The Global Impacts of Cities

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

By 2050, global population will reach approximately 9 billion and 75% of us will be living in cities. Many global environmental systems are already under severe stress, with impacts on water, biodiversity, climate change, and nutrient cycles, amongst others. Engineers face huge challenges in planning and designing infrastructure for our growing cities, working within the carrying capacity of the planet.The objective of the research is to understand how the growth of cities impacts global environmental systems. The goal is to move beyond understanding the environmental impacts (footprints) of individual cities, to quantifying the aggregate impacts of all cities at the global scale.The method involves a novel scientific approach, composed of two main steps:i) testing and improving a mathematical model of the urban metabolism of cities;ii) scaling up the model to all cities.The research is expected to improve the scientific and engineering input into public policies that link the greening of cities with global environmental challenges. The research direction has been motivated through my work with several international organizations, including C40, OECD, UNEP, UN-Habitat, and the World Bank. It is expected to make new, original connections between the evolving science of cities and global environmental science.