At the open source Metabolism of Cities website we want to create a database with urban metabolism data and indicators. That is, we plan to examine a variety of research studies that have calculated particular values (material extraction, emissions, construction material use, imports, exports, etc.) for an urban/provincial region. The metabolism indicators will also take into account energy, water, air pollution as well as urban characteristics indicators. By creating one large masterlist of these values it is much easier for other researchers to see what values are out there and to compare their own data to other studies. We aim to do this at different spatial scales as well: region, city, municipalities, ... With this big masterlist it will therefore also become possible to identify indicators for resource use and pollution emission.
Our current work in this project is logged under the Data section on our website. The links below all point to the information under that section, because we aim for this work to be a long-term, continuous project that will not end when this Stakeholders Initiative ends.
Introduction post on our blog by Paul Hoekman. This post discusses what the goals are of this project, why it is useful, and what our long-term vision is.
We have already registered hundreds of data points. Have a look at what we have so far, and at the publications that we have identified at this point.
You can help us with the development of this global dataset. Maybe you have done urban metabolism research yourself, or maybe you can spend some time going through journal publications to look for data.
One of our earlier tools is a publications map, which shows where in the world urban metabolism research has been done and published, based on our publications database.
Would you like to participate? Now is the right time to take action! Here is a list of how you can collaborate in this stakeholders initiative:
Metabolism of Cities