Urban Metabolism: Theory, Methods and Applications

474 Pages·2023·16.291 MB·English

by  Yan Zhang

Yan Zhang
Urban
Metabolism
Theory, Methods and Applications
Urban Metabolism
Yan Zhang
Urban Metabolism
Theory, Methods and Applications
Yan Zhang
School of Environment
Beijing Normal University
Beijing, China
ISBN 978-981-19-9122-6 ISBN 978-981-19-9123-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9123-3
Jointly published with Science Press
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Translation from the Chinese Simplified language edition: “Chengshidaixie: lilun, fangfa he yingyong”
by Yan Zhang, © Science Press 2020. Published by Science Press. All Rights Reserved.
© Science Press 2023
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Preface
With the acceleration of urbanization and the improvement of people’s living stan-
dards, resource consumption, and pollution emissions are increasing. However, due
to gaps in our understanding of social and economic development, it has not been
possible to establish a complete analytical framework that provides guidance on how
to reduce resource consumption and increase waste recycling. This has led to serious
urban ecological and environmental problems. Finding solutions to these problems
has attracted considerable attention from academic researchers, government depart-
ments, and city managers. I wrote this book on urban metabolism with the goal of
exploring innovations in this field of research to reveal the progress that has been
made both in China and around the world.
Urbanization has become an irresistible wave that has swept the world. According
to the United Nations’ 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects, the global
urbanization rate in 1950 was only 30%, but by 2014 had increased to 1.8 times
that level, reaching 54%. By 2050, two out of every three people on Earth are
expected to be urbanites. This rapid urbanization has led to increasingly prominent
ecological and environmental problems. The United Nations Environment Program’s
Cities and Climate Change (https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/resource-effici
ency/what-we-do/cities/cities-and-climate-change) notes that cities account for 67%
of the world’s energy consumption, 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions, and three-
fourths of consumption of natural resources. The Global Metro Monitor 2018 reports
that China’s urbanization process is unprecedented, and continues to increase faster
than in any other country. The impacts of this process are enormous, and under-
standing them has become an important field in urban research. The continuous
evolution of China’s urban scale and expansion will have a profound impact on
the global society, economy, ecology, environment, and many related factors. To
reduce or mitigate the adverse effects of rapid urban development and define more
eco-friendly future directions, urban metabolism researchers are providing both new
research methods and new perspectives, making this field a hotspot in urban and
ecological research both in China and around the world.
Urban metabolism research is based on an analogy in which cities are compared
with giant organisms, so that their metabolic processes can be analyzed using the
v
vi Preface
tools developed by metabolic researchers. Just as the human body takes in nutri-
ents, transforms them into a range of forms, and excretes waste, urban systems also
require input materials and energy, and after consuming these resources, distribute
new products and discharge waste. Human metabolism supports growth (e.g., bones,
muscles), and cities also grow (e.g., infrastructure, buildings). A human body that is
too thin or too fat can experience metabolic disorders, leading to a loss of vitality.
A too-thin body is equivalent to a city that lacks a sufficient supply of materials and
energy of the right forms (malnutrition), or that has high consumption but insuffi-
cient transformation of the consumed materials into energy or infrastructure (i.e.,
low efficiency), and may show incomplete or inadequate infrastructure. In contrast,
excessive body weight is equivalent to the accumulation of large amounts of urban
material and to high energy consumption to produce the in-use stock of materials,
and this can increase material and energy consumption, resulting in serious ecolog-
ical and environmental problems. For example, excess nutrition can lead to urban
bloating (e.g., resource depletion, serious pollution, traffic congestion).
These examples show how urban metabolism can provide intuitive insights into
urban problems. To quantify these problems, researchers have developed important
measurement indexes to support urban planning and design with the goal of achieving
sustainable urban development. There is broad academic consensus about the impor-
tance of the tools provided by this field of research. Since Abel Wolman’s pioneering
research in 1965, considerable progress has been made in the technical methods,
models, practical application, and other aspects of urban metabolism. This progress
is also providing important theoretical support for efforts to achieve “zero-waste
cities” in China. In 2018, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China issued
a work plan for a pilot project that would begin in 2019 to establish a zero-waste city
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201901/24/WS5c48f80aa3106c65c34e62bc.
html).
