Vikas Mann

Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal

City as Ecosystem : Resources in city

 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Overview
o Population and Urbanization
• Characteristics of Urban Population
• Urbanization Trends
o City as an Ecosystem
• Environmental Problems in Urban Areas
• Environmental Benefits of Urbanization
o Urban Land Use Planning
• Transportation and Urban Development
• Suburban Sprawl
o Resources & Making Cities More Sustainable
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Population and Urbanization

o Urbanization
• Process in which people increasingly move from rural
areas to densely population cities
o Jobs define urban vs. rural, not populations
• Rural area occupations involve harvesting natural
resources
• Urban area occupations involve jobs not connected with
natural resources
o People are moving to cities due to decrease in
employment opportunities in rural areas
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Characteristics of Urban Population

o Basic characteristics of city populations:

• Diverse population in terms of race, ethnicity, religion
and socioeconomic status
• Younger population than local rural area
• More males in developing
nation cities
• More females in
developed nation cities
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Urbanization Trends
o Urbanization is increasing rapidly
• Especially in developing countries
o World’s 10 largest cities are in developing countries
 Vikas Mann

The Top Skylines in the World Kuldeep

Dipankar Pal

Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong has a whopping 43 buildings over 200 metres tall, 30 of which
were built in the year 2000 or later. It also boasts four of the 15 tallest buildings in
the world. Hong Kong’s skyline shows a large selection of distinct sky-reaching
towers.

Metro/Urban Population: 6.9 million

http://citynoise.org/article/3432
 Vikas Mann

The Top Skylines in the World Kuldeep

Dipankar Pal

Chicago, Illinois
When Chicago built its first steel high-rise in 1885, it was not the tallest
structure in the world but the first example of a new form of engineering that would
change nearly every city on earth. Chicago has 19 buildings over 200 metres tall
(three of which are among the top 20 tallest buildings in the world, including the
tallest in North America).

Metro/Urban Population: 9.5 million

 Vikas Mann

The Top Skylines in the World Kuldeep

Dipankar Pal

Shanghai, China

China's biggest and most advanced city, Shanghai was said to be the most
cosmopolitan city in the beginning of the 20th century, but lost its glory during
the “Mao era”. It is now quickly regaining its position as one of the biggest
economic powerhouses in the world as well as a showcase of modern
architecture. In Shanghai you’ll find 25 structures that are over 200 metres tall,
one of which is the insanely tall, the 468m downtown Oriental Pearl TV Tower.

Metro/Urban Population: 13.1 million

 Vikas Mann

The Top Skylines in the World Kuldeep

Dipankar Pal

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Already home of the world's tallest all-hotel building and the tallest all-
residential building in the world, AND currently proposed to build the world's
tallest building. All seven structures in this city at over 200 metres tall were built
in 1999 or later - that's how new this city is.

Metro/Urban Population: 1.6 million

Urbanization Trends India
o Urban Agglomeration
• Urbanized core region
that consists of several
adjunct cities or
megacities and their
surrounding developed
suburbs
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Urbanization Trends Dipankar Pal

United States Urban

Agglomerations
(Population of 50,000 or
above)
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Substandard Housing
o Typically occupied by
squatters
• Illegally occupy unsafe
housing
o No city services
• Water, sewage, garbage
collection, police and
fire protection

o 1/3 of urban population in developing countries are squatters

o Homelessness is present in lower numbers in developed
countries
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Environmental Problems in Urban Areas
o Growing urban areas affect land use patterns
• Fragment wildlife
• Encroach wetlands, forests, desert, etc.
o Brownfields
• Urban areas of abandoned industrial or residential sites
that may be contaminated from past use
o Impermeable surfaces and urban runoff discharged
into waterways
• Motor oil, lawn fertilizers, heavy metals
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Environmental Problems in Urban Areas
o Long commutes
• Traffic congested streets
• Buildup of airborne emissions due to cars and industry
o Noise pollution
o Urban heat island
• Local heat buildup in an area of high population density
• Affect local air currents and weather conditions
• Contribute to buildup of pollutants-
pollutants- dust domes
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Urban Heat Island

