Urban metabolism is a model to facilitate the description and analysis of the flows of the materials and energy within cities, such as undertaken in a material flow analysis of a city. We saw in the previous post that we can think about urban metabolism in terms of theoretical frameworks or case studies. Urban metabolism may be defined as the sum total of the technical and socioeconomic processes that occur in cities, resulting in growth, production of energy, and elimination of waste kennedy et al. Urban metabolism collects important and very useful information about energy efficiency, material cycling, waste management and infrastructure in urban environments. A comprehensive extension of the urban metabolism concept see figure 12 is suggested by minx et al. The rotterdam and delta region hosts antwerp and rotterdam ports, where many.
The urban metabolism group at chalmers is developing three alleys of research. From theory to implementation while the theoretical potential of the urban metabolism concept to support urban planning and design for resource efficiency is supported in scientific literature e. Digestion of food is just one aspect of metabolism. A unified framework for analyzing urban sustainability in terms of cities inflows and outflows of matter and energy. Combining data availability, clear urban boundaries, and rapid urbanization, singapore is an ideal case to develop new theory of the dynamics of urban metabolism. We also allow for urban water supply to invest in reservoirs, desalination plants, and reclamation plants to expand supply in the present and future. Sustainable development of rotterdam nico tilly, olv klijn, judith. Know and understand the relationship between urbanism as a social instrument and the social metabolism. International architecture biennale rotterdam and buiksloterham as a. Circular economy, urban metabolism, uman model, cities, resources. The concept of urban metabolism has furthered quantitative approaches to urban resource flows assessment and inspired ideas about designing sustainable cities agudelovera et al. Urban metabolism for planning and designing sustainable cities the envisaged value of urban metabolism for planning and design disciplines has different aspects.
The rotterdam and delta region hosts antwerp and rotterdam ports, where many icons of. Urban metabolism and degrowth, part 1 inhabiting the. To aid studies of sustainability or urban metabolism in african cities, it is vital to make a shift from discussing african urbanism as a collective event. Suet 2014 the concept of the urban metabolism um a. Circular economy, urban metabolism, uman model, cities. Metabolic flows urbanism urban strategy resilient system urbanization map maps development draw food watermore 9 3 4 6 4. Urban metabolism analysis looks at cities as though they are a living organism. In this critical reflection, we will examine the biometaphor urban metabolism in order to investigate its methodology of making cities more circular. The use of the metabolism concept, expanded to include aspects of livability, is applied to cities to demonstrate the practical meaning of sustainability. Sustainable development of rotterdam nico tilly, olv klijn, judith borsboom, martin looije ed 2014, iabr, rotterdam 142 pages english softcover full color 10 plus postage and all transfer costs order your copy directly from iabr available as pdf. The complexity of the city is exposed and studied, and new and unexpected relationships within the city are explored, offering urgent and relevant challenges and opportunities to the rotterdam area. The funding mechanics of international development programmes and the biases of their current expertiseled trend are some of the most critical examples. Iabr2014 urban by nature is the 6th edition and the iabr has proven to be. It has yet to be determined if these same unique characteristics strengthen or hinder generalizability to other global cities.
Cousins university of michigan, usa abstract this paper considers the limits and potential of urban metabolism to conceptualize city processes. Trainer promises something like a more egalitarian society resulting from degrowth, while deriu suggests that a push for democracy and. It provides researchers with a metaphorical framework to study the interactions of natural and human systems in specific regions. Mumbais urban metabolism and the role of waste management. Linking urban metabolism to policy may be the missing tool needed to measure and change urban sustainability performances, but in order to do this it is necessary to develop an interdisciplinary practice of urban metabolism. Through the notions of flow and circulation, the concept of urban metabolism links material flows with ecological and social processes, and the potential for change to sustainable patterns of consumption and production broto et al. Methodological advances in urban material flow accounting based on the lisbon case study niza, samuel and rosado, leonardo and ferrao, paulo lisbon.
From the beginning, researchers have tweaked and altered. Newcombe et al 1978 significantly contributed with their metabolism study of. What influence do these flows have on the quality of life in the city, and how do they relate to spatial developments. The need to undertake a basic urban metabolism assessment for all cities, which will ensure comparison for all cities, in. Mumbais urban metabolism and the role of waste management through informality mariangela veronesi mv. Know, understand and critically examines the concept of sustainability. Urban metabolism van timmeren tu delft opencourseware. This methodology was tested in a case study that characterized the urban metabolism of the city of lisbon by quantifying lisbons material balance for 2004. Pdf how do the flows of goods, people, waste, biota, energy, food, freshwater, sand and air function in rotterdam. Developing a pragmatic approach to assess urban metabolism in. Smart urban metabolism toward a new understanding of causalities in cities. The views expressed in this book do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the. Um studies, however, focalize chiefly on quantitative resource input and output e. The phrase has also turned up in books such as sustainable urban metabolism, published in 20 by mit press.
In the urban metabolism ur me ban lism tabo sustainable development of rotterdam gemeente rotterdam iabr fabric jcfo tno more and more. Urbanization and globalization have shaped the last hundred years. Bruce beck ma, phd professor and eminent scholar, warnell school of forestry and natural resources, university of georgia, athens, ga, usa. And what opportunities are there for a circular economy. Urban metabolism details the results of the iabratelier rotterdam. Advances and challenges in city participation sixth urban research and knowledge symposium 2012 3 services. The concept of the urban metabolism, conceived by wolman 1965, is fundamental to developing sustainable cities and communities. Two urban metabolism based approaches to implement circular. The iabrproject atelier rotterdam, urban metabolism, is one of the three iabr 2014 project ateliers. Sustainabledevelopment,environmentalscience andengineeringdept. Material flow analysis case studies metabolism of cities. Urban metabolism in the project more efficient urban metabolism, which also study of urban metabolism and its application to urban planning and design. Further, the practical implementation of the concept of urban metabolism in spatial planning and policy development has.
