Publications

@article{Langemeyer2021,

title = {Urban agriculture \textemdash A necessary pathway towards urban resilience and global sustainability?},

author = {Johannes Langemeyer and Cristina Madrid-Lopez and Angelica Mendoza Beltran and Gara Villalba Mendez},

url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0169204621000189},

doi = {10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104055},

issn = {01692046},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-06-01},

journal = {Landscape and Urban Planning},

volume = {210},

pages = {104055},

publisher = {Elsevier},

abstract = {The Covid-19 pandemic newly brings food resilience in cities to our attention and the need to question the desired degree of food self-sufficiency through urban agriculture. While these questions are by no means new and periodically entering the global research focus and policy discussions during periods of crises \textemdash the last time during the global financial crisis and resulting food price increases in 2008 \textemdash urban and peri-urban agriculture continue to be replaced by land-uses rendering higher market values (e.g. housing, transport, leisure). The loss of priority for urban agriculture in urban land-use planning is a global trend with only a few exceptions. We argue in this essay that this development has widely taken place due to three blind spots in urban planning. First, the limited consideration of social and ecological vulnerabilities and risk-related inequalities of urban inhabitants, food shortage among them, in the face of different scenarios of global change, including climate change or pandemic events such as Covid-19. Second, the disregard of the intensified negative environmental (and related social) externalities caused by distant agricultural production, as well as lacking consideration of nutrient re-cycling potentials in cities (e.g. from wastewater) to replace emission intensive mineral fertilizer use. Third, the lack of accounting for the multifunctionality of urban agriculture and the multiple benefits it provides beyond the provision of food, including social benefits and insurance values, for instance the maintenance of cultural heritage and agro-biodiversity. Along these lines, we argue that existing and new knowledge about urban risks and vulnerabilities, the spatially explicit urban metabolism (e.g. energy, water, nutrients), as well as ecosystem services need to be stronger and jointly considered in land-use decision-making.},

keywords = {Ecosystem services, Environmental externalities, Food resilience, urban agriculture, Urban metabolism},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{TobosoChavero2021,

title = {More than the sum of the parts: System analysis of the usability of roofs in housing estates},

author = {Susana Toboso‐Chavero and Gara Villalba and Xavier Gabarrell Durany and Cristina Madrid‐L\'{o}pez},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jiec.13114 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jiec.13114 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jiec.13114},

doi = {10.1111/jiec.13114},

issn = {1088-1980},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-03-01},

journal = {Journal of Industrial Ecology},

pages = {jiec.13114},

publisher = {John Wiley & Sons, Ltd},

abstract = {Housing estates, that is, mass social housing on middle- and high-rise apartment blocks, in urban areas are found all over the world with very similar constructive patterns and a multiplicity of environmental and socio-economic problems. In this regard, such areas are optimal for the implementation of a roof mosaic which involves applying a combination of urban farming, solar energy, and harvesting rainwater systems (decentralized systems) on unoccupied roofs. To design sustainable and productive roof mosaic scenarios, we develop an integrated framework through a multi-scale (municipality, building, and household) and multi-dimensional analysis (environmental and socio-economic, structural, and functional) to optimize the supply of essential resources (food, energy, and water). The proposed workflow was applied to a housing estate to rehabilitate unused rooftops (66,433 m2). First, using the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism methodology, we determined metabolic rates across buildings and municipality levels, which did not vary significantly (12.60\textendash14.50 g/h for vegetables, 0.82\textendash1.11 MJ/h for electricity, 0.80\textendash1.11 MJ/h for heating, and 5.62\textendash6.59 L/h for water). Second, based on a participatory process involving stakeholders to qualitatively analyze potential scenarios further in terms of preferences, five scenarios were chosen. These rooftop scenarios were found to improve the resource self-sufficiency of housing estate residents by providing 42\textendash53% of their vegetable consumption, 9\textendash35% of their electricity use, and 38\textendash200% of their water needs depending on the scenario. Boosting new urban spaces of resource production involves citizens in sites which face social and economic needs. This article met the requirements for a gold-gold JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges.},

keywords = {industrial ecology, rainwater harvesting, Renewable energy, roof mosaic, urban agriculture, Urban metabolism},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Smit2019,

title = {Towards Measuring the Informal City: A Societal Metabolism Approach},

author = {Suzanne Smit and Josephine K. Musango and Zora Kovacic and Alan C. Brent},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jiec.12776 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jiec.12776 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jiec.12776},

doi = {10.1111/jiec.12776},

issn = {1088-1980},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-06-01},

journal = {Journal of Industrial Ecology},

volume = {23},

number = {3},

pages = {674--685},

publisher = {John Wiley & Sons, Ltd},

abstract = {The rapid growth of urban informal settlements, or slums, poses a particular challenge for balancing developmental and environmental goals. In South Africa, high levels of inequality, poverty, and unemployment contribute to widespread migration. The influx of migrant workers to cities, however, is rarely matched with adequate housing and infrastructure, resulting in the formation and growth of urban informal settlements. Despite the persistence of the slum phenomenon, very few studies provide an in-depth understanding of the metabolic processes that link these spaces, and informal economies, to the broader urban environment and economy. This article therefore utilized a multiscale integrated assessment of the societal and ecosystem metabolism approach to examine human activity and land use in Enkanini, an urban informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The results highlight a number of issues to be addressed through spatial, developmental, and local economic policy, such as the need for improved transport linkages. The time-use results show that Enkanini is a net provider of labor to the surrounding area. Further, geographical mapping indicates Enkanini as a small, but vibrant, informal economy, while being grossly underserviced in terms of water, waste, and sanitation infrastructure. Key implications are discussed in terms of the theoretical, methodological, societal, and policy impact of the study, including the need for city observatories that conduct regular data collection and analysis.},

