Koppen Cl i- mate Zones, estimates of average urban income and GDP, and the influence of urban primacy. It is expected that the approach examined will provide a step towards estimating and understanding African cities and their resource profiles. | Towards Urban Resource Flow Estimates in Data Scarce Environments: The ... | Currie, Paul and Lay-Sleeper, Ethan and Fernandez, John E and Kim, Jenny and Musango, Josephine Kaviti | Journal Article | 2015 |
Data Quality
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Methodology
Urban
|
| Incorporating Bio-Physical Sciences into a Decision Support Tool for Sustainable Urban Planning Deciding upon optimum planning actions in terms of sustainable urban planning involves the consideration of multiple environmental and socio-economic criteria. The transformation of natural landscapes to urban areas affects energy and material fluxes. An important aspect of the urban environment is the urban metabolism, and changes in such metabolism need to be considered for sustainable planning decisions. A spatial Decision Support System (DSS) prototyped within the European FP7-funded project BRIDGE (sustainaBle uRban plannIng Decision support accountinG for urban mEtabolism), enables accounting for the urban metabolism of planning actions, by exploiting the current knowledge and technology of biophysical sciences. The main aim of the BRIDGE project was to bridge the knowledge and communication gap between urban planners and environmental scientists and to illustrate the advantages of considering detailed environmental information in urban planning processes. The developed DSS prototype integrates biophysical observations and simulation techniques with socio-economic aspects in five European cities, selected as case studies for the pilot application of the tool. This paper describes the design and implementation of the BRIDGE DSS prototype, illustrates some examples of use, and highlights the need for further research and development in the field. | Incorporating Bio-Physical Sciences into a Decision Support Tool for Sustainable ... | Mitraka, Z. and Diamantakis, E. and Chrysoulakis, N. and Castro, E. A. and San Jose, R. and Gonzalez, A. and Blecic, I | Journal Article | 2014 |
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Methodology
Policy
Urban
|
| The boundaries of urban metabolism: Towards a political–industrial ecology This paper considers the limits and potential of ‘urban metabolism’ to conceptualize city processes. Three ‘ecologies’ of urban metabolism have emerged. Each privileges a particular dimension of urban space, shaped by epistemology, politics, and model-making. Marxist ecologies theorize urban metabolism as hybridized socio-natures that (re)produce uneven outcomes; industrial ecology, as stocks and flows of materials and energy; and urban ecology, as complex socio-ecological systems. We demarcate these scholarly islands through bibliometric analysis and literature review, and draw on cross-domain mapping theory to unveil how the metaphor has become stagnant in each. To reinvigorate this research, the paper proposes the development of political–industrial ecology, using urban metabolism as a boundary metaphor. | The boundaries of urban metabolism: Towards a political–industrial ecology | Newell, Joshua P and Cousins, Joshua J | Journal Article | 2014 |
Review Paper
Urban
|
| Exploring urban mines: Pipe length and material stocks in urban water and wastewater networks Networks for water and wastewater transport represent large capital assets and material stocks within cities. A better understanding of how their material content changes with population and size of the city may help to design networks with lower resource demand and lower construction and maintenance costs. We estimated the total length and mass for the wastewater networks of 25 cities in five different countries using a fractal network model that only requires the cities' size and population as input data. We found that most of the network mass is concentrated in the main trunk lines. The model results showed efficiency of scale: For a catchment area of constant size, both network length and mass per capita would decline if population grew. However, if the population of a city grew while the population density remained constant or decreased (urban sprawl), the per-capita network mass would increase. | Exploring urban mines: Pipe length and material stocks in urban ... | Pauliuk, Stefan, and Govindarajan, Venkatesh, and Bratterbø, Helge, and Müller, Daniel B. | Journal Article | 2014 |
City
Geneva
Global
Material Stock Analysis
Oslo
Policy
Rio de Janeiro
Sao Paulo
Urban
Wastewater
Water
|
| Stadtentwicklung im Nexus von Ressourcenschonung und Klimaschutz In: Sulzer, Jürg: Stadt stärken - Die Robustheit des Städtischen STADT STÄRKEN fragt aus unterschiedlicher Perspektive nach der Robustheit des Städtischen und sucht nach Möglichkeiten, Städte nachhaltig zu stärken. Angesichts zunehmender Unsicherheiten und raschen gesellschaftlichen Wandels ist auf ein kreatives Zusammenspiel von Einzelaspekten und der Gesamtheit der Stadt zu achten. Statt bekannte Wege zu beschreiten, ist in Alternativen zu denken und zu handeln. Im Band 17 der Reihe Stadtentwicklung und Denkmalpflege werden die Stärken der Stadt ausgeleuchtet, um die besonderen Wohn- und Lebensqualitäten in den Städten neu zu sehen. Der Schlüssel zur Stärkung der europäischen Städte liegt in der Förderung ihrer Urbanität und Dichte. Sparsamer Umgang mit Ressourcen und Reurbanisierung sind Zukunftsaufgaben, welche eine sorgfältige Stadtbaugestaltung voraussetzen. Internationale Experten erörtern in diesem Band neue Ideen zur Nutzungsvielfalt auf engstem Raum und diskutieren, wie Governance gestärkt und produktive Unsicherheiten erzeugt werden können, die zu neuen Allianzen führen. Sie skizzieren Lösungsansätze zur Stadt baugestaltung, zur Qualität städtischen Lebens und zu städtischen Energien, um die Stadt zu fördern und ihre Schönheit auch in Zukunft zu wahren. (the above text, via Google Translate) The robustness of the Municipal CITY STRENGTHS asks from different perspectives according to the robustness of the City and is looking for ways to strengthen sustainable cities. Given increasing uncertainty and rapid social change has to be on a creative interplay of individual aspects and the whole of the city. Instead known paths to tread, is to think in alternatives and to act. In Volume 17 of the series Urban Development and Preservation, the strengths of the city are illuminated to see the special housing and living qualities in cities new. The key to strengthening of European cities is to promote their urbanity and density. Conservation of resources and re-urbanization are the future tasks which require careful urban planning design. International experts discuss in this book new ideas for the use of diversity in a confined space and discuss how governance strengthened and productive uncertainties can be produced, leading to new alliances. Sketch approaches to city building design, the quality of urban life and urban energies to promote the city and to preserve its beauty in the future. | Stadtentwicklung im Nexus von Ressourcenschonung und Klimaschutz | Müller, Daniel B., and et.al | Book Section | 2014 |
City
Policy
Urban
Urban Ecology
|
| Concepts and methodologies for measuring the sustainability of cities In recent decades, better data and methods have become available for understanding the complex functioning of cities and their impacts on sustainability. This review synthesizes the recent developments in concepts and methods being used to measure the impacts of cities on environmental sustainability. It differentiates between a dominant trend in research literature that concentrates on the accounting and allocation of greenhouse gas emissions and energy use to cities and a reemergence of studies that focus on the direct and indirect material and resource flows in cities. The methodological approaches reviewed may consider cities as either producers or consumers, and all recognize that urban environmental impacts can be local, regional, or global. As well as giving an overview of the methodological debates, we examine the implications of the different approaches for policy and the challenges these approaches face in their application in the field. | Concepts and methodologies for measuring the sustainability of cities | Yetano Roche, María and Lechtenböhmer, Stefan and Fischedick, Manfred and Gröne, Marie-Christine and Xia, Chun and Dienst, Carmen | Journal Article | 2014 |
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Urban
|
| Mineral commodities in the Western Cape Province, South Africa This report describes the mineral commodities in the Western Cape Province focussing on those which are currently economic or potentially economic. A comprehensive database was compiled involving a total of 2461 mineral points representing 37 commodities. Twenty six of these are economic or potentially economic. Some 18 commodities are currently exploited and are dominated by construction materials, namely stone aggregate, brick clay, building sand and gravel, which in 2013, accounted for 155 or 73 per cent of the 211 working mines in the Western Cape. Stone aggregate is exploited from Table Mountain Group sandstone, granite of the Cape Granite Suite and metamorphosed shale (hornfels) of the Malmesbury Group. Resources are enormous. Brick clay is derived from residual clay of the Malmesbury, Gifberg, Kaaimans and Bokkeveld Groups and the Kirkwood Formation over most of the province except the Karoo, where alluvium is exploited on a small scale. Building sand from windblown dunes, hillwash and alluvial sediments is present over most of the province except the northeastern part, which is underlain by Karoo Supergroup sedimentary rocks and dolerite. Active mining is concentrated in the Greater Cape Town area, but the resources are limited with possible alternatives being sourced from crushed sandstone of the Table Mountain Group or from windblown and alluvial sands in southern Namaqualand. Gravel is derived from a variety of rocks and sediments and from ferricrete throughout the province. Limestone and dolomite are important commodites with the former exploited for cement, metallurgical flux, chemicals, water purification, agricultural lime and building lime and the latter for metallurgical flux, agricultural lime and refractories. They occur in the western and southern parts of the province in the Gifberg, Vanrhynsdorp, Malmesbury and Kango Groups with limestone also present in the Prospect Hill, Langebaan, Velddrif, Wankoe and De Hoopvlei Formations. There were 19 working mines in 2013 and the resources are enormous. Alluvial and marine placer diamonds are present in the northwestern part of the province, but only the marine placers in the foreshore northwest of Donkin’s Bay are viable with 9 working operations in 2013. Heavy minerals containing the economic minerals zircon, ilmenite and rutile, occur in beach and aeolian placers along the west coast north of Dwarskersbos. Only two viable deposits have been discovered, the unworked Geelwal Karoo deposit and Namakwa Sands northwest of Lutzville, which has been mined since 1994. Dimension stone in the form of granite is exploited from granite of the Paarl Pluton and from granite of the Namaqualand Metamorphic Province in the northwestern part of the province. There were two working mines in 2013 and resources are large. Silica sand, which is used for glass manufacture and foundry sand, is present in the Philippi, Atlantis and Hopefield areas. It is exploited from single sites in Philippi and Atlantis and resources are large with 315 million tons of silica sand being calculated for Philippi. Bentonite, which is used for soil sealant, drilling mud and wine and fruit-juice decolourants, occurs in lacustrine mudstone of the Kirkwood Formation in five rift-related basins between Robertson and Plettenberg Bay. There were five working mines in 2013 and the resources are large. Plastic clays of Tertiary age, which comprise transported sedimentary clays rich in kaolinite, form several small deposits in the Greater Cape Town area and near Albertinia. They are exploited for use as a plasticiser and strengthener in the brickmaking industry with four mines operational in 2013. There are probably sufficient resources for about 50 years. Gypsum occurs in the northwestern part of the province and in the Whitehill Formation in the Karoo region. In the former region, the grade is high and it was exploited for plaster, cement retarder and soil conditioner with only one mine working at present near Vanrhynsdorp. Resources of about 9 million tons have been calculated. | Mineral commodities in the Western Cape Province, South Africa | Cole, DI and Ngcofe, L and Halenyane, K | Report | 2014 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| Spatial allocation of material flow analysis in residential developments: a case study of Kildare County, Ireland Studies of urban metabolism provide important insights for environmental management of cities, but are not widely used in planning practice due to a mismatch of data scale and coverage. This paper introduces the Spatial Allocation of Material Flow Analysis (SAMFA) model as a potential decision support tool aimed as a contribution to overcome some of these difficulties and describes its pilot use at the county level in the Republic of Ireland. The results suggest that SAMFA is capable of identifying hotspots of higher material and energy use to support targeted planning initiatives, while its ability to visualise different policy scenarios supports more effective multi-stakeholder engagement. The paper evaluates this pilot use and sets out how this model can act as an analytical platform for the industrial ecology-spatial planning nexus. | Spatial allocation of material flow analysis in residential developments: a ... | Roy, Manoj and Curry, Robin and Ellis, Geraint | Journal Article | 2014 |
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Urban
|
| Ecological network analysis of an urban metabolic system based on input-output tables: Model development and case study for Beijing If cities are considered as 'superorganisms', then disorders of their metabolic processes cause something analogous to an 'urban disease'. It is therefore helpful to identify the causes of such disorders by analyzing the inner mechanisms that control urban metabolic processes. Combining input-output analysis with ecological network analysis lets researchers study the functional relationships and hierarchy of the urban metabolic processes, thereby providing direct support for the analysis of urban disease. In this paper, using Beijing as an example, we develop a model of an urban metabolic system that accounts for the intensity of the embodied ecological elements using monetary input-output tables from 1997, 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2007, and use this data to compile the corresponding physical input-output tables. This approach described the various flows of ecological elements through urban metabolic processes and let us build an ecological network model with 32 components. Then, using two methods from ecological network analysis (flow analysis and utility analysis), we quantitatively analyzed the physical input-output relationships among urban components, determined the ecological hierarchy of the components of the metabolic system, and determined the distribution of advantage-dominated and disadvantage-dominated relationships, thereby providing scientific support to guide restructuring of the urban metabolic system in an effort to prevent or cure urban 'diseases'. | Ecological network analysis of an urban metabolic system based on ... | Zhang, Yan and Zheng, Hongmei and Fath, Brian D. and Liu, Hong and Yang, Zhifeng and Liu, Gengyuan and Su, Meirong | Journal Article | 2014 |
Beijing
Case Study
China
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Time series
Urban
|
| Resource use in the Chinese building sector : foundations for analyzing urban transition. Around the world, people are moving to cities in order to become wealthy, especially in developing countries undergoing socio-economic transition. This will dramatically change the way that society consumes resources, in terms of both materials and energy. We will need to better understand how resource use changes as development happens in order to focus efforts to reduce that resource use. China is undergoing this transition as it enters the global stage, and with global implications for resource use. The building sector in China is especially resource-intensive, fundamentally driven by the country's urbanization, and plays a prominent role in the Chinese economy, making it a good candidate for the study of how systems adopt sustainable practices. I approach this problem in two ways. The first is quantitative, using k-means statistical clustering on longitudinal resource use data from Chinese statistical yearbooks, in order to identify and compare transitions across provinces in China. In comparing the evolution of the building sector across provinces, my analysis suggests that development pathways are more distinct than discrete development stages. I identify two development pathway 'types' in China. The first is an urban path taken by Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin -- the three most heavily urbanized provinces. All other provinces follow a general business-as-usual path, though I also identify sub-pathways to further differentiate between the other 27 provinces. These development typologies are one means of quantitatively operationalizing the abstract notion of transition. Identifying such pathways may highlight opportunities for learning between provinces within the same path, and one could apply similar methods to other scales of analysis (e.g. urban or national). My second approach is qualitative, driven by interviews conducted primarily in Beijing with various stakeholders in the Chinese building sector. In this analysis, I discuss the particularities of the actors and processes involved in Chinese real estate development, identify opportunities for and barriers to reduced life-cycle energy use in buildings, and describe three distinctive and ongoing sustainability experiments with the potential for significant resource use reductions. This research emphasizes the need for integrated approaches to both research and practice in approaching sustainability transitions, and provides a set of complementary frameworks for their analysis. | Resource use in the Chinese building sector : foundations for ... | Accuardi, Z.A.C. | Thesis | 2014 |
Beijing
China
Construction Materials
Shanghai
Tianjin
Urban
|
| 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. La dinámica poblacional y formas de vida urbana de las medianas y grandes ciudades de Latinoamérica están determinando operaciones críticas que frenan el crecimiento económico, socavan el desarrollo, deterioran el ambiente, afectan la salud de sus residentes y reducen la oferta de bienes y servicios ambientales de los ecosistemas de soporte. Son escenarios de presión con los que se corre el riesgo de exceder los límites permisibles de su homeostasis y adaptabilidad; y por consiguiente, de exacerbar su vulnerabilidad en momentos en que la variabilidad y el cambio climático disminuyen las probabilidades de supervivencia de los sistemas humanos. Por tal motivo, y en aras de coadyuvar con la sustentabilidad y competitividad de la ciudad, el estudio del Metabolismo Urbano se constituye en un esfuerzo técnico, político y económico que facilita el entendimiento de sus redes de abastecimiento de materiales y energía, que busca la eficiencia y eficacia de sus procesos de transformación, así como la minimización del daño ambiental de sus desechos, permitiendo a los gestores de política anticiparse a eventos no deseados con base en las señales del presente. | Urban Metabolism: A Tool for the Sustainability of Cities | Díaz Álvarez, Cristian Julián | Journal Article | 2014 |
Material Flow Analysis
Urban
|
| Urban material flow analysis: An approach for Bogotá, Colombia The urbanisation process has exceeded the traditional pace of human settlement and is moving towards the formation of large urban regions in response to an increasing demand for services and environmental goods, combined with increasing production of waste and emissions. Therefore, it is fundamental to determine resource flows into cities, especially in developing countries, as well as the transformations that occur and the outputs that are produced, such as products, services and wastes. In this study, we apply urban material flow analysis, which determines the flows of inputs (water, energy, food and others) and outputs (wastewater, air pollution, wastes and others) to the city of Bogotá, Colombia to determine the relationship between demand for resources and the environmental impact of outputs. Quantitative and qualitative data for Bogotá are used to assess and compare the material and energy flow trends for this city. The results indicate that in this city, inputs and outputs are directly and linearly related. Consumption of energy and construction materials has increased, whereas food and water consumption have remained steady. Levels of recycling and sewage treatment are low, and emissions such as particulate matter have decreased. The findings from this study can be used to formulate and apply policies and strategies to improve the sustainability of resources, decrease the reliance on physical resources, increase the efficiency of resource and energy use in urban areas, and enhance sustainable production and consumption in cities. | Urban material flow analysis: An approach for Bogotá, Colombia | Alfonso Piña, William H. and Pardo Martínez, Clara Inés | Journal Article | 2014 |
Bogotá
Case Study
Colombia
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Urban Metabolism of Six Asian Cities A streamlined urban metabolism approach based on material flow analyses was applied to six Asian cities—Bangalore, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, Seoul and Shanghai. This approach provides a better understanding of how the use of natural resources correlates with urban economic activities, and has the potential to make a major contribution to the design of sustainable urban systems and infrastructure. The urban metabolism framework maps the activities of cities from their consumption of materials, the different activities associated with those processes, and the wastes produced. Information generated provides a diagnostic tool for identifying high waste generating or inefficient activities and identifying potential points of policy intervention. The streamlined approach surmounts the lack of city level data, which is often cited as the most significant limitation preventing material flow analysis at the city level. Extension of the methodology to cover more cities can contribute toward creating benchmarks for city typologies. | Urban Metabolism of Six Asian Cities | Paulo Ferrao and João Fumega and Nuno Gomes and Samuel Niza and André Pina and Luis Santos | Report | 2014 |
Bangalore
Bangkok
China
Comparison
Direct Material Consumption (DMC)
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Ho Chi Minh City
India
Manila
Metropolitan
Philippines
Research and Analysis
Seoul
Shanghai
Single point in time
South Korea
Thailand
Urban
Urban Metabolism Analyst Model
Vietnam
|
| Analysis of Egyptian Cities towards Sustainable Urban Metabolism With the rapidly growing population and rapidly depleting resources, environmental alteration and urbanization are now being explored as a catalyst for achieving sustainable development. Egypt as one of the highly urbanized developing countries in the African region is trapped with inefficient use of resources especially in urban centers. In the face of these environmental concerns and high density population; cities are increasingly getting overwhelmed by social, economical, ecological, and urban challenges that need to be considered within the dilemma of sustainable urban development and urban growth in developing countries. Moreover, the increased urbanization of urban centers combined with intense energy demands of developing economies with resource consumption; has driven recognition that the study of urban metabolism is central to achieve sustainable development. Cities now consume resources and produce wastes in amounts that are incommensurate with the populations they contain. So, quantifying the environmental impacts of cities is essential if urbanization of the world‟s growing population is to occur sustainably. Also, an integrated understanding of the urban system of new cities and its sustainability synergies is a must in the unprecedented era of urbanization. The concept of urban metabolism and how it is related to urban sustainability isn‟t new in the field of sustainable urban development. However, based on the current research literature published under this umbrella, there is an application gap of urban metabolism analysis in the Middle East region. In this sense, this paper aims at introducing urban metabolism assessment based on material flow analysis (MFA) to provide a more solid understanding of how new Egyptian cities currently work. For the realization of the different strategies and options for sustainable cities in Egypt, a huge amount of material and non-material resources and management should be utilized. Therefore, the development scenarios have to be comprehensively and carefully studied with regards to the criteria for sustainable urban development. Accordingly, the paper will investigate the urban metabolism assessment through material flow accounting to two metropolitan cities in Egypt to estimate current material and energy intensities in relation to densities and how it can affect the future development of these cities towards sustainable urbanization. With this analysis the paper will provide a potential ground for decision making process for highly dense urban centers and introduce current urban consumption patterns for cities in developing regions. Conference: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technologies, v2. | Analysis of Egyptian Cities towards Sustainable Urban Metabolism | Nourhan Magdy | Conference Paper | 2014 |
Biomass
CO2
Cairo
