| 1. |
- Bahers, Jean Baptiste, et al.
(författare)
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The material footprints of cities and importance of resource use indicators for urban circular economy policies: A comparison of urban metabolisms of Nantes-Saint-Nazaire and Gothenburg
- 2023
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Ingår i: Cleaner Production Letters. - : Elsevier BV. - 2666-7916. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Material consumption has been increasing steadily since the beginning of the 20th century. The urban metabolism field of research is one of the fields that focuses on understanding and measuring this increase at the city level. Many studies have been carried out to calculate the material consumption at the domestic scale. But it is also important to include the non-domestic scale to account for the amount of materials extracted outside the city that were needed along the supply chains to produce the final products consumed in the city. This is referred as the material footprint, which provides a consumption-based indicator of resource use. The objective of this study was to develop a method to measure the material footprint of the cities of Nantes-Saint-Nazaire (France) and Gothenburg (Sweden), both port cities and pioneers in the implementation of urban policies targeting a circular economy. The methodology combines urban material flow analysis with multi-regional input-output database to extend the urban metabolism beyond the administrative boundaries of cities. We then calculated the absolute and per capita material footprints of the two cities and its material disaggregation. We compared these results with domestic material consumption. Further analysis of the urban material footprint was performed by spatializing the flows in the global economy to understand the extent of consumption due to cities. The results show that on average the material footprint is 2.4 times larger than the domestic material consumption in Gothenburg and 1.9 times larger in Nantes-Saint-Nazaire. A decoupling between material footprint and domestic material consumption can be observed, as the material footprints grew much faster than the domestic material consumption. Regarding the material disaggregation, the most significant category is non-metallic minerals, which weighs more than 50% on average of the total material footprint balance sheet and also increased the most. In conclusion, future work should thus better integrate material footprint, as there is a need to better understand the externalization of urban metabolism and to identify what aspects urban circular economy policies should focus on.
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| 2. |
- Bastos, Joana, et al.
(författare)
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Regional Metabolism: A Material and Product Flow Accounting Model for Trentino, Italy
- 2024
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Ingår i: Green Energy and Technology. - 1865-3529 .- 1865-3537. ; , s. 47-59
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Material flow accounting (MFA) can be applied to systematically quantify material inputs, outputs and throughputs to and from a geographical area, providing particularly relevant insights into managing resource flows and stocks, and identifying opportunities to close material cycles, moving from a linear to a circular economy. Remarkable advances in recent years have been made on the application of MFA to regions and cities, in particular going beyond material to product flows and providing increased details on life-cycle stages of products across these flows, which are crucial to estimate, understand and manage their associated environmental impacts. This chapter presents an MFA model of the Autonomous Province of Trento (Trentino) in northern Italy, and of the province’s capital city Trento. The main purpose is to establish a model to estimate direct material inputs (DMI) and domestic material consumption (DMC) in thousand tonnes per year (reference year 2019), relying on publicly available online data on domestic resource extraction, industrial production, trade, freight transportation and waste generation. The DMC was 12.8 and 13.5 tonnes per capita in the province and in Trento, respectively; the result is below the EU mean of 14.2, but significantly higher than the reported DMC for Italy in the same year of 8.3 tonnes per capita. Accounting and characterizing resource flows associated with urban areas and regions is crucial to increase resource efficiency and mitigate environmental impacts at local, regional and global levels. Advanced detailed MFA models at city and regional levels can inform and support environmentally sustainable planning and policymaking.
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| 3. |
- Camarasa, Clara, 1986, et al.
(författare)
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Drivers and barriers to energy-efficient technologies (EETs) in EU residential buildings
- 2021
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Ingår i: Energy and Built Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 2666-1233. ; 2:3, s. 290-301
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To achieve carbon targets, the European Union (EU) aims to promote nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB). To enable the necessary transition, technical solutions need to converge with socio-economic factors, such values and awareness of stakeholders involved in the decision-making process. In this light, the aim of this paper is to characterise perceived drivers and barriers to nine energy-efficient technologies (EET), according to key decision-makers' and persuaders of the technology selection in the EU residential building context. Results are collected across eight EU countries, i.e. Belgium (BE), Germany (DE), Spain (ES), France (FR), Italy (IT), Netherlands (NL), Poland (PL), and United Kingdom (UK). The stakeholders’ selected are architects, construction companies, engineers, installers and demand-side actors. Data from a multi-country survey is analysed to calculate the share of 15 drivers and 21 barriers (aggregated to 5 groups), being selected for each EET and country. The 5 groups considered to analyse drivers and barriers are environmental, technical, economic, social, legal. The perceived barriers and drivers were further studied for their association across the countries using the Pearson's Chi2 and a Cramer's V tests. The results demonstrate that across all EETs and countries, the technical and economic driver groups are perceived to have the highest potential to increase the implementation rate of EET. In terms of barriers, economic aspects are seen as the foremost reason that EET are not scaling faster. In both drivers and barriers legal aspects are the least often selected. In overall the barrier groups show significant variation across countries compared to driver groups. These findings provide an evidence-basis to better understand arguments in favour and against specific EETs and, in this way, support policy makers and other interested parties to increase the market share of the selected solutions.
