- Email: [email protected]
Urban resource flows and the governance of infrastructure transitions
Environmental Development 8 (2013) 152–153
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Environmental Development journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envdev
Urban resource flows and the governance of infrastructure transitions
Cities are the powerhouses of economic growth, with 80% of global GDP being produced within them on just 2% of the earth's land surface. Urban areas currently account for 60–80% of global energy consumption, 75% of carbon emissions, and more than 75% of the world's natural resource consumption. The trend towards urbanization in recent years has been accompanied by increased pressures on the environment and growing numbers of urban poor. The challenges are likely to increase in the coming decades with an expected rise to 70–80% of the global population residing in urban areas by 2050. Some 60% of the built environment required to meet the needs of the world's urban population by 2050 still needs to be constructed. Cities must therefore be seen as the building blocks of sustainable development. The International Resource Panel (IRP) was established in 2007 to support the framing of policies for sustainable resource management through providing authoritative scientific assessments on the use of natural resources and their environmental impacts, and on opportunities for decoupling natural resource use and environmental impacts from economic growth. The latest report of the International Resource Panel on City-level Decoupling: Urban Resource Flows and the Governance of Infrastructure Transitions explores the key role of cities as societal “nodes” in which much of the current unsustainable use of natural resources is socially and institutionally embedded, but also as centers for knowledge and financial, social and institutional resources—and therefore where the greatest potential exists for sustainability-oriented innovations. Cities are complex networks of interlocked infrastructures that bring resources in, use resources to provide services and generate wealth, and dispose of the wastes that are generated. The unique configuration of cities can give rise to very different levels of material consumption. The reconfiguration of urban infrastructures can therefore change the flow of resources through cities, and their use, consumption and disposal. This can be achieved by retrofitting urban infrastructures or building new ones that are more resource-efficient, taking into account the long-term flows of strategic resources. Innovation can be stimulated by regarding cities as living organisms, with the continuous flow of inputs and outputs as their “metabolism”. More circular urban metabolism that treats outputs from one use as inputs to another would help cities increase resource productivity and adapt to a future of resource limitations and climate uncertainty. For example, resource efficient systems could reduce water demand by up to 80%. The report also highlights the way that the design, construction and operation of energy, waste, water, sanitation and transport infrastructures create shapes the “way of life” of citizens and how they procure, use and dispose of the resources they require. Its approach is innovative in that it frames infrastructure networks as socio-technical systems, examining pressures for change within cities that go beyond technical considerations. The importance of intermediaries as the dominant agents for change is emphasized, as well as the fact that social processes and dynamics need to be understood 2211-4645/$ - see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2013.09.002
News / Environmental Development 8 (2013) 152–153
153
and integrated into any assessment of urban infrastructure interventions and the reconfiguration of resource flows. A set of 30 case studies provide examples of innovative approaches to sustainable infrastructure transitions across a broad range of urban contexts that could inspire leaders of other cities to embrace similar creative solutions: in Lingköping, Sweden, public transport is fueled by waste; in Chennai, India, rainwater is harvested to enhance the city's water supply; in Cape Town, South Africa, lowincome housing is being retro-fitted for energy efficiency; and Medellin, Colombia, is building social inclusion with cable cars. Of course, innovations in and of themselves do not suffice if they are not integrated into larger strategic visions for the city, and as each city is unique, interventions need to be tailored to the set of challenges and opportunities present in each case. Through well-designed urban infrastructures there are genuine opportunities for national and city leaders to achieve the same or an improved level of well-being with less resource consumption and lower carbon emissions. The report highlights the opportunities for developing countries in particular, where the urbanization wave is greatest and where, unlike in many developed country cities, their infrastructures are not yet based on obsolete technologies that are “sunk in concrete”.
For more information please contact Lowri Angharad Rees at the Secretariat of the International Resource Panel, UNEP: [email protected].
