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Construction Materials | Library

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Title Author(s) Type Year Tags
The metabolism of U.S. cities 2.0 In the fifty years since Abel Wolman first published an estimate of U.S. urban metabolism, the field of urban metabolism has begun to thrive, with cities outside the United States being much of the focus. As cities attempt to meet local and international sustainability goals, it is time to revisit the metabolism of cities within the United States. Using existing empirical databases for material flows (the Freight Analysis Framework) and a published database on urban water flux, we provide a revised estimate of urban metabolism for the typical U.S. city. We estimate median values of metabolism for a city of one million people, considering water resources, food, fuel, and construction materials. Food consumption and waste production increased substantially to 3,800 metric tons per day and 4,900 metric tons per day, respectively. To facilitate a second generation of urban metabolism, we extend traditional analyses to include the embedded energy required to facilitate material consumption with important implications in determining sustainable urban metabolism. We estimate that a city of one million people requires nearly 4,000 gigajoules of primary energy per day to facilitate its metabolism. Our results show high heterogeneity of urban metabolism across the United States. As a result of the study, we conclude that there is a distinct need to promote policies at the regional or city scale that collect data for urban metabolism studies. Urban metabolism is an important educational and decision-making tool that, with an increase in data availability, can provide important information for cities and their sustainability goals. The metabolism of U.S. cities 2.0 Chini, Christopher M.; Stillwell, Ashlynn S. Journal Article academic 2019
Case Study
Comparison
Construction Materials
Energy
Food
Urban
Water
Spatial analysis of urban material stock with clustering algorithms: A Northern European case study A large share of construction material stock (MS) accumulates in urban built environments. To attain a more sustainable use of resources, knowledge about the spatial distribution of urban MS is needed. In this article, an innovative spatial analysis approach to urban MS is proposed. Within this scope, MS indicators are defined at neighborhood level and clustered with k-mean algorithms. The MS is estimated bottom-up with (a) material-intensity coefficients and (b) spatial data for three built environment components: buildings, road transportation, and pipes, using seven material categories. The city of Gothenburg, Sweden is used as a case study. Moreover, being the first case study in Northern Europe, the results are explored through various aspects (material composition, age distribution, material density), and, finally, contrasted on a per capita basis with other studies worldwide. The stock is estimated at circa 84 million metric tons. Buildings account for 73% of the stock, road transport 26%, and pipes 1%. Mineral-binding materials take the largest share of the stock, followed by aggregates, brick, asphalt, steel, and wood. Per capita, the MS is estimated at 153 metric tons; 62 metric tons are residential, which, in an international context, is a medium estimate. Denser neighborhoods with a mix of nonresidential and residential buildings have a lower proportion of MS in roads and pipes than low-density single-family residential neighborhoods. Furthermore, single-family residential neighborhoods cluster in mixed-age classes and show the largest content of wood. Multifamily buildings cluster in three distinct age classes, and each represent a specific material composition of brick, mineral binding, and steel. Future work should focus on megacities and contrasting multiple urban areas and, methodologically, should concentrate on algorithms, MS indicators, and spatial divisions of urban stock. None Spatial analysis of urban material stock with clustering algorithms: A ... Gontia, Paul; Thuvander, Liane; Ebrahimi, Babak; Vinas, Victor; Rosado, Leonardo; Wallbaum, Holger Journal Article academic 2019
Case Study
Construction Materials
Material Stock Analysis (MSA)
Urban
LCA and BIM: Visualization of environmental potentials in building construction at early design stages The vast majority of scientists and policy makers agree that environmental impacts of buildings need to be reduced significantly, and that Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a methodology well suited to support this. The importance of evaluating potential improvements to the environmental life cycle performance of buildings in early design stages is widely acknowledged; the wide application of LCA during design however, is restrained by the great uncertainty in design and material decisions at this stage. To support decision making in the early design stage, we propose an approach using Building Information Modeling (BIM) to assess a wide range of construction options and their embodied environmental impact. We use a conceptual BIM model to evaluate a variety of material compositions for different building elements and the potential contribution of elements to the total embodied impact of the building design. The BIM-integrated approach enables identification of design specific hotspots which can be visualized on the building model for communication of LCA results and visual design guidance. None LCA and BIM: Visualization of environmental potentials in building construction ... Röck, Martin; Hollberg, Alexander; Habert, Guillaume; Passer, Alexander Journal Article academic 2018
Construction Materials
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Method
Towards a more circular construction sector: Estimating and spatialising current and future non-structural material replacement flows to maintain urban building stocks Humans are extracting and consuming unprecedented quantities of materials from the earth's crust. The construction sector and the built environment are major drivers of this consumption which is concentrated in cities. This paper proposes a framework to quantify, spatialise and estimate future material replacement flows to maintain urban building stocks. It uses a dynamic, stock-driven, and bottom-up model applied to the City of Melbourne, Australia to evaluate the status of its current material stock as well as estimated replacements of non-structural materials from 2018 to 2030. The model offers a high level of detail and characterises individual materials within construction assemblies for each of the 13 075 buildings modelled. Results show that plasterboard (7 175 t), carpet (7 116 t), timber (6 097 t) and ceramics (3 500 t) have the highest average annual replacement rate over the studied time period. Overall, replacing non-structural materials resulted in a significant flow of 26 kt/annum, 36 kg/(capita·annum) or 721 t/(km²·annum). These figures were found to be compatible with official waste statistics. Results include maps depicting which material quantities are estimated to be replaced in each building, as well as an age pyramid of materials, representing the accumulation of materials in the stock, according to their service lives. The proposed model can inform decision-making for a more circular construction sector. Towards a more circular construction sector: Estimating and spatialising current ... André Stephan and Aristide Athanassiadis Journal Article academic 2018
Aluminum
Australia
City
Concrete
Construction Materials
Glass
Infra-urban
Material Stock Analysis (MSA)
Melbourne
Minerals
Plastics
Research and Analysis
Wood
Reprint of: Urban metabolism profiles. An empirical analysis of the material flow characteristics of three metropolitan areas in Sweden Knowledge about the characteristics and driving forces of material flows in urban areas is crucial, as the pathways towards sustainability depend on local conditions. Currently, Urban Metabolism research focuses on the analysis of trends and transitions in different stages of city development, on developing classification systems and identification of metabolism profiles for urban areas. A novel framework for characterizing cities metabolism is provided using Urban Material Flow Accounting indicators as the basis. A Material Flow Accounting study is conducted for three cities in Sweden, from 1996 until 2011: Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo. Based on the urban metabolism characteristics framework, three distinct profiles are proposed: consumer-service; industrial; and transitioning. Stockholm’s material needs are mainly for final consumption. When compared with the other two cities, material flows follow a more stable trend and have lower dependency on external systems due to the marginal production and export of goods. Gothenburg has the most resource intensive metabolism. It requires several times larger material inputs than the other two cities and produces much larger outputs, for benefit of the rest of the country and the world. Consequently, CO2 emissions are higher in Gothenburg. Malmo characteristics are more complex than Stockholm’s with higher material needs in particular construction minerals. Its dependency on external flows is low, due to the fact that the economy and exports are based on domestically extracted Non-Metallic Minerals and Biomass. Reprint of: Urban metabolism profiles. An empirical analysis of the ... Leonardo Rosado and Yuliya Kalmykova and João Patrício Journal Article academic 2017