keywords = {Informal settlement, MuSIASEM, Societal metabolism, South Africa, Urban metabolism, urban slum},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Perez-Sanchez2019,

title = {Characterizing the metabolic pattern of urban systems using MuSIASEM: The case of Barcelona},

author = {Laura P\'{e}rez-S\'{a}nchez and Mario Giampietro and Ra\'{u}l Velasco-Fern\'{a}ndez and Maddalena Ripa},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.09.028},

doi = {10.1016/j.enpol.2018.09.028},

issn = {03014215},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-01-01},

journal = {Energy Policy},

volume = {124},

number = {March 2018},

pages = {13--22},

publisher = {Elsevier Ltd},

abstract = {The extreme degree of openness of contemporary urban systems with regard to both economy and population creates a serious challenge for the study of urban energy metabolism. A novel tool based on Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) is proposed to overcome these challenges. It consists of an end-use matrix, a coherent multi-level integrated characterization of the uses of different forms of energy carriers (electricity, heat, fuels) for the various tasks performed in the city, including private and public mobility, tourism, commercial and residential activities. The end-use matrix integrates quantitative data referring to different dimensions (i.e. energy, human activity, land use, value added) and hierarchical (economic sectors and functional elements at lower levels) and spatial scales (i.e. individual buildings, neighborhoods, and the city as a whole). The end-use matrix provides information on both extensive (flows) and intensive variables (flow/fund ratios or benchmarks). Benchmarks are important for policy-making and allow a meaningful comparison of energy performance across hierarchical levels within the urban system, and among different urban systems. The approach is illustrated for Barcelona, a global city characterized by an important service sector.},

keywords = {Cities, End-use matrix, Energy, MuSIASEM, Time allocation, Urban metabolism},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Smit2017,

title = {Conceptualising slum in an urban African context},

author = {Suzanne Smit and Josephine Kaviti Musango and Zora Kovacic and Alan C. Brent},

url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0264275116302311},

doi = {10.1016/j.cities.2016.12.018},

issn = {02642751},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-02-01},

journal = {Cities},

volume = {62},

pages = {107--119},

publisher = {Pergamon},

abstract = {Increasing urbanisation and the proliferation of slums require a holistic understanding of the urban metabolism of cities. However, existing urban metabolic analyses exclude a detailed understanding of how urban slums function and contribute to biophysical, including energy, flows. This paper aims at filling this gap by critically investigating the notion of the urban slum in general, the extent to which it differs in the African context, specifically in South Africa, and broadening the understanding of urban slum based on the concept of urban metabolism, using the multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach, which was applied to the Enkanini informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The analysis shows that South Africa has a more nuanced typology of the notion of urban slums categorised as: (i) townships; (ii) housing-turned-slum; (iii) squatter camps; (iv) site and service settlements; (v) transit camps; and (vi) hybrid multi-structured settlements. Beyond these definitions, the case study illustrates that urban slums, however defined, are complex systems with their own internal flows and processes that are connected in a myriad of ways to the larger urban system. The investigation into the use of Time, Money and Energy in the Enkanini case further revealed the productive (hypercyclic) and consumptive (dissipative) nature of the components of the urban informal settlement. This type of analysis reveals new insights into the linkages between urban informal settlements and the city.},

keywords = {Informal settlement, Multi-scale analysis, South Africa, Urban Africa, Urban metabolism, Urban slums},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Kovacic2016,

title = {Probing uncertainty levels of electrification in informal urban settlements: A case from South Africa},

author = {Zora Kovacic and Suzanne Smit and Josephine Kaviti Musango and Alan Colin Brent and Mario Giampietro},

url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0197397515302356},

doi = {10.1016/j.habitatint.2016.06.002},

issn = {01973975},

year  = {2016},

date = {2016-08-01},

journal = {Habitat International},

volume = {56},

pages = {212--221},

abstract = {textcopyright 2016 Elsevier Ltd. This paper assesses the different levels of uncertainty that affect the analysis of informal urban settlements and the implementation of upgrading policies, with a specific focus on electrification. The rapid growth of informal settlements in the cities of the Global South poses serious challenges to the management of energy systems, particularly when it comes to the electricity grid. Informal urban settlements are characterized by the lack of urban planning and low or absent provision of public services. Exponential population growth increases the complexity of urban planning. An inadequate understanding of uncertainty can undermine the effectiveness of informal settlement upgrading and deepen social inequalities. Based on the case study of the Enkanini settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa, this paper probes three levels of uncertainty: (i) methodological uncertainty associated with the challenge of estimating energy demand and demographic changes, (ii) technical uncertainty associated with the expansion of the electric grid and securing revenues, and (iii) epistemological uncertainty associated with the definition of the relevant problems and pertinent solutions for informal settlements. The paper highlights how the focus of technical uncertainty displaces the debate on the socio-political challenges of informal settlement upgrading.},

keywords = {Cities, Complexity, Energy, Slums, Upgrading, Urban metabolism},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}