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Features

• Option to download the whole database. This would allow users to do other things with the database, as they please.
• Option to download a dataset as a CSV file.
• Option to download the list of publications as a CSV file.
• A newsletter option that allows visitors to receive monthly updates of new publications or features added.
• Better implementation of uncertainty in the MFA software.
• Creation of beautiful graphs based on the dataset.
• A screen-recorded video that shows users how it all works by viewing a 2-3 minute video.
• Create a map to visually show where the studies have been done.
• Add a field to indicate the language of each publication (there are a few that are not in English).
• Send confirmations through e-mail when adding (or removing) research projects.
• Easier option to add papers, e.g. by BibTex reference copying
• Send automated tweet when a blog post is published

• Add a News section to the website
  

• Allow for Vimeo videos in addition to Youtube videos in our Video section
  

• Enable an option for visitors to post comments in our blog posts
  

• Add a map to the RESEARCH section that shows where the research is being done, similar to the map that we have about the location of case studies that have been published.
  

• Create an option in the publications section to flag mistakes or missing information with the click of a button.
  

Content-related

• More publications. There is much more out there! We are strong in specific areas but particularly lack the following:

  • More varied journals. There is a strong focus on a few journals, but there must be more out there.
    

  • Theses and other institutional documents that are not found on journal websites
    

  • More manuals and handbooks, especially those not related to EUROSTAT-based EW-MFAs.
    

  • More non-English publications.
    

  • Datasets of past MFA studies. Preferably the original spreadsheets that were used, to get a better insight into how things were done by the involved researchers. Several are available from journal sites and research institute websites.
    

• A page for each of the journals that explains to users what the journal focuses on, what to except, how it relates to others, etc.
• For each of the collections, provide a more detailed overview of what kind of content can be found and what the collection means.
• There are some specific lists and websites that can provide many useful references. They are ready to be entered into the system! Some especially useful sources are:

  • List of papers related to STAN available on the STAN website. It would be very useful to create a STAN tag and add all of these publications to the database.

  • The list of publications by Hiroki Tanikawa contains many MFA-related resources! It would be an added bonus if someone who speaks Japanese could enter the Japanese publications (both in Japanese and English would be great!).

  • The in-depth review of urban metabolism assessment tools prepared by UNEP is full of references and contains a long list of urban and urban-region MFA studies that have been undertaken.

  • The list of publications by the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) at Leiden University

• It would be useful to have a section with 'relevant links' to websites that are of interest.

• Add a 'recommended reading list' that for various different target groups (e.g. young students who do not yet know about this topics or people from industry who want to do more with urban metabolism).
  

• Review the Progress in Industrial Ecology for relevant papers
  

Urban data mining project

• Extracting the actual data from studies, and putting them in our database

• Option to download all data as a CSV file

• Present the results as comparative data

• Brainstorming and implementing ideas about how to present the numbers

• Making data entry easy (eg by automatic unit conversion)

• There are more things to do and more ideas in place, so if you are interested drop us a line to discuss the options!

Quality Control

• Revision of the MFA software by an MFA expert.
• Revision of the tags and classification of publications by an expert.
• Testing of the MFA software by any type of user.

Other

• Urban metabolism educational campaign concerning minority groups: disabled, children, women and elderly to be presented in a July 2017 seminar in Politecnico di Milano, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Milan, Italy (educational videos and statistical survey analysis) in collaboration with the Metabolism of Cities and Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)

Design and structure

• Create portals for different cities that show all related publications, research projects, datasets, etc.
  

Can you help with any of these points? Do you have a feature you would like to request? Let us know!