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Case Study
Construction Materials
Indicators - general
Time series
Urban
Urban Metabolism Analyst Model (UMan)
Quantifying and mapping embodied environmental requirements of urban building stocks Cities and their building stocks result in huge environmental impacts which are critical to reduce. However, the majority of existing studies focus on operational requirements or on material stocks. To date, very few studies have quantified embodied environmental requirements of building stocks and spatialised them. This study describes a bottom-up approach to spatially model building stocks and quantify their embodied environmental requirements. It uses a highly disaggregated approach where each building's geometry is modelled and used to derive a bill of quantities. Construction assemblies relevant to each building archetype (derived based on land-use, age and height) are defined using expert knowledge in construction. The initial and recurrent embodied energy, water and greenhouse gas emissions associated with each material within each assembly are calculated using a comprehensive hybrid analysis technique. This model is applied to all buildings of the City of Melbourne, Australia. Results show that rebuilding the City of Melbourne's building stock today would require 904 kt of materials/km2 (total: 32 725 kt), 10 PJ/km2 (total: 362 PJ), 17.7 Million m3 of embodied water/km2 (total: 640.74 Million m3) and would emit 605 ktCO2e/km2 (total: 23 530 ktCO2e). This study demonstrates the breadth of the model outputs, including material stocks maps and breakdowns of life cycle embodied requirements by material, construction assembly, building and building typology at the city level. Using such model, city councils can better manage building stocks in terms of waste processing, urban mining and circular economy, as well as reducing embodied environmental requirements over time. Quantifying and mapping embodied environmental requirements of urban building stocks Stephan, André and Athanassiadis, Aristide Journal Article academic 2017
Australia
Case Study
Construction Materials
Material Stock Analysis (MSA)
Melbourne
Single point in time
Urban
Transforming the Cement Industry into a Key Environmental Infrastructure for Urban Ecosystem: A Case Study of an Industrial City in China Under the dual pressure of environmental constraints and increasingly thin profit margins, the cement industry in China is in a predicament. To alleviate the environmental and the economic pressure of the cement industry and to tackle the problem of delayed environmental infrastructure construction, this article introduced an urban ecosystem in which the cement industry was transformed into an effective complement to environmental infrastructure. The Xinfeng Cement Industrial Park in China, which has a production capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum (Mt/a) of clinker, was chosen as a case study. Our methodology involved proposing technologies to develop an efficient cement plant-centered urban ecosystem; evaluating its environmental and economic performance; identifying barriers in its promotion; and proposing supportive policies. Results showed that the city's waste recycling ratio rose from about 50% to 70%, saving 0.6 Mt/a of coal equivalent and reducing about 3.0 Mt/a of resulting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The life span of the city's landfill site was extended by about 30 years. The total investment was 3.2 billion yuan (about US$480 million),1 with an average payback period of 3 years. The Xinfeng Cement Industrial Park was transformed from an energy-intensive consumer and a significant CO2 emitter to a key industrial waste recycler, a crucial municipal waste co-processor, an important new building material supplier, and a potential energy producer. Last, the 'not-in-my-back-yard' (NIMBY) effect from constructing new environmental infrastructure was also avoided. Transforming the Cement Industry into a Key Environmental Infrastructure for ... Cao, Xin and Wen, Zongguo and Tian, Haikui and De Clercq, Djavan and Qu, Lili Journal Article academic 2017
Case Study
China
Construction Materials
Single point in time
Urban
Material flow analysis of the residential building stock at the city of Rio de Janeiro The extensive use of materials in building stocks contributes to the scarcity of natural resources and impacts from construction and demolition waste (CDW). Therefore, the concern with the efficient use of materials and CDW management made several countries conducted mapping, analysis and performance improvement in activities related to CDW using Material Flow Analysis (MFA). The city of Rio de Janeiro had a high urban development and building stock growth from the beginning of the last century, in which the amount of material consumed has not been documented. This study presents an MFA approach to assess the materials in-use and further flows of CDW from the residential building stock in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The material in-use was estimated from the extrapolation of the Material Intensities (MI) per different building types to the total constructed area in this city considering land occupation. The building types were modelled from the designs of typical buildings in Brazil. An analysis of urban development supported the estimation of buildings age and their remaining lifetime while national standards supported the time of replacement of building elements during the use phase. Results show that the stock in 2010 had about 78,828,770t of building material with MI between 2.58 and 0.74 t/m2; concrete and aggregates have the higher MI. The Use phase of the buildings will move about 9,807,690t of materials until 2090. These findings support further environmental impacts assessments and decision-making for planning CDW management and strategies for the efficient use of materials. Material flow analysis of the residential building stock at the ... Condeixa, Karina and Haddad, Assed and Boer, Dieter Journal Article academic 2017
Brazil
Case Study
Construction Materials
Material Stock Analysis (MSA)
Rio de Janeiro
Single point in time
Urban
Zotero2
African Urbanization: Assimilating Urban Metabolism into Sustainability Discourse and Practice Shaping sustainable, equitable African cities requires strengthened investigations into the cities' current resource flows, infrastructure systems, and future resource requirements. The field of urban metabolism (UM) offers multiple forms of analysis with which to map, analyse, and visualize urban resource profiles. Challenges in assessing UM in African cities include data scarcity at the city level, difficulty in tracking informal flows, lack of standardized methods, and the open nature of cities. However, such analyses are needed at the local level, given that city practitioners cannot rely purely on urban planning traditions of the global North or the typically broad studies about urban Africa, for supporting strategies toward sustainable urban development. This article aims to draw together the concepts of sustainable development and UM and explore their application in the African context. Further, the article estimated resource profiles for 120 African cities, including consumption of biomass, fossil fuels, electricity, construction materials, and water, as well as emissions of carbon dioxide. These resource profiles serve as a baseline from which to begin assessing the current and future resource intensity of these cities. It also provides insights into the cities' relative resource impact, future consumption trends, and potential options for sustainability interventions. African Urbanization: Assimilating Urban Metabolism into Sustainability Discourse and Practice Currie, Paul Klugman and Musango, Josephine Kaviti Journal Article academic 2016
Biomass
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Case Study
Comparison
Construction Materials
Electricity
Fossil Fuels
Material Flow Analysis (MFA)
Single point in time
UM review paper import
Urban
Water
Evaluating urban sustainability potential based on material flow analysis of inputs and outputs: A case study in Jinchang City, China Many cities are facing environmental challenges with rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. It is critical to evaluate this new urban reality and its sustainability potential to generate appropriate solutions for a sustainable future. The urban metabolism framework is commonly applied to understand appropriate strategies to achieve sustainability for urban systems. In this study, material flow analysis was applied in conjunction with specific socio-economic indicators to model urban metabolism and evaluate appropriate urban metabolism changes for Jinchang City, China between 1995 and 2014. Structural decomposition analysis and decoupling analysis were used to explain and evaluate the sustainability potential of Jinchang City. Changes in material consumption and the waste generation of Jinchang City indicated a long-term unsustainable trajectory, evidenced by continuously increasing material inputs and outputs. We also found a significant reduction in air pollution, with declining sulphur dioxide emissions and dust; all are indicators of improvement in air quality. What is of special note is that industrial production was concurrently greatly increasing. These indicators suggest a positive improvement in sustainability beyond simple incrementalism. The study showed that MFA techniques can be used as valuable tools for understanding urban metabolism, evaluating urban sustainability, and suggesting strategies for the timely addressing of urban sustainability issues. This strategy is important in the face of China’s increasing industrial capacity. Evaluating urban sustainability potential based on material flow analysis of ... Li, Ying; Beeton, R. J. S.; Halog, Anthony; Sigler, Thomas Journal Article academic 2016
Biomass
Case Study
Construction Materials
Energy
Material Flow Analysis (MFA)
Metals
Minerals
Time series
UM review paper import
Urban
Using change detection data to assess amount and composition of demolition waste from buildings in Vienna Major waste streams in urban areas result from the demolition of buildings. In the case of lack of data ondemolition waste generation at the municipal level, the quantity and composition of demolition wastesfrom buildings can be estimated by multiplying the volume of demolished buildings, which is takenfrom statistical data sets, by their material composition. However, statistical data sets about the numberand thus total volume of buildings demolished are often incomplete. This paper presents an alternativeapproach to validating demolition statistics (number and volume of buildings demolished) and subse-quently demolition waste generation by applying change detection based on image matching to the casestudy of the city of Vienna, Austria. Based on this technique, building demolition activities not reportedto statistical municipal departments can be identified. Results show that in the city of Vienna, demolitionstatistics yield a total volume of 1.7 M m3/a demolished building volume, while change detection basedon image matching yields a total volume of 2.8 M m3/a. Consequently, demolition waste generation fig-ures solely based on statistical data probably underestimate the total waste generation, which can havesignificant consequences for the estimation of landfill space and recycling plant capacity required. Forthis reason, the approach presented is not only a useful tool for validating existing data on demolitionwaste generation and demolition statistics, but can also be used when these data sets are not existent atall. Using change detection data to assess amount and composition of ... Fritz Kleemann; Hubert Lehner; Anna Szczypińska; Jakob Lederer; Johann Fellner Journal Article academic 2016
Austria
Case Study
Construction Materials
Single point in time
Urban
Vienna
Waste
A method for determining buildings' material composition prior to demolition A prerequisite of the efficient recycling of demolition waste and its evaluation in terms of the material specific recycling rates is information on the composition of the building material stock (as the source of future demolition waste). A practical method is presented that characterizes the material composition of buildings prior to their demolition. The characterization method is based on the analysis of available construction documents and different approaches of onsite investigation. The method is tested in different buildings and the results from four case studies indicate that the documents are useful to quantify bulk materials (e.g. bricks, concrete, sand/gravel, iron/steel and timber). However, on-site investigations are necessary to locate and determine the trace materials such as metals (e.g. copper and aluminium), or different types of plastics. The overall material intensity of the investigated buildings ranges from 270 to 470 kg/m3 gross volume. With ongoing surveys about the composition of different buildings, the collected data will be used to establish a building-specific database about the amount of materials contained in Vienna's building stock. A method for determining buildings' material composition prior to demolition Fritz Kleemann, Jakob Lederer, Philipp Aschenbrenner, Helmut Rechberger, Johann Fellner Journal Article academic 2016
Austria
Case Study
Construction Materials
Vienna
Urban metabolism profiles. An empirical analysis of the material flow characteristics of three metropolitan areas in Sweden Knowledge about the characteristics and driving forces of material flows in urban areas is crucial, as the pathways towards sustainability depend on local conditions. Currently, Urban Metabolism research focuses on the analysis of trends and transitions in different stages of city development, on developing classification systems and identification of metabolism profiles for urban areas. A novel framework for characterizing cities metabolism is provided using Urban Material Flow Accounting indicators as the basis. A Material Flow Accounting study is conducted for three cities in Sweden, from 1996 until 2011: Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo. Based on the urban metabolism characteristics framework, three distinct profiles are proposed: consumer-service; industrial; and transitioning. Stockholm's material needs are mainly for final consumption. When compared with the other two cities, material flows follow a more stable trend and have lower dependency on external systems due to the marginal production and export of goods. Gothenburg has the most resource intensive metabolism. It requires several times larger material inputs than the other two cities and produces much larger outputs, for benefit of the rest of the country and the world. Consequently, \{CO2\} emissions are higher in Gothenburg. Malmo characteristics are more complex than Stockholm's with higher material needs in particular construction minerals. Its dependency on external flows is low, due to the fact that the economy and exports are based on domestically extracted Non-Metallic Minerals and Biomass. Urban metabolism profiles. An empirical analysis of the material flow ... Leonardo Rosado and Yuliya Kalmykova and João Patrício Journal Article academic 2016
Case Study
Construction Materials
Direct Material Consumption (DMC)
Domestic extraction (DE)
Fossil Fuels
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)
Imports and Exports
Metals
Minerals
Research and Analysis
Time series
UM review paper import
Urban
Urban Metabolism Analyst Model (UMan)
Towards more comprehensive urban environmental assessments: exploring the complex relationship between urban and metabolic profiles Urban areas cover 2% of the Earth's land surface, host more than 50% of global population and are estimated to account for around 75% of CO2 emissions from global energy use. In order to mitigate existing and future direct and indirect environmental pressures resulting from urban resource use, it is necessary to investigate and better understand resource and pollution flows associated with urban systems. Current urban environmental assessment methodologies enable the quantification of resource use and pollution emissions flows entering, becoming stocked and exiting urban areas. While these methodologies enable to estimate the environmental effect of cities, they often consider urban areas as being static and homogeneous systems. This partial and simplistic representation shadows the complex spatio-temporal interrelationships between the local context and its associated local and global environmental pressures. This characterisation of urban systems is a significant limitation, not only for the urban environmental assessments, but also for the identification of their drivers as it may lead to inadequate urban environmental policies. To overcome this limitation and effectively reduce glocal urban environmental pressures, it is necessary to better understand the complex functioning of cities and identify their drivers. This research developed a comprehensive urban environmental assessment framework that helps to better explicit and understand the complex relationship between an urban system and its environmental profile in a systemic and systematic way. This framework was applied to the case study of Brussels Capital Region (BCR). Results from the application of this framework show that urban systems are neither static nor homogeneous. In fact, different relationships between the urban and metabolic profiles appear when considering different spatial scales and temporal intervals as well as different urban and metabolic metrics. The establishment of BCR's urban profile showed that components that shape the urban system evolve in an organic way over time. Moreover, the spatial expression of an urban system portrays its heterogeneous aspect and how different metrics of the same urban indicator can reveal distinct facets and challenges for an urban area or a neighbourhood. Finally, it was demonstrated that the relationship between urban indicators is different for each spatial scale and therefore knowledge from one spatial scale is not necessarily transferable from one scale to another. The establishment and analysis of BCR's metabolic profile also underlined the complex functioning of cities as each flow has a different temporal evolution and spatial expression. Due to the multifaceted and intertwined aspect of metabolic flows it becomes clear that no single parameter enables to explain or predict their behaviour. This leads to the conclusion that a great number of questions still need to be considered, understood and answered before effectively and coherently reducing environmental pressures from cities. The developed framework proposes a number of concrete steps that enable existing and new cities to better understand their metabolic functioning and ultimately transition towards less environmentally harmful futures. Towards more comprehensive urban environmental assessments: exploring the complex relationship ... Aristide Athanassiadis Thesis theses 2016
Belgium
Biomass (must be merged with other Biomass)
Brussels
Carbon
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Circular Economy
City
Construction Materials
Domestic extraction (DE)
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW-MFA)
Electricity
Emissions (must be merged with Emissions)
Energy
Food
Global
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)
Imports and Exports
Material Stock Analysis (MSA)
Metals
Minerals
Multi-scale
NOx
Natural Gas
SO2
Single point in time
Social Metabolism
Time series
Urban
Waste
Wastewater
Water
Zotero import
Studying construction materials flows and stock: A review Thirty-one scientific publications on the joint study of construction materials flows and stock with a focus on non-metallic minerals are reviewed. These studies serve different purposes: forecasting and comparing future input and output flows, studying the influence of several parameters on future flows, estimating the present or future stock as well as its evolution, studying urban metabolism and analysing the interaction between flows and stock. They are carried out at national, regional or urban level and their time scale range from a century to a single year. Six main methodological approaches can be distinguished: static bottom-up or top-down flow analysis; bottom-up stock analysis; dynamic retrospective or prospective flow analysis using flow-driven or stock-driven models; and top-down prospective or retrospective stock analysis using a flow-driven model. Approaches are often combined, which is a way to accounting for uncertainty. They rely on assumptions such as homogeneity of material composition and lifetime within groups of built works, whereas quality and coverage of data used are very variable. Most of the case studied show that stock accumulation is still ongoing and that non-metallic mineral secondary resources would be insufficient to totally meet future demand. They also point out infrastructures as the major part of the stock. Reviewed studies contributed to the development of a methodological framework for the joint study of flows and stock, as well as a conceptual framework for analysing the metabolism of a socioeconomic system. Further research could develop these frameworks and support the implementation of industrial ecology policies. Studying construction materials flows and stock: A review Vincent Augiseau and Sabine Barles Journal Article academic 2016
Construction Materials
Material Stock Analysis (MSA)
Minerals
Review Paper
Zotero import
GIS‐based Analysis of Vienna's Material Stock in Buildings The building stock is not only a huge consumer of resources (for its construction and operation), but also represents a significant source for the future supply of metallic and mineral resources. This article describes how material stocks in buildings and their spatial distribution can be analyzed on a city level. In particular, the building structure (buildings differentiated by construction period and utilization) of Vienna is analyzed by joining available geographical information systems (GIS) data from various municipal authorities. Specific material intensities for different building categories (differentiated by construction period and utilization) are generated based on multiple data sources on the material composition of different building types and combined with the data on the building structure. Utilizing these methods, the overall material stock in buildings in Vienna was calculated to be 380 million metric tonnes (t), which equals 210 t per capita (t/cap). The bulk of the material (>96%) is mineral, whereas organic materials (wood, plastics, bitumen, and so on) and metals (iron/steel, copper, aluminum, and so on) constitute a very small share, of which wood (4.0 t/cap) and steel (3.2 t/cap) are the major contributors. Besides the overall material stock, the spatial distribution of materials within the municipal area can be assessed. This research forms the basis for a resource cadaster, which provides information about gross volume, construction period, utilization, and material composition for each building in Vienna. GIS‐based Analysis of Vienna's Material Stock in Buildings Kleemann, Fritz and Lederer, Jakob and Rechberger, Helmut and Fellner, Johann Journal Article academic 2016
Concrete
Construction Materials
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Glass
Material Stock Analysis (MSA)
Metals
Minerals
Plastics
Research and Analysis
UM review paper import
Urban
Wood
Zotero import
hybrid
Towards a circular economy... of proximity? This research project aims to measure the territorial impact of waste management based on the concepts and methodologies relating to ecological footprint, environmental footprint and urban metabolism. Reflections on the notion of proximity will make it possible to propose an analysis in terms of the spatial footprint of waste management on an empirical basis. We will then be able to highlight the competences of the territorial actors in the application of this principle of proximity, considering the techno-economic realities of the waste management. Taking into account the flow of materials in a variable geometry proximity will thus play on the environmental and socio-economic impacts of waste management. A common methodology is applied to the three study cities (Le Mans, Rennes and Marne-La-Vallée) to build indicators to identify the area needed for an urban entity to treat (recover and dispose of) its waste. These results will be set against the local public policies of waste planning and more particularly of their spatial dimension. It will be understood that it is the articulation between the effective waste management territories and the planning territories. Ce projet de recherche vise à mesurer l'impact territorial de la gestion des déchets en s'appuyant sur les notions et les méthodologies relative à l'empreinte écologique, l'empreinte environnementale et au métabolisme urbain. Les réflexions autour de la notion de proximité permettront de proposer une analyse en termes d'empreinte spatiale de la gestion des déchets sur des bases empiriques. Nous pourrons ensuite mettre en exergue les compétences des acteurs territoriaux dans la mise en application de ce principe de proximité, au regard des réalités technico-économiques de la gestion des déchets. La prise en compte des flux de matières dans une proximité à géométrie variable jouera ainsi sur les impacts environnementaux et socio-économiques de la gestion des déchets. Une méthodologie commune est appliquée aux trois villes d'étude (Le Mans, Rennes et Marne-La-Vallée) afin de construire des indicateurs permettant d'identifier la superficie nécessaire à une entité urbaine pour traiter (valoriser et éliminer) ses déchets. Ces résultats seront mis au regard des politiques publiques locales de planification des déchets et plus particulièrement de leur dimension spatiale. Il s'agira de comprendre qu'elle est l'articulation entre les territoires effectifs de gestion des déchets et les territoires de planification. Towards a circular economy... of proximity? ADEME and Mathieu DURAND and Jean-Baptiste BAHERS and Thomas BONIERBALE and Hélène BERAUD and Bruno BARROCA Report reports 2016
Construction Materials
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW-MFA)
Fossil Fuels
France
Le Mans
Marne-la-Vallée
Minerals
Rennes
Waste
Mass, energy, and emergy analysis of the metabolism of Macao Urban metabolism analysis has become an important tool for the study of urban ecosystems. The metabolism of a city can be seen as the processes by which the city transforms the materials and energy it requires to sustain its socioeconomic activity. In the present study, we analyzed the anabolic and catabolic flows that occur during Macao's urbanization processes. Macao is a tourist city with a dense population, but is short on natural resources; thus, most of its life-support services depend on resource imports from outside its system. We used mass, energy, and emergy analysis to quantify the metabolic processes that occurred in Macao in 2013. Macao's anabolic and catabolic density both increased to high levels due to a tremendous influx of visitors in 2013. By employing systems ecology based on mass, energy, and emergy metrics, we were able to quantitatively describe the city's resource metabolism. We found that by relying on a large amount of inflows to support anabolism compared with catabolic flows, Macao was able to absorb large amounts of negative-entropy materials, and that these flows of resources supported both its survival and its booming development. We also found tremendously high heat dissipation, and that after accounting for catabolism, the city retained less than 10% of the total input for anabolism. Mass, energy, and emergy analysis of the metabolism of Macao Kampeng Lei and Lu Liu and Dan Hu and Inchio Lou Journal Article academic 2015
Case Study
China
Construction Materials
Electricity
Emergy Analysis
Food
Macao
Single point in time
UM review paper import
Urban
Maintenance and Expansion: Modeling Material Stocks and Flows for Residential Buildings and Transportation Networks in the EU25 Material stocks are an important part of the social metabolism. Owing to long service lifetimes of stocks, they not only shape resource flows during construction, but also during use, maintenance, and at the end of their useful lifetime. This makes them an important topic for sustainable development.In this work, a model of stocks and flows for nonmetallic minerals in residential buildings, roads, and railways in the EU25, from 2004 to 2009 is presented. The changing material composition of the stock is modeled using a typology of 72 residential buildings, four road and two railway types, throughout the EU25. This allows for estimating the amounts of materials in in-use stocks of residential buildings and transportation networks, as well as input and output flows. We compare the magnitude of material demands for expansion versus those for maintenance of existing stock. Then, recycling potentials are quantitatively explored by comparing the magnitude of estimated input, waste, and recycling flows from 2004 to 2009 and in a business-as-usual scenario for 2020. Thereby, we assess the potential impacts of the European Waste Framework Directive, which strives for a significant increase in recycling.We find that in the EU25, consisting of highly industrialized countries, a large share of material inputs are directed at maintaining existing stocks. Proper management of existing transportation networks and residential buildings is therefore crucial for the future size of flows of nonmetallic minerals. Maintenance and Expansion: Modeling Material Stocks and Flows for Residential ... Wiedenhofer, Dominik and Steinberger, Julia K. and Eisenmenger, Nina and Haas, Willi Journal Article academic 2015
Case Study
Construction Materials
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW-MFA)
Europe
Time series
Transportation
Zotero import
Urban material flow analysis: An approach for Bogotá, Colombia The urbanisation process has exceeded the traditional pace of human settlement and is moving towards the formation of large urban regions in response to an increasing demand for services and environmental goods, combined with increasing production of waste and emissions. Therefore, it is fundamental to determine resource flows into cities, especially in developing countries, as well as the transformations that occur and the outputs that are produced, such as products, services and wastes. In this study, we apply urban material flow analysis, which determines the flows of inputs (water, energy, food and others) and outputs (wastewater, air pollution, wastes and others) to the city of Bogotá, Colombia to determine the relationship between demand for resources and the environmental impact of outputs. Quantitative and qualitative data for Bogotá are used to assess and compare the material and energy flow trends for this city. The results indicate that in this city, inputs and outputs are directly and linearly related. Consumption of energy and construction materials has increased, whereas food and water consumption have remained steady. Levels of recycling and sewage treatment are low, and emissions such as particulate matter have decreased. The findings from this study can be used to formulate and apply policies and strategies to improve the sustainability of resources, decrease the reliance on physical resources, increase the efficiency of resource and energy use in urban areas, and enhance sustainable production and consumption in cities. Urban material flow analysis: An approach for Bogotá, Colombia Alfonso Piña, William H. and Pardo Martínez, Clara Inés Journal Article academic 2014
Bogotá
Case Study
Construction Materials
Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW)
Emissions
Energy
Energy Balance
Food
Material Flow Analysis (MFA)
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
Single point in time
UM review paper import
Urban
Wastewater
Water
Zotero import
Dynamic material flow analysis for PCBs in the Norwegian building stock Since their introduction in 1929, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been used in a wide range of applications, mainly in industrialized countries. Although production of PCBs was largely banned in the 1970s, they are still present in various applications as well as in the environment where they remain a potential threat to animal and human health. PCBs were applied in different building materials in Norway in the period between 1950 and 1980. This study attempts to estimate the use for various applications in buildings, and to distinguish between residential and non-residential buildings. The results are combined with a dynamic material flow analysis (MFA) to estimate past and future stocks and flows of building-related PCBs in Norway. Results indicate that PCBs in the building stock peaked around 1980, and have since decreased as PCBs have been banned and efforts made to remove the substance from existing applications. However, considerable amounts remain in the building stock and will be released in smaller amounts for many more decades. While current legislation focuses mainly on the applications with short lifetimes, the handling of building applications with long lifetimes represent the main unresolved challenges of the future. Dynamic material flow analysis for PCBs in the Norwegian building ... Bergsdal, Håvard, and Bratterbø, Helge, and Müller, Daniel B. Journal Article academic 2014
Construction Materials
Norway
Physical input-output tables (PIOT) / Input-Output Assessment (IOA)
Policy
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Time series
Uncertainty
e-Waste
Analysis of Egyptian Cities towards Sustainable Urban Metabolism With the rapidly growing population and rapidly depleting resources, environmental alteration and urbanization are now being explored as a catalyst for achieving sustainable development. Egypt as one of the highly urbanized developing countries in the African region is trapped with inefficient use of resources especially in urban centers. In the face of these environmental concerns and high density population; cities are increasingly getting overwhelmed by social, economical, ecological, and urban challenges that need to be considered within the dilemma of sustainable urban development and urban growth in developing countries. Moreover, the increased urbanization of urban centers combined with intense energy demands of developing economies with resource consumption; has driven recognition that the study of urban metabolism is central to achieve sustainable development. Cities now consume resources and produce wastes in amounts that are incommensurate with the populations they contain. So, quantifying the environmental impacts of cities is essential if urbanization of the world‟s growing population is to occur sustainably. Also, an integrated understanding of the urban system of new cities and its sustainability synergies is a must in the unprecedented era of urbanization. The concept of urban metabolism and how it is related to urban sustainability isn‟t new in the field of sustainable urban development. However, based on the current research literature published under this umbrella, there is an application gap of urban metabolism analysis in the Middle East region. In this sense, this paper aims at introducing urban metabolism assessment based on material flow analysis (MFA) to provide a more solid understanding of how new Egyptian cities currently work. For the realization of the different strategies and options for sustainable cities in Egypt, a huge amount of material and non-material resources and management should be utilized. Therefore, the development scenarios have to be comprehensively and carefully studied with regards to the criteria for sustainable urban development. Accordingly, the paper will investigate the urban metabolism assessment through material flow accounting to two metropolitan cities in Egypt to estimate current material and energy intensities in relation to densities and how it can affect the future development of these cities towards sustainable urbanization. With this analysis the paper will provide a potential ground for decision making process for highly dense urban centers and introduce current urban consumption patterns for cities in developing regions. Conference: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technologies, v2. Analysis of Egyptian Cities towards Sustainable Urban Metabolism Nourhan Magdy Conference Paper None 2014
