Metabolism of the Anthroposphere, second edition

Description

An overview of the cultural evolution of material flows and stocks with an emphasis on the design of metabolic processes in urban systems.

Over the last several thousand years of human life on Earth, agricultural settlements became urban cores, and these regional settlements became tightly connected through infrastructures transporting people, materials, and information. This global network of urban systems, including ecosystems, is the anthroposphere; the physical flows and stocks of matter and energy within it form its metabolism. This book offers an overview of the metabolism of the anthroposphere, with an emphasis on the design of metabolic systems. It takes a cultural historical perspective, supported with methodology from the natural sciences and engineering. The book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in the fields of regional development, environmental protection, and material management. It will also be a resource for undergraduate and graduate students in industrial ecology, environmental engineering, and resource management.

The authors describe the characteristics of material stocks and flows of human settlements in space and time; introduce the method of material flow analysis (MFA) for metabolic studies; analyze regional metabolism and the material systems generated by basic activities; and offer four case studies of optimal metabolic system design: phosphorus management, urban mining, waste management, and mobility.

This second edition of an extremely influential book has been substantially revised and greatly expanded. Its new emphasis on design and resource utilization reflects recent debates and scholarship on sustainable development and climate change.Contents
Preface to the Second Edition vii
Preface to the First Edition ix
Acknowledgments xi
1 Introduction 1
2 Metabolic Phenomena in the Anthroposphere 21
3 Analysis and Assessment of Metabolic Processes 81
4 Analyzing Regional Metabolism 173
5 Designing Metabolic Systems 281
References 363
Glossary 381
Index 385Peter Baccini is Professor Emeritus at the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETH), where he was Professor of Resource and Waste Management.

Paul H. Brunner is Professor at the Institute for Water Quality, Resources, and Waste Management at Vienna University of Technology.US

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