City-Level Decoupling-Full Report

Table of Contents

Preface. ........................................................................................................................................... 2 Foreword......................................................................................................................................... 4 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................14 2 Decoupling, material flows, and infrastructure ......................................................................19 2.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................19 2.2 Material flows and decoupling. ....................................................................................................19 2.3 Urban flows and infrastructure. ................................................................................................. 21 3 The second urbanization wave .................................................................................................. 24 3.1 Dimensions of the second urbanisation wave. .......................................................................... 24 3.2 Heterogeneous urbanisation....................................................................................................... 29 3.3 Interactive urban-rural flows in developing countries. .............................................................31 4 Urban material flows in cities in the developed and developing world . ............................. 33 4.1 Applying material flow analysis to cities. ................................................................................... 33 4.2 Adapting the material flow analysis methodology..................................................................... 34 4.3 Comparative material flow analysis of cities............................................................................. 38 5 Decoupling through urban infrastructure ............................................................................... 44 5.1 Infrastructure investments, economic recovery and green growth........................................ 44 5.2 Economic Implications..................................................................................................................47 5.3 P ursuing decoupling and the restoration of ecosystem services through urban infrastructure. ....................................................................................................................47 6 Transitions toward sustainable cities ...................................................................................... 53 6.1 Introduction: approaches to transitions..................................................................................... 53 6.2 Four types of urban change......................................................................................................... 60 6.3 N ew urban developments as 'integrated ecourbanism............................................................ 64 6.4 C onstructing new 'urban networked infrastructures............................................................... 66 6.5 R econfiguring cities as ’systemic urban transitions'................................................................ 70 6.6 Retrofitting existing 'urban networked infrastructures''...........................................................74 7 Assessing progress toward decoupling in cities .................................................................... 80 7.1 Existing research on decoupling in cities, and areas requiring more attention..................... 80 7.2 The scale of the city and how to conceptualise its boundaries................................................ 81 7.3 Total material requirements and rebound effects. ................................................................... 82 7.4 Accounting for wider benefits and contextual appropriateness in evaluations of success... 83 7.5 How decoupling in cities can be assessed and accelerated in the future............................... 83 8 Conclusions and policy recommendations .............................................................................. 85

References …………….…………………………………………………………………………………………….................. 88

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