Role of urban metabolism in sustainable city planning :a case study approach
- Vol.89(11), Nov
- Mumbai The Indian Institute of Architects 2024
- 11-18p.
Urban areas face significant sustainability challenges, including accommodating rapid population growth, projected to add 2.5 billion people by 2050. This growth increases demand for housing and services, often leading to severe traffic congestion and higher pollution levels. Additionally, cities, which consume over 75% of global energy and produce more than 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, must transition to sustainable energy solutions to mitigate climate change impacts while addressing social inequalities that leave vulnerable populations disproportionately affected. To address these challenges, recent perspectives on sustainable urban planning call for a deeper understanding of cities as complex and emergent socio-ecological systems. One such concept is urban metabolism (UM) which has expanded from its biological meaning to capture the metabolic processes by which cities transform materials and energy in order to sustain their functions. This paper examines the role of urban metabolism in sustainable city planning using detailed case studies of three cities to determine how urban metabolism principles are integrated into urban planning practices and their effectiveness in promoting sustainable development.