Software free only landscape gardening course dunstable other landscape architectural graphic standards student edition pdf showcase and discover creative work on the worlds leading online platform for creative industries. Urban metabolism assesses the sustainability of cities from a systems perspective. Its application in industrial ecology, urban ecology, urban demonstration projects, business plans and city comparisons are used to illustrate its potential. Defining urban metabolism the sum total of the technical and socioeconomic processes that occur in cities, resulting in growth, production of energy, and elimination of waste kennedy et al. The urban population now generates more than eighty percent of global gdp. Urban metabolism in practice the difficult implementation of.
Nowadays, urban metabolism um is believed to provide new insights for more sustainable resource management in cities and their hinterlands. Pdf urban metabolism as framework for circular economy. With this aim, four variables were characterized and linked to. The urban metabolism model records and analyzes environmental conditions and trends which are easily understood for policy makers and consequently comparable over time making it. The iabrproject atelier rotterdam studied opportunities for the urban metabolism framework to contribute to the sustainable development of the city. The problems of large metabolic throughput, low metabolic efficiency, and disordered metabolic processes are a major cause of unhealthy urban systems. These challenges exacerbate an already acute shortage of basic services, an unprecedented demand for urban infrastructure and housing, and growing emissions and waste outputs. Review the study of urban metabolism and its applications to urban planning and design c.
But in addition, our groups ongoing engagement with the idea offers us a way to consider the future, in particular a possible future not defined by rampant growth. The characterization of these flows and the relationships between anthropogenic urban activities and natural processes and cycles defines the behavior of urban production and consumption. To be more successfully used, centralise knowledge do more research. Urban metabolism on behance urban, city layout, urban. Metabolism of cities mission is to collaborate on improving the. Urban metabolism as framework for circular economy design for. Global urbanisation trends suggest that african cities will house one billion new urbanites by 2050. Pdf urban metabolism, sustainable development in rotterdam. One of the biggest waste products in the urban metabolism of the greater toronto area are greenhouse gases. Even though the concept of urban metabolism is nothing new in the academic world, its implementation and its conversion in practical strategies and techniques are stillread more. The views expressed do not represent policy of any government or organisation. Urban metabolism urban metabolism is a multidisciplinary and integrated platform that examines material and energy flows in cities as complex systems as various social, economic and environmental forces shape them.
Mar 28, 2018 reading trainer and deriu together with urban metabolism in mind not only offers insight into degrowth itself as a concept or goal, but also suggests ways of resolving an inherent tension between the two essays. Then after slowly reemerging in the 1990s, study of urban metabolism has grown in the past 10 years, with over 30 papers produced. With 70 percent of the worlds population projected to live in cities by 2050 and our planet ever more impacted by human encroachment on the natural environment, the key to restoring balance between cities and nature is to understand the flow of resources in and out of, as well as within, the urban organism. Until now, the incorporation of urban metabolism in urban. Urban metabolism is the study of the flows of resources in the urban technological environment, and of the influences of economic, political, regulatory, and social factors on the flow, use, and transformation of those resources adapted from graedel 1999. This is illustrated, for example, by the substantial attention that the 2014 international architecture biennale rotterdam urban by nature paid to 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. The international architecture biennale rotterdam has become a genuine rotterdam tradition. It measures material, waste, water, and energy flows and stocks in cities. More local urban metabolism studies would be invaluable. The urban population now generates more than eighty percent. On the supplyside, we take into account parameters affecting the regional water balance and the financial and energy costs of collecting, conveying, treating, and distributing that water. Asian development bank adb or its board of governors or the governments they represent.
Urban metabolism studies have gained momentum in recent years as a means to. An estimate of 83000 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide was expelled into the atmosphere from the gta in 19992. Urban metabolism planning and designing approaches between. Dec 22, 2017 nowadays, urban metabolism um is believed to provide new insights for more sustainable resource management in cities and their hinterlands. Urban metabolism of african cities making of cities. With this aim, four variables were characterized and linked to material. Divided into catabolism, where organic molecules are oxidised and degreaded to prodice energy, and anabolism, where small organic molecules are combined to form larger ones at a cost of energy. From the research, we dive into the definition of metabolism as an urban. The iabrproject atelier rotterdam, urban metabolism, is one of the three iabr2014 project ateliers. There are many examples of poorly designed transportation infrastructure. The study of urban metabolism and its applications to. How do the flows of goods, people, waste, biota, energy, food, freshwater, sand and air function in rotterdam.
Urban metabolism considers resource consumption and environmental pressure of urban areas in a systemic way. Jan 22, 2017 this pin was discovered by zhuofan wan. We see cities as complex and metabolizing systems of interconnected inputs and outputs and we understand that a healthy city requires a holistic approach to be truly successful. Urban metabolism analysis has become an important tool for the study of urban ecosystems. Urban metabolism is the study of material and energy flows arising from urban socioeconomic activities and regional and global biogeochemical processes. Can an insight into the metabolism of rotterdam help us develop into a sustainable region. War, rotterdam opted for spacious urban design and.
The study of urban metabolism and its applications to urban. These two dominant trends are mutually reinforcing. Exploring urban metabolismtowards an interdisciplinary. Urban metabolism is lendager arcs urban development and planning department. Sustainable urban metabolism the mit press ferrao, paulo, fernandez, john e.
89 1390 234 1253 951 1303 1504 694 868 1098 224 386 877 1333 1388 1475 992 42 1357 246 269 482 25 994 1020 6 196 214 151 829 1334 641 917 543 887 178 1300 156 1368 292 1333 1108 794 1247