Publications
Urban agriculture — A necessary pathway towards urban resilience and global sustainability? Journal Article
Langemeyer, Johannes; Madrid-Lopez, Cristina; Beltran, Angelica Mendoza; Mendez, Gara Villalba
In: Landscape and Urban Planning, 210 , pp. 104055, 2021, ISSN: 01692046.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Ecosystem services, Environmental externalities, Food resilience, urban agriculture, Urban metabolism
@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}
}
Efficiency and sustainability indicators for papermaking from virgin pulp—An emergy-based case study Journal Article
Corcelli, F.; Ripa, M.; Ulgiati, S.
In: Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 131 , pp. 313–328, 2018, ISSN: 09213449.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Ecosystem services, Emergy, Environmental accounting, Papermaking, Sustainability indicators
@article{Corcelli2018,
title = {Efficiency and sustainability indicators for papermaking from virgin pulp\textemdashAn emergy-based case study},
author = {F. Corcelli and M. Ripa and S. Ulgiati},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0921344917304196},
doi = {10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.11.028},
issn = {09213449},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-04-01},
journal = {Resources, Conservation and Recycling},
volume = {131},
pages = {313--328},
publisher = {Elsevier},
abstract = {The pulp and paper sector is the fourth-largest industrial sector worldwide in terms of energy use, accounting for approximately 6% of the total industrial energy consumption and contributing to 2% of direct carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced by industries. The definition of the environmental profile of this industrial sector is crucial, due to the high market demand of paper and the increasing concern for the environmental costs of the whole papermaking process. A sustainability perspective should rely on a wider and holistic viewpoint, properly including all direct and indirect interactions with the environment. To this purpose, the Emergy (spelled with “m”) Accounting method (EMA) is very appropriate for the evaluation of the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the papermaking process under different perspectives (resource quality, fossil energy and material consumption, environmental and human-driven support). Several studies concerning environmental impacts, eco-efficiency, and cleaner technologies in the pulp and paper sector have already been carried out, but none of them addressed resource quality and resource generation costs from a supply-side point of view. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature by highlighting the direct and indirect contribution in terms of natural capital and ecosystem services to the pulp and paper production process. By means of EMA performance indices, this paper aims to assess the environmental sustainability associated to the production of pulp and paper, so as to identify those process steps that entail the highest environmental costs and require improvements. Three forest management scenarios − based on Spruce/Pine, Eucalyptus and Poplar production for raw material supply − were evaluated to assess the sustainability and the efficiency of each species. Moreover, the marginal costs of achieving higher energy and material efficiency are investigated, with a special focus placed on the identification of the effects of energy input flows on additional demand for environmental services. The research results show that the largest supply-side environmental costs are generated by the industrial processing activities, due to high energy, water and chemicals consumption. Only a minor role is played by forestry activities that supply the raw feedstock, although forestry management practices certainly affect both the final productivity and the energy balance, through the amount and use efficiency of the farm inputs. Additionally, among the three forest systems under study, Spruce/Pine forest management displays the most sustainable option for paper production because, basing on the emergy indices, it presents the best sustainable contribution to both the economy and the environment of the investigated region. In conclusion, the application of EMA approach allowed a more comprehensive assessment of forestry and industrial operations, contributing to assist decision makers in implementing the best environmental management of papermaking process.},
keywords = {Ecosystem services, Emergy, Environmental accounting, Papermaking, Sustainability indicators},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
AGAUR Grant ID 2017 SGR 230 / Copyright © 2023