In this book, I will comprehensively discuss the concepts, technical and theoretical
frameworks, research subjects, research methods, and practical applications of urban
metabolism research. It results from my 15 years of urban metabolism research. I
wrote this book with assistance from Li Shengsheng, Xia Linlin, Zheng Hongmei,
Li Juan, Li Yaoguang, Fu Chenling, Zhang Xiaolin, Zhang Jinyun, Wu Qiong, Li
Yanxian, Wang Xinjing, Xu Dongxiao, and Liu Ningyin. I am very grateful for their
assistance.
I am also very grateful to the National Key Research and Development Program
Project “Development of Ecological Security Protection Techniques for the Urban
Agglomeration Area in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei” (2016YFC0503005) for funding this
book and the research it required, and additional support from the National Natural
Science Foundation of China Innovative Research Group Project “Watershed Water
Environment, Water Ecology and Integrated Management” (51721093).
As urban metabolism is a relatively new subject, its theoretical framework is
not yet mature, either in China or elsewhere. In addition, the complexity of urban
ecological problems, the diversity of urban types and characteristics, and inconsis-
tencies in how a healthy urban metabolism is defined will increase the difficulty of
this study. Thus, this book should be considered to be a preliminary exploration of
Preface vii
urban metabolism concepts, theory, frameworks, research methods, and their prac-
tical application. There are still many problems to be solved, including the challenge
of obtaining sufficient high-resolution data to fully understand a city’s metabolism.
The book nonetheless represents an important first step for promoting this research,
and provides a reference for future urban metabolism research, urban planning, and
urban management both in China and around the world.
As is the case in describing any immature field of research, this book will inevitably
include mistakes and omissions. I encourage readers to criticize and correct the book’s
contents, thereby improving the usefulness of future versions. I hope that this book
can promote the in-depth study of urban metabolism, and focus the attention of all
sectors of Chinese and global society on urban ecological problems and the urban
research methods that have been developed to solve them.
Beijing, China Yan Zhang
June 2021
Contents
Part I Theoretical Framework
1 Connotations of Urban Metabolism ............................. 3
1.1 The Concept of an Urban Organism and Ecosystem ........... 3
1.2 Multi-level Similarity of Urban Systems to Organisms ......... 5
1.2.1 Similarity of the Structural Hierarchy ................ 6
1.2.2 Similarity of the Functional Mechanisms ............. 6
1.3 Evolution of the Concept of an Urban Metabolism ............ 8
1.4 Urban Metabolic Processes ................................ 11
1.4.1 Metabolic Phases ................................. 11
1.4.2 External and Internal Flows ........................ 11
1.4.3 Anabolism, Catabolism, and Regulatory
Metabolism ...................................... 12
1.4.4 Metabolic Linkages ............................... 13
1.4.5 Metabolic Chains ................................. 15
1.4.6 Classification of the Metabolic Actors ............... 16
1.4.7 Characteristics of the Metabolic Actors .............. 17
1.5 Urban Metabolic Characteristics ............................ 21
1.5.1 Growth and Development .......................... 21
1.5.2 Openness and Dependency ......................... 24
1.5.3 Stability and Robustness ........................... 25
References .................................................... 26
2 Progress in Urban Metabolism Research ........................ 29
2.1 The Significance of Urban Metabolism Research .............. 29
2.1.1 Feasibility ....................................... 29
2.1.2 Necessity ........................................ 30
2.1.3 Urgency ......................................... 31
2.2 CiteSpace Knowledge Mapping Analysis .................... 34
2.2.1 The Number of Publications ........................ 35
2.2.2 Collaborative Network Analysis .................... 36
2.2.3 Discipline Co-occurrence Analysis .................. 38
ix
x Contents
2.3 Research Frontier Analysis ................................ 41
2.3.1 Timeline Analysis ................................ 41
2.3.2 Cluster Analysis .................................. 45
2.3.3 Burst Analysis ................................... 47
2.3.4 Cluster Analysis for Co-cited References ............. 47
2.3.5 Analysis of High-Frequency Co-cited Literature ....... 50