Biomass (must be merged with other Biomass)
Cairo
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Construction Materials
Direct Material Consumption (DMC)
EUROSTAT (must be removed)
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW-MFA)
Egypt
Electricity
Emissions (must be merged with Emissions)
Fossil Fuels
Giza
Indicators - general
Minerals
Research and Analysis
Urban
Waste
Water
Resource use in the Chinese building sector: foundations for analyzing urban transition. Around the world, people are moving to cities in order to become wealthy, especially in developing countries undergoing socio-economic transition. This will dramatically change the way that society consumes resources, in terms of both materials and energy. We will need to better understand how resource use changes as development happens in order to focus efforts to reduce that resource use. China is undergoing this transition as it enters the global stage, and with global implications for resource use. The building sector in China is especially resource-intensive, fundamentally driven by the country's urbanization, and plays a prominent role in the Chinese economy, making it a good candidate for the study of how systems adopt sustainable practices. I approach this problem in two ways. The first is quantitative, using k-means statistical clustering on longitudinal resource use data from Chinese statistical yearbooks, in order to identify and compare transitions across provinces in China. In comparing the evolution of the building sector across provinces, my analysis suggests that development pathways are more distinct than discrete development stages. I identify two development pathway 'types' in China. The first is an urban path taken by Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin -- the three most heavily urbanized provinces. All other provinces follow a general business-as-usual path, though I also identify sub-pathways to further differentiate between the other 27 provinces. These development typologies are one means of quantitatively operationalizing the abstract notion of transition. Identifying such pathways may highlight opportunities for learning between provinces within the same path, and one could apply similar methods to other scales of analysis (e.g. urban or national). My second approach is qualitative, driven by interviews conducted primarily in Beijing with various stakeholders in the Chinese building sector. In this analysis, I discuss the particularities of the actors and processes involved in Chinese real estate development, identify opportunities for and barriers to reduced life-cycle energy use in buildings, and describe three distinctive and ongoing sustainability experiments with the potential for significant resource use reductions. This research emphasizes the need for integrated approaches to both research and practice in approaching sustainability transitions, and provides a set of complementary frameworks for their analysis. Resource use in the Chinese building sector: foundations for analyzing ... Accuardi, Z.A.C. Thesis theses 2014
Beijing
China
Construction Materials
Shanghai
Tianjin
Urban
Quantification of urban metabolism through coupling with the life cycle assessment framework: concept development and case study Cities now consume resources and produce waste in amounts that are incommensurate with the populations they contain. Quantifying and benchmarking the environmental impacts of cities is essential if urbanization of the world's growing population is to occur sustainably. Urban metabolism (UM) is a promising assessment form in that it provides the annual sum material and energy inputs, and the resultant emissions of the emergent infrastructural needs of a city's sociotechnical subsystems. By fusing UM and life cycle assessment (UM-LCA) this study advances the ability to quantify environmental impacts of cities by modeling pressures embedded in the flows upstream (entering) and downstream (leaving) of the actual urban systems studied, and by introducing an advanced suite of indicators. Applied to five global cities, the developed UM-LCA model provided enhanced quantification of mass and energy flows through cities over earlier UM methods. The hybrid model approach also enabled the dominant sources of a city's different environmental footprints to be identified, making UM-LCA a novel and potentially powerful tool for policy makers in developing and monitoring urban development policies. Combining outputs with socioeconomic data hinted at how these forces influenced the footprints of the case cities, with wealthier ones more associated with personal consumption related impacts and poorer ones more affected by local burdens from archaic infrastructure. Quantification of urban metabolism through coupling with the life cycle ... Goldstein, Benjamin Paul and Birkved, Morten and Quitzau, Maj-Britt and Hauschild, Michael Journal Article academic 2013
Case Study
Construction Materials
Energy
Food
Fossil Fuels
Glass
Hybrid MFA-LCA
Metals
Method
Paper
Plastics
UM review paper import
Urban
Centennial Evolution of Aluminum In-Use Stocks on Our Aluminized Planet A dynamic material flow model was developed to simulate the evolution of global aluminum stocks in geological reserve and anthropogenic reservoir from 1900 to 2010 on a country level. The contemporary global aluminum stock in use (0.6 Gt or 90 kg/capita) has reached about 10% of that in known bauxite reserves and represents an embodied energy amount that is equivalent to three-quarters of the present global annual electricity consumption. The largest proportions of in-use stock are located in the U.S. (28%), China (15%), Japan (7%), and Germany (6%) and in sectors of building and construction (40%) and transportation (27%). Industrialized countries have shown similar patterns of aluminum in-use stock growth: once the per-capita stocks have reached a threshold level of 50 kg, they kept a near linear annual growth of 5-10 kg/capita; no clear signs of saturation can yet be observed. The present aluminum in-use stocks vary widely across countries: approximately 100-600 kg/capita in industrialized countries and below 100 kg/capita in developing countries. The growing global aluminum in-use stock has significant implications on future aluminum demand and provides important recycling opportunities that will be critical for greenhouse gas emissions mitigation in the aluminum industry in the coming decades. Centennial Evolution of Aluminum In-Use Stocks on Our Aluminized Planet Gang Liu, and Müller, Daniel B. Journal Article academic 2013
Construction Materials
Global
Metals
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
Time series
Transportation
Uncertainty
Contextualizing the Urban Metabolism of Brussels: Correlation of resource use with local factors To monitor and assess resource use and in order to comprehend its environmental impact -and thus propose adequate policies- urban metabolism and Material Flow Analysis have become tools widely acknowledged and employed. However, due to the high level of aggregation of urban metabolism figures and to the fact that the urban system at stake is often considered as an abstract entity, it becomes hardly unfeasible to use and understand what is hidden behind these results. In fact, urban metabolism studies could be compared to 'black boxes'. In order to illustrate why the urban metabolism results of Brussels Region are specific to Brussels and not to any other abstract urban system, this paper will identify the causal relations of how and where these material and energetic flows are consumed. Thus, this paper will perform a material and energy balance at a regional scale and in order to contextualize it, it will correlate the results with local factors such as such as socio-economic (demography, income, household size, GINI, …) and territorial organization (density, land use, …) indicators. To do so, energy and material flows were downscaled at municipality level. The outcomes of this paper will be on the one hand to produce the urban metabolism at two different spatial scales and on the other to perform a correlation with local factors identifying which have the highest influence on the consumption of resources. Conference: CISBAT At: Lausanne - EPFL Contextualizing the Urban Metabolism of Brussels: Correlation of resource use ... Aristide Athanassiadis , Philippe Bouillard Conference Paper None 2013