For more information on the International Resource Panel please visit: www.unep.org/resourcepanel/. To download the report of the International Resource Panel City-level Decoupling: Urban Resource Flows and Governance of Infrastructure Transitions please visit: www.unep.org/resourcepanel/ Publications/City-LevelDecoupling/tabid/106135/Default.aspx.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Environmental Development journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envdev
Urban resource flows and the governance of infrastructure transitions
Cities are the powerhouses of economic growth, with 80% of global GDP being produced within them on just 2% of the earth's land surface. Urban areas currently account for 60–80% of global energy consumption, 75% of carbon emissions, and more than 75% of the world's natural resource consumption. The trend towards urbanization in recent years has been accompanied by increased pressures on the environment and growing numbers of urban poor. The challenges are likely to increase in the coming decades with an expected rise to 70–80% of the global population residing in urban areas by 2050. Some 60% of the built environment required to meet the needs of the world's urban population by 2050 still needs to be constructed. Cities must therefore be seen as the building blocks of sustainable development. The International Resource Panel (IRP) was established in 2007 to support the framing of policies for sustainable resource management through providing authoritative scientific assessments on the use of natural resources and their environmental impacts, and on opportunities for decoupling natural resource use and environmental impacts from economic growth. The latest report of the International Resource Panel on City-level Decoupling: Urban Resource Flows and the Governance of Infrastructure Transitions explores the key role of cities as societal “nodes” in which much of the current unsustainable use of natural resources is socially and institutionally embedded, but also as centers for knowledge and financial, social and institutional resources—and therefore where the greatest potential exists for sustainability-oriented innovations. Cities are complex networks of interlocked infrastructures that bring resources in, use resources to provide services and generate wealth, and dispose of the wastes that are generated. The unique configuration of cities can give rise to very different levels of material consumption. The reconfiguration of urban infrastructures can therefore change the flow of resources through cities, and their use, consumption and disposal. This can be achieved by retrofitting urban infrastructures or building new ones that are more resource-efficient, taking into account the long-term flows of strategic resources. Innovation can be stimulated by regarding cities as living organisms, with the continuous flow of inputs and outputs as their “metabolism”. More circular urban metabolism that treats outputs from one use as inputs to another would help cities increase resource productivity and adapt to a future of resource limitations and climate uncertainty. For example, resource efficient systems could reduce water demand by up to 80%. The report also highlights the way that the design, construction and operation of energy, waste, water, sanitation and transport infrastructures create shapes the “way of life” of citizens and how they procure, use and dispose of the resources they require. Its approach is innovative in that it frames infrastructure networks as socio-technical systems, examining pressures for change within cities that go beyond technical considerations. The importance of intermediaries as the dominant agents for change is emphasized, as well as the fact that social processes and dynamics need to be understood 2211-4645/$ - see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2013.09.002
News / Environmental Development 8 (2013) 152–153
153
and integrated into any assessment of urban infrastructure interventions and the reconfiguration of resource flows. A set of 30 case studies provide examples of innovative approaches to sustainable infrastructure transitions across a broad range of urban contexts that could inspire leaders of other cities to embrace similar creative solutions: in Lingköping, Sweden, public transport is fueled by waste; in Chennai, India, rainwater is harvested to enhance the city's water supply; in Cape Town, South Africa, lowincome housing is being retro-fitted for energy efficiency; and Medellin, Colombia, is building social inclusion with cable cars. Of course, innovations in and of themselves do not suffice if they are not integrated into larger strategic visions for the city, and as each city is unique, interventions need to be tailored to the set of challenges and opportunities present in each case. Through well-designed urban infrastructures there are genuine opportunities for national and city leaders to achieve the same or an improved level of well-being with less resource consumption and lower carbon emissions. The report highlights the opportunities for developing countries in particular, where the urbanization wave is greatest and where, unlike in many developed country cities, their infrastructures are not yet based on obsolete technologies that are “sunk in concrete”.
For more information please contact Lowri Angharad Rees at the Secretariat of the International Resource Panel, UNEP: [email protected].
For more information on the International Resource Panel please visit: www.unep.org/resourcepanel/. To download the report of the International Resource Panel City-level Decoupling: Urban Resource Flows and Governance of Infrastructure Transitions please visit: www.unep.org/resourcepanel/ Publications/City-LevelDecoupling/tabid/106135/Default.aspx.