2.4 Development Stage of Urban Metabolism Research ........... 52
2.4.1 Early Period (1965–1980) .......................... 53
2.4.2 Slow Growth Period (1981–2000) ................... 54
2.4.3 Rising Period (2001–Present) ....................... 56
2.5 Historical Evolution of Urban Metabolism Research ........... 56
2.5.1 Accounting Evaluation Methods .................... 56
2.5.2 Model Simulation ................................. 60
2.5.3 Application Research .............................. 62
2.5.4 Scales and Boundaries ............................. 63
References .................................................... 67
3 Theory, Paradigms, and Technical Methods for Urban
Metabolism ................................................... 75
3.1 Composite Ecosystem Theory .............................. 75
3.1.1 Natural Subsystem ................................ 75
3.1.2 Socioeconomic Subsystem ......................... 77
3.1.3 Structural Features ................................ 78
3.1.4 Balance Between Pressure and Support .............. 79
3.2 Thermodynamics Theory .................................. 81
3.2.1 Vitality Metabolism ............................... 81
3.2.2 Entropy ......................................... 83
3.3 System Ecology Theory ................................... 85
3.3.1 Integration of Holism and Reductionism ............. 85
3.3.2 Urban Metabolism Research Based on Systems
Ecology ......................................... 86
3.4 Research Paradigms ...................................... 88
3.4.1 The Relationship Among the Three Research
Paradigms ....................................... 88
3.4.2 Natural Metabolism ............................... 89
3.4.3 Socioeconomic Metabolism ........................ 90
3.4.4 Integrated (Hybrid) Natural and Socioeconomic
Metabolism Paradigm ............................. 91
3.5 Technical Framework ..................................... 92
References .................................................... 95
Part II Methods
4 Accounting Evaluation of Urban Metabolism .................... 99
4.1 Material Flow Analysis ................................... 99
4.1.1 Flow Accounting ................................. 100
Contents xi
4.1.2 Stock Accounting ................................. 108
4.2 Substance Flow Analysis .................................. 111
4.2.1 Carbon Accounting ............................... 111
4.2.2 Nitrogen Accounting .............................. 115
4.3 Emergy Analysis ......................................... 119
4.4 Measuring the system’s Evolution .......................... 123
4.4.1 Measurement Index System ........................ 124
4.4.2 Information Entropy Index ......................... 126
4.4.3 Harmonious Development Model ................... 127
4.5 Measuring Interactions Between the Natural
and Socioeconomic Systems ............................... 129
4.5.1 Measurement Index System ........................ 129
4.5.2 Sustainability Index ............................... 130
References .................................................... 132
5 Network Models to Simulate Urban Metabolism ................. 135
5.1 Network Models Based on Physical Metabolism .............. 135
5.1.1 Urban Water Metabolic Network Models ............. 135
5.1.2 Urban Energy Metabolic Network Models ............ 138
5.1.3 Urban Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolic Network
Models .......................................... 143
5.1.4 Urban Material Metabolic Network Models ........... 150
5.1.5 Urban Emergy Metabolic Network Models ........... 154
5.2 Spatially Explicit Models Based on Land Use and Cover
Change ................................................. 156
5.2.1 Principles for Developing Spatially Explicit
Carbon Metabolic Network Models ................. 156
5.2.2 Spatially Explicit Models of an Urban Carbon
Metabolic Network ............................... 161
5.3 Network Models Based on Input–Output Tables .............. 163
5.3.1 Development of an Input–Output Table .............. 163
5.3.2 Compilation of the Input–Output Table Based
on the Material Consumption Intensity Coefficient ..... 168
5.3.3 Analogy Between Trophic Levels and Metabolic
Network Models .................................. 169
5.3.4 Compilation of the Input–Output Table Based
on the Energy Consumption Intensity Coefficient ...... 174
5.4 Simulation of Network Characteristics ...................... 177
5.4.1 Network Structure Simulation ...................... 177
5.4.2 Network Function Simulation ...................... 181
5.4.3 Network Path Simulation .......................... 189
References .................................................... 193