A review of urban metabolism studies to identify key methodological choices for future harmonization and implementation

Beloin-Saint-Pierre, Didier; Rugani, Benedetto; Lasvaux, Sébastien; Mailhac, Adélaïde; Popovici, Emil; Sibiude, Galdric; Benetto, Enrico; Schiopu, Nicoleta

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.09.014

Cited by 161 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 162 publications

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“…Another strand of research uses the term urban metabolism rather metaphorically. These studies employ concepts and methods from political science, sociology, social geography or ethnography but usually do not aim at quantifying the biophysical processes at the core of SMR 46,47 ; for a recent review see 48 .…”

Section: Socio-metabolic Research Traditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contributions of sociometabolic research to sustainability science

et al. 2019

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Recent high-level agreements such as the Paris climate accord or the Sustainable Development Goals aim at mitigating climate change, ecological degradation and biodiversity loss while pursuing social goals such as reducing hunger or poverty. Systemic approaches bridging natural and social sciences are required to support these agendas. The surging human use of biophysical resources (materials, energy) results from the pursuit of social and economic goals, while it also drives global environmental change. Socio-metabolic research links the study of socioeconomic processes with biophysical processes and thus plays a pivotal role for understanding societynature interactions. It includes a broad range of systems science approaches for measuring, analyzing and modelling of biophysical stocks and flows as well as the services they provide to society. Here we outline and systematize major socio-metabolic research traditions that study the biophysical basis of economic activity: urban metabolism, the multi-scale integrated assessment of societal and ecosystem metabolism, biophysical economics, material and energy flow analysis, and environmentally extended input-output analysis. Examples from recent research demonstrate strengths and weaknesses of socio-metabolic research. We discuss future research directions that could also help to enrich related fields.

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Section: Socio-metabolic Research Traditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contributions of sociometabolic research to sustainability science

et al. 2019

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“…The main drawback of the Network Approach is identified to be the challenging implementation of analyses due to the big amount of data. This fact can be easily accepted as a reason of complexity yet still being the solution towards answering multi-dimensional analyses that can be very beneficial for urban level decision making [19].…”

Section: A Data Centric Approach For Urban Level Complex Assessmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Assessment of Nature Based Solutions Through Urban Level LCA

Başoğlu

Yöntem

et al. 2018

Designing Sustainable Technologies, Products and Policies

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Planning Nature Based Solutions (NBS) to address urban challenges requires an approach that embeds the multiple dimensions of NBS to effectively portray their use and impact. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides a comprehensive assessment methodology in this regard. This paper discusses the environmental assessment of NBS via LCA using urban metabolism as an overarching approach to model the urban ecosystem. Performing a dynamic assessment with time series data is suggested as a way of identifying hotspots of the indicators studied within a determined time frame, allowing the assessor to observe and mitigate extremities and make informed decisions on desired temporal patterns. Dynamic assessment is supported by two simulation methodologies: Building Information Modelling for the built environment and Agent Based Modelling for social behavioural patterns.

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“…Conventional UM methods 1 tend to incorporate accounting methods that rely on secondary data (Beloin-Saint-Pierre et al 2016), or statistical methods for downscaling aggregate data (Horta and Keirstead 2016;Currie and Musango 2016), rather than utilizing primary data based on bottom-up approaches. These studies therefore tend to ignore informal flows and processes of informal settlements, which are deemed data scarce areas (Currie and Musango 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conventional UM methods include economy‐wide material flow analyses; ecological footprint analyses; input‐output analyses; energy assessments; life cycle assessments; network analyses; and combinations of these methods (Beloin‐Saint‐Pierre et al. ; Musango et al. ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Towards Measuring the Informal City: A Societal Metabolism Approach

Smit

Musango

Kovacic

et al. 2018

J of Industrial Ecology

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Summary The rapid growth of urban informal settlements, or slums, poses a particular challenge for balancing developmental and environmental goals. In South Africa, high levels of inequality, poverty, and unemployment contribute to widespread migration. The influx of migrant workers to cities, however, is rarely matched with adequate housing and infrastructure, resulting in the formation and growth of urban informal settlements. Despite the persistence of the slum phenomenon, very few studies provide an in‐depth understanding of the metabolic processes that link these spaces, and informal economies, to the broader urban environment and economy. This article therefore utilized a multiscale integrated assessment of the societal and ecosystem metabolism approach to examine human activity and land use in Enkanini, an urban informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The results highlight a number of issues to be addressed through spatial, developmental, and local economic policy, such as the need for improved transport linkages. The time‐use results show that Enkanini is a net provider of labor to the surrounding area. Further, geographical mapping indicates Enkanini as a small, but vibrant, informal economy, while being grossly underserviced in terms of water, waste, and sanitation infrastructure. Key implications are discussed in terms of the theoretical, methodological, societal, and policy impact of the study, including the need for city observatories that conduct regular data collection and analysis.

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A review of urban metabolism studies to identify key methodological choices for future harmonization and implementation

Cited by 161 publications

References 162 publications

Contributions of sociometabolic research to sustainability science

Contributions of sociometabolic research to sustainability science

Dynamic Assessment of Nature Based Solutions Through Urban Level LCA

Towards Measuring the Informal City: A Societal Metabolism Approach

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