- Home
- Publications & Research
- Publication #143
Is there a metabolism of an urban ecosystem? An ecological critique
- Title
- Is there a metabolism of an urban ecosystem? An ecological critique
- Author(s)
- Nancy Golubiewski
- Year
- 2012
- Type
- Journal Article
- Source
-
Ambio, Volume 41, Pages 751--764
- DOI
- 10.1007/s13280-011-0232-7
- Abstract
-
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.
- More Information
-
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13280-011-0232-7
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.