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Comparison of Tools for Quantifying the Environmental Performance of an Urban Territory

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  • Ana Dias
  • Diogo Lemos
  • Xavier Gabarrell
  • Luis Arroja

Abstract

To support effective urban policies aimed at decreasing the environmental impacts of cities, it is important to develop robust tools for accounting those impacts. Environmentally extended input‐output analysis (EEIOA) is among the most used tools for this purpose, allowing the quantification of both direct and indirect impacts. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is also a holistic and comprehensive tool that accounts for direct and indirect impacts—but its application to cities is still very recent. This study aims at applying EEIOA and LCA to the municipality of Aveiro (Portugal) in order to compare the outcomes of the two tools in terms of total impacts (climate change and fossil fuel depletion) and hotspots (sectors/products contributing most to the impacts), to identify limitations and advantages of the tools when applied to Aveiro, and to illustrate how LCA can be applied to cities. The total impacts estimated with LCA and EEIOA were similar and the hotspots were also the same: transports, food, construction, and electricity. However, the relative contribution of some sectors was very different in the two tools due to methodological differences mainly in system boundaries, type of activities or products considered in each sector, and geographical coverage of impact data. This study concludes that the analyzed tools can provide complementary results to support decision making concerning urban planning and management.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Dias & Diogo Lemos & Xavier Gabarrell & Luis Arroja, 2018. "Comparison of Tools for Quantifying the Environmental Performance of an Urban Territory," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(4), pages 868-880, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:22:y:2018:i:4:p:868-880
    DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12614
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    Cited by:

    1. Ronny Meglin & Susanne Kytzia & Guillaume Habert, 2022. "Regional circular economy of building materials: Environmental and economic assessment combining Material Flow Analysis, Input‐Output Analyses, and Life Cycle Assessment," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(2), pages 562-576, April.
    2. Albert, Osei-Owusu Kwame & Marianne, Thomsen & Jonathan, Lindahl & Nino, Javakhishvili Larsen & Dario, Caro, 2020. "Tracking the carbon emissions of Denmark's five regions from a producer and consumer perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    3. Louise Guibrunet & Araceli Sánchez Jiménez, 2023. "The current and potential role of urban metabolism studies to analyze the role of food in urban sustainability," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(1), pages 196-209, February.

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