Construction Materials
Direct Material Consumption (DMC)
EUROSTAT methodology
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Egypt
Electricity
Emissions
Fossil Fuel
Giza
Indicators - general
Minerals
Research and Analysis
Urban
Waste
Water
|
| Urban Metabolism - Sustainable development of Rotterdam How do the flows of goods, people, waste, biota, energy, food, freshwater, sand and air function in Rotterdam? What influence do these flows have on the quality of life in the city, and how do they relate to spatial developments? Can an insight into the metabolism of Rotterdam help us develop into a sustainable region? And what opportunities are there for a circular economy? This publication details the results of the IABR–PROJECT ATELIER ROTTERDAM. The analyses, the strategies developed and the specific design proposals detailed, provide answers to the questions posed above. The results obtained offer not only the municipality but also other parties in the city specific pointers for continuing to work on the metabolism of Rotterdam. | Urban Metabolism - Sustainable development of Rotterdam | Gemeente Rotterdam and IABR and FABRIC and JCFO and TNO | Book | 2014 |
Food and agriculture
Rotterdam
Urban
|
| A Material Flow Accounting Case Study of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area using the Urban Metabolism Analyst Model This article describes a new methodological framework to account for urban material flows and stocks, using material flow accounting (MFA) as the underlying method. The proposed model, urban metabolism analyst (UMAn), bridges seven major gaps in previous urban metabolism studies: lack of a unified methodology; lack of material flows data at the urban level; limited categorizations of material types; limited results about material flows as they are related to economic activities; limited understanding of the origin and destination of flows; lack of understanding about the dynamics of added stock; and lack of knowledge about the magnitude of the flow of materials that are imported and then, to a great extent, exported.To explore and validate the UMAn model, a case study of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area was used. An annual time series of material flows from 2003 to 2009 is disaggregated by the model into 28 material types, 55 economic activity categories, and 18 municipalities. Additionally, an annual projection of the obsolescence of materials for 2010–2050 was performed. The results of the case study validate the proposed methodology, which broadens the contribution of existing urban MFA studies and presents pioneering information in the field of urban metabolism. In particular, the model associates material flows with economic activities and their spatial location within the urban area. | A Material Flow Accounting Case Study of the Lisbon Metropolitan ... | Leonardo Rosado | Journal Article | 2014 |
Case Study
Lisbon
Portugal
Time series
Urban
Urban Metabolism Analyst Model
|
| Metabolism of megacities: A review and synthesis of the literature In the past half-century, megacities of more than 10 million people have become a global phenomenon. The need for urban metabolism studies in these giant cities is critical because they consume a disproportionate share of the world's resources. However, the full extent to which the urban metabolism has been documented in megacities is largely unknown. In this paper, we take stock of the metabolism literature in megacities and search for geographical and historical themes therein. We procured more than 100 English-language studies on the energy, material, waste, and water flows in the world's biggest cities, and through review and synthesis of this work, we extracted three generalizations. First, the metabolism of megacities has been investigated for changes across temporal scales (diurnal, monthly, annual), which testifies to the dynamic nature of urban energy and material flows. Second, the metabolism of megacities is equally well documented for changes across spatial scales (local, regional, global), revealing disparities in resource flows and quality of life within and among megacities. Third, literature on the metabolism of megacities in low/middle income regions is characteristically recent, with much of the research produced in the past 10 years and focused primarily on municipal solid waste. The role of the informal sector to help reduce solid waste flows is an important subtheme of that literature. This review will enhance understanding and awareness of the urban metabolism — especially in low/middle income regions—and help to facilitate research into sustainable urban development in megacities. Keywords: urban metabolism, megacity, energy, utilities | Metabolism of megacities: A review and synthesis of the literature | Iain Stewart; Chris Kennedy; Angelo Facchini | Report | 2014 |
Research and Analysis
Review Paper
Urban
|
| Developing a multi-layered indicator set for urban metabolism studies in megacities We introduce a new ‘multi-layered' indicator set for urban metabolism (UM) studies in megacities. The indicator set is designed for gathering information on the definition (spatial boundaries, constituent cities, population, economy), biophysical characteristics (climate, population density, building floor area), and metabolic flows (water, waste, materials, and all types of energy) of megacities. In addition, it addresses the role of utilities in the provision of services and regulatory actions that, along with public governance, may influence (and/or control) the urban metabolism. In the article, we give background context to the growth and development of megacities, their overarching socio-economic issues, and the definition of their boundaries. Two methodologies to define megacity boundaries are compared, showing that the definition of ‘megacity' is not trivial and that further investigation is needed to establish a baseline for comparison of urban metabolism data. Use of the standardized indicator set will ease inter-city comparisons of urban metabolism, whilst enhancing knowledge of megacities and their transformation into sustainable systems. | Developing a multi-layered indicator set for urban metabolism studies in ... | Kennedy, Chris and Stewart, Iain D. and Ibrahim, Nadine and Facchini, Angelo and Mele, Renata | Journal Article | 2014 |
Indicators - general
Methodology
Urban
|
| Quantification of urban metabolism through coupling with the life cycle assessment framework: concept development and case study Cities now consume resources and produce waste in amounts that are incommensurate with the populations they contain. Quantifying and benchmarking the environmental impacts of cities is essential if urbanization of the world's growing population is to occur sustainably. Urban metabolism (UM) is a promising assessment form in that it provides the annual sum material and energy inputs, and the resultant emissions of the emergent infrastructural needs of a city's sociotechnical subsystems. By fusing UM and life cycle assessment (UM-LCA) this study advances the ability to quantify environmental impacts of cities by modeling pressures embedded in the flows upstream (entering) and downstream (leaving) of the actual urban systems studied, and by introducing an advanced suite of indicators. Applied to five global cities, the developed UM-LCA model provided enhanced quantification of mass and energy flows through cities over earlier UM methods. The hybrid model approach also enabled the dominant sources of a city's different environmental footprints to be identified, making UM-LCA a novel and potentially powerful tool for policy makers in developing and monitoring urban development policies. Combining outputs with socioeconomic data hinted at how these forces influenced the footprints of the case cities, with wealthier ones more associated with personal consumption related impacts and poorer ones more affected by local burdens from archaic infrastructure. | Quantification of urban metabolism through coupling with the life cycle ... | Goldstein, Benjamin Paul and Birkved, Morten and Quitzau, Maj-Britt and Hauschild, Michael | Journal Article | 2013 |
Beijing
Canada
Cape Town
Case Study
China
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Hong Kong
Hong Kong: City
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
London
Methodology
South Africa
Toronto
United Kingdom
Urban
|
| City-Level Decoupling: Urban resource flows and the governance of infrastructure transitions Building upon previous work of the International Resource Panel on Decoupling Natural Resource Use and Environmental Impacts from Economic Growth, this report examines the potential for decoupling at the city level. While the majority of the world's population now live in cities and cities are where most resource consumption takes place, both the pressures and potentials to find ways to reconcile economic growth, wellbeing and the sustainable use of natural resources will therefore be greatest in cities. Analysing the role of cities as spatial nodes where the major resource flows connect as goods, services and wastes, the report ‘s focus is how infrastructure directs material flows and therefore resource use, productivity and efficiency in an urban context. It makes the case for examining cities from a material flow perspective, while also placing the city within the broader system of flows that make it possible for it to function. The report also highlights the way that the design, construction and operation of energy, waste, water, sanitation and transport infrastructures create a socio-technical environment that shapes the 'way of life' of citizens and how they procure, use and dispose of the resources they require. Its approach is innovative in that it frames infrastructure networks as socio-technical systems, examining pressures for change within cities that go beyond technical considerations. The importance of intermediaries as the dominant agents for change is emphasized, as well as the fact that social processes and dynamics need to be understood and integrated into any assessment of urban infrastructure interventions and the reconfiguration of resource flows. A set of 30 case studies provide examples of innovative approaches to sustainable infrastructure change across a broad range of urban contexts that could inspire leaders of other cities to embrace similar creative solutions. Of course, innovations in and of themselves do not suffice if they are not integrated into larger strategic visions for the city, and as each city is unique, interventions need to be tailored to the set of challenges and opportunities present in each case. | City-Level Decoupling: Urban resource flows and the governance of infrastructure ... | UNEP | Report | 2013 |
Decoupling
Urban
|
| An input-output approach to evaluate the water footprint and virtual water trade of Beijing, China Water is scarce in Beijing, China, and rapid economic and societal development, as well as the dense population, causes severe pressure on local water resources. This paper involves the 'water footprint', defined as the volume of water needed to produce the goods and services consumed, which quantifies the environmental impact of consumption. By combining an input-output model with intersectoral water flows, this paper describes a modified input-output model to calculate the direct, indirect and gross water footprint intensity and the gross water footprint of different sectors in Beijing in 2002 and 2007. The results show declines in the agricultural and industrial water footprints for these years. The grey water footprint, which reflects environmental pollution caused by human production and consumption, was also calculated and suggests that the shortage of water resources, rather than water pollution, is the main problem in Beijing. Evaluation of the virtual water trade, along with water savings in the various sectors, verified that Beijing is a net virtual water importer. Furthermore, the water footprint shows that Beijing is advanced in water use efficiency compared to other provinces in China. Finally, adjustments in the industrial structure, along with virtual water importing, should be prioritized as water-saving strategies for Beijing. | An input-output approach to evaluate the water footprint and virtual ... | Ziyuan Wang and Kai Huang and Shunshun Yang and Yajuan Yu | Journal Article | 2013 |
Beijing
Case Study
China
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Single point in time
Urban
Water
|
| Data Mining for Material Flow Analysis: Application in the Territorial Breakdown of French Regions One of the major issues for assessment of the long-term sustainability of urban areas is related to the concept of \imported sustainability". In order to produce such an assessment for a given territory, one must rst identify and quantify the types of materials used, and the impacts associated to these uses. Material Flow Analysis (MFA) is directly related to how the material circulates and how it is transformed within a territory. In most cases this analysis is performed at national and regional levels, where the statistical data is available. The challenge is to establish such an analysis at smaller scales, e.g. in the case of France, at the department or city level. Currently, few studies are done at these scales and when they exist, they are based on the extrapolation of data at the country or the region levels. In this thesis, the possibility of applying data analysis at the regional level by generating a mathematical model that can t well the data at regional scale and estimate well the departmental one is explored. The downscaling procedure relies on the assumption that the obtained model at level 'n' (for example region) will be also true at level 'n+1' (for example department), such that it could properly estimate the unknown data based on a set of chosen drivers. The tests show that it is very important to choose the proper drivers and the class of model. | Data Mining for Material Flow Analysis: Application in the Territorial ... | Brinduşa Smaranda | Thesis | 2013 |
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
France
Methodology
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Sustainable urban metabolism as a link between bio-physical sciences and urban planning: The BRIDGE project Urban metabolism considers a city as a system with flows of energy and material between it and the environment. Recent advances in bio-physical sciences provide methods and models to estimate local scale energy, water, carbon and pollutant fluxes. However, good communication is required to provide this new knowledge and its implications to endusers (such as urban planners, architects and engineers). The FP7 project BRIDGE (sustainaBle uRban plannIng Decision support accountinG for urban mEtabolism) aimed to address this gap by illustrating the advantages of considering these issues in urban planning. The BRIDGE Decision Support System (DSS) aids the evaluation of the sustainability of urban planning interventions. The Multi Criteria Analysis approach adopted provides a method to cope with the complexity of urban metabolism. In consultation with targeted end-users, objectives were defined in relation to the interactions between the environmental elements (fluxes of energy, water, carbon and pollutants) and socioeconomic components (investment costs, housing, employment, etc.) of urban sustainability. The tool was tested in five case study cities: Helsinki, Athens, London, Florence and Gliwice; and sub-models were evaluated using flux data selected. This overview of the BRIDGE project covers the methods and tools used to measure and model the physical flows, the selected set of sustainability indicators, the methodological framework for evaluating urban planning alternatives and the resulting DSS prototype. | Sustainable urban metabolism as a link between bio-physical sciences and ... | Chrysoulakis, Nektarios and Lopes, Myriam and San José, Roberto and Betham Grimmond , Christine Susan and Jones , Mike B. and Magliulo , Vincenzo and Klostermann , Judith E.M. and Synnefa , Afroditi and Mitraka , Zina and Castro, Eduardo A. and González , Ainhoa and Vogt , Roland and Vesala , Timo and Spano , Donatella and Pigeon , Gregoire and Freer-Smith , Peter and Staszewski , Tomasz and Hodges , Nick and Mills , Gerald and Cartalis, Constantinos | Journal Article | 2013 |
Athens
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Finland
Gliwice
Greece
Helsinki
Italy
London
Methodology
Poland
Single point in time
United Kingdom
Urban
|
| State of the Environment Report 2012 Table of contents: FOREWORD CONTENTS INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND BIODIVERSITY INVASIVE SPECIES ACCESS TO NATURAL GREEN SPACE WATER USE FRESHWATER QUALITY COASTAL WATER QUALITY WASTEWATER AIR QUALITY ENERGY USE AND CARBON SOLID WASTE SUMMARY CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS APPENDICES REFERENCES | State of the Environment Report 2012 | City of Cape Town | Report | 2013 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| A Decision-Support System for Sustainable Urban Metabolism in Europe Urban metabolism components define the energy and material exchanges within a city and, therefore, can provide valuable information on the environmental quality of urban areas. Assessing the potential impact of urban planning alternatives on urban metabolism components (such as energy, water, carbon and pollutants fluxes) can provide a quantitative estimation of their sustainability performance. Urban metabolism impact assessment can, therefore, contribute to the identification of sustainable urban structures with regards, for example, to building types, materials and layout, as well as to location and capacity of transportation and infrastructural developments. In this way, it enables the formulation of planning and policy recommendations to promote efficient use of resources and enhance environmental quality in urban areas. The European FP7 project BRIDGE (sustainaBle uRban plannIng Decision support accountinG for urban mEtabolism) has developed a decision-support system (DSS) that systematically integrates urban metabolism components into impact assessment processes with the aim of accurately quantifying the potential effects of proposed planning interventions. The DSS enables integration of multiple spatial and non-spatial datasets (e.g. physical flows of energy and material with variables of social and economic change) in a systematic manner to obtain spatially defined assessment results and to thus inform planners and decision-makers. This multi-criteria approach also enables incorporation of stakeholders' perceptions in order to prioritise decisive assessment criteria. This paper describes the methodological framework used to develop the DSS and critically examines the results of its practical application in five European cities. | A Decision-Support System for Sustainable Urban Metabolism in Europe | Ainhoa González and Alison Donnelly and Mike Jones and Nektarios Chrysoulakis and Myriam Lopes | Journal Article | 2013 |
Case Study
Europe
Policy
Urban
|
| Urban metabolism assessment tools for resource efficient urban infrastructure Report prepared by UNEP as part of the 2013 Comprehensive Review of the Global Initiative for Resource Efficient Cities In cooperation with researchers at the Sustainability Institute and University of Westminster Blake Robinson, Josephine Musango, Mark Swilling, Simon Joss and Sasha Mentz Lagrange | Urban metabolism assessment tools for resource efficient urban infrastructure | Robinson, Blake and Musango, Josephine and Swilling, Mark and Joss, Simon and Mentz Lagrange, Sasha | Report | 2013 |
Ecological Footprint Analysis
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Indicators - general
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Review Paper
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Urban
|
| Sustainable Urban Metabolism Table of Contents Part I: Urban Metabolism: Defining a Field 1. Industrial Ecology: A Metaphor for Sustainable Development 2. Urban Metabolism: Resource Consumption of Cities 3. Intellectual Foundations and Key Insights Part II: Industrial Ecology: A Framework 4. Industrial Ecology: A Framework of Tools and Practices 5. Industrial Ecology as a Framework for a Sustainable Urban Metabolism Part III: Sustainable Urban Systems 6. Green Urban Policies and Development 7. Urban Typologies: Prospects and Indicators 8. Complexities and Dynamics of Urban Systems 9. Integrated Approaches to Sustainable Urban Metabolism Part IV: Mapping and Assessing Urban Metabolism 10. Urban Metabolism in Practice: Case Studies from Developed Countries 11. The Challenge of Urban Metabolism in a Developing Context | Sustainable Urban Metabolism | Ferrão, Paulo and Fernández, John E. | Book | 2013 |
Ecological Footprint Analysis
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Urban
|
| Urban metabolism: A review of research methodologies Urban metabolism analysis has become an important tool for the study of urban ecosystems. The problems of large metabolic throughput, low metabolic efficiency, and disordered metabolic processes are a major cause of unhealthy urban systems. In this paper, I summarize the international research on urban metabolism, and describe the progress that has been made in terms of research methodologies. I also review the methods used in accounting for and evaluating material and energy flows in urban metabolic processes, simulation of these flows using a network model, and practical applications of these methods. Based on this review of the literature, I propose directions for future research, and particularly the need to study the urban carbon metabolism because of the modern context of global climate change. Moreover, I recommend more research on the optimal regulation of urban metabolic systems. | Urban metabolism: A review of research methodologies | Yan Zhang | Journal Article | 2013 |
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Methodology
Review Paper
Urban
|
| The physical structure of urban economies — Comparative assessment [Report] The metabolism of a city is dependent on anthropogenic and natural physical inputs of energy and materials, processes for transforming those inputs for urban activities, additions to the stocks contained within its spatial boundaries, and the waste and emissions handling . The main purpose of this work consists on further developing methods that allow identifying the material consumption of activity sectors within a city . The method presented in this article allow s the use of internationally available data (e.g. OECD Input Output matrices) , which enables analysing a large range of urban areas . The method is applied to metropolitan economies in Europe (Lisbon and Paris) and Asia (Seoul - Incheon and Shanghai), and the variability of the physical structure of these economies is assessed . The urban areas are compared in terms of total and type of material input, destination of material inputs within the economy and analysis of the manufacturing sectors. | The physical structure of urban economies — Comparative assessment [Report] | Samuel Niza and André Pina and Daniela Ferreira and Luis Santos and Paulo Ferrão | Report | 2013 |
Case Study
China
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
France
Lisbon
Methodology
Paris
Portugal
Seoul
Shanghai
Single point in time
South Korea
Urban
|
| Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Urban Metabolism The concept of urban metabolism, referring to the exchange processes that produce the urban environment, has inspired new ways of thinking about how cities can be made sustainable and has also raised criticisms about the specific social and economic arrangements in which some forms of flow are prioritized or marginalized within the city. This article explores how the concept of urban metabolism travels across disciplines, using a comparative analysis of different approaches to urban metabolism within industrial ecology, urban ecology, ecological economics, political economy and political ecology. The analysis reveals six main themes emerging within interdisciplinary boundaries in relation to urban metabolism, and how this concept enables new understandings of (1) the city as an ecosystem, (2) material and energy flows within the city, (3) economic–material relations within the city, (4) economic drivers of rural–urban relationships, (5) the reproduction of urban inequality, and (6) attempts at resignifying the city through new visions of socioecological relationships. The article suggests potential areas for cross-disciplinary synergies around the concept of urban metabolism and opens up avenues for industrial ecology to engage with the politics and the governance of urban development by examining the city and its metabolism. | Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Urban Metabolism | Castán Broto, V and Allen, AE and Rapoport, E | Journal Article | 2012 |
Research and Analysis
Urban
|
| Pathways and Management of Phosphorus in Urban Areas Due to the finite nature of mineral phosphorus reserves, effective management of anthropogenic phosphorus flows is currently under investigation by the international research community. This article emphasizes the importance of urban phosphorus flows, which are often marginalized due to the greater magnitude of agricultural phosphorus flows. A study on phosphorus flows in Gothenburg, Sweden, points out the potential role of solid waste in nutrient management, as the amounts of phosphorus in solid waste and in wastewater were found to be equal. Importation of food commodities accounts for 50% of the total inflow of phosphorus, and food waste is a major contributor of phosphorus to solid waste. The results suggest that solid waste incineration residues represent a large underestimated sink of phosphorus. Focusing on wastewater as the sole source of recovered phosphorus is not sufficient. The Swedish national goal on phosphorus recycling, which is limited to sewage sludge, targets only a part of the total phosphorus flow that can potentially be recovered. In contrast to previous studies, agricultural flows in Gothenburg were marginal compared to flows related to the urban waste management infrastructure. We emphasize the need for debate on preferable routes for disposal of waste with a high phosphorus content. Both recovery potential and usefulness of the recovered product for agricultural purposes have to be considered. Impacts of five waste management strategies on phosphorus flows were evaluated: incineration of all the waste, comprehensive food waste separation, installation of kitchen grinders, urine diversion, and separation of blackwater and food waste. | Pathways and Management of Phosphorus in Urban Areas | Yuliya Kalmykova | Journal Article | 2012 |