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| 4. |
- Camarasa, Clara, et al.
(författare)
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Energy-efficient retrofit measures (EERM) in residential buildings: An application of discrete choice modelling
- 2021
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Ingår i: Buildings. - : MDPI AG. - 2075-5309. ; 11:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cross-country evidence on the adoption of energy-efficient retrofit measures (EERMs) in residential buildings is critical to supporting the development of national and pan-European policies aimed at fostering the energy performance upgrade of the building stock. In this light, the aim of this paper is to advance in the understanding of the probability of certain EERMs taking place in eight EU countries, according to a set of parameters, such as building typology, project types, and motivation behind the project. Using these parameters collected via a multi-country online survey, a set of discrete-choice (conditional logit) models are estimated on the probability of selecting a choice of any combination of 33 EERMs across the sampled countries. Results show that actions related to the building envelope are the most often-addressed across countries and single building elements or technology measures have a higher probability of being implemented. The modelling framework developed in this study contributes to the scientific community in three ways: (1) establishing an empirical relationship among EERMs and project (i.e., retrofit and deep retrofit), (2) identifying commonalities and differences across the selected countries, and (3) quantifying the probabilities and market shares of various EERMs.
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| 5. |
- Camarasa, Clara, 1986, et al.
(författare)
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Key Decision-Makers and Persuaders in the Selection of Energy-Efficient Technologies in EU Residential Buildings
- 2020
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Ingår i: Buildings. - : MDPI AG. - 2075-5309. ; 10:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With regard to residential energy use in the European Union (EU), most studies consider potential adopters of the technology (e.g., private owners) as being the sole decision-makers in the technology selection. However, during an integrated decision-making process (e.g., a construction project) multiple stakeholders will interact, influencing each other's judgement, thereby making it difficult to discern who is affecting the final decision, and to what extent. The goal of this study is to outline the full network of stakeholders involved in the decision-making process, along with their degree of power and interaction in the technology choice. For this purpose, empirical evidence from a multi-country survey is examined using social network analysis (SNA). The information is compared across building typologies, project types and countries (i.e., Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The results demonstrate that, in EU residential buildings, potential adopters of the technology are not the only stakeholders involved in the technology selection. They are in all instances in communication with multiple stakeholders, some of whom also hold a high level of power in the decision (i.e., key persuaders). Furthermore, their level of power and communication varies substantially across building typologies, project types and countries.
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| 6. |
- Cohen, Jonathan Edgardo, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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How is the construction sector addressing the Circular Economy? Lessons from current practices and perceptions in Argentina
- 2022
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Ingår i: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. - : IOP Publishing. - 1755-1307 .- 1755-1315. ; 1078:1
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Construction and demolition (C&D) sector mobilise a significant number of resources and at the same time is responsible for a large fraction of waste worldwide (40%-60%). Although, the environmental impact of these by-products is low, waste generated finishes in landfills, is downgraded and because of its volume it has become a priority at different governmental levels. In this context, the Circular Economy (CE) provides a set of strategies to improve efficient use of resources, thus reducing the environmental footprint of C&D. Most academic literature has focused on China, Europe, or the US, but knowledge about CE practices and perceptions in global south countries is scarce. To reduce this knowledge gap, this study focuses on Argentina and explores what are the perceptions, challenges, and opportunities for adopting CE strategies by the C&D sector. To achieve this goal, a survey was developed and distributed with support from the Argentinean Chamber of Construction (CAMARCO), among members of the chamber and other C&D relevant networks. The survey was carried out in the Autumn of 2021 and 88 C&D firms representing different size, longevity and business cycle responded. The results of the survey show that most of surveyed firms are trying to engage with the concept of CE. Secondly, a lack of digitalisation and information are seen as important barriers to transition to CE. Finally, policy makers should focus on providing financial and tax incentives to secure a better environmental future.
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| 7. |
- Ebrahimi, Babak, 1987, et al.
(författare)
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Machine learning-based stocks and flows modeling of road infrastructure
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 26:1, s. 44-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper introduces a new method to account for the stocks and flows of road infrastructure at the national level based on material flow accounting (MFA). The proposed method closes some of the current shortcomings in road infrastructures that were identified through MFA: (1) the insufficient implementation of prospective analysis, (2) heavy use of archetypes as a way to represent road infrastructure, (3) inadequate attention to the inclusion of dissipative flows, and (4) limited coverage of the uncertainties. The proposed dynamic bottom-up MFA method was tested on the Norwegian road network to estimate and predict the material stocks and flows between 1980 and 2050. Here, a supervised machine learning model was introduced to estimate the road infrastructure instead of archetypical mapping of different roads. The dissipation of materials from the road infrastructure based on tire-pavement interaction was incorporated. Moreover, this study utilizes iterative classified and regression trees, lifetime distributions, randomized material intensities, and sensitivity analyses to quantify the uncertainties.