Temperature variations on a summer afternoon

Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Environmental Benefits of Urbanization

o Well--planned city can benefit the environment

Well
• Reduces pollution
• Preserves rural areas
o Compact Development
• Design of cities where residential buildings are close to
shopping, jobs and public transportation
• Ex: Portland, Oregon
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Urban Land Use Planning

o Land use based on economic concerns

o From center of city outwards:
• City center-
center- Central Business District (highest taxes)
• Residential properties (lower taxes than city center)
• Land intensive businesses (even lower taxes)
• Suburbs (lowest taxes)
o Parks and green space are interspersed
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Urban Land Use Planning
o Land Use Planning
• Process of deciding the best use for undeveloped land in
a given area
o Influenced by political and economic factors
o Regulated through zoning
• Cities divided into use zones
• Commercial
• Residential
• Industrial
• Property owners must meet zoning ordinances
 Land Use-
Use- Park
City, Utah

Undeveloped Open Space

Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Full Satellite View of City
Dipankar Pal
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Transportation and Urban Development

o Transportation
availability affects
city’s spatial
structure
o Ex: An east coast
US city
• (a) 1700-
1700-1850
• (b) 1850-
1850-1910
• (c) 20th century
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Suburban Sprawl
o Suburban Sprawl
• Patchwork of vacant and developed tracts around the edges
of cities
o Problems
• Loss of wetlands
• Air pollution
• Water pollution
• Loss of biological
habitat
o 11 states now have
new growth management laws (Smart Growth)
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Sustainable Cities Dipankar Pal

Case in Point-
Point- Curitiba, Brazil
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep

City as an Ecosystem Dipankar Pal

o POET
• Population
• Number of people
• Organization
• Social structure of city
• Environment
• City infrastructure and natural environment
• Technology
• Human intervention that directly affects the urban
environment
o Four variables are dependent on each other and
interact like parts of a natural ecosystem
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Making Cities More Sustainable

o Characteristics of a sustainable city

• Clear, cohesive urban growth policies
Foods Grown on Roof
• Efficient use of energy and other resources top gardens

• Reduction of pollution and waste

• Reuse and recycle materials in waste stream
• Large areas of green space
• Designed to be people-
people-centers, not car-
car-centered
• Food grown in the city (rooftop gardens)
• Compact development
 Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Urban Ecology

Why urban ecology?

We rely on ecosystems for services, urban ecosystems are often wrecked. Thus, as the Human Enterprise expands, so
does our need to do ecological restoration in urban areas.

Green Spaces in City
Storm flow:
In many urban areas one of the most important
“environmental issues” is managing storm flow. You
don’t want floods washing people, and cars and things,
out into the river.
Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
As urban areas expand. Cement covers the landscape.
Rain events are concentrated. Relatively minor events in
natural ecosystems can be concentrated to create floods.
Greenspaces including vegetation/soil allows for rainwater
to penetrate to sub-surface aquifers. Standing surface
accumulation is reduced, transport is greatly slowed.
 Vikas Mann
Urban Ecosystem Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal

Urban Heat Island

“About half the world’s population—3 billion people—now live in
cities. In a couple decades, it’s going to be 5 billion people.” In
developing countries, migrated poor people in cities (crop
failures, natural disasters, or armed conflicts), with little
access to air conditioning, refrigeration, or medical care,
the world’s urban poor will be particularly vulnerable to
heat wave health hazards.
 Vikas Mann
Hypothesis Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal

Biophilia Hypothesis: (E.O. Wilson. Genius, Crusader for Biodiversity)

Humans recover from stress more quickly if they see natural environments:
http://www.uns.ethz.ch/edu/teach/masters/ebcdm/readings/Ulrich_R_1991.pdf

Humans heal faster if they can see a tree from their hospital window.
http://margaret.tarampi.com/Ulrich_1984.pdf
Green spaces …absorb particular matter., “Beautify”, Provide habitat for insects, animals and
organisms, Reduce noise., Clean water., Encourage outdoor activity make healthier populous., Give
kids a place to play, Buffer wind.
Ecology- Restoration in Urban Setting
The idea that we do not have natural areas enough to preserve, what must have been preserved.
We have to integrate ecological preservation/restoration into the human enterprise.
 Vikas Mann
Ecosystem and Imbalance Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Ecosystem is the environment where biotic/ living things live and interact with
nonliving things/abiotic factors such as coral reef, forest, grassland, farm etc. In 1935,
the word “ ecosystem” was invented by a British ecologist Sir Arthur George Tansley,
who depicted natural system in “ constant interchange” among their biotic and abiotic
parts. Biotic parts such as plants, animals and bacteria etc. Abiotic parts such as the soil,
air, water etc.

Ecology is a branch of science that was developed by scientist to make the study
easier about the relationship between biotic things and their physical environment which
is the abiotic factors – and ecosystem is part of the concept of ecology in an organized
view of nature.
Biosphere is the earth’s zone of air, water and soil that has the capability in
supporting life. T his zone reaches about 10 km into the atmosphere and down to the
lowest ocean floor. In simpler term, the biosphere is the surface of the hierarchy on
earth where living environment and organism thrive. It contains various categories of
biotic communities known as biomes that is described by their overbearing vegetation
such as deserts, tropical rainforest and grasslands. T he biomes are in turn composed of
various ecosystems.

Ecosystem has processes which sustain ecological balance:

1. The cyclic flow of materials from abiotic environment to the biosphere and then back
to the abiotic environment.
2. Upholding the equilibrium of interaction inside food webs.
These processes must be maintained in the ecosystem; any interference with these
cycles disrupts and affects ecological balance. Below are some of the reasons and
causes of ecological imbalance in the living world.
 Vikas Mann
Ecosystem and Imbalance Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Introduction of Foreign Species into an Area One way by which man affects the equilibrium
of interaction in a food web is the entering of a foreign species into areas where they're so no
natural enemies. These natural enemies are:
1. Predators 2. Parasites 3. Competitors
Removal of Predator Species
Removal of predators in the ecosystem is fine, but declining their number in a very low
proportion interfere the balance of interaction within a food web. A massive elimination of
predators in the biotic community can disturb the prey population to elevate imbalance in density.
For example:
1. Killing snakes in the field may cause a rapid increase of rat population because deprivation of
snake population and other predators of rats. The elimination of snake in the rice field decreases
predators of rats.
2. Deforestation causes owl to migrate which is also a rat predator; this will lead to the dramatic
upsurge in rat population of the area.
3. In Australia, overfishing of the Giant Triton causes death of coral reefs; this Giant Triton is a
predator of the crown-fish-thorn starfish.
Imbalance in Ecosystem: Environmental Issues:
There are certain issues and problems that are related to ecological imbalance. These are problems that have evolved because of
the disruption of ecological equilibrium. Probably, there are three major problems which effects of imbalances in the ecosystem:
1. Global problems: – these are problems that affect different nations and can only be resolve through solidarity of affected nation.
Some global problems are:
A. Global warming or Greenhouse effect B. Acid Rain C. Pollution (Air and Marine Pollution), D. Depletion of ozone layer in the
atmosphere, E. Radioactive fallout because of nuclear war
2. National problems: – these are problems that affect a country and can only be resolved within the country. These national
environmental issues are: A. Pollution (air, water and soil), B. Degradation of natural resources such as soil erosion, deforestation,
depletion of wildlife, shortage of energy, degradation of marine ecosystems and depletion of mineral resources, C. Alteration and
inconsistent land use like the conversion of agricultural land into industrial estates, conversion of mangrove swamps into
fishponds and salt beds.
3. Community problems – these are problems that affect in a particular localities or communities and can only be resolve at in that
exact level. A. Broken and not flowing drainage, B. Stench damping site (Pollution), C. Widespread of epidemic in localities
 Vikas Mann
Urban Ecosystem Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Patch: A habitat patch is an area inhabited by a particular collection of
species. Patches are surrounded by a matrix of environment that is less
hospitable for those species, and the transitional edge between these two areas
is know as an “ecotone” (Bailey 2002). In particular, the proportion of edge
[edge = (perimeter of patch)/[2*(area of patch)^1/2] . These edge effects
often alter the community composition of plants and animals that exist there.
Further influence of edge may extend to significant distance into a patch. For
instance, microclimatic edge effects may reach up to 240 m into a forest. In
addition to microclimatic differences, edges in urban or suburban areas are
typically subject to human disturbance and invasive species invasion.