Case Study
Gothenburg
Phosphorus
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Sweden
Urban
|
| Effects of planning and policy decisions on residential land use in Singapore A study of current land use in Singapore shows that through effective long-term space planning, the island city-state has maintained an adequate stock of developable residential land to meet its most ambitious maximum population projections. Two indicators of residential land use efficiency are defined: Residential Land Use Footprint, [Lambda]r, measures the per-capita residential land requirement; Mean Residential Redevelopment Time, [Tau]r, defines the weighted average time for the government to redevelop a typical plot of residential land. A dynamic stock-and- ow model is described to calculate the historical residential land use footprint and mean residential redevelopment time between 1990 and 2011. Finding that the primary driver of residential land use footprint is the change in household occupant density, a System Dynamics model is developed to simulate the historical housing price, supply response, and occupant density. Using a stock management structure to modulate housing supply and commodity dynamics structures to determine housing prices, the calibrated model is used to forecast the behavior trends of several housing policy and population growth scenarios. | Effects of planning and policy decisions on residential land use ... | Davis, N.R. | Thesis | 2012 |
Singapore
Singapore: City
Time series
Urban
|
| Comment on article 'Is there a metabolism of an urban ecosystem?' by Golubiewski No abstract available. | Comment on article 'Is there a metabolism of an urban ... | Kennedy, Christopher | Journal Article | 2012 |
Commentary / Editorial
Urban
|
| Assessment of Environmental Impacts of an Aging and Stagnating Water Supply Pipeline Network Aging urban infrastructure is a common phenomenon in industrialized countries. The urban water supply pipeline network in the city of Oslo is an example. Even as it faces increasing operational, maintenance, and management challenges, it needs to better its environmental performance by reducing, for instance, the associated greenhouse gas emissions. In this article the authors examine the environmental life cycle performance of Oslo's water supply pipelines by analyzing annual resource consumption and emissions as well as life cycle assessment (LCA) impact potentials over a period of 16 years, taking into account the production/manufacture, installation, operation, maintenance, rehabilitation, and retirement of pipelines. It is seen that the water supply pipeline network of Oslo has already reached a state of saturation on a per capita basis, that is, it is not expanding any more relative to the population it serves, and the stock is now rapidly aging. This article is part of a total urban water cycle system analysis for Oslo, and analyzes more specifically the environmental impacts from the material flows in the water distribution network, examining six environmental impact categories using the SimaPro (version 7.1.8) software, Ecoinvent database, and the CML 2001 (version 2.04) methodology. The long‐term management of stocks calls for a strong focus on cost optimization, energy efficiency, and environmental friendliness. Global warming and abiotic depletion emerge as the major impact categories from the water pipeline system, and the largest contribution is from the production and installation phases and the medium‐size pipelines in the network. | Assessment of Environmental Impacts of an Aging and Stagnating Water ... | G. Venkatesh and Helge Brattebø | Journal Article | 2012 |
Case Study
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Oslo
Time series
Urban
Various Materials
|
| From Eradication To Intervention: Urban Informal Ecosystem Scope: The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential for sustainable urban development within the African context. Framing the problem: Understanding urban development within the African context requires foremost that we understand the driving forces that continue to create patterns of inequality in the way people in the urban context are afforded opportunity and access to resources. This problem is framed by exploring the impact of globalisation and neoliberalism on urban development and how this has reduced the ability for governments to achieve infrastructure networks that address the needs all urban dwellers equally. In the South African context, this has resulted in a new wave of protests, typically referred to as service delivery protests. These protests called for more than just the delivery of physical infrastructure such as houses, water and sanitation. In many instances these are calls for accountability and participatory governance from people who are fighting against corruption. However, there remains an underlying frustration for poor urban communities related inequality urban resources, exemplified by the slow delivery of housing. Grappling with the housing backlog numbers this research seeks to describe the ‘housing delusion', pointing to the amount of time and rate of delivery required to address the current and escalating backlog. Sustainable development and issues associated with our current Cartesian paradigm are considered within a systems framework and the need to consider the interconnectedness of all things. The issues of unsustainable development are further expanded, by framing concepts of urban ecology and broken cycles related to infrastructure and the poor within the urban context. The problem of social and economic exclusion experienced by a high number of unemployed urban residents who face jobless futures with little prospect of moving out of poverty and informality is described, making important links to infrastructure delivery, particularly housing, and job creation. Describing notions of embedded power within urban development is used to help contextualise the uneven access to resources and infrastructure in the African city, making links back to globalisation and pressure on governments to provide economic infrastructure. | From Eradication To Intervention: Urban Informal Ecosystem | Royden-Turner, Shannon | Thesis | 2012 |
Cape Town
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Informal
Single point in time
South Africa
Urban
|
| An expanded urban metabolism method: Toward a systems approach for assessing urban energy processes and causes The integrated study of energy and urban systems has recently become a critical component of sustainability research and policy. Increasing urbanization of human societies combined with intense energy demands of modern economies have driven a recognition that sustainable practices require a systems approach to both the study and application of sustainability principles. Urban metabolism has emerged as a leading methodology for quantifying energy consumption and use patterns in urban environments. Though typically applied as a method of accounting for total energy and materials inputs and outputs into cities, its interdisciplinary history and methods allow urban metabolism to be expanded in ways that will allow more comprehensive and integrated assessment of the patterns and processes of urban energy systems. In this article, we review the concept of urban metabolism—including its two typical approaches: mass balance and “emergy” methods—and offer a means to expand urban metabolism into a platform that incorporates socioeconomic analysis, policy analysis, and additional quantitative methodologies (such as life cycle assessment). This expanded urban metabolism framework is more comprehensive analytically and builds upon the documented capacity of traditional urban metabolism to account for total energy and materials flows of cities to provide an integrated platform for analysis of both energy patterns and the causal processes that govern energy in contemporary cities. | An expanded urban metabolism method: Toward a systems approach for ... | Pincetl, Stephanie and Bunje, Paul and Holmes, Tisha | Journal Article | 2012 |
Methodology
Urban
|
| Carbon Footprinting of Cities and Implications for Analysis of Urban Material and Energy Flows As we struggle to get our collective arms around the concept of urban sustainability, various ways of understanding material and energy flows associated with cities have emerged in the literature. Of course, this is not new. Historians have noted that, one hundred years ago New York City was dealing with streets covered with horse manure and coal ash. In Europe, concerns about supplying materials to cities were discussed in the early 1900s, and continued (after a hiatus) into the late twentieth century from a new perspective of environmental impact, leading to the development of methods for economy-wide material flow analysis (MFA) and their application to cities (Barles 2010). This method, used in many current studies of urban metabolism, allows for tracking of material inputs, changes in stock, export of goods, and release of waste and pollution; indirect material requirements to support these flows can also be computed. While the MFA methodology also draws on energy analysis and is considered to be readily adaptable to include energy, in practice there is wide variation in the inclusion of embodied energy components. | Carbon Footprinting of Cities and Implications for Analysis of Urban ... | Anu Ramaswami, Abel Chavez, and Marian Chertow | Journal Article | 2012 |
Ecological Footprint Analysis
Research and Analysis
Urban
|
| Estimating material and energy intensities of urban areas The objective of this thesis is to develop methods to estimate, analyze and visualize the resource intensity of urban areas. Understanding the resource consumption of the built environment is particularly relevant in cities that are rapidly growing, as the urban forms that emerge have long-term consequences for both the quality of life of the inhabitants, and their future material and energy demands. This work was completed by assembling datasets of cities from around the world, identifying geometric patterns in the built environment, relating these geometric patterns to material and energy intensities, and illustrating these intensities in a visually intuitive way. This thesis describes a standardized analytical approach to assess the physical characteristics of the built environment, enabling comparisons to be made between cities. This approach provides a preliminary assessment of resource intensities that may be useful for decision-makers to compare differences among a variety of urban forms. Finally, a new web-map visualization tool has been developed that enables users to gain an understanding of the resource intensity of 40 cities in the USA. This tool allows the user to explore the resource intensity of urban areas using a web-browser, and to dynamically generate reports that can compare areas within a city, or entire cities, to each other. | Estimating material and energy intensities of urban areas | Quinn, D.J. | Thesis | 2012 |
Methodology
United States
Urban
|
| Is there a metabolism of an urban ecosystem? An ecological critique The energy and material flows of a city are often described as urban metabolism (UM), which is put forward as a way to link a city’s ecology and economy. UM draws parallels to the biology of individual organisms, yet the analogy is misapplied. In striving to be interdisciplinary, UM makes this organismic comparison rather than identifying the city as an ecosystem, thereby ignoring developments in ecological theory. Using inappropriate rhetoric misdirects researchers, which influences scientific investigation—from problem statements to interpretations. UM is valuable in quantifying the city’s use of natural resources but does not achieve a comprehensive, integrated analysis of the urban ecosystem. To realize an interdisciplinary, perhaps transdisciplinary, understanding of urban ecology, researchers need to emphasize the essential tenets of material flows analysis, view the city as an ecosystem, and use language that properly reflects current knowledge, theory, and conceptual frameworks in the foundational disciplines. | Is there a metabolism of an urban ecosystem? An ecological ... | Golubiewski, Nancy | Journal Article | 2012 |
Methodology
Research and Analysis
Urban
|
| Climate Change and Urban Metabolism of Latin American Megacities Today‘s climate and environmental pr oblems represent an increasing challenge for cities, especially for those that are experiencing a rapid urban expansion and population growth. It is proposed that current climate and environmental conditions are better understood from a metabolic assessmen t of inflows and outflows of energy and material. This type of evaluation has been carried out for different cities and for diverse metabolic aspects, but it has been mostly absent in Latin America. This article starts with a general presentation of the cu rrent state and challenges for Latin American cities. It then introduces the main aspects of urban metabolism analysis and offers an initial comprehensive comparative estimate of inflows and outflows of Latin American megacities: Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Ri o de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. Some of the main characteristics of climate change plans are then discussed and a brief comparative analysis between mitigation actions and existing metabolic dynamics is presented. The paper concludes with some consideration s and suggestions for the urban future and the plausible forthcoming challenges and opportunities. La problemática climática y medioambiental se perfila cada vez más como un reto para las ciudades, especialmente para aquellas donde está dándose un rápido proceso de urbanización y crecimiento poblacional. El análisis de su estado de situación es mejor entendido a partir de estudios metabólicos de la entrada y salida de flujos de materiales y de energía. Este tipo de evaluaciones se han realizado para diversas ciudades y para distintos aspectos, pero en América Latina están prácticamente ausentes. Este trabajo abre con una presentación general sobre el estado de situación de las ciudades latinoamericanas y con una introducción a las evaluaciones metabólicas para ofrecer una primera aproximación integral comparativa de los flujos de entrada y salida de las megaurbes latinoamericanas, esto es, de la Ciudad de México, Sao Paulo, Río de Janeiro y Buenos Aires. Se presentan las principales características de los planes de acción frente al cambio climático para cerrar con un breve análisis comparativo entre las acciones de mitigación y las dinámicas metabólicas existentes. Se concluye con una reflexión y sugerencias en torno al futuro urbano, los retos venideros y las oportunidades posibles. | Climate Change and Urban Metabolism of Latin American Megacities | Delgado, Gian Carlo and Campos Chávez, Cristina and Rentería Juárez, Patricia | Journal Article | 2012 |
Argentina
Brazil
Buenos Aires
Comparison
Mexico
Mexico City
Rio de Janeiro
Sao Paulo
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Reshaping Urban Infrastructure This article reviews the scope of the discipline of industrial ecology and, in the context of an urgent requirement for substantial and rapid change in the face of global sustainability challenges, argues that the discipline could embrace a more proactive, interventionist stance in the form of renewable eco-industrial development. Existing eco-industrialism is presented as flawed, with many cases premised on the use of nonrenewable resources. Renewable eco-industrial development, while still nascent, has the potential both to resolve some sustainability challenges and to offer a new area of endeavor for industrial ecology, albeit one with its own unique difficulties, such as conflict with food production. Renewable ecoindustrial development is further argued to bring industrial ecology into a more socially critical stance as it concerns the future allocation of scarce resources. | Reshaping Urban Infrastructure | Hodson, Mike and Marvin, Simon and Robinson, Blake and Swilling, Mark | Journal Article | 2012 |
Methodology
Urban
|
| Nitrogen food-print: N use and N cascade from livestock systems in relation to pork, beef and milk supply to Paris A bottom-up approach is constructed to determine N losses from livestock farming sys- tems and to relate these losses to the supply of fresh milk, pig and beef to Paris. First, the three products are expressed in terms of their nitrogen content; then, their fodder equivalent is determined by modelling feed formulas for swine, beef and dairy cows to meet their energy and protein requirements. Fodder deficits in livestock farms are determined by comparing the nutrient requirements of the livestock with the fodder pro- duction on the livestock farms. This allowed determining the geography of the livestock systems according to the imports of fodder to the livestock farms from external crop farms. Then we assessed the “farm-gate” N budgets in all crop and livestock farms of the entire livestock systems using data on total N fertilization, atmospheric deposition and manure management practices to finally derive N losses in relation to fodder cul- tivation and to manure management. Measured in N, the supply of milk, beef and pig to Paris sum 1.85 kg N/cap and the corresponding N losses from the farming systems total 8.9 kg N/cap. N losses per unit of product differ among the three livestock systems according to where and how the fodder is grown and to what densities the livestock is reared. | Nitrogen food-print: N use and N cascade from livestock systems ... | Chatzimpiros, P and Barles, S | Journal Article | 2012 |
Biomass
Case Study
France
Nitrogen
Paris
Single point in time
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Urban
|
| Network environ perspective for urban metabolism and carbon emissions: a case study of Vienna, Austria Cities are considered major contributors to global warming, where carbon emissions are highly embedded in the overall urban metabolism. To examine urban metabolic processes and emission trajectories we developed a carbon flux model based on Network Environ Analysis (NEA). The mutual interactions and control situation within the urban ecosystem of Vienna were examined, and the system-level properties of the city's carbon metabolism were assessed. Regulatory strategies to minimize carbon emissions were identified through the tracking of the possible pathways that affect these emission trajectories. Our findings suggest that indirect flows have a strong bearing on the mutual and control relationships between urban sectors. The metabolism of a city is considered self-mutualistic and sustainable only when the local and distal environments are embraced. Energy production and construction were found to be two factors with a major impact on carbon emissions, and whose regulation is only effective via ad-hoc pathways. In comparison with the original life-cycle tracking, the application of NEA was better at revealing details from a mechanistic aspect, which is crucial for informed sustainable urban management. | Network environ perspective for urban metabolism and carbon emissions: a ... | Chen, Shaoqing and Chen, Bin | Journal Article | 2012 |
Austria
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Urban
Vienna
|
| A City and Its Hinterland: Vienna's Energy Metabolism 1800-2006 Cities are centres of resource consumption and urban resource use has a considerable influence on both the economy and the environment in the resource-providing hinterland. This chapter looks at cities from a socio-ecological perspective and investigates the evolution of the energy metabolism of the city of Vienna since the beginning of industrialisation. Based on time series data on the size and structure of energy consumption in Vienna in the period from 1800 to 2006, it analyses the energy transition and how it relates to urban growth. It shows that during the last 200 years, a multiplication of energy use and a shift from renewable biomass towards coal and finally oil and natural gas as the dominating energy source have been observed. This energy transition was not a continuous process, but different phases in the energy transition can be distinguished. Also the spatial relations between the city and its resource-supplying hinterland changed. But growth in urban resource use was not simply causing an equal growth of the spatial imprint of urban consumption. Our results show that the size and spatial location of the resource-supplying hinterland is the combined result of various dynamic processes, including transport technology and agricultural productivity. The paper shows how energy and transport revolution abolished barriers of growth inherent to the old energy regime. Book: Long Term Socio-Ecological Research, https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-007-1177-8 | A City and Its Hinterland: Vienna's Energy Metabolism 1800-2006 | Fridolin Krausmann | Book Section | 2012 |
Austria
Case Study
Energy/Emergy
Time series
Urban
Vienna
|
| Implementing Trans-Boundary Infrastructure-Based Greenhouse Gas Accounting for Delhi, India Community‐wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting is confounded by the relatively small spatial size of cities compared to nations—due to which, energy use in essential infrastructures serving cities, such as commuter and airline transport, energy supply, water supply, wastewater infrastructures, and others, often occurs outside the boundaries of the cities using them. The trans‐boundary infrastructure supply chain footprint (TBIF) GHG emissions accounting method, tested in eight U.S. cities, incorporates supply chain aspects of these trans‐boundary infrastructures serving cities, and is akin to an expanded geographic GHG emissions inventory. This article shows the results from applying the TBIF method in the rapidly developing city of Delhi, India.The objectives of this research are to (1) describe the data availability for implementing the TBIF method within a rapidly industrializing country, using the case of Delhi, India; (2) identify methodological differences in implementation of the TBIF method between Indian versus U.S. cities; and (3) compare broad energy use metrics between Delhi and U.S. cities, demonstrated by Denver, Colorado, USA, whose energy use characteristics and TBIF GHG emissions have previously been shown to be similar to U.S. per capita averages.This article concludes that most data required to implement the TBIF method in Delhi are readily available, and the methodology could be translated from U.S. to Indian cities. Delhi's 2009 community‐wide GHG emissions totaled 40.3 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (t CO2‐eq), which are normalized to yield 2.3 t CO2‐eq per capita; nationally, India reports its average per capita GHG emissions at 1.5 t CO2‐eq. In‐boundary GHG emissions contributed to 68% of Delhi's total, where end use (including electricity) energy in residential buildings, commercial and industrial usage, and fuel used in surface transportation contributed 24%, 19%, and 21%, respectively. The remaining 4% of the in‐boundary GHG emissions were from waste disposal, water and wastewater treatment, and cattle. Trans‐boundary infrastructures were estimated to equal 32% of Delhi's TBIF GHG emissions, with 5% attributed to fuel processing, 3% to air travel, 10% to cement, and 14% to food production outside the city. | Implementing Trans-Boundary Infrastructure-Based Greenhouse Gas Accounting for Delhi, India | Abel Chavez | Journal Article | 2012 |
Case Study
Delhi
Emissions
India
Methodology
Single point in time
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Urban
|
| Three ecologies: Urban metabolism and the Society-Nature opposition This article is an intellectual history of two enduring binaries—society-nature and city-countryside—and their co-identification, told through evolving uses of the concept of 'urban metabolism.' After recounting the emergence of the modern society-nature opposition in the separation of town and country under early industrial capitalism, I interpret 'three ecologies'—successive periods of urban metabolism research spanning three disciplines within the social sciences. The first is the human ecology of the Chicago School, which treated the city as an ecosystem in analogy to external, natural ecosystems. The second is industrial ecology: materials-flow analyses of cities that conceptualize external nature as the source of urban metabolism's raw materials and the destination for its social wastes. The third is urban political ecology, a reconceptualization of the city as a product of diverse socio-natural flows. By analyzing these three traditions in succession, I demonstrate both the efficacy and the limits to Catton and Dunlap's distinction between a 'human exemptionalist paradigm' and a 'new ecological paradigm' in sociology. | Three ecologies: Urban metabolism and the Society-Nature opposition | Wachsmuth, David | Journal Article | 2012 |
Methodology
Political ecology
Urban
|
| Mainstreaming Urban Metabolism: Advances And Challenges In City Participation Urban metabolism is widely defined as the sum total of the technical and socioeconomic processes that occur in cities, resulting in resource consumption, growth, production of energy, and elimination of waste. With the growing importance of tackling the global and local resource impacts of cities, collection of urban metabolism data should become a mainstream activity for all medium to large cities. The Urban Development and Local Government Unit of the World Bank has conducted abbreviated urban metabolism studies for 7 client cities (Amman, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Metro Manila, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo) using data from national and local statistical agencies and departments. These studies are presented in this paper, the data gathering challenges outlined, and recommendations made as to how local governments can institutionalize the collection of metabolism information and use it to inform local sustainability programs, and projects. Conference: Sixth Urban Research and Knowledge Symposium 2012 | Mainstreaming Urban Metabolism: Advances And Challenges In City Participation | Hoornweg, Daniel A. and Campillo, Gisela and Saldivar-Sali, Artessa N. and Linders, Dennis and Sugar, Lorraine | Conference Paper | 2012 |
