- Home
- Publications & Research
- Publication #132
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Urban Metabolism
- Title
- Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Urban Metabolism
- Author(s)
- Vanesa Castán Broto
- Frederick W Allen
- Elizabeth Rapoport
- Year
- 2012
- Type
- Journal Article
- Source
-
Journal of Industrial Ecology, Volume 16
- DOI
- 10.1111/j.1530-9290.2012.00556.x
- Abstract
- 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.
- More Information
-
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2012.00556.x
Tags
Back
Incorrect or incomplete information? Click here to report this.
This website provides meta data on papers and other publications, with links
to the original publications. These papers may be copyrighted or otherwise
protected by the publishing journal or author. Some journals provide open
access to their publications. When possible we will try to include abstracts
and more details for open access publications. For more details, follow the
link to the original document and/or contact the publisher/author.
Metabolism of Cities