Supporting urban planning of low-carbon precincts: Integrated demand forecasting

Waste is a symbol of inefficiency in modern society and represents misallocated resources. This paper outlines an on-going interdisciplinary research project entitled "Integrated ETWW demand forecasting and scenario planning for low-carbon precincts" and reports on first findings and a literature review. This large multi-stakeholder research project develops a shared platform for integrated ETWW (energy, transport, waste and water) planning in a low-carbon urban future, focusing on synergies and alternative approaches to urban planning. The aim of the project is to develop a holistic integrated software tool for demand forecasting and scenario evaluation for residential precincts, covering the four domains, ETWW, using identified commonalities in data requirements and model formulation. The authors of this paper are overseeing the waste domain. A major component of the project will be developing a method for including the impacts of household behavior change in demand forecasting, as well as assessing the overall carbon impacts of urban developments or redevelopments of existing precincts. The resulting tool will allow urban planners, municipalities and developers to assess the future total demands for energy, transport, waste and water whilst in the planning phase. The tool will also help to assess waste management performance and materials flow in relation to energy and water consumption and travel behavior, supporting the design and management of urban systems in different city contexts. © 2013 by the authors

How Should We Measure? A Review of Circular Cities Indicators

As the world continues to urbanize, it is necessary to identify and implement new urban development models and strategies in order to meet the challenges of sustainable development. As cities continue to face challenges in becoming fully circular, the need to establish a framework to measure the circular economy in urban areas grows. Many definitions for circular cities have been developed and addressed in recent years, as have numerous indicators. To make the transition to a circular city, we must integrate the findings and develop a general definition and measurement framework. This article aims at outlining a framework for circular cities indicators based on their key characteristics, as well providing directions for fostering circularity at the city level. To accomplish this goal, we conducted a systematic review and analyzed key papers published in the field of circular economy to determine how circular cities are measured. Choosing the right indicators to use for developing, monitoring, and evaluating circular cities is a difficult task for urban policymakers, managers, and planners. This highlights the significance of standardized frameworks for urban indicators. As a result, the authors propose a framework and highlight some key points about circular cities and smart urban metabolism

Maintaining health and sustainability of urban metabolism ecosystem in line with sustainable development: a case study of Qarchak, Iran

Background: The present study aimed to evaluate the urban metabolism in line with sustainable development of Qarchak city, Iran. Methods: The present study was applied in terms of type and descriptive-analytical in terms of method. The statistical population of the study included Qarchak city as one of the cities of Tehran province with a population of 231075 people based on 2016 census. It is located in the northwest of Varamin city. Information was collected through library studies, documents and databases were checked. After identifying the criteria, they were converted into quantitative indices and the indices were weighted and prioritized within the framework of AHP weight model. Data analysis was done with the Metabolic Outcomes Assessment (MIA) method. Results: The final score of the study area was 29.61, while the optimal status is 60.64. Therefore, the current status of the area compared to the optimal status, gained about 45% of the scores. It indicates that the metabolic status of the study area is poor. Also, according to experts, water criterion with a weight of 0.388 has the highest rank and air criterion with a weight of 0.075 has the lowest rank and importance. Also, the incompatibility coefficient is 0.09, which is acceptable. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, understanding the deep relationship between the city and the environment to solve urban and environmental problems, optimization of systems and multiple natural and human processes is essential that should be considered by public people and urban planners

Exploring the Phenomenon of Zero Waste and Future Cities

The evolving phenomenon of zero waste encompasses the theory, practice, and learning of individuals, families, businesses, communities, and government organisations, responding to perceptions of crisis and failure around conventional waste management. The diverse and growing body of international zero waste experience, can be portrayed as both, an entirely new and alternative waste management paradigm, and or, interpreted as overlapping, extending, and synergetic with a general evolution towards more sustainable waste/resource management practices. Combining the terms zero and waste provokes creative, intellectual, and pragmatic tensions, which provide a contemporary axis for necessary debate and innovation in this sphere of resource management. This commentary draws on an interdisciplinary perspective and utilises some elements of the critique of zero waste, as a lens to examine and better understand this heterogeneous global community of practice. In particular, how the concept and implementation of a zero waste goal can increase community engagement and be a catalyst for the design and management of a more circular urban metabolism and hence, more adaptive, resilient, and sustainable future (zero waste) cities

Exploring urban metabolism—Towards an interdisciplinary perspective

© 2017 The Author(s) The discussion on urban metabolism has been long dominated by natural scientists focussing on natural forces shaping the energy and material flows in urban systems. However, in the anthropocene human forces such as industrialization and urbanization are mobilizing people, goods and information at an increasing pace and as such have a large impact on urban energy and material flows. In this white paper, we develop a combined natural and social science perspective on urban metabolism. More specifically, innovative conceptual and methodological interdisciplinary approaches are identified and discussed to enhance the understanding of the forces that shape urban metabolism, and how these forces affect urban living and the environment. A challenging research agenda on urban metabolism is also presented

WASTESCAPE REGENERATION. Values, approaches and tools to operationalise circular city models