Amman
Argentina
Beijing
Brazil
Buenos Aires
Cape Town
Case Study
China
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Jordan
Manila
Philippines
Rio de Janeiro
Sao Paulo
Single point in time
South Africa
Urban
|
| Data Acquisition for Applying Physical Input-Output Tables in Chinese Cities The physical input‐output table (PIOT) is a useful tool for analyzing the environmental sustainability of cities. Taking Chinese statistical sources as an example in this study, we discuss data acquisition methods for applying the PIOT to cities. We propose several methods and present a case study of Suzhou City to illustrate the proposed methods. These methods can provide foundations for constructing the PIOT of cities in other countries. | Data Acquisition for Applying Physical Input-Output Tables in Chinese Cities | Sai Liang and Tianzhu Zhang | Journal Article | 2011 |
Case Study
China
Methodology
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Suzhou
Urban
|
| The study of urban metabolism and its applications to urban planning and design Following formative work in the 1970s, disappearance in the 1980s, and reemergence in the 1990s, a chronological review shows that the past decade has witnessed increasing interest in the study of urban metabolism. The review finds that there are two related, non-conflicting, schools of urban metabolism: one following Odum describes metabolism in terms of energy equivalents; while the second more broadly expresses a city’s flows of water, materials and nutrients in terms of mass fluxes. Four example applications of urban metabolism studies are discussed: urban sustainability indicators; inputs to urban greenhouse gas emissions calculation; mathematical models of urban metabolism for policy analysis; and as a basis for sustainable urban design. Future directions include fuller integration of social, health and economic indicators into the urban metabolism framework, while tackling the great sustainability challenge of reconstructing cities. | The study of urban metabolism and its applications to urban ... | Kennedy, C and Pincetl, S and Bunje, P | Journal Article | 2011 |
Review Paper
Urban
|
| The concept of urban metabolism: exploration of the concept urban metabolism in relation to sustainable urban development This study aims to determine the usefulness of the concept of Urban Metabolism for sustainable urban development. In this concept, the total of urban flows (like building materials, food and waste) together with the processes which transform those flows are metaphorically viewed as the metabolism of a city. The thesis starts with a search for a clear description of the concept. Existing literature is analysed and ordered in which two main conceptions of the concept are distinguished: Urban Metabolism according to a biological point of view versus an ecological point of view. The second part of the thesis deals with the value of Urban Metabolism for reaching sustainable urban development. Urban Metabolism relates mainly to flows of materials and energy. A roadmap is developed how to apply the concept for reaching a sustainable exchange of materials and energy between the urban system and the environment. It appears that Urban Metabolism provides a framework within one can systematically search for such a sustainable exchange. However, to be more useful it is necessary that Urban Metabolism research shifts from describing the urban system to applications which aim to understand and control the metabolic processes and flows. In the last part of the thesis special attention is paid to the value of Urban Metabolism in reaching sustainable development through optimizing the spatial structure of a city. There is a clear connection between the urban metabolism and the spatial structure: some of the largest urban flows (building energy, building materials, transportation energy) are influenced by the urban structure. However, at this moment the possibilities to integrate spatial components into the concept of Urban Metabolism are limited. | The concept of urban metabolism: exploration of the concept urban ... | Jelier, W.P.C. | Thesis | 2011 |
Urban
|
| Urban Metabolism in China Achieving Dematerialization and Decarbonization in Suzhou Urban metabolism is a critical component of urban sustainability. On the basis of the driving force−pressure−state−response (DPSR) model and using material flow analysis, this article proposes a framework for sustainable urban management and policy assessment. A case study city in China, Suzhou, illustrates this framework. The results show that resource consumption (excluding water), water consumption, and waste generation (excluding carbon dioxide) in Suzhou after implementation of proposed policies will be 14% lower than 2005 levels, 4.5% higher, and 28.9% higher, respectively, in 2015. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Suzhou will increase by 71.0% in 2015 over 2005 levels, whereas carbon intensity (CO2 emissions per unit of gross domestic product) will decrease by 44.9%. Future pollution control in Suzhou should pay more attention to pollution from vehicles. In addition, goals for relative dematerialization of energy and decarbonization in Suzhou will be achieved before absolute ones are. In the short term, the urban metabolism of Suzhou in 2015 may meet corresponding urban objectives. In the longer term, however, reducing the city's resource demand and waste generation will pose challenges for the sustainability of Suzhou. | Urban Metabolism in China Achieving Dematerialization and Decarbonization in Suzhou | Sai Liang and Tianzhu Zhang | Journal Article | 2011 |
Case Study
China
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Methodology
Suzhou
Time series
Urban
|
| Cape Town State of Energy 2011: Energy Futures Report Table of contents Executive summary 1. Context: The South African and Western Cape energy picture 1.1 The South African energy picture 1.1.1 Oil and liquid-fuel supply 1.1.2 Electricity supply 1.1.3 Electricity supply shortages 1.1.4 Climate change concerns 1.1.5 National energy laws and policies 1.2 2. 3. The Western Cape energy picture The Cape Town energy picture 2.1 Methodology 2.2 Overview of Cape Town’s energy supply and demand Energy breakdown by sector 3.1 Residential 3.2 Commercial 3.3 Industrial 3.4 Transport 3.4.1 Passenger transport 3.4.2 Freight transport 3.5 4. Local government/authority Cape Town’s optimum energy future 4.1 Scenarios 4.1.1 A ‘business as usual’ scenario 4.1.2 Cape Town’s optimum energy future overview 4.2 Optimum energy interventions 4.2.1 Electricity efficiency interventions 4.2.2 Transport efficiency interventions 4.2.3 Renewable energy supply interventions 4.3 2 Effects of carbon tax and peak oil 5. City of Cape Town policy and regulatory framework 6. Recent Cape Town statistics 7. References 8 List of abbreviations used | Cape Town State of Energy 2011: Energy Futures Report | City of Cape Town | Report | 2011 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| Dynamic modeling of Singapore's urban resource flows: Historical trends and sustainable scenario development The process of urbanization is one that is inextricably linked with the consumption of material, energy, and water resources. Urban metabolism provides a framework for characterizing the magnitudes of these urban resource requirements by considering the extended analogy of the biological metabolic process. In this study we propose a System Dynamics approach for linking the stocks and flows of urban metabolism with the socioeconomic activities of cities. We also present initial results from its application to the island city-state of Singapore. In the long term, we intend this technique of dynamic urban metabolism to be both descriptive and predictive, the former to better understand different historical modes of urban resource consumption, and the latter to inform strategies for resource efficient urban development in an increasingly resource-scarce world. Conference: Proceedings of the 2011 IEEE International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology | Dynamic modeling of Singapore's urban resource flows: Historical trends and ... | Abou-Abdo, T. and Davis, N.R. and Krones, J.S. and Welling, K.N. and Fernández, J.E. | Conference Paper | 2011 |
Case Study
Singapore
Singapore: City
Time series
Urban
|
| Analyses of water footprint of Beijing in an interregional input-output framework Beijing is under severe water resource pressure due to the rapid economic development and growing population. This study quantitatively evaluates the water footprint of Beijing in an interregional input-output framework with a focus on blue water resources and uses. The inter-connections of water resources between Beijing and other provinces are analyzed with a sectoral specification. The results show that the total water footprint of Beijing is 4498.4 106 m3/year, of which 51% is from the external water footprint acquired through virtual water import. Agriculture has the highest water footprint of 1524.5 106 m3/year with 56% coming from external sources. The main virtual water provider for Beijing is Hebei, another water scarce region, from which Beijing receives virtual water of 373.3 106 m3/year with 40% from agriculture. The results of this study suggest that the interregional trade coordination, especially for the main sectors with high water use intensity, is important for enhancing the efficiency of regional and national water resource utilization. | Analyses of water footprint of Beijing in an interregional input-output ... | Zhuoying Zhang and Hong Yang and Minjun Shi | Journal Article | 2011 |
Beijing
Case Study
China
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Urban
Water
|
| Modeling the water consumption of Singapore using system dynamics Water resources are essential to life, and in urban areas, the high demand density and finite local resources often engender conditions of relative water scarcity. To overcome this scarcity, governments intensify infrastructure and project demand into the future. Growth in the economy, population, and affluence of cities increase water demand, and water demand for many cities will increase into the future, requiring additional investments in water infrastructure. More sustainable policies for water will require capping socioeconomic water demand and reducing the associated demand for non-renewable energy and material resources. The thesis consists of the formulation of a System Dynamics model to replicate historic trends in water consumption for the growing city of Singapore. The goal of the model is to provide a platform for assessing socioeconomic demand trends relative to current water resources and water management policies and for examining how changes in climate and infrastructure costs might impact water availability over time. The model was calibrated to historical behavior and scenarios examined the vulnerability of supply to changing demand, climate, and cost. The outcome is a qualitative dynamic assessment of the circumstances under which Singapore's current policies allow them to meet their goals. Singapore was chosen as the case study to demonstrate the methodology, but in the future, the model will be applied to other cities to develop a typology of cities relative to water resources. | Modeling the water consumption of Singapore using system dynamics | Noiva Welling, K.M. | Thesis | 2011 |
Singapore
Singapore: City
Urban
Water
|
| Development of a comprehensive city assessment tool: CASBEE-City Conducting city assessments and disclosing those results to the public is important for supporting citizens' understanding of the actual condition of their city. Such assessment and disclosure could introduce a market mechanism that can be expected to provide city governments with strong incentives to improve their city conditions and also recognizes that local policy and strategy can be the most appropriate way to address specific urban and environmental problems. The latest Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE) tool, referred to as CASBEE-City, is presented. Designed specifically for city assessment, it supports local governments and other stakeholders in identifying the environmental, social and economic characteristics of their city and in quantifying the effectiveness of their city-wide policies. CASBEE-City is based on the concept of environmental efficiency and it provides a combined evaluation of a city embracing two aspects: the environmental load imposed by the city on the wider environment outside its boundary, and the quality of life (environmental, social, economic) inside the city. A city with low environmental load and high quality receives a high Built Environment Efficiency (BEE) value and is regarded as a sustainable city within the CASBEE framework. | Development of a comprehensive city assessment tool: CASBEE-City | Shuzo Murakami and Shun Kawakubo and Yasushi Asami and Toshiharu Ikaga and Nobuhaya Yamaguchi and Shinichi Kaburagi | Journal Article | 2011 |
Japan
Research and Analysis
Urban
|
| Report on economically-viable mineral resources in the City of Cape Town's administrative area This report is a result of a request by Arne Purves , City of Cape Town, for digital data on the economic and potentially economic mineral resource fields in the City of Cape Town’s administrative area. This data was captured and pla ced on ARC-GIS. A total of eleven mineral commodities were identified, namely stone aggregate – granite, stone aggregate – Malmesbury slate, stone aggregate – Table Mountain sandstone, brick clay, plastic clay, building sand, silica sand, gravel (ferricrete), limestone, kaolin and ph osphate. Their distribution was compiled as separate layers on ARC-GIS. This report describes e ach mineral commodity systematically in terms of the location, extent, economic viability a nd alternative sources outside the Cape Town area. The GIS data standards are given in Appendix 1. Environmental Resource Management Department, City of Cape Town | Report on economically-viable mineral resources in the City of Cape ... | Cole, DI | Report | 2011 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| Cities and greenhouse gas emissions: moving forward Cities are blamed for the majority of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. So too are more affluent, highly urbanized countries. If all production- and consumption-based emissions that result from lifestyle and purchasing habits are included, urban residents and their associated affluence likely account for more than 80 per cent of the world's GHG emissions. Attribution of GHG emissions should be refined. Apportioning responsibility can be misguided, as recent literature demonstrates that residents of denser city centres can emit half the GHG emissions of their suburban neighbours. It also fails to capture the enormous disparities within and across cities as emissions are lowest for poor cities and particularly low for the urban poor.This paper presents a detailed analysis of per capita GHG emissions for several large cities and a review of per capita emissions for 100 cities for which peer-reviewed studies are available. This highlights how average per capita GHG emissions for cities vary from more than 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) (Sydney, Calgary, Stuttgart and several major US cities) to less than half a tonne (various cities in Nepal, India and Bangladesh). The paper discusses where GHG emissions arise and where mitigation efforts may be most effective. It illustrates the need to obtain comparable estimates at city level and the importance of defining the scope of the analysis. Emissions for Toronto are presented at a neighbourhood level, city core level and metropolitan area level, and these are compared with provincial and national per capita totals. This shows that GHG emissions can vary noticeably for the same resident of a city or country depending on whether these are production- or consumption-based values. The methodologies and results presented form important inputs for policy development across urban sectors. The paper highlights the benefits and drawbacks of apportioning GHG emissions (and solid waste generation) per person. A strong correlation between high rates of GHG emissions and solid waste generation is presented. Policies that address both in concert may be more effective as they are both largely by-products of lifestyles. | Cities and greenhouse gas emissions: moving forward | Hoornweg, Daniel and Sugar, Lorraine and Trejos Gomez, Claudia Lorena | Journal Article | 2011 |
Amman
Argentina
Athens
Austin
Australia
Bangkok
Bangladesh
Barcelona
Beijing
Belgium
Bhutan
Brazil
Brussels
Buenos Aires
CO2
Calgary
Canada
Cape Town
China
Colombia
Colombo
Comparison
Czech Republic
Delhi
Denver
Dhaka
Finland
France
Frankfurt
Geneva
Germany
Glasgow
Greece
Hamburg
India
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kathmandu
Ljubljana
London
Los Angeles
Madrid
Mexico
Mexico City
Naples
Nepal
New York
Norway
Oslo
Paris
Portland
Porto
Portugal
Prague
Rio de Janeiro
Rotterdam
Sao Paulo
Schotland
Seattle
Seoul
Shanghai
Singapore
Singapore: City
Single point in time
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Stockholm
Stuttgart
Sweden
Switzerland
Sydney
Thailand
The Netherlands
Tianjin
Tokyo
Toronto
United Kingdom
United States
Urban
Vancouver
|
| A global typology of cities : classification tree analysis of urban resource consumption A study was carried out to develop a typology of urban metabolic (or resource consumption) profiles for 155 globally representative cities. Classification tree analysis was used to develop a model for determining how certain predictor (or independent) variables are related to levels of resource consumption. These predictor variables are: climate, city GDP, population, and population density. Classification trees and their corresponding decision rules were produced for the following major categories of material and energy resources: Total Energy, Electricity, Fossil fuels, Industrial Minerals & Ores, Construction Minerals, Biomass, Water, and Total Domestic Material Consumption. A tree was also generated for carbon dioxide emissions. Data at the city level was insufficient to include municipal solid waste generation in the analysis. Beyond just providing insight into the effects of the predictor variables on the consumption of different types of resources, the classification trees can also be used to predict consumption levels for cities that were not used in the model training data set. Urban metabolic profiles were also developed for each of the 155 cities, resulting in 15 metabolic types containing cities with identical or almost identical levels of consumption for all of the 8 resources and identical levels of carbon dioxide emissions. The important drivers of the differences in profile for each type include the dominant industries in the cities, as well as the presence of abundant natural resources in the countries in which the cities are the main economic centers. | A global typology of cities : classification tree analysis of ... | Saldivar-Sali, Artessa Niccola D | Thesis | 2010 |
Comparison
Methodology
Urban
|
| Methodology for inventorying greenhouse gas emissions from global cities This paper describes the methodology and data used to determine greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions attributable to ten cities or city-regions: Los Angeles County, Denver City and County, Greater Toronto, New York City, Greater London, Geneva Canton, Greater Prague, Barcelona, Cape Town and Bangkok. Equations for determining emissions are developed for contributions from: electricity; heating and industrial fuels; ground transportation fuels; air and marine fuels; industrial processes; and waste. Gasoline consumption is estimated using three approaches: from local fuel sales; by scaling from regional fuel sales; and from counts of vehicle kilometres travelled. A simplified version of an intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) method for estimating the GHG emissions from landfill waste is applied. Three measures of overall emissions are suggested: (i) actual emissions within the boundary of the city; (ii) single process emissions (from a life-cycle perspective) associated with the city's metabolism; and (iii) life-cycle emissions associated with the city's metabolism. The results and analysis of the study will be published in a second paper. | Methodology for inventorying greenhouse gas emissions from global cities | Kennedy, Christopher and Steinberger, Julia and Gasson, Barrie and Hansen, Yvonne and Hillman, Timothy and Havranek, Miroslav and Pataki, Diane and Phdungsilp, Aumnad and Ramaswami, Anu and Villalba, Gara | Journal Article | 2010 |
CO2
Greenhouse Gas
Methodology
Urban
|
| State of the Environment Report 2009 Table of contents: Foreword - Executive Mayor Dan Plato Introduction - City Manager Achmat Ebrahim Background Air quality Carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint Biodiversity Invasive alien species Access to nature Wastewater Freshwater quality Coastal water quality Water use Solid waste Summary of results Conclusion Appendix A: Goals of the City Of Cape Town Environmental Agenda 2009 - 2014 Appendix B: Integrated Development Plan (IDP): Corporate Scorecard 2010/11 Appendix C: Goals and targets of the UN Millennium Declaration Appendix E: Green Cities Declaration and Urban Environmental Accords References Acknowledgements | State of the Environment Report 2009 | City of Cape Town | Report | 2010 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| Flows and fates of nickel--cadmium batteries in the City of Cape Town The use and disposal of nickel-cadmium secondary cells (the basic components of NiCd batteries) in Cape Town, South Africa, has been investigated with the objective of quantifying the associated flows of cadmium. Small sealed cells were found to make the dominant contribution to overall cadmium flows, with cordless power tools and separately imported cells accounting for most of these. Essentially all of these cells either have or will enter the general waste streams of the city. Large industrial cells made a smaller but significant contribution to overall flows, but none were known to have entered the general waste stream. These went primarily to hazardous waste disposal outside the city or recycling abroad, with some going into storage. The results suggested that the city's landfill stocks of cadmium are considerable, and that these could continue to grow in the future. | Flows and fates of nickel--cadmium batteries in the City of ... | Mason-Jones, Kyle and von Blottnitz, Harro | Journal Article | 2010 |
Cape Town
Case Study
Metals
South Africa
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Urban
|
| Society, energy and materials: the contribution of urban metabolism studies to sustainable urban development issues Urban areas, in particular cities, are significant consumers of materials and energy, either directly on their land areas or indirectly through the materials, goods and services they import or export; there are upstream and downstream consequences of the removal of resources and the discharge of waste materials (to the atmosphere, water and soils), with multiple impacts on the biosphere. The processes involved need to be better characterised to reduce these environmental pressures. This is a sustainable development issue and it is a major goal of a field ecology which has been described as urban, industrial or sometimes territorial. This paper reviews the specific origins and findings of studies on urban metabolism. It describes the analysis tools used, including material and substance flows, energy balances, ecological, water and, more generally, environmental footprints. Finally, recent findings and areas for future research in the dematerialisation of urban societies are summarised. | Society, energy and materials: the contribution of urban metabolism studies ... | Sabine Barles | Journal Article | 2010 |
Ecological Footprint Analysis
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Urban
|
| Investigation into a sustainable implant in the Erasmusveld neighborhood, The Hague The City Development Authority of Den Haag’s ambition is for Erasmusveld to be the most sustainable neighborhood in the Netherlands. The site, 51 hectares in the southwest of Den Haag, has a strong green character and is currently occupied by allotment gardens and sports fields. From 2012-2020, 750 homes and a small number of offices will be constructed with a variety of urban typologies. Conventional 20th century infrastructures (electricity, heat supply, sanitation, solid waste management, transportation) do not meet the planners’ ambitions of 100% local and renewable energy and climate neutrality. A decentralized infrastructure network, formulated by the Sustainable Implant concept, was investigated to empower Erasmusveld socially, environmentally, and economically. The resultant Sustainable Implant is a community center, infrastructure service hub, and processing device to transform the neighborhood’s built environment into an ecosystem that recirculates energy and nutrients from “waste” and captures primary resources (sun, wind, rain). Constructive analysis by literature review, case studies, and expert interviews led to eight physical components for the system: The neighborhood ecosystem is formed by integrating the inputs and by-products of the components, which are spatially optimized under one roof. A compact and flexible infrastructure “ribbon” between the buildings and the Sustainable Implant encapsulates the heat network, vacuum sewer, electricity and telecom wires; thus re-imagining infrastructure as a tangible landscape to reinforce stewardship and connectivity. Economically, the infrastructure network is owned, operated and maintained by a local utility service company (termed the Erasmusveld Energy BV ), which would reduce inhabitants’ utility costs by 10-20% through efficiencies gained by integration and would create administration and caretaking jobs. Inhabitants have the right to be shareholders in the company and vote on how accumulated funds are reinvested. Compared to a conventional neighborhood by four indicative cycles (carbon, phosphorus, water and energy), the Sustainable Implant improves urban metabolism. Notably, the infrastructure of renewable electricity, heat network and resource recovery from organic material leads to a carbon-negative balance, making Erasmusveld the first carbon-negative neighborhood in the Netherlands. The Sustainable Implant also fulfills twenty-one established criteria, including Optimizing collection and transport, equal or more comfort, equal or more ease of use, and similar costs. | Investigation into a sustainable implant in the Erasmusveld neighborhood, The ... | Nels Nelson | Thesis | 2010 |
The Hague
Urban
|
| Society, energy and materials: the contribution of urban metabolism studies to sustainable urban development issues Urban areas, in particular cities, are significant consumers of materials and energy, either directly on their land areas or indirectly through the materials, goods and services they import or export; there are upstream and downstream consequences of the removal of resources and the discharge of waste materials (to the atmosphere, water and soils), with multiple impacts on the biosphere. The processes involved need to be better characterised to reduce these environmental pressures. This is a sustainable development issue and it is a major goal of a field ecology which has been described as urban, industrial or sometimes territorial. This paper reviews the specific origins and findings of studies on urban metabolism. It describes the analysis tools used, including material and substance flows, energy balances, ecological, water and, more generally, environmental footprints. Finally, recent findings and areas for future research in the dematerialisation of urban societies are summarised. | Society, energy and materials: the contribution of urban metabolism studies ... | Barles, Sabine | Journal Article | 2010 |
Urban
|
| Hybrid input-output analysis of wastewater treatment and environmental impacts: A case study for the Tokyo Metropolis This paper proposes a new hybrid input-output model designed to analyze both the generation and treatment of wastewater. This model, named wastewater treatment input-output model (WWIO), can be regarded as an extension of the waste input-output model (WIO). As an application, I compiled the Tokyo Metropolitan WWIO table for 2000, which comprises 482 economic sectors, 11 wastewater treatment sectors, 12 types of wastewater-related waste and 6 types of environmental load. The model was applied to different scenarios to compare alternative wastewater treatment systems. The results indicate that replacing the simple treatment with the high-class treatment improves the quality of treated water while increasing CO2-equivalent emissions. Meanwhile, when the dewatered sludge is incinerated instead of landfilling, both CO2-equivalent emissions and landfill volume decrease. | Hybrid input-output analysis of wastewater treatment and environmental impacts: A ... | Chen Lin | Journal Article | 2009 |
Case Study
Japan
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Single point in time
Tokyo
Urban
Wastewater
|
| Evaluation of urban metabolism based on emergy synthesis: A case study for Beijing (China) Cities (“urban superorganisms”) exhibit metabolic processes. Disturbance of these processes results from the high throughput of the socioeconomic system as a result of the flow of resources between it and its surroundings. Based on systematic ecology and emergy synthesis, we developed an emergy-based indicator system for evaluating urban metabolic factors (flux, structures, intensity, efficiency, and density), and evaluated the status of Beijing's environment and economic development by diagramming, accounting for, and analyzing the material, energy, and monetary flows within Beijing's metabolic system using biophysically based ecological accounting. We also compared the results with those of four other Chinese cities (Shanghai, Guangzhou, Ningbo, and Baotou) and China as a whole to assess Beijing's development status. From 1990 to 2004, Beijing's metabolic flux, metabolic intensity, and metabolic density increased significantly. The city's metabolic processes depend excessively on nonrenewable resources, but the pressure on resources from outside of the city decreased continuously. The metabolic efficiency increased by around 12% annually throughout the study period. Beijing had a highest metabolic fluxes and density compared with the four other cities; its metabolic efficiency was lower, and its metabolic intensity was higher. Evaluating these metabolic indicators revealed weaknesses in the urban metabolic system, thereby helping planners to identify measures capable of sustaining these urban metabolic processes. | Evaluation of urban metabolism based on emergy synthesis: A case ... | Zhang, Yan and Yang, Zhifeng and Yu, Xiangyi | Journal Article | 2009 |
Beijing
Case Study
China
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Energy/Emergy
Time series
Urban
|
| Urban metabolism: Methodological Advances in Urban Material Flow Accounting Based on the Lisbon Case Study Urban metabolism studies have been established for only a few cities worldwide, and difficulties obtaining adequate statistical data are universal. Constraints and peculiarities call for innovative methods to quantify the materials entering and leaving city boundaries. Such methods include the extrapolation of data at the country or the region level based, namely, on sales, population, commuters, workers, and waste produced. The work described in this article offers a new methodology developed specifically for quantifying urban material flows, making possible the regular compilation of data pertinent to the characterization of a city's metabolism. This methodology was tested in a case study that characterized the urban metabolism of the city of Lisbon by quantifying Lisbon's material balance for 2004. With this aim, four variables were characterized and linked to material flows associated with the city: absolute consumption of materials/products per category, throughput of materials in the urban system per material category, material intensity of economic activities, and waste flows per treatment technology. Results show that annual material consumption in Lisbon totals 11.223 million tonnes (20 tonnes per capita), and material outputs sum 2.149 million tonnes. Nonrenewable resources represent almost 80% of the total material consumption, and renewables consumption (biomass) constitutes only 18% of the total consumption. The remaining portion is made up of nonspecified materials. A seemingly excessive consumption amount of nonrenewable materials compared to renewables may be the result of a large investment in building construction and a significant shift toward private car traveling, to the detriment of public transportation. | Urban metabolism: Methodological Advances in Urban Material Flow Accounting Based ... | Niza, Samuel and Rosado, Leonardo and Ferrão, Paulo | Journal Article | 2009 |
Case Study
EUROSTAT methodology
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Lisbon
Portugal
Single point in time
Urban
|
| The food-print of Paris: long-term reconstruction of the nitrogen flows imported into the city from its rural hinterland Between the tenth and twentieth century the population of Paris city increased from a few thousand to near 10 million inhabitants. In response to the growing urban demand during this period, the agrarian systems of the surrounding rural areas tremendously increased their potential for commercial export of agricultural products, made possible by a surplus of agricultural production over local consumption by humans and livestock in these areas. Expressed in terms of nitrogen, the potential for export increased from about 60 kg N/km²/year of rural territory in the Middle Ages, to more than 5,000 kg N/km²/year from modern agriculture. As a result of the balance between urban population growth and rural productivity, the rural area required to supply Paris (i.e. its food-print) did not change substantially for several centuries, remaining at the size of the Seine watershed surrounding the city (around 60,000 km²). The theoretical estimate of the size of the supplying hinterland at the end of the eighteenth century is confirmed by the figures deduced from the analysis of the historical city toll data (octroi). During the second half of the twentieth century, the ‘food-print' of Paris reduced in size, owing to an unprecedented increase in the potential for commercial export associated with modern agricultural systems based on chemical N fertilization. We argue that analysing the capacity of territories to satisfy the demand for nitrogen-containing food products of local or distant urban population and markets might provide new and useful insights when assessing world food resource allocation in the context of increasing population and urbanization. | The food-print of Paris: long-term reconstruction of the nitrogen flows ... | Billen, Giles, and Barles, Sabine, and Garnier, Josette, and Rouillard, Josephine, and Benoit, Paul | Journal Article | 2009 |
City
Nitrogen
Paris
Regional
Rural
Time series
Urban
|
| Global mapping of Al, Cu, Fe, and Zn in-use stocks and in-ground resources Human activity has become a significant geomorphic force in modern times, resulting in unprecedented movements of material around Earth. An essential constituent of this material movement, the major industrial metals aluminium, copper, iron, and zinc in the human-built environment are mapped globally at 1-km nominal resolution for the year 2000 and compared with the locations of present-day in-ground resources. While the maps of in-ground resources generated essentially combine available databases, the mapping methodology of in-use stocks relies on the linear regression between gross domestic product and both in-use stock estimates and the Nighttime Lights of the World dataset. As the first global maps of in-use metal stocks, they reveal that a full 25% of the world's Fe, Al, Cu, and Zn in-use deposits are concentrated in three bands: (i) the Eastern seaboard from Washington, D.C. to Boston in the United States, (ii) England, Benelux into Germany and Northern Italy, and (iii) South Korea and Japan. This pattern is consistent across all metals investigated. In contrast, the global maps of primary metal resources reveal these deposits are more evenly distributed between the developed and developing worlds, with the distribution pattern differing depending on the metal. This analysis highlights the magnitude at which inground metal resources have been translocated to in-use stocks, largely from highly concentrated but globally dispersed in-ground deposits to more diffuse in-use stocks located primarily in developed urban regions. | Global mapping of Al, Cu, Fe, and Zn in-use stocks ... | J.N. Rauch | Journal Article | 2009 |
All cities
All countries
Aluminum
City
Conservation of mass
Copper
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Global
Iron
Material Flow Analysis
Material Stock Analysis
Multi-scale
National
Regional
Research and Analysis
Rural
Single point in time
Urban
Zinc
|
| Urbanization and Socioeconomic Metabolism in Taipei The analysis of socioeconomic metabolism has largely been dominated by quantification of material flows on a mass basis. This neglects the energetic dimensions of the urban metabolism and makes analysis that integrates material and energy flows difficult. The present research applies Odum's emergy concept to integrate energy and material flows for the study of the socioeconomic metabolism of the Taipei area. We also take into consideration the urban sprawl in the Taipei area to study its relationship to the change of socioeconomic metabolism. We interpret SPOT satellite images from 1992 and 2002 to provide a deeper understanding of the whole urban system; results show that Taipei's urban areas increased in size during the past decades. Emergy‐based indicators show decreasing empower densities (total emergy use per area) of undeveloped and agricultural areas, whereas the empower density of urban areas has increased, which signals a convergence of resource flows toward urban areas. Such an increase of empower density is mainly due to fossil fuel use and translates into increased environmental loading and decreased sustainability. An analysis of the relationship between urbanization and socioeconomic metabolism indicates that changes in land use affect the characteristics of socioeconomic metabolism in Taipei. The effects of urban sprawl on Taipei's urban sustainability are also discussed. | Urbanization and Socioeconomic Metabolism in Taipei | Shu-Li Huang and Chia-Wen Chen | Journal Article | 2009 |
Case Study
Energy/Emergy
Single point in time
Taipei
Taiwan
Urban
|
| Caluculation of the in-use stock of materials in urban with nocturnal light image Material in-use stock, which represents a future potential of material recovery and waste, is an important factor in analysis of resources recycling. In-use stock is usually estimated using some statistics. In developing countries, however, such statistical data is not usually available to estimate in-use stock of materials. Therefore an alternative method is required in these countries. In this paper, a novel approach was shown to estimate a distribution of material, e.g. copper, etc. stock in the world, using above ground light images taken from space. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) / Operational Linescan System (OLS) nocturnal images are converted into the cloud-free visible light distribution image on all over the earth. The visible light is used exclusively in residential, commercial, industrial, public facilities and roadways. In previous studies, the relation between the strength of nocturnal light and human activity (e.g. population, GDP, energy utilization) has been studied. If we assumed that wherever the light exists the conducting material, such as copper should be used, the in-stock of materials can be estimated from the net of the light. In this study, the cloud-free DMSP composites of 1 km spatial resolution data generated by National Geophysical Data Center in U.S.A were applied on mapping a distribution of material stock. The net of light in an area were calculated from the image data, as an Illuminated Urban Area (IUA) dome volume. As a result, IUA dome volume shows strong correlation with copper stock. DMSP images may prove to be a useful tool to know in-use stock distributions in regions. This method is more suitable for the analysis concerning to developing countries where statistics may not be available. Published in: 2009 Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event, Shanghai, China | Caluculation of the in-use stock of materials in urban with ... | Matsuno, Yasunari; Takahashi, Kazue Ichino; Adachi, Yoshihiro; Nakamura, Jiro; Elvidge, Chris | Conference Paper | 2009 |
Material Stock Analysis
Urban
|
| Analysis of water consumption using a regional input-output model: Model development and application to Zhangye City, Northwestern China Based on a regional input-output model, we developed a method to identify the relationships between production activities and the related water consumption, as well as the relationships established between different sectors concerning water resources (i.e. indirect consumption). This method is applied to Zhangye City, an arid area of northwestern China that is characterized by water shortages. Our results confirm that although Zhangye suffers from a serious water shortage, the city's economic structure is based on sectors that consume large quantities of water. On the one hand, food production and forestry consume large quantities of water, reflecting the large scale of these water-intensive forms of land use. On the other hand, the industrial and service sectors use a smaller amount of water directly in production, but to produce the intermediate inputs that they incorporate into their production processes, a high consumption of water is often necessary. At present, there is no evidence that the city alleviates its water scarcity by importing virtual water in the form of economic inputs produced in other regions, suggesting that planners should include both direct and indirect water consumption in their resource allocation planning. | Analysis of water consumption using a regional input-output model: Model ... | Y. Wang and H.L. Xiao and M.F. Lu | Journal Article | 2009 |
Case Study
China
Methodology
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Regional
Single point in time
Urban
Water
Zhangye
|
| Greenhouse gas emissions from global cities The world's population is now over 50% urban, and cities make an important contribution to national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Many cities are developing strategies to reduce their emissions. Here we ask how and why emissions differ between cities. Our study of ten global cities shows how a balance of geophysical factors (climate, access to resources, and gateway status) and technical factors (power generation, urban design, and waste processing) determine the GHGs attributable to cities. Within the overall trends, however, there are differences between cities with more or less public transit; while personal income also impacts heating and industrial fuel use. By including upstream emissions from fuels, GHG emissions attributable to cities exceed those from direct end use by up to 25%. Our findings should help foster intercity learning on reducing GHG emissions. | Greenhouse gas emissions from global cities | Kennedy, Christopher and Steinberger, Julia and Gasson, Barrie and Hansen, Yvonne and Hillman, Timothy and Havranek, Miroslav and Pataki, Diane and Phdungsilp, Aumnad and Ramaswami, Anu and Mendez, Gara Villalba | Journal Article | 2009 |
Bangkok
Barcelona
CO2
Canada
Cape Town
Case Study
Czech Republic
Denver
Geneva
Greenhouse Gas
London
Los Angeles
New York
Prague
Single point in time
South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
Thailand
Toronto
United Kingdom
United States
Urban
|
| Urban stock over time: spatial material stock analysis using 4d-GIS A huge amount of construction material is required in urban areas for developing and maintaining buildings and infrastructure. Ageing stocks, which were built during a period of rapid growth in Japan (1955-1973), will cause a new waste flow in the near future. In order to assess urban metabolism with regard to building and infrastructure, it is necessary to understand change in its material accumulation both ‘spatially' and ‘temporally'. In this analysis, material accumulation over time is elucidated using four-dimensional Geographical Information Systems (4d-GIS) data at an urban scale. An approximately 8 km2 urban area of Salford in Manchester, UK, and 11 km2 of Wakayama City centre, Japan, were selected as case study sites. In this analysis, the material stock of buildings, roadways and railways was estimated locally over time, using a 4d-GIS database: (1) to find the spatial distribution of construction materials over time, (2) to estimate the demolition curve of buildings based on characteristics of an area, and (3) to clarify material accumulation with vertical location, such as above and below ground, from the viewpoint of recyclability. By estimation of the demolition curve, the life span of buildings in an urban area was found to be shorter than the national average respectively at both sites: 81 years in the urban area of Salford compared with 128 years for the UK; and 28 years in Wakayama City centre compared with the Japanese national average of 40 years. In 2004, 47% of total construction material was stocked in underground infrastructure in Wakayama City centre. | Urban stock over time: spatial material stock analysis using 4d-GIS | Tanikawa, Hiroki; Hashimoto, Seiji | Journal Article | 2009 |
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Material Stock Analysis
Time series
Urban
|
| Combined MFA-LCA for Analysis of Wastewater Pipeline Networks Oslo's wastewater pipeline network has an aging stock of concrete, steel, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipelines, which calls for a good portion of expenditures to be directed toward maintenance and investments in rehabilitation. The stock, as it is in 2008, is a direct consequence of the influx of pipelines of different sizes, lengths, and materials of construction into the system over the years. A material flow analysis (MFA) facilitates an analysis of the environmental impacts associated with the manufacture, installation, operation, maintenance, rehabilitation, and retirement of the pipelines. The forecast of the future flows of materials—which, again, is highly interlinked with the historic flows—provides insight into the likely future environmental impacts. This will enable decision makers keen on alleviating such impacts to think along the lines of eco‐friendlier processes and technologies or simply different ways of doing business. Needless to say, the operation and maintenance phase accounts for the major bulk of emissions and calls for energy‐efficient approaches to this phase of the life cycle, even as manufacturers strive to make their processes energy‐efficient and attempt to include captive renewable energy in their total energy consumption. This article focuses on the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with the wastewater pipeline network in the city of Oslo. | Combined MFA-LCA for Analysis of Wastewater Pipeline Networks | G. Venkatesh | Journal Article | 2009 |
Case Study
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Norway
Oslo
Single point in time
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Urban
Various Materials
Wastewater
|
| Urban Metabolism of Paris and Its Region The article presents the results of a research project aimed at (1) examining the feasibility of material flow analysis (MFA) on a regional and urban scale in France, (2) selecting the most appropriate method, (3) identifying the available data, and (4) calculating the material balance for a specific case. Using the Eurostat method, the study was conducted for the year 2003 and for three regional levels: Paris, Paris and its suburbs, and the entire region. Applying the method on a local scale required two local indicators to be defined in order to take into account the impact of exported wastes on MFA: LEPO, local and exported flows to nature, and DMCcorr, a modified domestic material consumption (DMC) that excludes exported wastes (and imported ones if necessary).As the region extracts, produces, and transforms less material than the country as a whole, its direct material input (DMI) is lower than the national DMI. In all the areas, LEPO exceeds 50% of DMI; in contrast, recycling is very low. The multiscale approach reveals that urban metabolism is strongly impacted by density and the distribution of activities: the dense city center (Paris) exports all of its wastes to the other parts of the region and concentrates food consumption, whereas the agricultural and urban sprawl area consumes high levels of construction materials and fuel. This supports the use of MFA on an urban and regional scale as a basis for material flow management and dematerialization strategies and clearly reveals the important interactions between urban and regional planning and development, and material flows. | Urban Metabolism of Paris and Its Region | Sabine Barles | Journal Article | 2009 |
Case Study
EUROSTAT methodology
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
France
Paris
Regional
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Resource Consumption of New Urban Construction in China The volume of China's recent additions to its urban-built environment is unprecedented. China now accounts for half of all new building area in the world. Increases in building stocks of all types have occurred during an extended period of accelerated growth of the national economy. This expansion promises to continue through 2030. As a result, the rapid conversion of land from low-density agricultural and light manufacturing to new urban zones of high density and material-intensive commercial and residential buildings has consumed enormous quantities of domestic and imported resources and has irreversibly altered the Chinese landscape. This article examines the consumption of material resources dedicated to Chinese building construction through a survey and analysis of the material intensity of three major building types. This provides a basis for outlining the emerging life-cycle issues of recent additions to the built environment and of continued construction. With this as the starting point, the field of industrial ecology can work toward formulating strategies for a circular economy that include a resource-efficient urban China. | Resource Consumption of New Urban Construction in China | Fernández, John E. | Journal Article | 2008 |
China
Construction Materials
Research and Analysis
Urban
|
| Exploration of Urban Stocks The transition of the built environment is a key issue of sustainable development. The paper describes a methodology based on material flow analysis (MFA) to explore material stocks in urban systems in order to make these materials available for urban mining. Switzerland is taken as an example. For the management on a national or regional scale exploration steps on lower scales are crucial. MFA is combined with architectural know how and approaches inspired by geosciences (urban geology). Buildings and infrastructure are the main processes, since they are the main carriers of material stocks within the urban system. For the exploration of urban stocks in buildings, the combination of material contents which are related to specific construction systems and layouts of rooms with their frequency of occurrence is introduced as 'ark-house method'. The focus on the genesis of the built environment gives the basis for future development options by scenario techniques. | Exploration of Urban Stocks | Lichtensteiger, Thomas; Baccini, Peter | Journal Article | 2008 |