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| 8. |
- Gontia, Paul, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Material-intensity database of residential buildings: A case-study of Sweden in the international context
- 2018
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Ingår i: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-3449 .- 1879-0658. ; 130, s. 228-239
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2017 Elsevier B.V. Material intensity coefficient (MIC) databases are crucial for bottom-up material stock studies. However, MIC databases are site specific and not available in many countries. For this reason, a MIC database of residential buildings in Sweden was created in this study. As these had not previously been explored, considerable attention was paid to MIC database results, variables and limitations. Next, to contextualize the results, the database was compared and discussed with other studies in other geographical scales and regions. The MIC database is based on (1) specialized architectural-data and (2) densities of construction materials. The study looked at 46 typical residential buildings in Sweden, 12 single-family (SF) and 34 multi-family (MF) structures, built within the time period 1880ö2010. The results show specific trends for material intensity and composition, but also for the mass distribution of different building elements. Additionally, it was shown that the number of floors and the footprint size of a building have a considerable impact on the MICs, especially for buildings with a low number of floors, such as SF structures. Furthermore, when compared to MIC databases from other countries, the study database, which relates to Sweden, shows a higher intensity for wood and steel. Finally, contradictory MIC results for similar geographical regions were highlighted and discussed. This showed that to achieve consistent standardized MIC databases, further analysis of MIC databases for different geographical scales and regions are needed, and this is therefore recommended.
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| 9. |
- Gontia, Paul, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Spatial analysis of urban material stock with clustering algorithms: A Northern European case study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 23:6, s. 1328-1343
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A large share of construction material stock (MS) accumulates in urban built environments. To attain a more sustainable use of resources, knowledge about the spatial distribution of urban MS is needed. In this article, an innovative spatial analysis approach to urbanMS is proposed. Within this scope, MSindicators are defined at neighborhood level and clusteredwith k-mean algorithms. The MS is estimated bottom-up with (a) material-intensity coefficients and (b) spatial data for three built environment components: buildings, road transportation, and pipes, using sevenmaterial categories. The city of Gothenburg, Sweden is used as a case study. Moreover, being the first case study in Northern Europe, the results are explored through various aspects (material composition, age distribution, material density), and, finally, contrasted on a per capita basis with other studies worldwide. The stock is estimated at circa 84 million metric tons. Buildings account for 73% of the stock, road transport 26%, and pipes 1%. Mineral-binding materials take the largest share of the stock, followed by aggregates, brick, asphalt, steel, and wood. Per capita, the MS is estimated at 153 metric tons; 62 metric tons are residential, which, in an international context, is a medium estimate. Denser neighborhoodswith a mix of nonresidential and residential buildings have a lower proportion of MS in roads and pipes than low-density single-family residential neighborhoods. Furthermore, single-family residential neighborhoods cluster in mixed-age classes and show the largest content of wood. Multifamily buildings cluster in three distinct age classes, and each represent a specific material composition of brick, mineral binding, and steel. Future work should focus on megacities and contrasting multiple urban areas and, methodologically, should concentrate on algorithms,MS indicators, and spatial divisions of urban stock.
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| 10. |
- Jimenez Encarnacion, Divia, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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Revealing patterns in household product consumption and sharing: An approach to support urban governance towards a sustainable sharing economy
- 2024
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Ingår i: Sustainable Production and Consumption. - 2352-5509. ; 45, s. 244-264
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To accomplish the sustainability potential of the sharing economy (SE), there is a need for proactive governance of the SE. In this paper, we aim to generate knowledge on household product consumption and sharing to support SE governance in Gothenburg City (Sweden). Data from two independent cross-sectional questionnaire surveys were statistically analyzed, which generated insights within 7 product groups covering household durables; and within 20 demographic categories regarding gender, age, dwelling type, education level, family composition, and income. Results were in accordance with the well-known attitude-behavior gaps regarding sustainable practices, though variance was seen for these gaps depending on the product and demographic group considered. The study suggests that, for 2021, clothes were consumed in high amounts (units/year) but there was relatively low interest and participation in sharing them, while the opposite was seen for tools and leisure items. As for demographic groups, men were less likely than women to reduce their consumption through participating in sharing, contrary to respondents with higher education. Governance reflections are included for the highlighted cases, such as investigating the reasons why men are less interested in the SE and in reducing their consumption; and exploring hinders to achieving a critical mass of users and providers in clothes sharing.
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