Corridor: A habitat corridor is a linear area that provides linkages between

patches; a corridor can be terrestrial (vegetated areas) or aquatic (stream and
river systems). It may also act as a barrier or filter to species movement, as not
all individuals can pass safely.

Metapopulation: A metapopulation is a network of patches, corridors, and

matrix that support multiple subpopulations. It can be defined as “a system
in which the rate of extinction and re-colonization creates a flux of
individuals that ensures genetic connectivity between subpopulations” (Farina
1998, p.28).

Non-equilibrium Theory: Recent ecological theory focuses on “processes and BACKYARD HABITAT
dynamics – function – rather than primarily on states and structures” (Pickett
et al. 2003, p.374). This non-equilibrium theory recognizes that “ecological
systems can have more than one state, including unstable states.

STREET TREES
HABITAT
 Urban Ecosystem
Ecologists and designers have established a number of strategies for
maintaining ecological health that can be applied to urban systems:
Patches: Large patches are desirable. They usually have a larger population
of any given species than a smaller patch, which makes it less likely that the
species will become locally extinct. Large patches are also likely to have
multiple habitat types present, which sustains higher biodiversity (Dramstad URBAN POND HABITAT
et al. 1996, Forman 1995). Finally, large patches often have larger interior
habitat, which supports species that cannot tolerate Edge Zones.

Connections: Continuous, wide corridors of native vegetation are generally

considered optimal for terrestrial systems. However, this is often not
possible in urban areas and alternative strategies, such as stepping stones,
are necessary.
WILDLIFE IN
Metapopulation: A landscape that is primarily coarse-grained with some ABANDONED
fine -grained areas is optimal for sustaining a metapopulation. It provides INDUSTRIAL SITE
ecological benefits of large patches while adding diversity of habitat
through the addition of smaller patches (Forman 1995). For systems where
one large patch contains only a limited number of species for that patch
type, four or five patches are often the minimum number required for
maintaining metapopulation species richness. (Dramstad et al.1996).
WILDLIFE IN
Enhance Existing Habitat: In addition to acquiring and restoring habitat CEMETARY
patches and corridors, urban ecological function can be augmented by
enhancing and connecting existing spaces that serve as urban habitat. These
opportunities exist in many forms, such as woodlands and urban forestry,
residential property, water bodies, industrial sites and Brownfield, building
infrastructure (walls and roofs), and cemeteries. In addition to these more
human-dominated sites, small undisturbed and undeveloped areas that BIRDBOX URBAN
support high diversity also exist in urban areas.
 City Resources Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal

Materials:
Resource consumption: Materials.: Speaking
globally, we consume roughly 10 billion metric tons
of engineering materials per year, an average of 1.5
metric tons per person though it is not distributed
evenly.

The annual world production of 27 materials on which

industrialized society depends. MFA 2011
 Vikas Mann
Resource Consumption Energy: The SI unit of energy is the joule (J)
but because ajoule is very small, we generally use kJ (10^3J), MJ Energy Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
(10^6J), or GJ (10^9J) as the unit. Power is joules/sec, or watts (W),
but a watt, too, is small so we usually end up with kW, MW, or GW.
The everyday unit of electrical energy is the kilowatt hour (kWh), one
kW drawn for 3,600 seconds, so 1 kWh=3.6 MJ.
Where does energy come from? There are ultimately just four
sources:

The sun, which drives the winds, wave, hydro, photoelectric
phenomena, and the photochemical processes that give biomass,

The moon, which drives the tides,

Nuclear decay of unstable elements inherited from the creation of
the earth, providing geothermal heat and nuclear power

Hydrocarbon fuels, the sun’s energy in fossilized form.

How much energy do we use in a year?

When speaking of world consumption, the
unit of convenience is the exajoule, symbol
EJ, a billion billion (10^10J) joules.The
value today (2012) is about 500 EJ/year
and, of course, it is rising.
Fossil fuels dominate the picture, providing
about 86% of the total .
Nuclear gives about 7%.
Hydro, wind, wave, biomass, solar heat,
and photovoltaics add up to just another
7%.
These sun-driven energy pools are
enormous, but unlike fossil and nuclear
fuels, which are concentrated, they are
distributed, making energy from them hard
to capture.
 Water Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Water. The third resource on which we are totally dependent is water. How much
have we got? A great deal, but 97% of it is salt and two thirds of the rest is ice .
Water is a renewable resource but only at the rate that the ecosystem allows.
Increased demand now puts supply under growing pressure: the world-wide
demand for water has tripled over the last 50 years. Forecasts suggest that water
may soon become as important an issue as oil is today, with more than half the
human race short of water by 2050. Agriculture is the largest consumer, taking
about 65% of all fresh water . Industry consumes about 10% of the total, half of
which is required for power generation.
The production of steel, for example, uses water in the extraction of the minerals
(iron ore, limestone, and fossil fuels), for material condi-
tioning (dust suppression), pollution control (scrubbers to clean up waste gases),
and for cooling equipment and quenching ingots. Water consumption is measured
as liters of water per kilogram of material produced, l/kg (or, equivalently, kg/kg
since a liter of water weighs 1 kg). The range for engineering materials extends
from 10 l/kg to over 1,000 l/kg. Global Distribution of water. Only
tiny part is accessible as fresh water.

Global Water Consumption

 Greenhouse Gas Emissions & Waste Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Global Emissions by Gas
At the global scale, the key greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are:
Carbon dioxide (CO2): Fossil fuel use is the primary source of CO2. CO2 can also be
emitted from direct human-induced impacts on forestry and other land use, such as
through deforestation, land clearing for agriculture, and degradation of soils. Likewise,
land can also remove CO2 from the atmosphere through reforestation, improvement of
soils, and other activities.
Methane (CH4): Agricultural activities, waste management, energy use, and biomass
burning all contribute to CH4 emissions.
Nitrous oxide (N2O): Agricultural activities, such as fertilizer use, are the primary
source of N2O emissions. Fossil fuel combustion also generates N2O.
Fluorinated gases (F-gases): Industrial processes, refrigeration, and the use of a
variety of consumer products contribute to emissions of F-gases, which include
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
Black carbon is a solid particle or aerosol, not a gas, but it also contributes to warming
of the atmosphere. Global Emissions from 2010.

Global carbon (C) emissions from fossil fuel use were 9.795 gigatonnes (Gt) in 2014
(or 35.9 GtCO2 of carbon dioxide). Fossil fuel emissions were 0.6% above
emissions in 2013 and 60% above emissions in 1990 (the reference year in the Kyoto
Protocol).
Based on a 2015 GDP forecast of 3.1% by the International Monetary Fund, the
Global Carbon Project projects a 2015 decline of 0.6% in global emissions.
 Greenhouse Gas Emissions & Waste Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Human Sources :
Fossil fuel emissions (including cement production) accounted for about 91% of
Global Emissions
total CO2 emissions from human sources in 2014. This portion of emissions
originates from coal (42%), oil (33%), gas (19%), cement (6%) and gas flaring (1%).
Changes in land use are responsible for about 9% of all global CO2 emissions.
In 2013, the largest national contributions to the net growth in total global Fossil Fuel Land-Use
emissions in 2013 were China (58% of the growth), USA (20% of the growth), Year Total & Cement Change
India (17% of the growth), and EU28 (a decrease by 11% of the growth). 2014 9.795 GtC ~ 0.9 Gtc
Natural Sinks: 2013 9.735 GtC
For the decade from 2005 to 2014, about 44% of CO2 emissions accumulated in 2012 9.575 GtC
the atmosphere, 26% in the ocean, and 30% on land.
2011 9.449 GtC
Cumulative Emissions: 2010 9.995 Gtc 9.140 GtC 0.855 GtC
From 1870 to 2014, cumulative carbon emissions totalled about 545 2009 9.567 Gtc 8.700 GtC 0.867 GtC
GtC. Emissions were partitioned among the atmosphere (approx. 230 GtC or
42%), ocean (approx. 155 GtC or 28%) and the land (approx. 160 GtC or 29%). 2008 9.666 Gtc 8.740 GtC 0.926 GtC
2007 9.472 Gtc 8.532 GtC 0.940 GtC
Atmospheric Accumulation: 2006 9.355 Gtc 8.363 GtC 0.992 GtC
The 2014 level of CO2 in the atmospheric was 43% above the level when the
Industrial Revolution started in 1750.
Waste: Existing cities have expanded and new ones have been established, levels of solid and water waste have also grown, increasing
demand for land-fill sites and wastewater processing plants. Landfills are significant sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as
methane, that can be up to 26 times more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO2) as a greenhouse gas, and servicing landfills requires
large scale transportation of waste, often over large distances.
Developing new conceptual frameworks, infrastructures and waste program in cities of the future will determine the extent to
which the operational costs of the city increase or decrease. In a rapidly urbanizing future, it is clear that dealing with waste through
conventional means could prove more expensive and environmentally damaging. Newer, low footprint waste disposal, recycling and
re-use, re-design of systems and products, and cleaner technology processes and technologies are required if the challenge of waste
is to be adequately tackled.
 Food Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Food demand is increasing as a result of population growth and
changes in diets. (Tilman et al. 2011).
Overall demand for agricultural products (including food, feed, fibre
and biofuels) is expected to increase by 1.1% per year from 2005/07 to
2050, down from 2.2% per year in the previous four decades. As the
population grows and more countries and population groups attain per
capita food consumption with little scope for major increases, global
food demand will grow at much lower rates. For a long time to come,
some countries might have difficulty increasing food consumption due
to low incomes and significant poverty.
Despite declining growth rates in food demand, the absolute quantities
of food necessary to feed the world in 2050 are substantial. If current
trajectories in population growth, dietary shifts and food waste
management remain unchanged, meeting global food demand in 2050
will require the following production increases:
cereals production must increase by 940 million tonnes to reach
3 billion tonnes;
meat production must increase by 196 million tonnes to reach
455 million tonnes; a
oil crops by must increase by 133 million tonnes to reach 282
million tonnes.
If consumption patterns do not change, agricultural production will
need to increase by 60% relative to 2005 to meet food demand in 2050.
(Alexandratos and Bruinsma 2012)
 Resource Efficiency Vikas Mann
Kuldeep
Dipankar Pal
Resource Efficiency is a key driver of success that promotes
Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), facilitates a transition
to a Green Economy and thus contributes to achieving global
sustainable development. In cities, resource efficiency enhances the
quality of life in urban areas by minimizing resource extraction, energy
consumption and waste generation and while simultaneously
safeguarding ecosystem services. UNEP defines resource efficiency
from a life cycle and value chain perspective. This means reducing the
total environmental impact of the production and consumption of
goods and services, from raw material extraction to final use and
disposal.

Benefits:
There is a strong link between quality of life in cities and how cities
draw on and manage the natural resources available to them. Resource
efficient cities combine greater productivity and innovation with lower
costs and reduce environmental impacts, while providing increased
opportunities for consumer choices and sustainable lifestyles. In
addition, ‘urban mining’, the reduction of influx of resources by
making better use of the existing stocks of materials available in the
urban environment through increased recycling rates, is a strategy that
can scale up these benefits. Resource efficiency is key for cities to
contribute to local and global sustainability and offer at the same time
high potential for financial savings.
Thank You