Material Stock Analysis
Urban
|
| State of the Environment Report 2008 Table of contents: Foreword – Executive Mayor Dan Plato Introduction – City Manager Achmat Ebrahim Background Indicators Air quality Carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint Biodiversity Invasive alien species Wastewater Freshwater quality Coastal water quality Water use Solid waste Urban sprawl Access to nature Summary of results Conclusion Appendix A: Full list of contributors and sources Appendix B: Goals of the City IDP 2007/8–2011/12 Appendix C: Goals of the Cape Town IMEP Appendix D: Goals and targets of the UN Millennium Declaration Appendix E: Green Cities Declaration End notes | State of the Environment Report 2008 | City of Cape Town | Report | 2008 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| General Aspects of Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) Features of stable ecological structures are explored and compared with the characteristics of urban structures. Having a high efficiency in recycling material flows, while exploiting a renewable energy resource (sunlight), such ecosystems represent a good example of natural solution towards self-sustainability. Part of their dynamics could be taken as a reference for the environmental sustainability of anthropic systems. By identifying the standpoint from which the anthropic system differentiates from the natural one, this analysis allows the introduction of a set of ecological metaphors useful to interpret urban environmental inefficiencies and used to suggest possible pathways to cope with such issues. After having introduced a number of urban issues that have the most relevant influence on the sustainability of cities, a refined and enhanced metabolic model (named new urban metabolic model), that takes explicitly into account the role of institutional activities and the possible closure of urban cycles, is deepened to produce a tool for the description and the analysis of environmental dynamics and performances in cities. In: Clini C., Musu I., Gullino M.L. (eds) Sustainable Development and Environmental Management. Springer, Dordrecht | General Aspects of Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) | Alessandro Costa | Book Section | 2008 |
Urban
|
| Modeling the resource consumption of housing in New Orleans using System Dynamics This work uses Systems Dynamics as a methodology to analyze the resource requirements of New Orleans as it recovers from Hurricane Katrina. It examines the behavior of the city as a system of stocks, flows and time delays at a macro-level. The models used to simulate this behavior are compared to historic data. The construction materials, energy and labor required to construct several different types of housing systems are examined and these data are combined with the macro-scale analysis of the city. Several alternative scenarios are proposed based on the interactions of feedback loops identified. | Modeling the resource consumption of housing in New Orleans using ... | Quinn, D.J. | Thesis | 2008 |
New Orleans
Urban
|
| Metabolism of Neighborhoods Analysis of urban metabolism has been established as an appropriate approach for assessing the sustainability of cities. A desirable next step is to use the metabolism as a guide to designing more sustainable cities. This study provides an analysis of the metabolism of four representative Toronto neighborhoods. The annual energy consumption for buildings and transport is determined to be from 57 to 107 GJ/capita and from 0.5 to 9.2 GJ/capita, respectively. The annual consumption of food and water is found to be 1,100 and 92,300 kg/capita. The findings of the study have implications for the design of sustainable neighborhoods. This includes the construction of energy-efficient buildings, development of public transit, and encouragement of residents to replace inefficient water fixtures. More advanced methods might consist of growing the urban forest using nutrients from wastewater, and converting solar energy to building operational energy. | Metabolism of Neighborhoods | Codoban, Natalia and Kennedy, Christopher | Journal Article | 2008 |
Canada
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Toronto
Urban
|
| The Changing Metabolism of Cities Data from urban metabolism studies from eight metropolitan regions across five continents, conducted in various years since 1965, are assembled in consistent units and compared. Together with studies of water, materials, energy, and nutrient flows from additional cities, the comparison provides insights into the changing metabolism of cities. Most cities studied exhibit increasing per capita metabolism with respect to water, wastewater, energy, and materials, although one city showed increasing efficiency for energy and water over the 1990s. Changes in solid waste streams and air pollutant emissions are mixed. The review also identifies metabolic processes that threaten the sustainability of cities. These include altered ground water levels, exhaustion of local materials, accumulation of toxic materials, summer heat islands, and irregular accumulation of nutrients. Beyond concerns over the sheer magnitudes of resource flows into cities, an understanding of these accumulation or storage processes in the urban metabolism is critical. Growth, which is inherently part of metabolism, causes changes in water stored in urban aquifers, materials in the building stock, heat stored in the urban canopy layer, and potentially useful nutrients in urban waste dumps. Practical reasons exist for understanding urban metabolism. The vitality of cities depends on spatial relationships with surrounding hinterlands and global resource webs. Increasing metabolism implies greater loss of farmland, forests, and species diversity; plus more traffic and more pollution. Urban policy makers should consider to what extent their nearest resources are close to exhaustion and, if necessary, appropriate strategies to slow exploitation. It is apparent from this review that metabolism data have been established for only a few cities worldwide, and interpretation issues exist due to lack of common conventions. Further urban metabolism studies are required. | The Changing Metabolism of Cities | Christopher Kennedy | Journal Article | 2007 |
Comparison
Review Paper
Urban
|
| A material flow analysis of wood and paper in Cape Town: is there potential to redirect flows in formal and informal sectors to foster use as a renewable resource? The City of Cape Town has recently drafted an energy strategy and an integrated waste management plan. The creative implementation of these strategies requires knowledge of potential sources of energy and flows of waste. Inventories of requisite data are sparse. Wood and paper are interesting cases in point, as they are significant contributors to waste and potential energy carriers. A better knowledge of all related flows is obtained by means of a Material Flow Analysis (MFA). Data have been gathered for the fuel wood sector, the manufacturing, construction and demolition sector, the pulp and paper market, the municipal solid waste sector and the wastewater sector. Analysis shows that ∼70% of the renewable energy target of the City (10% of energy demand to be covered by renewables by 2020) could be met via the redirection of woody material flows within the Cape Metropolitan Area and the utilisation of innovative transformation technology. | A material flow analysis of wood and paper in Cape ... | Nissing, Christian and von Blottnitz, Harro | Journal Article | 2007 |
Cape Town
Case Study
Single point in time
South Africa
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Urban
Wood
|
| Metal capital sustaining a North American city: Iron and copper in New Haven, CT A detailed inventory shows that an average resident of the City of New Haven depends on a per capita capital stock of 9200 kg/c of iron and 144 kg/c of copper in the city infrastructure, buildings, transportation systems, and equipment. Of the iron stock 28% is in items such as rail cars and ships in ocean trade not permanently within the city, and 22% is devoted to receiving and delivering oil fuel to the city and its surrounding communities. Copper is principally used in the distribution of electric power and in water piping within buildings. The city's 9200 kg/c of iron stock-in-use is less than the 13,000 kg/c national average due to New Haven's lack of heavy industry and relatively small number of large buildings. The 144 kg/c of copper stock-in-use is only 58% of the overall value for the United States, but is comparable to that in cities such as Stockholm, Sweden. Attainment of a level of iron and copper services with contemporary technology in less developed countries to the level enjoyed in New Haven would require consumption of the presently identified world copper resources. | Metal capital sustaining a North American city: Iron and copper ... | Konstantine Drakonakis, Katherine Rostkowski, Jason Rauch, T.E. Graedel, R.B. Gordon | Journal Article | 2007 |
City
Conservation of mass
Copper
Iron
Material Flow Analysis
Material Stock Analysis
New Haven
Research and Analysis
Single point in time
United States
Urban
|
| Spatial characterisation of multi-level in-use copper and zinc stocks in Australia A methodology has been developed to characterise the in-use stocks of copper and zinc at a variety of spatial levels. The approach employs representative concentrations of copper and zinc in their main in-use reservoirs (which account for virtually all the metal put into service) together with geographic information system (GIS) data sets of the spatial locations and densities of these reservoirs. The authors have applied this methodology to Australia at four spatial levels: central city, urban region, states/territories, and country, to produce what is believed to be the first multi-level spatial characterisations of the in-use stocks of technological materials. The results are presented quantitatively and as a series of stock density maps for Inner Sydney, Sydney Metro, all Australian states/territories, and Australia itself. The total stocks in Australia are estimated at about 4.3 Tg Cu (4.3 thousand million kg) and 3.8 Tg Zn (3.8 thousand million kg), or about 240 kg Cu/capita and 205 kg Zn/capita. A statistical analysis of the data shows that the metal stock density at a given spatial level is largely determined by a small number of high-density components at the next lower level. The spatial analysis of the in-use stocks indicates that 50% of all copper and zinc stock resides in just 10% of Australia's local government areas. The largest stocks occur in large urban regions, which can contain copper and zinc densities more than a hundred times higher than rural areas. These regions are expected to be major Australian 'metal mines' in the future. | Spatial characterisation of multi-level in-use copper and zinc stocks in ... | D. van Beers and Thomas E. Graedel | Journal Article | 2007 |
All cities
Australia
City
Conservation of mass
Copper
Material Flow Analysis
Material Stock Analysis
Multi-scale
National
Regional
Research and Analysis
Rural
Single point in time
Sydney
Urban
Zinc
|
| Measuring the ecological performance of cities and territories: the metabolism of Paris and Ile-de-France | Measuring the ecological performance of cities and territories: the metabolism ... | Barles, Sabine | Book | 2007 |
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Paris
Urban
|
| Reshaping Urban Metabolism | Reshaping Urban Metabolism | Paul BRUNNER | Journal Article | 2007 |
Methodology
Urban
|
| Urban Harvest, and the Hidden Building Resources Within the URBAN Harvest approach, a strategy has been developed to investigate all possible harvest options within and from the urban environment. It can be seen as a positive contribution to a cities needs, complementary to reducing negative impacts. It should be studied how the urban organism –Orbanism- can organise itself to make maximum use of its own possibilities. It will require a high level or organisation, which in itself is available, but unexplored. It's necessary to change our traditional look at a city, where people only live and consume resources, to a city where people (or activities) produce resources, as by-product of consuming. The model is therefore entitled: Urban Harvesting. Harvesting all possible resources from within the urban environment. The Urban Harvest approach focuses on 6 main sources and flows from and out of a Urban environment: Urban Rivers, Urban Forest, Urban Energy, Urban Quarry, Urban Space and Urban Farm. Analysing potentials and maximum technical re-uses for quarry, space and energy, should lead to tools to manage building stock more effectively and reduce dependency on distant and non renewable sources. It will provide solutions for modern and non resource related solutions for sheltering. At CIB World Building Congress 2007 | Urban Harvest, and the Hidden Building Resources | Rovers, Ronald | Conference Paper | 2007 |
Urban
|
| Copper In-Use Stock and Copper Scrap in the State of Connecticut, USA During the summer of 2006, the standing in-use stocks and associated discards of copper, centered about the year 2000, were quantified for the State of Connecticut. The methodology, results, and discussion are published here in three parts: Part A. In-Use Stocks of Copper in the State of Connecticut Part B. Discard Flows from In-Use Stocks of Copper in the State of Connecticut Part C. Recycling Rate of Old Scrap Copper in the State of Connecticut Among the most important and interesting results are as follows: 1) A 'bottom-up' assessment of the in-use stocks of copper in the State of Connecticut, circa 2000, yields an overall result of approximately 540 Gg (thousand metric tons) of copper, or 157 kg for every person in the State. Buildings make up the largest category with 53% of the total, with residential buildings as the largest sub-category. 2) The discard flows of copper from in-use stocks were quantified by applying a lifetime analysis to the in-use stock estimates of copper in Connecticut. A total copper mass of 17 Gg/yr (thousand metric tons per year), or 5.1 kg/(capita*year),was discarded from inuse stocks at the beginning of the 21st century. Renovation and demolition debris make up the largest category with 36% of the total, followed by waste from electronic and electrical equipment (26%), transportation (23%), and infrastructure (14%). 3) The recovery rate, recycling efficiency, and recycling rate for copper from in-use stock discards were quantified for the State of Connecticut for the year 2000. With a recovery rate of 84%, and recycling efficiency of 75%, the overall recycling rate was found to be 63%. Neglecting sewage sludge, the lowest recycling rate occurred in endof- life vehicles and waste from electronic and electrical equipment (45%). A rough estimate combining this old scrap recycling rate with that of new scrap puts the overall recycling rate of copper in Connecticut at approximately 70%. | Copper In-Use Stock and Copper Scrap in the State of ... | J. Rauch, M. Eckelman, R. Gordon | Report | 2007 |
Material Stock Analysis
Rural
Single point in time
United States of America
Urban
|
| Copper and zinc recycling in Australia: potential quantities and policy options This paper presents relevant data for industry and governmental policy makers with the aim of increasing the recycling rate of end-of-life copper and zinc in Australia in a technically and economically feasible way. The methodology used to quantify and spatially distribute end-of-life flows of copper and zinc is based on existing and anticipated in-use stocks, their residence times, and their historical and anticipated future evolution. Australia currently (ca. 2000) generates about 72 Gg/year and 57 Gg/year of end-of-life copper and zinc, respectively. Some 70% of all discarded copper and 40% of all discarded zinc generated in Australia are currently being recycled. A detailed assessment shows that about 75% of all end-of-life material in Australia comes from the three states New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. In Australia, about 70e75% of waste copper and waste zinc is generated in urban areas. Residential applications account for about 40% (copper) and 60% (zinc) of the generated discards; commercial and industrial applications account for the remainder. By 2030, the discard flows are predicted to increase by about 105% and 155%, to 150 Gg Cu/year and 145 Gg Zn/year, providing substantially increased opportunities for recovery and re-use. Priority targets for the improvement of copper and zinc recycling in Australia are buildings under renovation, urban infrastructure, the transportation sector, and also consumer and business durables. Urban centres are particularly attractive locations for recycling facilities, especially in Perth and Adelaide. | Copper and zinc recycling in Australia: potential quantities and policy ... | D. van Beers, A. Kapur, T.E. Graedel | Journal Article | 2007 |
Adelaide
Australia
Brisbane
City
Conservation of mass
Copper
Future Scenario
Material Flow Analysis
Material Stock Analysis
Melbourne
Multi-scale
National
Perth
Research and Analysis
Rural
Single point in time
Sydney
Urban
Zinc
|
| The ecological sustainability of regional metabolisms: Material flow analyses of the regions of Hamburg, Vienna and Leipzig The paper describes the material consumption in the regions of Hamburg and Leipzig for the years 1992-2001 and for the region of Vienna for the years 1995-2003. With a so called material flow analysis (MFA) the total consumption of materials has been accounted for and put into relation to economic development. Indicators of material consumption serve as measure for ecological sustainability and the relation to economic development allows an analysis of the material intensity of the economy and its eco-efficiency. The region of Hamburg shows a slightly fluctuating material consumption per capita on a constant level with a slightly decreasing material intensity. The region of Vienna shows a light decrease in per capita consumption and material intensity. Both material consumption and intensity are higher in the surrounding areas of the cities than in the cities themselves. The region of Leipzig is an exception concerning the level of material flows as well as the strongly decreasing trends in material consumption and intensity. The paper discusses the methodological problems in accounting regional MFAs and formulates improvements for regional statistics that help to develop sustainability indicators on a regional level. Der Text beschreibt den Materialverbrauch der Regionen Hamburg und Leipzig für die Jahre 1992-2001 sowie für Wien für die Jahre 1995-2003. Mit Hilfe einer Materialflussanalyse wurde der gesamtgesellschaftliche Materialverbrauch in den drei Regionen erhoben und in Beziehung zur wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung gesetzt. Indikatoren für den Materialverbrauch dienen als Maß für ökologische Nachhaltigkeit. Die Darstellung der Beziehung zur wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung erlaubt Rückschlüsse auf die Materialintensität der Ökonomie und ihre Ökoeffizienz. Neben der Darstellung der Ergebnisse beschreibt der Text die methodischen Probleme bei der Erstellung regionaler Materialflussanalysen, diskutiert die Auswirkungen von Materialflüssen hinsichtlich der Flächennutzung und formuliert Herausforderungen für die Regionalstatistik als Grundlage für die Entwicklung regionaler Nachhaltigkeitsindikatoren. | The ecological sustainability of regional metabolisms: Material flow analyses of ... | Mark Hammer, Stefan Giljum, Fred Luks, Matthias Winkler | Journal Article | 2006 |
Indicators - general
Time series
Urban
|
| Food Consumption and Nutrient Flows: Nitrogen in Sweden Since the 1870s Changes in food consumption and related processes have a significant impact on the flow of nitrogen in the environment. This study identifies both flows within the system and emissions to the hydrosphere and atmosphere. A case study of an average inhabitant of the city of Linköping, Sweden, covers the years 1870, 1900, 1950, and 2000 and includes changes in food consumption and processing, agricultural production, and organic waste handling practices. Emissions to the hydrosphere from organic waste handling increased from 0.57 kilograms of nitrogen per capita per year (kg N/cap per year) to 3.1 kg N/cap per year, whereas the total flow of nitrogen to waste deposits grew from a negligible amount to 1.7 kg N/cap per year. The largest flow of nitrogen during the entire period came from fodder. The input of chemical fertilizer rose gradually to a high level of 15 kg N/cap per year in the year 2000. The total load per capita disposed of to the environment decreased during these 130 years by about 30%. | Food Consumption and Nutrient Flows: Nitrogen in Sweden Since the ... | Schmid Neset, Tina-Simone | Journal Article | 2006 |
Biomass
Case Study
Linköping
Nitrogen
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Sweden
Time series
Urban
|
| Stock dynamics for forecasting material flows—Case study for housing in The Netherlands This article discusses the role of lifestyle in physical material accounting and introduces a new method for simultaneously determining national or regional resource demand and waste generation through estimations of the population and its lifestyle, which is manifested in the stocks of service providing goods, their composition and lifetimes. Improving our comprehension of the stocks in use is essential for environmental policy making because (1) they are becoming the most important resource providers, (2) they are important drivers for resource and energy consumption as well as waste and emission generation, and (3) their magnitudes and dynamics are the parts of the material cycles that is usually least understood. A generic dynamic material flow analysis model is presented and applied for the diffusion of concrete in the Dutch dwelling stock for the period of 1900–2100. Simulation results are illustrated for a standard scenario and a parameter variation. The results show that (1) construction and demolition flows follow a cyclical behaviour, (2) the cycles of construction and demolition flows are phase displaced in the first half of the 21st century, with decreasing construction and increasing demolition, and (3) growth of the dwelling stock is becoming increasingly more material intensive as a growing amount of material is used for replacements. The presented stock dynamics approach can principally be applied for any anthropogenic material stock; however, it is most useful for the examination of metabolic consequences of diffusion processes of durable and fixed capital stocks. | Stock dynamics for forecasting material flows—Case study for housing in ... | Müller, Daniel B. | Journal Article | 2006 |
Material Stock Analysis
Time series
Urban
|
| Model for the management of the urban use of water resources. Part I The first part of a model for the management of the water resource is presented. The model is set for a city and it includes the water extraction form the environment, the cleaning process and the distribution of the potable water, the use of the water, the collection and the treatment of the sewage and finally the restitution of the water to the environment. The water fluxes are analyzed and the energy is incorporated by the use of functions and adjustable parameters. A set of equations for modeling a detailed overview is obtained. The model will be validated by using a complete set of real data. Se presenta la primera parte de un modelo para la gestión del recurso agua. El estudio se centra en una ciudad y se incluye la extracción del agua desde el medio ambiente, el proceso de potabilización, la distribución, el uso del agua potable, el proceso de recolección, el tratamiento de los efluentes y la devolución del agua al medio ambiente. Se realiza un análisis detallado del balance de los flujos de agua, la relación con el flujo de energía se incorpora a través de funciones y de parámetros ajustables. Se ha obtenido un sistema de ecuaciones que abarca el panorama general con un grado razonable de detalle. El próximo paso es su validación con un conjunto de datos completo y cerrado en sí mismo. | Model for the management of the urban use of water ... | Josefina Mangussi | Journal Article | 2006 |
Urban
Water
|
| Analysis of water demand and water pollutant discharge using a regional input-output table: An application to the City of Chongqing, upstream of the Three Gorges Dam in China China has faced serious water problems as a result of economic growth and some development projects and it is widely thought that integrated management, including socio-economic factors in each basin unit, is effective. Hence, the target of this paper is to evaluate the structures of water demand and water pollutant discharge with socio-economic activities in the City of Chongqing, the main city upstream of the Three Gorges Dam. First we have developed a methodology for estimating water demand and water pollutants (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) based on an inter-industry analysis model, and then applied it to the City of Chongqing. As a result, we conclude that industry is the largest source of water demand and water pollutants in the City of Chongqing and accounts for more than 50% of the total of each. Water demand from agriculture, forestry and livestock accounts for 35% of the total, and about 20% of water pollutants are discharged from agriculture, forestry and livestock. Furthermore, water pollutants from households constitute more than 20% of the total in the City of Chongqing though water demand and wastewater account for less than 15% of each total. In addition, it becomes clear that about 20% of the water demand and water pollutant discharge in the City of Chongqing is caused by other provinces and foreign countries, with most of the demand and discharge being industrial. | Analysis of water demand and water pollutant discharge using a ... | Tomohiro Okadera and Masataka Watanabe and Kaiqin Xu | Journal Article | 2006 |
Case Study
China
Chongqing
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Single point in time
Urban
Water
|
| Environmental sustainability indicators in green areas management. Urban park Monte Calvario, Tandil, Argentina City's green areas, mainly urban parks, are environmental systems what have a double role, social and ecological, and where is also possible also, to assess environmental sustainability conditions. In this sense, we propose a indicators set to assess in integral way parque urbano Monte Calvario sustainability conditions in Tandil, Argentina. It was necessary firstly, to do a systemically characterization our study area. This task facilitated then, the central analyze variables identification. Theses variables were useful as a base line (indicators set) to assess and check park's sustaina-bility in the time. We hope theses goals made possible local decisions can be elaborated management strategies what keeping and maintaining in the time present o future sustainability conditions. Key words: Urban park, environmental sustainability indicators, Tandil. Los espacios verdes de las ciudades y particularmente los parques urbanos representan sistemas ambientales que cumplen con un doble rol, social y ecológico, en donde es posible evaluar las condiciones de sustentabilidad ambiental urbana. En tal sentido, proponemos un conjunto de indicadores destinados a evaluar en forma integral las condiciones de sustentabilidad del parque urbano Monte Calvario de la ciudad de Tandil, Argentina. Para su elaboración fue necesario, en primer término, la caracterización sistémica del espacio bajo análisis. Esta tarea facilitó la posterior identificación de las variables centrales de análisis que sirvieron de línea de base para la formulación de los indicadores destinados a evaluar y monitorear la sustentabilidad del parque en el tiempo. Se espera que la concreción de estos objetivos posibilite la adopción de estrategias de gestión sustentables para los tomadores de decisión que mejoren o mantengan las condiciones de sustentabilidad del parque. | Environmental sustainability indicators in green areas management. Urban park Monte ... | García, Susana and Guerrero, Marcela | Journal Article | 2006 |
Indicators - general
Urban
|
| Urban water provision in Maseru (Lesotho): A Geographical analysis Water is the most indispensable of all basic human needs. It is needed for drinking, cooking, washing, bathing and cleaning. It is also important for hygiene and public sanitation. Indeed, water-borne diseases contribute to the deaths of at least four million children in developing countries every year (United Nations, 1996). Untreated household sewage, industrial effluent, agricultural runoffs, and inappropriate land use patterns are some of the major threats to safe water sources. Despite these facts, the provision of water services in urban areas of developing countries remains one of the major challenges currently facing governments (Linn, 1983). This is particularly so because there is a delay in the provision of urban services, including water, while urban populations are growing at alarming rates (Rakodi, 1993). Lesotho is no exception in this regard. There are major changes occurring in the country that will have great impact on water resources, and these changes are of great importance in setting policy and determining management strategies (TAMS, 1996a). One of the major challenges that face the government of Lesotho is sustainably meeting the water demands of the ever-increasing population, particularly in the urban areas. In fact, the government of Lesotho has, as one of its Millennium Development Goals, decreasing the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation (Government of Lesotho, 2003; Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, 2000). It is therefore important to examine what the government has undertaken in order to achieve this enormous task and to assess the successes and problems encountered. The critical elements in explaining access here are mainly adequate, safe and convenient or reasonable distance to the major source of water (African Development Bank, 2000; United Nations Development Programme, 1997). According to the Bureau of Statistics of Lesotho (2002), about 60% of the urban population in Lesotho had access to piped water on their premises in 2001, while about 24% accessed water through communal standpipes. Adding these two figures means that about 84% of the 2 urban population in Lesotho had access to piped water, whether through a communal or a private connection. These figures may look impressive, but considering the current rates of population growth and urbanisation that the country has been experiencing lately, this may not be enough. Lesotho’s population is currently growing at the rate of 2.6% per year, while the urbanisation rate ranges between 7 to 11% (Bureau of Statistics Lesotho, 2003). The report further notes that most of the growth is happening in Maseru, the capital city, which currently accommodates around 36% of the urban population in Lesotho. It must be noted that urban growth, particularly in Maseru, continues to increase, mainly as result of internal migration in which people move from the highland areas, which are mainly rural, to the lowland areas where major towns are located. Unemployment has been a major repellent that encourages this type of migration (Bureau of Statistics Lesotho, 2002). The consequential urban growth in Maseru has resulted in rapid urbanisation of areas that were traditionally rural, thereby further increasing the need for expansion in the provision of urban amenities in these areas. The above problem is made even more complex by the fact that the Water and Sewage Authority (WASA), which is the body responsible for supply and delivery of water to all urban areas in Lesotho, has been faced with a multitude of problems that has rendered it inefficient (TAMS, 1996a). The authority is currently serving only 50% of the population within its area of designation. Along with this, the authority has not been able to introduce a significant change in tariffs to enable financial viability since its formation in 1992. This has not only led to failure in maintaining assets, but also failure and inability in expanding services (TAMS, 1996b). On the other hand, an argument is often put forward by those who advocate free water, that water is abundant in Lesotho. Indeed, surface water resources are substantial in Lesotho and far exceed the present and future needs of the nation (Eales, Forster and Mhungo, 2000). One would therefore wonder why the Government of Lesotho has put water provision high on its priority list. In order to understand the nature of the resource, it is necessary to bear in mind some of the characteristics of water supply. Firstly, the seemingly abundant availability of water can be misleading as only a fraction of it is used. This is mainly due to high runoff and inaccessible mountain terrain. Major capital-intensive engineering that Lesotho cannot afford would be required to harness this water for use by people. Secondly, water is always unevenly distributed over space and time. This results in water being available in abundance where it is not needed and lacking in areas that need it most. It is therefore government’s responsibility to ensure even distribution of water, hence the need for expansion of water provision services in newly urbanising areas. It is also worth noting that problems of payment for water provision do not only rest with governments, but also involve the very people that governments are trying to serve. As has been demonstrated, payment for water services is necessary, because it determines the sustainability of the service, and the mere fact that Lesotho has plenty of surface water does not imply that payment for the resource should not apply. What is important is formulation of a payment strategy that takes into account the ability of the poor to pay. This strategy must enable provision of water at a cost that will enable recovery of the initial cost of providing it, thereby enabling sustainability, while at the same time making the resource accessible to the poor. It is often assumed that the poor cannot pay for urban services, particularly water. It must be accepted that, to some extent, the desperate poverty of the urban poor makes it difficult for them to display much willingness to pay for services (Giles, Brown and Davies, 1997). However, there is increasing evidence that, because of the same desperation, the poor are in fact willing to pay surprisingly large sums for water. This is also the case in Lesotho, and because of this often false assumption, the Government of Lesotho has been caught in the trap of trying to meet the water needs of the poor while at the same time aiming to achieve cost recovery, in the formulation of policies. However, neither of these aims has been achieved through these contradictory subsidisation policies (TAMS, 1996a). Instead it is because of these policies that WASA has experienced shortfalls in revenue, which has resulted in deterioration in the quality of service and in delays or failure to expand into other areas. Overall there is a lack of an appropriate water policy and management system to manage the growing demand for urban water supply in Maseru (TAMS, 1996a). If such a policy and management system is not introduced soon, it might become impossible to provide water on a sustainable basis to Lesotho’s urban population | Urban water provision in Maseru (Lesotho): A Geographical analysis | Lifuo Molapo | Thesis | 2005 |
Urban
|
| The Application of Material Flow Analysis for the Evaluation of the Recovery Potential of Secondary Metals in Australia The rate of metal use has risen rapidly in recent decades resulting in increasing amounts of landfilled mining wastes and produced metals being stockpiled as in-use products. These two reservoirs will become important for their metal content recovery over the next decades as a result of population growth, increasing per capita resource use, and anticipated metal price increases due to supply limitations. This paper discusses the potential and availability of secondary metals for recovery in Australia, illustrated by research results and case-study examples for copper and zinc. Barriers and enabling mechanisms for enhanced utilisation of secondary (non-virgin) resources are evaluated against the mining of virgin resources with the aim to present decision support guidelines to industry and government for resource policies and practices, and technology innovations. Presented at the 4th Australian LCA Conference; Sydney. | The Application of Material Flow Analysis for the Evaluation of ... | D. van Beers, R. van Berkel, T.E. Graedel | Conference Paper | 2005 |
Material Stock Analysis
Multi-scale
National
Rural
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Key drivers of the e-waste recycling system: Assessing and modelling e-waste processing in the informal sector in Delhi The management and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment WEEE was assessed in the city of Delhi, India. In order to do this, the personal computer was defined as the tracer for which a model was designed. The model depicts the entire life cycle of the tracer, from production through sale and consumption—including reuse and refurbishment—to the material recovery in the mainly informal recycling industry. The field work included interviews with the relevant stakeholders, transect walks and literature study, which was followed by a software-supported material flow analysis (MFA) of the whole life cycle chain of the tracer item. In addition to the MFA, several economic aspects of the recycling system were investigated. The study revealed that the life span of a personal computer has considerable influence upon the system, most notably in the following two aspects: (i) a prolonged life span creates value by means of refurbishing and upgrading activities, and (ii) it slows down the flow rate of the whole system. This is one of the simplest ways of preventing an uncontrolled increase in environmentally hazardous emissions by the recycling sector. The material recovery of the system is mainly driven by the precious metal content of personal computers. A first estimate showed that precious metal recovery contributes to over 80% of the personal computer materials' market value, despite the small quantity of them found in computers. | Key drivers of the e-waste recycling system: Assessing and modelling ... | Streicher-Porte, Martin and Widmer, Rolf and Jain, Amit and Bader, Hans-Peter and Scheidegger, Ruth and Kytzia, Susanne | Journal Article | 2005 |
Case Study
Delhi
India
Informal
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Time series
Urban
e-Waste
|
| The Magnitude and Spatial Distribution of In-Use Zinc Stocks in Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town is a major urban area that possesses large reservoirs of in-use zinc. These reservoirs will gradually become available for re-use as the zinc-containing products become obsolete, should re-use prove technologically and economically feasible. Hence, we have identified and quantified the principal zinc uses in Cape Town and estimated their lifetime, using a model incorporating Geographic Information System (GIS) software. We estimated the in-use stock at approximately 57 Gg and predicted end-of-life flows for several decades into the future. By 2030, we anticipate an in-use zinc stock more than twice as high as currently present. Our GIS analysis demonstrated that although the per capita stock of in-use zinc is lowest for poor community areas, these areas have higher spatial densities of zinc than wealthy areas because of the very high housing and population densities. If all end-of-life zinc is reprocessed, rather than discarded as waste or transferred outside the region, it could supply up to 50% of Cape Town's zinc demand over the next three decades. | The Magnitude and Spatial Distribution of In-Use Zinc Stocks in ... | D. van Beers and T.E. Graedel | Journal Article | 2004 |
Cape Town
Future Scenario
Material Stock Analysis
Single point in time
Urban
|
| Developing The Urban Metabolism Approach Into A New Urban Metabolic Model Considering the city as a peculiar kind of ecosystem, this paper explores the potential of a metabolic approach to urban development interpretation, proposing an enhanced metabolic urban model. This new metabolic model strongly focuses on the influence that institutional activities have on urban sustainability. Such activities – like planning and other decisional processes - are considered as an important feedback of urban dynamics. This last updating aims at connecting the conceptual modelling to urban governance. 1 Introduction: Urban settlements have recently become the most popular choice of life for human kind. More than 50% of the world population already lives in cities [6] and this figure rises to 80% if referred to the European continent [2]. In environmental terms,... (Book section of the book: "The Sustainable City III") | Developing The Urban Metabolism Approach Into A New Urban Metabolic ... | Costa, A and Marchettini, N and Facchini, A | Book Section | 2004 |
Urban
|
| Materials Flow Analysis and Emergy Evaluation of Taipei's Urban Construction The metabolism of a city can be seen as the process of transforming all the materials and commodities for sustaining the city's economic activity. This paper attempts to incorporate resource and material flow analysis to investigate Taipei area's urban sustainability due to urban construction. The material flows (sand and gravel, cement, asphalt, and construction waste) during the past decade for constructing major urban engineering projects such as roads, bridge, MRT, flood prevention projects, storm drainage and sewerage pipes, and buildings are analyzed for Taipei metropolis. In order to evaluate the contributory value of material flows to the ecological economic system, emergy (spelled with an M; previously known as embodied energy) evaluation is incorporated in this research. A framework of indicators including categories of: (1) intensity of resource consumption; (2) inflow/outflow ratio; (3) urban livability; (4) efficiency of urban metabolism; and (5) emergy evaluation of urban metabolism is developed for measuring the effect of urban construction on Taipei's sustainability. The consumption of sand and gravel is approximately 90% of the total construction material used, and the generation of construction waste in Taipei exceeds 30×106 ton per annum. The emergy value of construction materials in Taipei is equivalent to 46% of total emergy use. Although the livability in Taipei has improved, the significant amount of construction waste remains an important environmental issue. The recycling and reuse of construction waste can not only create circular pattern of urban metabolism but is also vital to the sustainable development of Taipei. | Materials Flow Analysis and Emergy Evaluation of Taipei's Urban Construction | Huang, Shu-Li and Hsu, Wan-Ling | Journal Article | 2003 |
Case Study
City
Construction Materials
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Emergy analysis
Energy/Emergy
Indicators - general
Single point in time
Taipei
Taiwan
Urban
Waste
|
| Estimating the urban metabolism of Canadian cities: Greater Toronto Area case study An urban metabolism analysis is a means of quantifying the overall fluxes of energy, water, material, and wastes into and out of an urban region. Analysis of urban metabolism can provide important information about energy efficiency, material cycling, waste management, and infrastructure in urban systems. This paper presents the first urban metabolism of a Canadian urban region, and possibly the first for a North American city. It also makes a first attempt at comparing the urban metabolisms of a few cities worldwide. The most noticeable feature of the Greater Toronto Area metabolism is that inputs have generally increased at higher rates than outputs over the study years (1987 and 1999). The inputs of water and electricity have increased marginally less than the rate of population growth (25.6%), and estimated inputs for food and gasoline have increased by marginally greater percentages than the population. With the exception of CO2 emissions, the measured output parameters are growing slower than the population; residential solid wastes and wastewater loadings have actually decreased in absolute terms over the 12 year period from 1987 to 1999.Key words: urban metabolism, urban sustainability, Canadian cities, materials, food, water and energy consumption, waste outputs. | Estimating the urban metabolism of Canadian cities: Greater Toronto Area ... | Sahely, Halla R and Dudding, Shauna and Kennedy, Christopher A | Journal Article | 2003 |
Canada
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Toronto
Urban
|
| Material Flow Analysis on the Regional Level: Questions, Problems, Solutions This paper aims at developing a method for applying the framework of material flow accounting and analysis (MFA) on the regional level. Starting from a discussion on the state-of-the-art in MFA on the national level, already published regional case studies are reviewed and details concerning the different methodological approaches discussed. The review reveals that existing studies differ considerably with regard to the size of the investigated regions, the methods applied and the data generated. Based on this review, a method for compiling regional MFA accounts is derived, which is compatible with the standard method for national MFA. Special focus is put on the description of possible estimation methods to overcome expected data gaps, in particular with regard to international and intranational trade flows. Finally, interlinkages between material flow accounting and land use accounting are discussed. | Material Flow Analysis on the Regional Level: Questions, Problems, Solutions | Hammer, Mark and Giljum, Stefan and Bargigli, Silvia and Hinterberger, Friedrich | Report | 2003 |
Methodology
Regional
Urban
|
| Material Flow Analysis of the City of Hamburg In this paper we present first results of a local MFA for the City of Hamburg. Material flows have been accounted for the years 1992-2001. Material input and consumption indicators for Hamburg increased during this last ten years. Material flows are almost overall dominated by imports and a big share of the imports is re-exported again showing the role of Hamburg as an international harbour. Material consumption per capita and per GDP is lower in Hamburg than in overall Germany. But different to Germany where material inputs and consumption stayed stable in per capita terms and declined in relation to GDP in Hamburg material inputs and consumption per capita and per GDP increased. | Material Flow Analysis of the City of Hamburg | Hammer, Mark and Giljum, Stefan and Hinterberger, Friedrich | Conference Paper | 2003 |
Case Study
EUROSTAT methodology
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Germany
Hamburg
Urban
|
| The Magnitude and Spatial Distribution of In-use Copper Stocks in Cape Town, South Africa As a major urban centre, the city of Cape Town possesses a large reservoir of in-use copper. As the metal's uses become obsolete, the copper will gradually become available for re-use, should that prove technically feasible and economically desirable. To evaluate this resource, we identified the principal uses of the metal in the city and its surroundings, quantified them, and estimated their in-use lifetime. We used this information to estimate in-use stock at about 110 Gg (110 million kg) copper and to predict end-of-life flows for several decades into the future. A model, using geographic information system (GIS) software, was developed to assess contemporary stocks spatially and to predict future stocks accord - ing to selected uses. The largest stocks are in the area formerly administered by the Central Cape Town municipal council, that is expected also to be the principal copper reservoir in the future. Impoverished areas turned out to have higher spatial densities of copper than wealthy suburbs, because of their high-density housing. The total stock of in-use copper in Cape Town today appears to be less than 1% of South Africa's mineral reserves of the metal, but its recovery and re-use appears to be justified because of its relatively low associated environmental cost. We conclude that if all end-of-life copper is reprocessed, rather than discarded or transferred outside the region, it could supply up to 60% of Cape Town's copper demand over the next three decades. | The Magnitude and Spatial Distribution of In-use Copper Stocks in ... | Van Beers, D and Graedel, TE | Journal Article | 2003 |
Cape Town
Future Scenario
Material Stock Analysis
Single point in time
Urban
|
| State of Energy Report 2003 This State of Energy Report provides the ‘energy picture’ for the Cape Town Metropolitan area. It gives the background and direction for the development of the Cape Town Energy Strategy, which is a component of the City of Cape Town’s Integrated Metropolitan Environmental Policy (IMEP). The energy picture is based on sometimes incomplete or old data and information, and as such also identifies these gaps and further areas of investigation. Energy plays a central role in the functioning of cities. South African cities are, however, very new to the current energy debate and have focused primarily on electricity distribution with little or no coordination across related energy issues. A local energy strategy will help to institutionalise sustainable energy approaches and practices at the local level, within a framework that has a clear vision and direction. It enables the co-ordination of ad-hoc energy projects and activities, and helps to integrate energy objectives into relevant CCT functions and programmes. It can lead to improved service delivery, save money, assist with employment creation, improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The development of the Energy Strategy comprises several steps. The first step (this report), gives a picture of the ‘state of energy’ in Cape Town. It highlights issues that arise from the energy picture and prioritises these issues. As a part of developing this State of Energy Report, a workshop was held with a group of energy experts and the draft document was circulated for comments, the results of which are incorporated herein. The second step is the development of a proposed Energy Vision and Goals document for discussion by key stakeholders. The final step is to compile the Energy Strategy based on discussions and inputs received. | State of Energy Report 2003 | City of Cape Town | Report | 2003 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| Material Flow Accounting of Greater London This dissertation quantifies the society's metabolism of Greater London in terms of material. Therefore a method for a region al material flow accounting (MFA) was developed and subsequently the accounting wa s carried out. The developed method agrees with the suggestions that are stated in th e Eurostat publication 'Economy-wide material flow accounts and derived indicators' (Europ ean Commission: Eurostat, 2001). Going into detail, various new approaches were develope d to generate a consis tent data file. The results of the accounting can be compared to nation-wide MFA that are done with the Eurostat method. After describing the theoretical basics of society's metabolism and material flow accounting, it was on the one hand im portant to describe the vari ous procedures to generate practicable datasets. On the other hand the results of the material flow accounting are discussed within the context of London as a Gl obal City that is in physical dimensions dependent on a national and world economy. The accounting is carried out for the most recent year for which data is available, the year 2000. It was not possible to cover a whole period of time, because of too much workload, the lack of exact datasets and limited time. Accounted are only the direct and the used flows. The latter are anyway of major impo rtance for the metabolism of a city since Domestic Extraction is almost not existent. Eq uivalent datasets for other regions in the United Kingdom are available so that the de veloped method could be useful for other regional case studies. The results show that London has, compared to national economies, high exports per capita, moderate imports per capita and very low Domestic Extraction. Waste is in large quantities exported and approxima tely 90 per cent of the used water is imported. Those facts show the dependence of a city on its environing other social systems and nature. Furthermore the Domestic Material Consump tion is in comparison to national economies very low and indicates that a global city like London has externalised the material intensive processes (but still relies on their products and outcomes). The material flows (excluding water and oxygen) are presen ted in the figure below. To create a complete picture of London's metabolism the calcul ation of the indirect flows and an energy flow accounting for the social system Greater London could be of interest since only a very small amount of sec ondary energy is generated within London. | Material Flow Accounting of Greater London | Bongardt, Benjamin | Thesis | 2002 |
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Single point in time
Urban
|
| A material flow analysis and ecological footprint of York This project sets out to determine the total material requirement of the City of York using a ‘Material Flow Analysis' and then to calculate the Ecological Footprint associated with the consumption of these materials. Taken together, these indicators can provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the various pathways that the City could take in order to move towards sustainability as well as enabling the more effective communication of ideas about sustainable lifestyles to the City's residents. Executive Summary 1. In November 2001, the Stockholm Environment Institute at York (SEI-Y), based at the University of York, initiated a study to measure the quantity of food and materials that the residents of York consume annually and to determine the resultant ‘ecological footprint' - a measure of the City of York's impact on the local and global environment. The study was funded by Norwich Union and was produced as a contribution to the Energy Saving Trust's ‘Planet York' campaign and the City of York's Local Agenda 21 - Better Quality of Life Strategy. 2. This project sets out to determine the total material requirement of the City of York using a ‘Material Flow Analysis' and then to calculate the Ecological Footprint associated with the consumption of these materials. Taken together, these indicators can provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the various pathways that the City could take in order to move towards sustainability as well as enabling the more effective communication of ideas about sustainable lifestyles to the City's residents. 3. The purpose of a material flow analysis (MFA) is to follow and quantify the flow of materials in a defined situation and over a set period of time. The end products of the MFA for York are detailed input-output tables showing the flow of all materials associated with non-industrial consumption that entered and left the city during the year 2000. These materials include the weight of fuel (the ‘energy carriers') required to produce the consumption items and bring them to York, to build York's infrastructure, to provide domestic heat and lighting, for personal transportation and so forth. Also accounted for are the ‘hidden flows' of materials that do not enter the economy for example, the removal of overburden during mining or waste trimmings from forestry. 4. While MFA provides valuable information concerning the total throughput of materials within York, the ecological footprint provides an understanding of the environmental pressures of these material flows. It considers the amount of productive land and water ecosystems in hectares (ha) that York requires to provide the goods and services that it consumes and to assimilate the wastes that it produces. Some of this land will be found within York itself while the rest will be in other countries and continents. The footprint includes the notional forest land area that would be required to sequester the carbon from carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions (and emissions of other major greenhouse gases (GHGs) converted into CO2 equivalents) due to fossil fuel combustion. The study focuses on energy use; food, food packaging and food miles; housing, non-food consumables, waste, transport, water supply and other infrastructure.... | A material flow analysis and ecological footprint of York | Barrett, John and Vallack, Harry and Jones, Andrew and Haq, Gary | Report | 2002 |
Case Study
EUROSTAT methodology
Ecological Footprint Analysis
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Single point in time
United Kingdom
Urban
York
|
| The building stones of Cape Town: a geological walking tour Pretoria, South Africa : Council for Geoscience | The building stones of Cape Town: a geological walking tour | Cole, D. I. | Book | 2002 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| Urban Metal Flows - A Case Study of Stockholm. Review and Conclusions Metals have rapidly accumulated in the anthroposphere, especially in urban areas, indicating possible environmental and resource problems. Here, Stockholm City was chosen for a case study of urban metal flows, i.e. metal inflow to, metals in the stock of,and metal outflow from the anthroposphere to the biosphere. The metal stock of Stockholm is large and still growing. The large amounts of metals in the solid waste fraction totally dominatethe outflow from the city. For major parts of the stock, the emissions from goods in use are negligible. There are, however,goods applications corresponding to significant emissions: e.g. the traffic sector (Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Pb), the tapwater system (Cu), roofs/fronts or other metal surfaces (Cu, Zn). Today's known metal flows from the anthroposphere of Stockholm to the biosphere and sewage sludge are quantitatively dominated by Zn(34 ton y-1) and Cu (14 ton y-1). Historical and present emissions have resulted in high metal concentrations in sediments (especially Cd, Hg and Pb, but also Cu and Zn), groundwater (Cu, Hg) and in soils (Hg, Cu, Pb). At present the annual median concentrations are below the Swedish limits for metals in sewage sludge, even if the safety margins ares mall for Cd, Hg and to some extent Cu. The flows of Cu and Zn to Stockholm soils are high with a significant accumulation indicating an environmental impact in a longer time perspective.High levels of metals in surface sediments in the water environments reflects an ongoing input where these metals are transported from known (Cu, Zn) and or partly unknown (Cd, Hg, Pb) sources. In future urban areas, monitoring of metal flows must be performed both in the anthroposphere and the biosphere in order to have a pro active approach to urban environmental problems and to get prompt answers to measures taken. | Urban Metal Flows - A Case Study of Stockholm. Review ... | Bergbäck, B and Johansson, K and Mohlander, U | Journal Article | 2001 |
Case Study
Metals
Single point in time
Stockholm
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Sweden
Urban
|
| Escalating trends in the urban metabolism of Hong Kong: 1971-1997 Urban metabolism measures quantitatively a city's load on the natural environment. We update the Newcombe et al. (3) pioneering study of Hong Kong's urban metabolism in 1971, highlighting trends in resource consumption and waste generation. Per capita food, water and materials consumption have surged since the early 1970s by 20%, 40%, and 149%, respectively. Tremendous pollution has accompanied this growing affluence and materialism, and total air emissions, CO2 outputs, municipal solid wastes, and sewage discharges have risen by 30%, 250%, 245%, and 153%. As a result, systemic overload of land, atmospheric and water systems has occurred. While some strategies to tackle deteriorating environmental quality have succeeded, greater and more far-reaching changes in consumer behavior and government policy are needed if Hong Kong is to achieve its stated goal of becoming “a truly sustainable city” in the 21st century. | Escalating trends in the urban metabolism of Hong Kong: 1971-1997 | Warren-Rhodes, Kimberley and Koenig, Albert | Journal Article | 2001 |
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Energy/Emergy
Hong Kong
Hong Kong: City
Time series
Urban
|
| An ecological footprint of Liverpool The project explores the ecological footprint of Liverpool, providing an understanding into the ecological sustainability of the city. Liverpool was selected as the pilot study to examine whether the ecological footprint is an effective measurement of sustainability. The ecological footprint ofa designated population is the area of productive land and water ecosystems required to produce the resources that the population consumes and assimilate the wastes that the population produces, wherever on Earth the land and water is located. Firstly, an intensive data collection exercise was employed, with the help of Liverpool City Council, to understand the necessary components that make up the footprint calculation.Information was collected concerning transport (both freight and passenger), waste (commercial,domestic and industrial), materials (food, paper and timber),water (domestic and industrial), housing stock and built land, energy use (domestic, Service sector and industrial) and biodiversity protection. All the data helped to establish an ecological footprint of Liverpool.Liverpool has a total ecological footprint of 4.15-hectares/per capita, compared to the UK average of 4.9 hectares/per capita. This means that the average Liverpool resident requires approximately4 hectares of land to supply them with all their necessary resources, their transportation needs and the use and disposal of those resources. Of the world's population, 80.3% has an ecological footprint smaller than 4 hectares, and their total share of humanity's footprint is 38.3%. Their average footprint is 1.36 hectares. The other 19.7% of the population occupy 61.7% of humanity's footprint, which in itself is already at least 20% larger than the available capacity of the biosphere. To be considered sustainable, Liverpool would have to reduce its ecological footprint by 130%. Waste has the highest ecological impact (1.6 Ha./per cap), followed by the provision of bio-resources (1.1 Ha./per cap), then transport (0.7 Ha./per cap) (both passenger and freight), utilities(0.63 Ha./per cap), biodiversity protection (0.3 Ha./per cap) and finally buildings and land (0.1Ha./per cap). A sustainable ecological footprint, taking into account the protection of biodiversity, is 2-hectares/per capita. Sustainable scenarios, suggesting how Liverpool could achieve this within three key areas have been developed; these being energy, domestic waste and water.In the energy scenario three specific areas are highlighted for analysis - the City Council, home energy efficiency and commercial offices. In 1999, LCC consumed 72.4 GWh of electricity,which equated to 6,115 hectares. Several options are available to LCC, which would assist a reduction in energy consumption and its ecological footprint. Firstly, LCC could meet the UK government's targets for energy from renewable resources (5% by 2005 and 10% by 2010). Alternatively, it could set its own target of 20% renewable energy, which would reduce energy consumption by 35%. Furthermore, sufficient installation of Combined Heat and Power systems could reduce costs by 40% and result in energy consumption being reduced to less than 50GWhby 2010. However, by doing nothing, energy consumption will increase to 82 GWh by 2010.Liverpool has more than 50% of households, which can be considered as being in 'fuel poverty'. Should the full installation of energy efficiency measures be achieved then energy consumption could be reduced by up to 89% with a significant reduction of 53,813 hectares to the ecological footprint too. Energy consumption in the service sector tends to be ignored because it is assumed that it is a relatively small aspect of company business. However, ignorance could affect company competitiveness. The energy scenario for commercial offices is based on the DETR good office practice, which highlights the need to reduce energy consumption by 57%. Achieving this target by 2010 would result in a reduction of 71.19 GWh. Should the targets that are set in the energy scenarios be attained then the overall reduction of electricity consumption across the city would be approximately 70%. The waste scenario provides a detailed analysis of domestic waste in Liverpool if a 'business as usual approach' is adopted, and the potential reduction with either recycling or composting of materials such as paper, aluminium, steel, plastic and organics. The research illustrates that Liverpool will need to recycle 93% of domestic waste by 2021 just to counteract the projected increase in domestic waste in the city. Therefore, waste minimisation schemes are essential. The scenario indicates the reduction in the ecological footprint with the introduction of various de-materialisation programmes. The water scenario highlights the reduction in the ecological footprint with a reduction in leakage,as well as considering domestic water consumption. The scenario demonstrates the ecological footprint of key areas within United Utilities such as commercial vehicle use. A programme of toilet cistern replacement would not only conserve water (a saving of one third), it would also save energy (spent supplying the water), which would have a significant impact on the emission of CO2 and the ecological footprint Finally, the report examines further uses for the ecological footprint and highlights future research. The report suggests that the ecological footprint is the best available indicator for understanding regional sustainability and that this pilot study has demonstrated this. Therefore,any sustainability appraisal of a city or a region would benefit from the valuable insights that the ecological footprint offers. | An ecological footprint of Liverpool | Barett, John and Scott, Anthony | Report | 2001 |
Case Study
Ecological Footprint Analysis
Liverpool
Single point in time
United Kingdom
Urban
|
| Material flow analysis: A tool to support environmental policy decision making. Case-studies on the city of Vienna and the Swiss lowlands This paper discusses the use of Material Flow Analysis (MFA) as a tool to support policy decision making in the field of resource and environmental management. In terms of policy, MFA can be used for early recognition, priority setting, to analyse and improve the effectiveness of measures and to design efficient material management strategies in view of sustainability. MFA has a high potential to be implemented as a guiding tool at the regional level, for example as part of a regional environmental management and audit system or as a part of the Local Agenda 21 process. Material management based on MFA is complementary to traditional environmental and resource management strategies, which have tended to focus heavily on specific environmental compartments, and measure the concentration of substances in various media. MFA, in contrast, provides an overview of the total system by linking the anthroposphere (that part of the biosphere in which humans' activities take place) with the environment. This system approach shifts the focus away from the back-end so-called 'filter strategies' to more pro-active front-end measures. MFA examines short- and long-term loadings rather than concentrations and highlights current and potential material accumulations, called material stocks. These stocks represent either potential environmental problems (e.g. large stocks of hazardous materials) or a potential source of future resources (e.g. urban mining). In this way, MFA can assist precautionary policy making by highlighting future environmental or resource issue problems without relying on signals of environmental stress. The objective of materials management is: firstly, to analyse material flows and stocks; secondly, to evaluate these results; and thirdly, to control material flows in view of certain goals such as sustainable development. MFA is an excellent tool for the first objective and is well suited to generate a base for the other two objectives. MFA results can be compared against environmental standards or can be interpreted using assessment or indicator methodologies (such as environmental impact assessment or ecological footprints). Selected results from two studies, carried out for the city of Vienna (substance management) and the Swiss lowlands (timber management), illustrate the use of MFA as a tool for early recognition (resource depletion and environmental quality), for priority setting and for effective policy making. | Material flow analysis: A tool to support environmental policy decision ... | Hendriks, Carolyn and Obernosterer, Richard and Müller, Daniel and Kytzia, Susanne and Baccini, Peter and Brunner, Paul H | Journal Article | 2000 |
Austria
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Regional
Single point in time
Switzerland
Urban
Vienna
|
| Energy and material flow through the urban ecosystem This paper reviews the available data and models on energy and material flows through the world's 25 largest cities. Throughput is categorized as stored, transformed, or passive for the major flow modes. The aggregate, fuel, food, water, and air cycles are all examined. Emphasis is placed on atmospheric pathways because the data are abundant. Relevant models of urban energy and material flows, demography, and atmospheric chemistry are discussed. Earth system-level loops from cities to neighboring ecosystems are identified. Megacities are somewhat independent of their immediate environment for food, fuel, and aggregate inputs, but all are constrained by their regional environment for supplying water and absorbing wastes. We elaborate on analogies with biological metabolism and ecosystem succession as useful conceptual frameworks for addressing urban ecological problems. We conclude that whereas data are numerous for some individual cities, cross-cutting compilations are lacking in biogeochemical analysis and modeling. Synthesis of the existing information will be a crucial first step. Cross-cutting field research and integrated, multidisciplinary simulations will be necessary. | Energy and material flow through the urban ecosystem | Decker, Ethan H and Elliott, Scott and Smith, Felisa A and Blake, Donald R and Sherwood Rowland, F | Journal Article | 2000 |
Comparison
Urban
|
| A Systems Approach to Materials Flow in Sustainable Cities: A Case Study of Paper This study develops a modelling framework within which the effects of technology choice and policy on the sustainability of cities may be assessed. A life cycle accounting system for environmental impacts is combined with systems analysis, to represent the flows of resources into cities, the wastes and pollution generated and the technological choices available in an urban environment. The approach is demonstrated through a case study of the demand for paper and management of wastepaper. The case study questions the applicability for paper of the accepted 'hierarchy' of waste management techniques; incineration imposes lower environmental costs than recycling, and consequently lower total costs under some circumstances. | A Systems Approach to Materials Flow in Sustainable Cities: A ... | Leach, Matthew A. and Bauen, Ausilio and Lucas, Nigel J. D. | Journal Article | 1997 |
Case Study
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Paper
Urban
|
| Material Flow Accounting and Information for Environmental Policies in the City of Stockholm This paper presents some thoughts on the use of material flow accounting (MFA) as a tool for providing information to the environmental policy making and management in a city. Examples are given from the early approaches to MFA made by the Environment and Health Protection Administration in Stockholm. Further, some results and experiences from a current research project on MFA and environmental information management at the municipal level are presented. The different MFA-studies carried out in Stockholm were able to clarify a number of questions regarding the magnitudes of various nitrogen, phosphorus and metal related problems in Stockholm. Further, connections between economic activities in Stockholm on the one hand, and emissions and environmental pressure on the other hand, are to some extent identified and quantified. Thus, better opportunities for setting proper goals and priorities in local environmental management have been, and will be further achieved. This will also make it easier to adopt a more pro-active approach in local environmental management. The studies, especially the most recent, have provided information to allow a more fruitful discussion between different stakeholders in the city. This is of great importance since local Agenda 21 work started in Stockholm and elsewhere is needed in order to cope with those problems that, regarding nitrogen and phosphorus, are identified as the most important. | Material Flow Accounting and Information for Environmental Policies in the ... | Burström, Fredrik and Brandt, Nils and Frostell, Björn and Mohlander, Ulf | Conference Paper | 1997 |
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Methodology
Stockholm
Sweden
Urban
|
| Provenance studies for stone from the Castle gateway, Cape Town Historical buildings often have complex architectural histories which are difficult to unravel from archival and archaeological sources alone. Provenance studies of stone used to build the gate of Cape Town's Castle suggest that this ornamental archway was carved from slate quarried on Robben Island, rather than imported ready-made from the Netherlands. | Provenance studies for stone from the Castle gateway, Cape Town | Hall, M, Miller, D and Moore, J | Journal Article | 1993 |
Cape Town
Urban
|
| Contribution to the study of urban ecosystems. The case of a city in North Africa. | Contribution to the study of urban ecosystems. The case of ... | Serge Kempeneers | Thesis | 1982 |
Urban
|
| The metabolism of a city: the case of Hong Kong Demographic trends suggest that up to 5000 new cities of half a million in population each may be required between 1975 and 2000. In order to examine the implications of this for demands on resources, a detailed assessment has been made of the patterns of flow and the end-use of energy and of some selected materials in the city-state of Hong Kong. This assessment is used as a basis for extrapolating the future resource requirements of other urban development along similar lines. The calculations indicate that the capital and recurrent energy costs of the predicted urbanization would amount to more than five times the 1973 world consumption of energy. | The metabolism of a city: the case of Hong Kong | Newcombe, Ken and Kalma, Jetse D and Aston, Alan R | Journal Article | 1978 |
Case Study
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW MFA)
Energy/Emergy
Future Scenario
Hong Kong
Hong Kong: City
Single point in time
Urban
|
| L'écosystème URBS: L'écosystème urbain bruxellois | L'écosystème URBS: L'écosystème urbain bruxellois | Duvigneaud, P. and Denayer-De Smet, S. | Book Section | 1977 |
Belgium
Biomass
Brussels
CO2
City
Electricity
Emissions
Energy
SO2
Urban
Urban Ecology
Waste
Water
|
| Energy-economic theory and mathematical models for combining the systems of man and nature, case study: The urban region of Miami, Florida This paper presents a study of the urban region of Miami, Fla. with consideration of energy flow and the relationship between energy theory and economics. Much of this work is based on the theories and work of Dr Howard T. Odum at the University of Florida. A theory of energy quality is presented which is an attempt to relate energies of different concentrations in their ability to do work. This theory allows comparison of the systems of man and nature. Another theory is proposed which seeks to describe the ability of a region to compete based on its flows of natural and fossil fuel energies. Economic, natural system, and energy data were compiled for the Miami urban region from 1950-1972. Cross-correlation of this data showed significant levels of correlation between the rate of change of fossil fuel use and the rates of change of population, budget, sales tax, income, building structure, and number of telephones. Calculation of several urban indicators for 1972 showed a fossil fuel energy density of 300 kcal/m2/day in the urbanized area, a per capita energy consumption of 53.8 × 106 kcal/capita/year, a ratio of natural to fossil fuel energies of 0.25, a developed area of 260 miles2 (673.4 km2), and a rate of development of 6.5 miles2 (16.8 km2) per year. An overall model of Miami is presented with flows and storages quantified for 1972. Based on this model a simpler model was simulated on an analog computer. This model consisted of a system of first-order in time, non-linear differential equations which included fossil fuel energy flows, main economic flows, external price functions, building structure, natural energies, and population. This model was simulated for several linearly increasing future price functions and several sets of future energy functions. Natural energies within the region were calculated by determining the land areas associated with various ecosystem types. Estimating the productivities of these systems on a per area basis allowed calculation of total energy flows. The energies associated with winds, tides, waves, and fresh/salt water concentration gradients were also determined. It was found that the ratio of natural to fossil fuel energy changed from 1.77 in 1950 to 0.25 in 1972. | Energy-economic theory and mathematical models for combining the systems of ... | Zucchetto, James | Journal Article | 1975 |
Case Study
Energy
Miami
Time series
United States
Urban
|
| The Metabolism of Cities | The Metabolism of Cities | Wolman, Abel | Journal Article | 1965 |
Research and Analysis
Urban
Water
|
| Essay on the metabolism of Berlin The first urban metabolism study that aims to quantify material flows on a city level using the mass balance principle. Worth reading for those who know some German. Alternatively, an English interpretation is available. | Essay on the metabolism of Berlin | Theodor Weyl | Conference Paper | 1894 |
Berlin
Case Study
Food
Germany
Urban
|