Belgium
Biomass (must be merged with other Biomass)
Brussels
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
City
Conference proceedings
Construction Materials
Emissions (must be merged with Emissions)
Energy
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)
Infra-urban
NOx
Natural Gas
SO2
Single point in time
Waste
Wastewater
Water
Wood
Methodology and Indicators of Economy-wide Material Flow Accounting This contribution presents the state of the art of economy-wide material flow accounting. Starting from a brief recollection of the intellectual and policy history of this approach, we outline system definition, key methodological assumptions, and derived indicators. The next section makes an effort to establish data reliability and uncertainty for a number of existing multinational (European and global) material flow accounting (MFA) data compilations and discusses sources of inconsistencies and variations for some indicators and trends. The results show that the methodology has reached a certain maturity: Coefficients of variation between databases lie in the range of 10% to 20%, and correlations between databases across countries amount to an average R2 of 0.95. After discussing some of the research frontiers for further methodological development, we conclude that the material flow accounting framework and the data generated have reached a maturity that warrants material flow indicators to complement traditional economic and demographic information in providing a sound basis for discussing national and international policies for sustainable resource use. Methodology and Indicators of Economy-wide Material Flow Accounting M. Fischer-Kowalski, F. Krausmann, S. Giljum, S. Lutter, A. Mayer, S. Bringezu, Y. Moriguchi, H. Sch¨utz, H. Schandl, and H. Weisz Journal Article academic 2011
Biomass (must be merged with other Biomass)
Construction Materials
Direct Material Consumption (DMC)
Domestic extraction (DE)
Economy-Wide Material Flow Analysis (EW-MFA)
Europe
Fossil Fuels
Future Scenario
Imports and Exports
Indicators - general
Metals
Method
Minerals
National
Single point in time
Time series
Dynamic Material Flow Analysis for Strategic Construction and Demolition Waste Management in Beijing Of all materials extracted from the earth's crust, the construction sector uses 50%, producing huge amounts of construction and demolition waste (CDW). In Beijing, presently 35 million metric tons per year (megatonnes/year [Mt/yr]) of CDW are generated. This amount is expected to grow significantly when the first round of mass buildings erected in the 1990s starts to be demolished. In this study, a dynamic material flow analysis (MFA) is conducted for Beijing's urban housing system, with the demand for the stock of housing floor area taken as the driver. The subsequent effects on construction and demolition flows of housing floor area and the concurrent consumption and waste streams of concrete are investigated for Beijing from 1949 and projected through 2050. The per capita floor area (PCFA) is a key factor shaping the material stock of housing. Observations in Beijing, the Netherlands, and Norway indicate that PCFA has a strong correlation with the local gross domestic product (GDP). The lifetime of dwellings is one of the most important variables influencing future CDWgeneration. Three scenarios, representing the current trend extension, high GDP growth, and lengthening the lifetime of dwellings, are analyzed. The simulation results show that CDW will rise, unavoidably. A higher growth rate of GDP and the consequent PCFA will worsen the situation in the distant future. Prolonging the lifetime of dwellings can postpone the arrival of the peak CDW. From a systematic view, recycling is highly recommended for long-term sustainable CDW management. Dynamic Material Flow Analysis for Strategic Construction and Demolition Waste ... Hu, Mingming; van der Voet, Ester; Huppes, Gjalt Journal Article academic 2010
Beijing
Case Study
China
City
Construction Materials
Future Scenario
Material Stock Analysis (MSA)
Research and Analysis
Time series
Waste
Zotero import
Zotero2
Urbanization and Socioeconomic Metabolism in Taipei The analysis of socioeconomic metabolism has largely been dominated by quantification of material flows on a mass basis. This neglects the energetic dimensions of the urban metabolism and makes analysis that integrates material and energy flows difficult. The present research applies Odum's emergy concept to integrate energy and material flows for the study of the socioeconomic metabolism of the Taipei area. We also take into consideration the urban sprawl in the Taipei area to study its relationship to the change of socioeconomic metabolism. We interpret SPOT satellite images from 1992 and 2002 to provide a deeper understanding of the whole urban system; results show that Taipei's urban areas increased in size during the past decades. Emergy‐based indicators show decreasing empower densities (total emergy use per area) of undeveloped and agricultural areas, whereas the empower density of urban areas has increased, which signals a convergence of resource flows toward urban areas. Such an increase of empower density is mainly due to fossil fuel use and translates into increased environmental loading and decreased sustainability. An analysis of the relationship between urbanization and socioeconomic metabolism indicates that changes in land use affect the characteristics of socioeconomic metabolism in Taipei. The effects of urban sprawl on Taipei's urban sustainability are also discussed. Urbanization and Socioeconomic Metabolism in Taipei Shu-Li Huang and Chia-Wen Chen Journal Article academic 2009
Case Study
Construction Materials
Emergy Analysis
Food
Single point in time
UM review paper import
Urban
Evaluation of urban metabolism based on emergy synthesis: A case study for Beijing (China) Cities (“urban superorganisms”) exhibit metabolic processes. Disturbance of these processes results from the high throughput of the socioeconomic system as a result of the flow of resources between it and its surroundings. Based on systematic ecology and emergy synthesis, we developed an emergy-based indicator system for evaluating urban metabolic factors (flux, structures, intensity, efficiency, and density), and evaluated the status of Beijing's environment and economic development by diagramming, accounting for, and analyzing the material, energy, and monetary flows within Beijing's metabolic system using biophysically based ecological accounting. We also compared the results with those of four other Chinese cities (Shanghai, Guangzhou, Ningbo, and Baotou) and China as a whole to assess Beijing's development status. From 1990 to 2004, Beijing's metabolic flux, metabolic intensity, and metabolic density increased significantly. The city's metabolic processes depend excessively on nonrenewable resources, but the pressure on resources from outside of the city decreased continuously. The metabolic efficiency increased by around 12% annually throughout the study period. Beijing had a highest metabolic fluxes and density compared with the four other cities; its metabolic efficiency was lower, and its metabolic intensity was higher. Evaluating these metabolic indicators revealed weaknesses in the urban metabolic system, thereby helping planners to identify measures capable of sustaining these urban metabolic processes. Evaluation of urban metabolism based on emergy synthesis: A case ... Zhang, Yan and Yang, Zhifeng and Yu, Xiangyi Journal Article academic 2009
Case Study
Construction Materials
Emergy Analysis
Food
Time series
Urban
Resource Consumption of New Urban Construction in China The volume of China's recent additions to its urban-built environment is unprecedented. China now accounts for half of all new building area in the world. Increases in building stocks of all types have occurred during an extended period of accelerated growth of the national economy. This expansion promises to continue through 2030. As a result, the rapid conversion of land from low-density agricultural and light manufacturing to new urban zones of high density and material-intensive commercial and residential buildings has consumed enormous quantities of domestic and imported resources and has irreversibly altered the Chinese landscape. This article examines the consumption of material resources dedicated to Chinese building construction through a survey and analysis of the material intensity of three major building types. This provides a basis for outlining the emerging life-cycle issues of recent additions to the built environment and of continued construction. With this as the starting point, the field of industrial ecology can work toward formulating strategies for a circular economy that include a resource-efficient urban China. Resource Consumption of New Urban Construction in China Fernández, John E. Journal Article academic 2008