This research investigates the wastescapes and their regeneration in urban contexts, presenting a deepening definition and an evaluation framework for a collaborative regeneration process. Because of the concept of waste, the wastescape is deemed as a multidimensional cultural landscape, constituted of discarded parts of metabolic resources, areas, built environment, society, and others systems of waste. Thus, it is composed of various multidimensional waste systems interplaying at different scales. In this sense, a wastescape is not only limited to a spatial domain. The urban physiology and morphology of the Netzstadt framework let define the urban systems of wastescape; mainly, metabolic processes and the built environment are explored in this research, and values, tools and methods to support regenerative processes in the frame of the circular city. Circular economy (CE) is becoming a global challenge to implement regenerative urban strategies in sustainability transition. Urban metabolism of waste, waste architecture and urban communities are the constituent systems considered in this study. Each one has different scales of analysis. While the urban metabolism is analysed at a big scale, the wasted architecture and urban community role are observed locally. The two scales reveal complementary issues and opportunities for the regeneration processes toward circular cities. This, the evaluation of an urban wastescape, as a multidimensional cultural landscape, consider environmental, social, economic and cultural dimensions. In this perspective, the urban landscape services can be the benchmarks for quantitative and qualitative analyses of the evaluation of the performances. In the circular city frame, policies and projects are oriented to the collaboration of multiple stakeholders and local actors. In this way, urban wastescape regeneration considers social equity and environmental justice in its fundamentals. In this path, the thesis explore both materials and methods of wastescape regeneration. In such urban policies, spatial decision-making support systems allow for managing multi-dimensional and multi-actor evaluation processes. The Geodesign method and multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDAs) are tested in two case studies at different scales. The case studies present two different wastescape analyses at two different scales, considering some relevant physiological and morphological aspects. The first case study analyses the Naples urban metabolism of waste in the REPAiR project. Starting from the CE principle that considers waste as a resource for sustainable development, resource management is at the centre of the REPAiR project research. In the Naples case, the Activity-based Spatial Material Flow Analysis (AS-MFA) map the organic waste and construction and demolition waste streams on the territory. From this wastescape status quo, the Geodesign Decision Support Environment supports the co-creation of circular economy strategies. It is a collaborative decision-making process, from knowledge to negotiation phase. Without deepening the morphological aspects, the AS_MFA maps and the geodesign method represent the two innovative tools for urban wastescape regenerations in a collaborative decision-making process. On a smaller scale, two cases of modern marginal neighbourhoods in Naples and Amsterdam show the social and spatial issues of wastescape of wasted architectures and marginal communities. In these cases, the urban morphological conditions produced urban wastescape physiological conditions. Similar circumstances and different events lead to two regeneration processes compared at the end of the section. The most significant transformations happened through architecture, public policies and communities of place and communities of practice. The demolition and adaptive reuse of modern architectures changed some environmental perceptions that led to the rejection of the place. The intense bottom-up actions and community actions made urban social regeneration over the years. Rejection, exclusion, cultural stigma, and prejudice made the neighbourhood urban wastescapes. The three cases study explore values, approaches and tools for wastescape regeneration at two different scales. They are part of the same approach to circularity. The cases show that circular economy in urban areas come up against two main issues: legal and cultural. Environmental and economic issues stem from those. The available techniques and technologies in waste management can be improved, but many are already available and underused. Any waste in urban areas is currently a problem, creating blighted areas and disamenities. Together with actors and stakeholders, the thesis shows how communities of place and practices are the core of long term sustainable transformations. In this path, circularity is the economic approach, and collaborative decision-making processes can ensure transparency and the inclusion of actors, stakeholders and local groups to transition to the circular city

Integrating microalgae production with anaerobic digestion: a biorefinery approach

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [Uggetti, E. , Sialve, B. , Trably, E. and Steyer, J. (2014), Integrating microalgae production with anaerobic digestion: a biorefinery approach. Biofuels, Bioprod. Bioref, 8: 516-529. doi:10.1002/bbb.1469], which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.1469. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingIn the energy and chemical sectors, alternative production chains should be considered in order to simultaneously reduce the dependence on oil and mitigate climate change. Biomass is probably the only viable alternative to fossil resources for production of liquid transportation fuels and chemicals since, besides fossils, it is one of the only available sources of carbon-rich material on Earth. Over recent years, interest in microalgae biomass has grown in both fundamental and applied research fields. The biorefinery concept includes different technologies able to convert biomass into added-value chemicals, products (food and feed) and biofuels (biodiesel, bioethanol, biohydrogen). As in oil refinery, a biorefinery aims at producing multiple products, maximizing the value derived from differences in biomass components, including microalgae. This paper provides an overview of the various microalgae-derived products, focusing on anaerobic digestion for conversion of microalgal biomass into methane. Special attention is paid to the range of possible inputs for anaerobic digestion (microalgal biomass and microalgal residue after lipid extraction) and the outputs resulting from the process (e.g. biogas and digestate). The strong interest in microalgae anaerobic digestion lies in its ability to mineralize microalgae containing organic nitrogen and phosphorus, resulting in a flux of ammonium and phosphate that can then be used as substrate for growing microalgae or that can be further processed to produce fertilizers. At present, anaerobic digestion outputs can provide nutrients, CO2 and water to cultivate microalgae, which in turn, are used as substrate for methane and fertilizer generation.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft