ENV425H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Urban Metabolism, Emergy, Urban Ecosystem
Document Summary
Env425 lecture 3 viewing urban ecosystems from a metabolic perspective. Good mgm practice for non urban ecosystems: self sustaining, maintainer increase biodiversity, need diff species for an ecosystem to function. Urban ecosystems are still fairly new systems. If one of those geographic areas is harmed in any way, the earth can heal itself: way for engineers to see and quantify what degrades the ecosystems. Relationship between urban metabolism and ecological footprint: ef: ultimately translates everything into footprint area. Idea that was conceived among ecologists: um: conceived bw engineers, but basically, both of them are the same thing. Idea is to create balanced equations account for all energy coming, produced, and flowing out of the system. Is urban metabolism sustainability: self-sustaining in the sense that it uses its own input, but cant be self sustaining in the sense that it cant depend on its own. Weak sustainability: minimizing inputs and wastes.