China
Construction Materials
Research and Analysis
Urban
Dynamic material flow analysis for Norway's dwelling stock The architecture, engineering and construction industry is a major producer of waste, and a major consumer of primary materials. This study presents a method for analysing the dynamics of both floor area and material use in residential housing. The population's demand for housing represents the driver in the system, and the subsequent effects on stocks and flows of residential floor area and building materials in Norway are investigated from 1900 to the projected demands for 2100. Results show that knowledge about past activity levels is important in projecting future levels. Scenarios are applied to the input parameters in the dynamic model to investigate the impacts of changes in these, including variations in material usage (concrete and wood) and material density. All but one scenario suggest a continued increase in the residential housing stock, although at diminishing growth rates, and a substantial increase in demolition, renovation and construction activity in the last half of the present century. Dynamic material flow analysis for Norway's dwelling stock Bergsdal, Håvard and Brattebø, Helge and Bohne, Rolf A. and Müller, Daniel B. Journal Article academic 2007
Case Study
Construction Materials
Future Scenario
Material Stock Analysis (MSA)
National
Norway
Time series
Zotero import
Zotero2
Towards an Integrated Regional Materials Flow Accounting Model A key challenge in attaining regional sustainability is to reduce both the direct and the indirect environmental impacts associated with economic and household activity in the region. Knowing what these flows are and how they change over time is a prerequisite for this task.This article describes the early development of an integrated regional materials flow accounting framework. The framework is based on a hybrid (material and economic) multiregional input‐output model. Using readily available economic and materials data sets together with transport and logistics data, the framework attempts to provide estimates of household resource flows for any U.K. region at quite detailed levels of product and material disaggregation. It is also capable of disaggregating these flows according to specific socioeconomic criteria such as income level or occupation of the head of household. Allied to appropriate energy and life‐cycle assessment data sets, the model could, in addition, be used to map both direct and indirect environmental impacts associated with these flows.The benefits of such an approach are likely to be a considerable reduction of uncertainties in (1) our knowledge of the household metabolism, and hence our predictions of regional household waste generation; (2) our assessment of the impacts of contemplated changes in industrial process siting, and thereby on other aspects of local and regional planning; and (3) our understanding of the impacts of changes in the pattern of demand for different materials and products. It is concluded that the use of such an integrated assessment tool has much to contribute to the debate on regional sustainability. Towards an Integrated Regional Materials Flow Accounting Model Philip Sinclair, Eleni Papathanasopoulou, Warren Mellor, Tim Jackson Journal Article academic 2005
Case Study
Construction Materials
Dairy products
Household
Multi-Region Input-Output (MRIO) Analysis
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
Paper
Sub-national
UM review paper import
Urban
Zotero import
Managing the Flow of Construction Minerals in the North West Region of England This article, focusing on the flow of bulk construction minerals, establishes a mass balance framework for the North West of England, a region that imports more aggregate material than any other in the United Kingdom. The problems associated with construction minerals are of a different nature than most other resource flow issues: Depletion of resources and contamination are not considered major problems; rather it is the environmental impact resulting from life‐cycle stages from extraction, transport, processing, through to final disposal that is most important. A mass balance framework can promote a better understanding of the regional flow of materials, and the impact of human activity on surrounding ecosystems, and hence underpin informed decision making. This is of particular relevance at the current time because increasing political emphasis is placed on sustainable resource management and resource productivity at the United Kingdom and European Union levels. Using a mass balance framework to analyze the sustainability impacts of construction and mineral flows in the North West of England, this study finds that flows resulting from construction activity account for 34,075 terajoules (TJ) of energy resulting in 2,701 gigagrams (Gg) of carbon dioxide emissions related to energy use, and 387 Gg of carbon dioxide emissions related to the transportation of the minerals. Against these impacts, the flow of bulk construction mineral salso supports 147,000 jobs within the region. Managing the Flow of Construction Minerals in the North West ... Darryn McEvoy Journal Article academic 2004
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Case Study
Construction Materials
Material Flow Analysis (MFA)
Sub-national
Materials Flow Analysis and Emergy Evaluation of Taipei's Urban Construction The metabolism of a city can be seen as the process of transforming all the materials and commodities for sustaining the city's economic activity. This paper attempts to incorporate resource and material flow analysis to investigate Taipei area's urban sustainability due to urban construction. The material flows (sand and gravel, cement, asphalt, and construction waste) during the past decade for constructing major urban engineering projects such as roads, bridge, MRT, flood prevention projects, storm drainage and sewerage pipes, and buildings are analyzed for Taipei metropolis. In order to evaluate the contributory value of material flows to the ecological economic system, emergy (spelled with an M; previously known as embodied energy) evaluation is incorporated in this research. A framework of indicators including categories of: (1) intensity of resource consumption; (2) inflow/outflow ratio; (3) urban livability; (4) efficiency of urban metabolism; and (5) emergy evaluation of urban metabolism is developed for measuring the effect of urban construction on Taipei's sustainability. The consumption of sand and gravel is approximately 90% of the total construction material used, and the generation of construction waste in Taipei exceeds 30×106 ton per annum. The emergy value of construction materials in Taipei is equivalent to 46% of total emergy use. Although the livability in Taipei has improved, the significant amount of construction waste remains an important environmental issue. The recycling and reuse of construction waste can not only create circular pattern of urban metabolism but is also vital to the sustainable development of Taipei. Materials Flow Analysis and Emergy Evaluation of Taipei's Urban Construction Huang, Shu-Li and Hsu, Wan-Ling Journal Article academic 2003
Case Study
City
Construction Materials
Emergy Analysis
Indicators - general
Single point in time
Taipei
Taiwan
UM review paper import
Urban
Waste
The metabolism of a city: the case of Hong Kong Demographic trends suggest that up to 5000 new cities of half a million in population each may be required between 1975 and 2000. In order to examine the implications of this for demands on resources, a detailed assessment has been made of the patterns of flow and the end-use of energy and of some selected materials in the city-state of Hong Kong. This assessment is used as a basis for extrapolating the future resource requirements of other urban development along similar lines. The calculations indicate that the capital and recurrent energy costs of the predicted urbanization would amount to more than five times the 1973 world consumption of energy. The metabolism of a city: the case of Hong Kong Newcombe, Ken and Kalma, Jetse D and Aston, Alan R Journal Article academic 1978
Case Study
Construction Materials
Energy Balance
Food
Future Scenario
Island
Material Flow Analysis (MFA)
Material Stock Analysis (MSA)
Single point in time
UM review paper import
Urban

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